Here are some of the dishes I made for a couple of our Christmas meals this year. The mushrooms, green beans and peas were brand new dishes for me, but they are new faves now! The Dijon glaze is a very old fave for us and the squash is a not-too-old fave. I hope you will enjoy them as much as we have.
Stuffed Mushrooms Florentine24 large fresh mushrooms
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen leaf spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup melted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2-1/2 Tbls. grated Parmesan cheese
*****
Rinse the mushrooms. Remove and chop stems; set caps and stems aside. Cook the spinach according to the package, omitting the salt; drain. Place in a blender and process until smooth. Saute the garlic in melted butter over low heat for 1 minute; remove from heat. Dip the mushroom caps in the garlic butter mixture and place them in a 9x13 baking dish. Stir the stems and onion into remaining garlic butter and saute until tender; set aside. Mix spinach, cream cheese, bread crumbs and seasonings in a bowl. Stir in the mushroom stems, mixing well. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 375F for about 15 minutes. (Can be made ahead)
Ham Glaze Dijon(from Grey Poupon)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup brown sugar
*****
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on the side with your sliced ham. (Can be made ahead)
Bacon-Wrapped Green Bean Bundles(from Amy at The Finer Things)
4 cans whole green beans
bacon strips, cut in half
1 cup melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. soy sauce
*****
Gather 10 green beans into a bundle and wrap a 1/2 strip of bacon around it, securing it with a toothpick. (It helps if you just dump all four cans of beans into a large bowl and pick out the longest ones as you go. I ended up with a small bowl of *leftover* beans at the end. You can just use those for something else later). Place your green bean bundles in a 9x13 casserole dish. Next combine the butter, sugar, garlic salt and soy sauce in a bowl; mix well. Pour over the bundles. Chill overnight or at least for several hours. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes to an hour or until the bacon is done.
Special Peas1/2 lb. bacon, diced
2 Tbls. flour
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced (reserve green part)
1 pint half & half (not fat free)
1 lb. frozen petite peas
1 Tbls. butter
*****
In a 3-qt. saucepan fry bacon until very crisp, being careful not to burn it. Drain most of the bacon grease off, leaving about 1 Tbls. Saute mushrooms and white parts of the green onions until soft. Stir in flour. Whisk in the half & half slowly to avoid lumps. Add salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer until thick and creamy, stirring often to keep from scorching. Add peas, butter and sliced green tops of onions Let cook until everything is nice and hot. (Can be made ahead)
Squash Casserole
1 cup butter, melted
2 boxes cornbread stuffing mix
6 cups yellow squash, sliced
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
*****
Pour butter over the stuffing mix; mix well and set aside. Boil squash and onion in salted water for about 5 minutes; drain. In a large mixing bowl combine the squash and onions, 1/2 of the buttered stuffing mix, carrots, sour cream and soup. Mix well. Spread 1/2 of the remaining stuffing mix in the bottom of your casserole dish, pour squash mixture in and then top it with the remaining stuffing mix. Bake at 350F for about 30 min. (Can be made ahead)