Thursday, December 13, 2007

Christmas At Our Place




Voila our Christmas tree! The decorations are mostly Disney characters and also some homemade ones by the kids as well as "special ones" to represent specific special occasions.









My nativity scene. I love Precious Moments and since I didn't have a nativity scene(until this year), my mom thought this one "had my name all over it" and I needed it for my collection.







Our stockings hung by the fire with care.












I got a garland this year and it matches the candle holder (pic coming up). Looks much nicer in real life than the pic does here. :( Peacock feathers and gold fruit -very pretty.








View of candle holder from the top










Candle holder from its spot on top of baker's rack.










Christmas advent picture that Wynn got from Sunday School. Cut out one picture per day up to Christmas and stick it on the big picture. On Christmas see "Who Is Coming?"










Another craft Wynn made at Sunday School. "Each evening after prayers are said, Take off one link and hop into bed. When only the star is left to shine, Then you will know it's Christmastime!"










Refreshments are served. I have so many recipes that I like at this time of year. But have narrowed it down to 3 that are specific to moi. First I'm going to share our brunch with you -

Potato Picante Pie (make the night before)

5 eggs
2 1/2 cups frozen (shredded) hash brown potatoes
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monteray Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup picante sauce (salsa)
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a bowl, beat eggs. Stir in hash browns, cheeses, sauce, onions, and salt. Pour into a greased 9" pie plate. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degreees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until center is set. Serve with additional picante sauce if desired.
Makes 6 servings

During the day, many appatizers and dainties are available to munch on. One of my favorite and very simple to make is called -

Surprise Spread (serve with crackers)

1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Mix above ingredients well and spread on a pizza pan or glass dish the size of a pizza pan.

1 cup seafood sauce
2 - 4 oz tins broken or cocktail shrimp
2 - green onions (chopped)
1 - tomato (seeded and chopped)
1 - small green pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1 cup marble cheese (shredded)

Spread seafood sauce on cream cheese. Layer shrimp, green onions, tomato, pepper, cheese.
Serve with crackers & Enjoy!

[OK, one more appetizer that we just love to eat, many of you probably have your own recipes as it is so popular but here is the one I use -


Mushrooms Neptune


1 pkg (8 oz/250 g) cream cheese

1 can (113 g) shrimp, drained

1 can (113 g) crabmeat, drained

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

dash hot pepper sauce

30 large mushrooms


In large bowl or electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add shrimp, crab, green onions, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, lemon juice, and hot pepper sauce. Beat until fluffy. Remove stems from mushrooms. Spoon cheese mixture into mushroom caps, filling generously. Place caps onto cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Serve immediatley.

Yield: 30 mushrooms]



I love shortbread and eggnog at Christmas time but since I moved out to Manitoba (about 11 years ago) I have developed a new holiday favorite -

Vinarterta

Dough layers: Filling:
1 cup (250 g) butter 2 pounds (900 g) pitted prunes
1 cup (250 ml) sugar 1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
2 beaten eggs 1/2 to 1 tsp (2 - 5 ml) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
2 tsps (10 ml) baking powder
4 cups (1 L) flour

Dough layers:Mix as cookie dough - cream together butter and suger. Add the eggs.
Sift dry ingerdients together. Gradually blend in to butter and sugar mixture. Chill well.
Roll dough into 6 flat cakes 8 to 9 inches (20 to 22 cm) in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Use pie plate or dinner plate to cut circle. Poke with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 8 - 10 minutes.
Filling:Boil prunes until well cooked. Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
Spread between layers. Let stand 24 hours
Vinarterta may be iced with butter icing.


For more Christmas Tour of Homes go to Boomama's blog.

5 comments:

Joyful Days said...

Everything looks so cheery & festive & the goodies sound wonderful!

Susan said...

Great decorations! I love how you've included your child's Sunday school crafts!

KC said...

very pretty decorations. Thank you for all the yummy goodies and for letting us tour your home.
Merry Christmas

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful home! I plan to do a paper chain for my girls next year. I didn't get an early enough start this year!

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas! Thanks for letting us tour ... everything looks great. And the recipes ... yummmm!