Getting Ready to Change-Up the Holiday Dinner

My plan for today is to finish my Christmas shopping, Yay me!  My husband is leaving the store early so that we can head out of town to where the larger stores are.  I’m hoping to finish up both of my kids and the grandparents.  Everyone else is getting gift cards!  Then I will be able to turn my attention to our Christmas menu.  I’ve decided to change it up a bit.  I felt we went a little over-the-top with Thanksgiving, I wanted to curve away from the traditional menu a bit.  I can’t curve away too much, though.  My husband’s family is very old-fashioned.  It’s one of many things that I love about them.  They have taught me so much about our hobby farm and the ways things were done “back then”.  I made a beautiful pork tenderloin the other night with a cranberry chutney, so good.  It was so good that it got me thinking, “why not have something like this for Christmas”.  Then the wheels started turning!  My husband, son, and I love mushrooms.  Daughter can’t stand them and the rest of the family haven’t really had them.  Why not make stuffed mushrooms?  To include a favorite of my daughter and some other family members I also plan to make cheese stuffed, bacon-wrapped jalapenos.  Are you as excited as we are?  I’m looking forward to changing it up a bit.  We plan to keep some of the more “traditional” menu items such as the baked ham, macaroni and cheese, and deviled eggs.  Those are a must for the brother-in-law.  I have a busy weekend ahead for wrapping presents and getting ready for the classroom holiday parties.  I’m lucky this year because both kids are having pizza parties.  Thanks to Udi’s frozen pizza crusts, It’s a snap!  All I have to do then is make sure she has a few sweet treats to match her friends.  Thanks to Enjoy Life candy bars it is much easier.  I’ve decided to include my recipe for the pork tenderloin with cranberry chutney.  Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Chutney

Preheated oven to 350 degrees

Cranberry Chutney

1 can whole cranberry sauce

¼ cup maple syrup

Dash of cinnamon

Over low heat to reduce and thicken.

Pork Tenderloin

Baking dish

Place pork tenderloin in baking dish.  Cover top with ½ cranberry chutney.  Pour 1-1/2 cups apple cider around tenderloin.  Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.  Take out and leave alone for at least 10 minutes to allow meat to rest.  Serve other ½ of cranberry chutney alongside pork tenderloin.

 

Snow Day in Kentucky

It’s snowing in Kentucky!  We received a couple of inches all day Sunday, therefore school is out for Monday.  So silly, but too many side roads that school buses can’t visit; or so they claim.  Being snowed in on Sunday was a great day to veg out!  We laid around and watched movies and ate fun food.  We finally watched “Grown Ups”, it was cute.  The kids and my husband begged for buffalo chicken dip, so I made it.  Super easy with my little crock pot.  Put it in and walk-away.  Stir to combine it all, and add as much or as little hot sauce as you like.  Today the kids lasted a whole 20 minutes outside sledding.  The wind chill made it feel like -5 degrees; or so the news said.  I am suffering for veg-out day yesterday by having to clean house and do the laundry, Yay me!.  Anyway, here’s a great buffalo chicken dip recipe.  We use the Mission Tortilla Chips because they don’t have soy.  My daughter also loves the Garden of Eatin’ blue corn tortilla chips.  You can’t go wrong with a good warm dip.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 cans of chicken drained (8 oz, I think)

2pkgs 8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup ranch dressing (our house Annie’s Cowgirl Ranch)

¼ cup hot sauce (we use Frank’s). or to taste because I usually add a little more.

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients into a small crock-pot and melt.  Eat with tortilla chips or whatever you like.  We use this as appetizers for parties with celery.

Vegetarian on the Farm

Once a week I prepare a vegetarian meal for my family.  It’s a lot easier and more frequent in the spring, summer, and fall with all of our fresh produce in the gardens.  You can’t beat a fresh salad or pasta dish.  Our vegetarian menu is a lot different during the winter months.  The family expects warm, hearty dishes on the dinner table.  One way I can’t go wrong is with my eggplant parmesan.  My husband loves eggplant, it’s always his request when we plan the garden; that and lima beans, which I refuse.  I can’t help it, I do not like lima beans at all.  Meatless meals are a great idea for growing families.  It’s a good way to get a lot of good proteins, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  I’ve found that if we include meat in a meal, the veggies become second choice.  Along with a meatless meal at least once a week, I only prepare dessert once a week.  If my family had dessert on a nightly basis we would all be rolling everywhere because we wouldn’t be able to walk.  I have found it a lot easier to prepare more of an ethnic menu on our vegetarian nights, lots of rice, pasta, etc.  It’s easier to go around the world when dealing with food allergies, period.  With this post I have included my version of eggplant parmesan.  Sometimes I leave the skin on and sometimes I don’t.  It is healthier to leave it on.  I pair this with a salad or simple, steamed veggies like broccoli. 

Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium eggplant – cut into ¼ -1/2 inch slices.

1 egg

¼ cup milk

1 tsp hot sauce.

*combine egg, milk, and hot sauce and whisk together to make egg wash.  Add sliced eggplant to egg wash. 

2 cups allergy-friendly Italian style bread crumbs.

1 lb. can Delmonte diced tomatoes with basil and heat over medium heat.

2 cups shredded parmesan cheese.

Remove eggplant from egg wash into bread crumbs.  Add to greasesd rack resting inside baking pan.  Cook until browned; about 20 minutes.  Remove from rack and place in bottom of baking dish, top with tomato sauce and cheese.  Heat until cheese melted and heated through.