Christmas Menu

As you may know, I've been struggling with what to cook for Christmas dinner.  I am usually full of enthusiasm for any special menus or trying something new but this time I just haven't got it in me.  So here's where having a stock of tried and true recipes comes in handy.  I decided to keep it simple since we don't need any more extra calories anyway.  Here is our traditional Christmas Eve menu, eaten right after the 5 p.m. church service.

Ham (Petite Jean is our preferred brand)
Cheese grits (Barry lives for cheese grits)
Mandarin Orange/Spinach Salad
Chocolate Mocha Punch
Assorted Christmas Cookies

The ham and cheese grits never varies but the rest varies each year.  I decided I hadn't had enough Mocha Punch at the Cookie party so I'm making it again plus it whips up in no time.  None of this is hard to prepare and the grits can be assembled earlier in the day then cooked at dinner time.   Here is the Christmas Day menu, breakfast included.

Breakfast
Cheesy Scrambled Eggs
Brown Sugar Bacon
Grapefruit Compote in Rosemary Syrup
Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Dinner
Spicy Beef Tenderloin
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Brussel Sprouts
Cranberry Salad
Rolls
Guinness Chocolate Cake
Hot Cidar

Once again, all of this is super easy, especially since my sisters are in charge of the cranberry salad, the brussel sprouts and rolls.  I'm making the cake Saturday and marinating the beef over night.  Recipes for the Mocha Punch, Beef Tenderloin, and Brussel Sprouts are on this blog.  The recipe for the spinach salad is on jonesboro.com under the title, "The Cardiologist's Wife Goes Green For Easter" on page 4.  I hope your Christmas meal plans have gone more smoothly and everything turns out wonderfully.

Merry Christmas!