While Thanksgiving has somewhat predetermined dishes, Christmas is fair game for anything. Everyone brings a dish or two and then we munch around. When it seems like enough people are there we pray but for the most part it's not so much a sit down meal as a big party. :)
My first dish this year was a tree-shaped platter that included: Parsley for the green, cherry tomatoes, cheese cubes, sliced sweet peppers, apricot and a date for the tree trunk.
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| Yes, I did cut an apricot in the shape of a star for the top! |
And of course there was the Gingerbread Dip. :)
I also brought a popcorn trail mix that included the popped corn, raisins, sunflower seeds and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
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| Auntie Em (my namesake) is ready to dig in! |
And then there were the dessert options... Mixes, Cakes, Cookies, Breads, Bakes, EVERYTHING!!!
All that was followed up with good conversation...
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| Not staged at all! ;) |
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| Hug Fest! |
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| Yeah, I don't know the words to the most basic of songs! |
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| Three French Hens.... |
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| Hold it high! |
Finally it was time for presents. Under the tree were lots of presents! The majority are gifts for our Sponsor Family. Instead of exchanging gifts between the adults, a few years ago we decided to start sponsoring a family. My cousin organizes it and contacts the family to get a few ideas of what they'd like. Then we all choose what we want to get them and bring wrapped gifts to the party. Afterwards the presents are delivered to the family. This was what I needed the uniform shirt for that I was stressing about all last week. :)
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| Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree... |
But some of them were for Kai's generation. They all exchange names at Thanksgiving so each of them gets a gift at Christmas. This year Kai got not 1 but 2 ponies!! And they light up. Pretty snazzy. :)
And that's what I did all day Saturday.
Now if you're still with me I've got a present for you. :)
How about a new recipe?
For dinner last night I started out thinking I'd make Potato Cakes and then things got weird...
I decided to use sweet potatoes instead of white.
I decided I needed chickpeas in it.
I decided to use my Ninja instead of the Shredding blade on my food processor.
And the results were Awesome!
Sweet Potato Chickpea Cakes
1 can Chickpeas - drained & rinsed
1 small Onion - quartered
1 medium Sweet Potato - Cut into large chunks
1 Egg
2 T Ground Flax Seed
2 T Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 425°.
In your food processor/blender put the chickpeas, onion and sweet potato and pulse until chopped.
Add the egg, flax seed and oil and pulse again until it's well blended but not completely smooth.
Using wet hands form patties and place on your baking stone
(or baking sheet with a non-stick mat)
(or baking sheet with a non-stick mat)
Bake for 20 minutes, Flip and bake another 15.
I ate mine with a dollop of Greek Yogurt and a side salad of Spinach, Apple, Pomegranate Seeds, Pecans and Feta Cheese.
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