Our Christmas Traditions - Part III

Tradition #9 - Sugar Cookies

I feel like we try a new recipe every year. They're usually family recipes and this year we found another yummy one from Grandma Richins. The kids love cutting out the shapes and helping with the icing. 

Tradition #10 - Christmas Eve Dinner 
This has been everything from ham, turkey, roast to a dinner of appetizers, and this year we're going to try fondue. We usually light candles and this is where we each receive our ornaments for the year.

Tradition #11 - Bingo!

This is from my family and is a fun way to win prizes or, better still, money. For some reason our markers are always red hots. That may be one I'll have to change since it's a bit disturbing seeing kids sneak the heavily-handled candies. We do a number of rounds and the stakes get higher with the more difficult challenges. The hope is that everyone will win at least once.

Tradition #12 - Luke 2 & One Gift
Dad reads from the Bible. It's peaceful hearing the words while watching our own children and sitting near the nativity scenes. We open the presents from our family gift exchange on Christmas Eve. It's fun to see what everyone thought up and created. We'll get our gifts for the Savior ready for the morning and everyone tries to get some sleep!

Chicken & Rice Casserole For the Win

I've been meaning to share this recipe for a while. Our neighbor brought us this dish while I was recovering and the kids went nuts over it and pleaded that I get the recipe. I made it a handful of times and the kids still love it. I also paid it forward to a neighbor when she recently had her baby and she said all her kids loved it and so I passed the recipe on to her. Now I'm making it public. You're welcome.

1 to 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 boxes Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice (quick-cooking)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped onion

Cook rice according to package directions. The directions say to use just less than three cups water if you're using two boxes. But I add three cups and I upped the chicken broth amount in the original recipe from 1/2 to 1 cup because otherwise it dries out too much in the oven. 
Once the rice is cooked, stir in all the other ingredients. Transfer to a 9x13 [or so] baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 for 45-50 minutes. If you like, you can sprinkle something crunchy over the top [like crumbled Ritz crackers] before it goes in the oven.

Warm It Up

The cold weather has settled in here and it's time to pull out all those recipes for yummy, warm meals. One we've used again and again is this Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Annie's Eats.  We've eaten it in bread bowls, the way the kids prefer. Having it in a bowl with fresh, warm bread [or any bread!] on the side is just as delicious.  We always puree it instead of leaving all the ingredients chunky so even our littlest can share in the goodness. And he loves it as much as we do! 
One pureeing tip: I don't own an immersion blender anymore so I just ladle the soup into our blender about 3/4 full and blend until smooth. I leave the cap off and cover lightly with a paper towel [so steam can escape, but the soup won't splatter]. I have to do that three times with this recipe.

Veggie Enchiladas

We just had the greatest enchiladas - filled with good stuff and really simple to make. Our pickiest eater would not agree, but I think they may be the best I've had and it includes a great homemade enchilada sauce.

Click here for the link. The only small differences were that I used canned corn and flour tortillas because I don't like the taste of corn tortillas.

That picky eater of ours told me that this recipe should not "go in the book" meaning the family recipe book. Oh, it's going in the book. But a recent cleaning-up project reminded me of this idea on making your own cookbook that I love and want to try...soon!

A Yummy Fall Treat

We made these first at a young women activity and I just made more for a neighborhood Halloween party. They are such a delicious mix of tart and sweet and I am not usually a caramel apple fan. Click here for the recipe link.

Mummy Dogs

We tried a new recipe while grandparents were visiting. We had fun working together on these and the spiderweb dip was a hit as well.

I didn't keep the clipped recipe so I don't know the source but it's just a can or two of crescent rolls sliced into strips and wrapped around hot dogs including a slice of American [we used cheddar] cheese tucked into the dough. Follow the baking instructions on the roll package. Mustard eyes and ketchup + mustard dipping sauce completes it.

Shish Kabobs

One of our favorite summer meals is barbecued shish kabobs. Our favorite ingredients are the classics: summer squash, zucchini, baby bella mushrooms, steak, peppers, tomatoes, and onions. Preparation is a family affair and everyone can assemble their own just the way they like them. Cooking takes place outside and clean up is easy since it's a meal on a stick.