We like to celebrate a lot around here, as you know if you've read our blog or known us for any length of time. We also have a pretty large family, so the week of Christmas was filled with a lot of celebrating with everyone we love. To kick it off, we hosted my dad's family over at our house for Christmas dinner on the 23rd. Papaw and Denie came up from Galveston, and Aunt Kimmie, my parents, and siblings came too. Taylor even drove in straight from Lubbock to start his break at dinner with us. We had never had Papaw, Denie, and Kim over to see our house, so that was fun. And, since I love to cook and entertain it was the perfect excuse.
You're all dying to know the menu, right? :)
Appetizers:
Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip with pita chips
Baked Apricot Brie with crackers
Dinner:
Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Balsamic Glazed Carrots
Dessert:
Mom's Pecan Pie
Aunt Kimmie's Banana Pudding
Cheesecake
It's always a good time when we're all together. We missed Grandma a lot, but know she was looking down from heaven and laughing along with the rest of us.
Here are a few recipes I used. Many of them were new and turned out great.
Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip
adapted from Southern Living Christmas Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 2 (6-oz.) packages fresh baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 (8-oz.) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 (14-oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
- Fresh pita wedges or baked pita chips
Directions:
1. Steam spinach in
2. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cream
cheese and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until
cream cheese melts. Fold in spinach, artichokes, sour cream, and 1/4 cup
mozzarella cheese; stir until cheese melts.
3. Transfer mixture to a 1-qt. shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately with fresh pita wedges or baked pita chips.
Baked Crescent Roll Brie
This one I adapted from Pinterest and a version of this I'd had before. It's super simple and delicious.
Ingredients:
- 1 can crescent rolls
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup apricot preserves (or any other preserves you'd prefer. Cranberry would have been great too.)
- chopped pecans or walnuts
- block of brie cheese
Directions:
Unroll the crescent rolls all in one piece on a baking sheet. Press together the perforations to form one piece of dough with no breaks or tears. Spread the preserves all over the crescent roll dough and sprinkle with either pecans or walnuts. Place the block of brie in the middle of the dough and fold the edges up over the top so that the brie is covered. Pinch together the dough to seal. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until the crescent roll shell is golden brown. Serve warm with crackers.
Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin
courtesy of South Living Christmas Cookbook
(I used a 5 lb. roast, so doubled the recipe)
Ingredients:
-
1
(3-pound) boneless pork loin roast
-
Vegetable cooking spray
-
1 1/2 teaspoons
coarsely ground pepper
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
1 cup
orange marmalade
-
2 tablespoons
Creole mustard
-
2 teaspoons
fresh or dried rosemary
-
2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
-
1
(14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
-
Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs
Directions:
- Place roast on a rack coated with cooking spray in an aluminum foil-lined shallow roasting pan.
- Rub roast with pepper and salt.
- Heat marmalade in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 10 seconds or until
melted. Add mustard and rosemary, stirring until blended. Brush mixture
over roast.
- Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into
thickest portion registers 155°. Cover with foil; let stand 10 minutes.
Remove roast from pan, and cut into slices; cover and keep warm.
- Sprinkle roasting pan with flour; place on cook top, and cook over
medium heat, 1 minute, whisking constantly. Add broth, and cook 5 more
minutes, whisking constantly or until mixture thickens. Serve with
sliced pork. Garnish, if desired.
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
courtesy of The Neely's
I doubled this recipe to serve 10-12.
Ingredients:
- 1 head garlic
- Olive oil
- 2 pounds red potatoes, washed well and quartered
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice off the very top of the garlic head. Drizzle head with olive
oil and wrap in foil. Place on a sheet tray and bake until tender and
fragrant, roughly 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove
the cloves and mash with a wooden spoon.
Place potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Add
salt and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender and drain. Mash the
potatoes until smooth.
Meanwhile heat butter and cream until butter melts. Add the roasted garlic and potatoes and mash all together.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately
Balsamic Baby Carrots
courtesy of Southern Living
I doubled this recipe to serve 10-12.
Ingredients:
-
3 cups
water
-
1 pound
baby carrots
-
2
large shallots, thinly sliced
-
1
medium-size red bell pepper, diced
-
1 tablespoon
olive oil
-
3 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar
-
1 1/2 tablespoons
sugar
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground pepper
-
2 tablespoons
chopped fresh Italian parsley
-
Garnish: fresh Italian parsley sprig
Directions:
- Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan; add carrots,
return to a boil, and cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat; drain well.
- Sauté shallots and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over
medium-high heat 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in carrots,
vinegar, and next 3 ingredients, and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid
is reduced and vegetables begin to glaze. Remove from heat; stir in
chopped parsley. Garnish, if desired.
