Our Christmas Dinner Recipes

This post is solely dedicated to the actual recipes I served on Christmas Day since everyone there was asking me for the recipes. Honestly in terms of food preparation it really wasn't that bad or that much work. On Saturday I prepared the Spinach Gratin, Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes. Mike also made the sauce for the stuffed shells. It was way more work that day doing all the baking then it was making the side dishes for dinner. The menu was amazing though, I was pretty proud of our menu, everything was absolutely delicious and we had just the right amount of food, well ok we're Italian we had leftovers of course, but who doesn't love leftovers? Even all of the salad went! Our delicious menu for the evening was as follows:

First Course: 

• Salad: (Skinny Taste) Mixed Baby Greens with a Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Fresh Stuffed Shells with Homemade Sauce (made by Mike) 

Main Course & Side Dishes:

• Spiral Ham
• Beef Tenderloin 
• Mashed Potatoes - Made by my Mom
• Stuffed Mushroom Sautee - Made by Mike's Mom
• (Skinny Taste) Spinach Gratin 
• Lightened up Green Bean Casserole 
• (Skinny Taste) Sweet Potato Casserole
• Sauteed Bacon & Blue Cheese Brussel Sprouts with Pomegranate - Made by my Mom

Drinks: 

• White Sangria with Pomegranate

• Peppermint Brownie Martinis 

==============================================

Starting off with the salad, this got rave reviews. The combination of the pomegranate, pecans and blue cheese was so perfect especially with the homemade salad dressing, it really dressed up the salad course and even the dressing was a bit hit. Such an easy dish to make and dress things up!

Mixed Baby Greens with Pomegranate Seeds, Gorgonzola and Pecans 
With A Pomegranate Vinaigrette 
Source: Skinny Taste

5 cups Mixed Baby Greens
5 cups bunch Baby Arugula
1 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 POM Wonderful Fresh pomegranate)
2 oz pecans, chopped (about 28 halves)
1/2 cup (4 oz) gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Pomegranate Vinaigrette:
5 tbsp of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
3 tbsp of champagne vinegar
1 tbsp shallot, finely minced
1 tbsp honey
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh pepper

For the vinaigrette, combine pomegranate juice, olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a small glass jar and shake vigorously. Toss mixed greens in a salad bowl and top with pecans, gorgonzola and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with vinaigrette right before serving.
==============================================

I first made my Mom make this recipe last year for Thanksgiving and she begrudgingly agreed to make it. She loved her traditional velvetta cheese & spinach recipe but man she was so glad she did. This spinach recipe is absolutely amazing, it's pretty hard to believe it would be considered Weight Watchers friendly, maybe in really small portions. It's so delicious, I can't get enough of this spinach!

Makeover Spinach Gratin
Source: Skinny Taste

3 tbsp light butter (I used Land O Lakes)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
3 cups 2% milk
3 lbs (3 16-oz packages) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Swiss Gruyere cheese (I used Sargento)

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a heavy-bottomed saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 10 - 12 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg; cook 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the milk and cook until thickened, about 5 - 7 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the spinach to a large baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the Swiss cheese on top.   Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot. Makes a little over 6 1/2 cups.
==============================================

I'm not known to be a huge sweet potato fan. They're ok, but I definitely don't rush out to make, have or order sweet potatoes of any sort. My Mom has a good sweet potato recipe from my Aunt Susan that she makes every year for Thanksgiving, but I have to say I think this recipe is even better, almost the entire dish of it went. It has a nice addition of the golden raisins in it which I think were great and it also has crushed pineapple in it! And of course it has the traditional pecans and marshmallows on top! The true test will be if my Mom likes it enough to make it this way next year for Thanksgiving!

Sweet Potato Casserole
Source: Skinny Taste 

2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp agave
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch allspice
8 oz can unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
2 tbsp chopped pecans
1 cup mini marshmallows

Cut sweet potatoes into large chunks; boil potatoes in a large pot covered with water until potatoes are soft if pierced with a fork. Drain and return to the pot. Preheat oven to 400°. Mash the sweet potatoes (I used my immersion blender) and add in raisins, agave, spices and pineapple. Lightly spray a pie dish, casserole dish or even individual ramekins with oil, spoon in sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with pecans and marshmallows. Bake for 15 minutes.
==============================================

I guarantee even people that don't like Brussel Sprouts will like this dish! Bacon makes anything delicious. My mom always makes brussel sprouts, but she usually just sautés them in garlic and oil but she could not get over how good this recipe was, I don't think any of us good, any brussel sprout hater could easily like this recipe. Bacon will make anything good for sure, but combine that with the shallots, blue cheese and pomegranates and there is so much flavor! I would eat Brussel sprouts anytime if they were made like this! I know this is one recipe my Mom absolutely plans to make again!

Bacon and Blue Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate
Source: Food for my Family

4 slices uncooked bacon, diced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup pomegranate arils

In a large sauté pan, cook the bacon pieces over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until just beginning to crisp. Add in the shallots and stir to incorporate before adding in the Brussels sprouts*. Sprinkle lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until Brussels sprouts are golden brown around the edges and on the flat side. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over the top and stir until the water is absorbed into a natural sauce.Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the blue cheese. Pour the sprouts into the serving dish. Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and serve immediately.
==============================================

Everyone has tried the traditional Campbells Green Bean Casserole made with the mushroom soup but this version is homemade from scratch and doesn't use any type of soup, and I have to say I think it was even better. I loved that it was all homemade and with the addition of sauteed mushrooms (and I added onions in as well) it was delicious! This is one recipe version I didn't go with Skinny Taste on, I went with one of her "competitors" and I think she wins this one, at least in my mind anyway. It was so delicious, I didn't end up adding the cranberries but I might try it next time when I make it again!

Lightened-Up Green Bean Casserole
Source: Eat Yourself Skinny

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp light butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix
2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. light butter
1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup French onions, crushed
1/2 cup whole wheat panko
Handful of dried cranberries, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Boil fresh green beans in salted water covered for about 5 minutes.  Drain and blanch on ice to stop cooking process then pat dry.  Set aside.  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in flour until smooth, about 1 minute.  Gradually add milk, whisking constantly for about 3 to 4 minutes until sauce is thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat and whisk in buttermilk, ranch dressing, thyme and salt and pepper. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt one teaspoon of butter and add mushrooms.  Saute for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned, and remove from heat.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then toss with green beans in the ranch-buttermilk sauce.  Place mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with spray.  Sprinkle with crumbled French onions and panko over green beans and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  Top should be golden brown and bubbly.  Enjoy!
==============================================

Finally my token cocktail of the evening was a Peppermint Brownie Martini. Although we only had one brief round of them on Christmas we did have them again last weekend and I thought they were great! I even attempted to make myself one this evening but then realized we were out of milk and added in some french vanilla creamer in since I wanted one. They were definitely better with milk, but this is such a fun Holiday cocktail to make for guests!

Peppermint Brownie-tini
Source: Snappy Gourmet 

3 tablespoons chocolate cream liqueur (such as Godiva Original)
2 tablespoons peppermint schnapps(such as Hiram Walker)
2 tablespoons cake flavored vodka (such as Pinnacle)
1½ teaspoons dry brownie cake mix (such as Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge)
⅓ cup milk or cream
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (such as Hershey’s)
1 tablespoon crushed candy canes
Garnish: whipped cream and peppermint candies/candy canes

Mix chocolate liqueur, peppermint schnapps, cake flavored vodka, brownie cake mix, and milk/cream shaker with ice. Shake for about 30 seconds. Dip rim of glass in chocolate syrup then in crushed candy canes. Strain drink into glass. Top drink with whipped cream and candy as desired.