Oh what fun it is to...eat!

I'm linking up today (11/9) with Kelly's Korner about side dishes!
Below are two of my favorites posted last year. Thanks for stopping by!
I daresay that most everyone has wonderful Christmas memories of gathering with their families to exchange gifts, but also to eat. Good or bad, I have a feeling that it's not exclusively Texan to associate celebrating with food!

Like all families, we have staples at our family lunches, and I wanted to share just a couple today. In particular, these are hard to mess up, delicious, and always garner compliments when I carry them to potlucks or other friendly gatherings. They're also super quick, which is perfect if you are short on time. I am perpetually short on time. If you are like me, these dishes are right up your alley.

{But you may not be like me, which is cool too. I think you would still enjoy them.}

A total rarity: ready with precious time to spare for family photos before church this past Sunday.
This is especially a sweet season for us to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
The Lord has magnified my joy since this boy came along!

We do not do jello salad. (Not a fan.) Instead, we dig in to a super sweet version of a fruit salad. It's a great red color due to the strawberry juice that will perfectly match your holiday table or buffet and looks beautiful in a cut crystal bowl. Also, we love spicy food, but even though my family would totally have Mexican food for Christmas lunch and dinner, we are traditionalists, so Grannie makes turkey and dressing for holiday lunches. The corn dish below is a great spicy addition alongside her usual spread.

Fruit Salad

1 (21 oz.) can of peach pie filling
1 (20 oz.) can of pineapple chunks, juice drained
1 (15 oz.) can of mandarin oranges, juice drained
1 (24 oz.) carton of frozen strawberries in juice, or 2 (16 oz.) small cartons (I looooove strawberries.)
2 bananas, sliced (optional)

Allow the strawberries to defrost. Pour the peach pie filling into a large mixing bowl and add the other cans of fruit. Add the strawberries with their juice and stir gently to mix it all together. If you add bananas, I recommend slicing them and adding right before you serve the dish.

This is sweet enough to be a dessert on it's own and goes well served with angel food cake or pound cake. I also make it for ladies' lunches.


Out of this World Corn Casserole

3 (11 oz.) cans of shoepeg corn
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1 fresh jalapeno, diced
jalapeno juice, to taste (optional, from a jar of jalapenos)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Over low heat, melt together cream cheese, butter, and milk. Drain corn and stir into cream cheese mixture. Add jalapeno and mix well. Pour into a casserole dish and top with the grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

I included this one in our church cookbook. If it's church cookbook worthy, you know I'm not playing around here.

There are 1000 recipes in this book. I've made 3 of them so far.

I'm linking up with the Duchess of Fork today, where everyone is posting about food at the holidays. Join the fun over there! And if you make either of these recipes, please let me know what you think!