Christmas Menu

*Written on Christmas Eve

Tomorrow, we're making most of Christmas dinner.  I'm not sure yet if we'll eat here or at my parents' home though.  I struggled with making a grocery list that would encompass meals for more than a week plus holiday meal items plus making sure I had extra of the necessities (milk, bread, eggs) just in case I were to run out of my regular stash on Christmas day.

Here's the menu we've derived so far:

Spiral sliced ham
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes
Senator Russell's Sweet Potato Casserole
Chocolate Chip cookies (which will actually be made on Christmas Eve since Santa will need a snack!)


My mom will provide rolls, a veggie tray (for pre-dinner snacking), and sugar free jello.


We bought a ham (not really remembering how HUGE they are!) and we'll be baking that tomorrow.  We aren't quite sure yet if we'll apply the glaze that comes with it.  If we do, it'll be a minimal amount.  The other recipes follow.

Recipes:

Green Bean Casserole-
     For an 8x8 pan:

• 1 can of regular cut green beans
• 1 can of French cut green beans
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup (Aaron doesn't like cream of mushroom)
• French fried onions 

Preheat oven to 350* and grease an 8x8 baking pan.  Mix first three ingredients in a bowl (or you can mix directly in the pan if you don't want to dirty extra dishes-- I've done it both ways in the past), and pour into baking pan.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350*.  Remove pan from oven, sprinkle french fried onions all over the top (or to your preference) and stick the pan back in the oven for 5 minutes.  Remove, cool, and enjoy!  For a 13x9 pan, double the first three ingredients. 

Senator Russell's Sweet Potato Casserole:

This recipe has been on my mom's side of the family for years and years.  My Nana prepared a recipe book in a cute binder one year and this recipe is in it!  My mom took a picture of the recipe card and sent it to me so that I can recreate it at home.  For internet ease, the recipe we follow is very close to Version 1 on this site: Lost Recipes Found.  This site explains some of the history behind Senator Russell's recipe.  Pretty neat. 

For the chocolate chip cookies. I follow the Nestle method.  The recipe I used each time is found here. 

I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba