It’s all about the food!

This past week I was talking with some friends about Christmas traditions. We realized that many of our childhood memories of Christmas and the traditions around the holidays revolve around certain foods. So I thought I’d share a few of the ones I remember from growing up…all of which we still do today and I am looking forward to continuing with my son as he gets older.

Leading up to Christmas, there’s certain things that I have to make in the kitchen…or it just doesn’t feel like Christmas! One of those is Christmas sugar cookies from scratch! This year we are in the midst of moving (yes, I’m a little crazy), so I made sure to ask my mom if we could make Christmas cookies when we’re visiting them. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas without baking Christmas cookies! The other thing that I have to make in December is Junk…it’s basically a spicy Chex mix, but in my family, we call it Junk. This makes a ton so you have plenty to enjoy and still give away some as gifts to neighbors and friends. But I’ve been known to eat this for lunch or for dinner…fairly often…it’s addicting!

Junk

melt together in saucepan:

1 c wesson oil

1 lb margarine

4 T worcestershire sauce

2 T red pepper

1 T garlic powder

2 T celery salt

1 large jar Accent

Cereal mix (mixed together in 2 huge disposable roasting pans):

1 bag pretzels

4 boxes of cereal (my favorite combo is 2 Rice Chex and 2 Corn Chex. You can also include Wheat Chex, but they aren’t my favorite)

2 lbs peanuts

Pour over cereal mix and cook slowly at 150-200 for four hours stirring every 15-20 minutes (sometimes I’m lazy and stir just every 30 minutes). Enjoy!

Christmas Eve traditions also involve food! We usually go to the Christmas Eve service at church and then come home and dig in to some Hot Chicken Dip and a few other snacks. But the Hot Chicken Dip has become a regular year after year.

The highlight of Christmas Eve each year is Jesus’ birthday cake…always a carrot cake. And there was always a whole pecan somewhere in the cake. Whoever ended up with the pecan in their piece got to open the first gift! Of course as a kid, I thought this was so fun…and then I realized that 1-we weren’t eating the whole cake, so 2-it was clearly rigged by my mom every year as she cut the pieces! But still a fun tradition!

In case you need a heavy appetizer to enjoy this Christmas season, here’s our Hot Chicken Dip recipe…it’s really hearty and filling!

Hot Chicken Dip

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 (12 oz) cans of chicken (drain 1 of them)

1 small can Ortega jalepenos (drained)

2 (8 oz) cream cheese at room temp or softened

Mix together in pan on top of stove until bubbly. Keep warm in crock pot…or just put it in the crock pot plenty early and let it warm up and stay warm in the crock pot.

Christmas morning breakfast is also an important piece of our Christmas traditions. Christmas morning must involve coffee cake! It’s the same recipe and I look forward to it year after year…it’s SO YUMMY! So yummy that I once made it and ate the whole thing before my hubby even got one piece…oops! Yes, it’s that good! Paired with some type of egg casserole and you’ve got the ingredients for Christmas morning at my house! So if you need something to bake for Christmas morning, try it-I bet you’ll be hooked!

Coffee Cake

1/3 cup chopped pecans

sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter/margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine nuts, 1/3 c sugar and cinnamon and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and set aside. Cream butter and gradually add 1 ½ cups sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating after each. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Gently beat in flour mixture. Spoon 1/3 of batter into well-greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan (or a 8×8/9×9 pan…that’s what we normally use). Sprinkle with 1/3 nut mixture. Repeat twice. Rap bottom of pan against counter top. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, covering with foil for the last 10 minutes.

I love all the yummy food at Christmas time! These are just a few of my favorite Christmas treats and traditions! I hope you try them (even if it’s after Christmas)! What are your must-have foods at Christmas?