Friday, December 23

Christmas Dinner and Family Memories

Like other families on Christmas, our family shares a wonderful and traditional dinner together...buffet style. Just as Christmas Day would not be the same without all of our family around the dinner table, Christmas dinner would not be the same without our time tested menu. Starting with a spiral cut Ham as the center piece of our meal each family member brings their own signature dishes to our Christmas table. I thought I would share with you the recipes that we use EVERY year at Christmastime and also introduce to you my little family. They are the precious individuals that make our dinning experience so special. It's more than just Christmas Dinner. It's the joyous wonder of family memories! Never forget, "It's not what's on the Plates that matter, It's the loved ones in the Chairs."

 Elizabeth Morganne Porter


BAKED CORN
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 This dish is one of E's favorites. Baked Corn is not new to our table, we have been baking and eating this for years. Elizabeth has now taken over the task of preparing our beloved corn.


INGREDIENTS
  • 1 can corn, drained 
  • 1 can cream-style corn
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 stick of butter/margarine melted
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 Tbsp. flour


  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • pinch of Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients well, pour into a round baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. We double this recipe when our whole family gets together. Pour into a 13x9 inch glass baking dish. Stand Back! This will soon become a favorite of your family's as well.  

STEPH'S GREEN BEANS
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What my sister can do with a can of green beans is near to miraculous! My strictly no "green" eating child will even eat these green beans. 


INGREDIENTS


MY SISTER, STEPH
AND KRISTIN, HER DAUGHTER
  • 6 cans of whole green beans
  • 6 pieces of thick cut bacon
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
  • 6 chicken bouillon
  • 3/4 stick of butter
  • 1 tsp cracked pepper
  •  salt to taste



Fry the bacon in a stock pot that is big enough to hold the green beans. Add onion and saute on medium-high heat until tender. Add garlic and saute, watch the pot...you do not want your garlic to brown. Add butter, bouillon, green beans, freshly cracked pepper to the stock pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn   heat to low and simmer for at least 2 hours, assuring that the green beans soak up all of that scrumptious broth!! 

MOM AND DAD, RON AND GLO CHESSER...SWEET!

MOM'S CARAMELIZED SWEET POTATOES
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Mom and Dad bought  
sorghum syrup on the side of the road years ago. You know the kind...it comes in a silver looking paint can. The older the syrup became the better our sweet potatoes turned out! If all I had on Christmas Day was Mom's glazed Ham and candied sweet potatoes, I  would be one happy woman!

INGREDIENTS

  • 8-9 good sized sweet potatoes,

yummy!
roasted until soft; peel off the skin
  • 1 cup sorghum syrup
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp honey
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 sticks of butter 
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg



WHAT TO DO
  Using a large shallow oven proof dish, arrange potatoes in a single layer. Combine all other ingredients in a jar or bowl. Microwave on high until bubbly; pour mixture over potatoes. Place in a 350 degree oven and cook for 45 minutes. We cook ours longer...the stickier the better! I must tell you when I think of a classic cook I think of women like my mother. She cooks by taste. You can't do that when you bake, but cooking is a whole other story. For her sweet potatoes she keeps throwing goodies in the jar until it taste wonderful! Between the two of us, this was the closest recipe we could figure out that would do her sweet potatoes justice. When we came to the honey and how much to add mom said, "Oh, I didn't have any honey in the pantry. I found 6 leftover packets of honey from Popeye's Chicken that I threw in the jar!" Now is that a cook or WHAT! 

STEWED SQUASH AND ZUCCHINI              
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ME.....A FEW POUNDS AGO!

This recipe has been in our family longer than I would like to admit. Mainly because I am the only family member to have ever cooked this wonderful side dish! I have never had a recipe only "guesstimations". You need to know how many people you will be serving. I know for my little family of four I use 3 yellow crook-necked squash and one good size zucchini. When you go to purchase the squash/zucchini just keep in mind a 2 to 1 ratio. It doesn't have to be precise, believe me it will taste wonderful! This version of the recipe will serve 10-12 people.



INGREDIENTS
  • 8-9 good sized yellow crook necked squash
  • 4 large zucchini
  • 1 white onion, sliced not diced
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
  • 5 chicken bouillon squares

WHAT TO DO
Using a vegetable peeler lightly peel the squash and zucchini. Slice all, set aside. Slice the onion and place in a pot large enough to hold all of the veggies. Add the butter and bouillon. In an alternating fashion add the squash and zucchini to your pot, cover with lid. Cook over medium-high heat. Keep pot covered. When it begins to sizzle, around 5 minutes, stir well and re-cover pot with lid. Stir often. Make sure to re-cover the pot each time you stir. It takes very little time to cook, maybe an additional 10-15 minutes until very tender.


DEVILED EGGS
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My grandmother, Little Gran was the Deviled Egg aficionado in our family. It didn't matter if we were eating Christmas dinner or hamburgers in the backyard, all of the kids...big and little alike ....demanded LG's Deviled Eggs. She passed away earlier this year at the age of 92 and the baton has been passed to Ann. 
MY AUNT, ANN. THE KIDS CALL HER 
'ANNIE BUGS'

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
  • 1 good size spoonful of brown mustard
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Oscar Mayer real bacon bits
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • Kosher salt if needed, taste mixture before adding

WHAT TO DO
Place eggs in large stock pot, cover with cold water and lid. Place over high heat. As soon as you hear the eggs boiling remove from heat, keeping lid in place. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Drain; place them in cold water, adding a few handfuls of ice to keep the eggs from continuing to cook. When cool, peel, half and put yolks into mixing bowl. Mix in all other ingredients except the green top of the diced onions and salt. Mix well, taste for salt adding if needed. Fill a zip lock bag with yolk mixture, cut off the corner and pipe filling into egg halves. Using the tops of the chopped green onions, sprinkle over eggs. Refrigerate until dinner....YUM!

ME AND MR.P

JARED AND AMY

ELIZABETH AND BRADLEY
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!
FROM THE PORTERS
ENJOY!
~THE DOMESTIC CURATOR~
RONDA

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