Now that it's done and over with, we had a fairly traditional Christmas dinner (5 of us, extended family), consisting of Ham, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole (more on that in a minute!), fruit and jello cool whip salad, pickled beets, cranberry orange relish, dinner rolls, and pies. I made the green bean casserole a bit different than usual, and it turned out amazing! I used two cans of cut green beans, a can of mushroom soup, a can of cream of celery soup (both low fat, low sodium offerings from Aldi),a small can of sliced mushrooms, a sprinkle of both Garlic and herb and Onion and herb versions of Mrs. Dash, and for the topping, since I hate the dried onions (and didn't have any anyway!) I toasted two slices of white bread, crumbled them in the food processor, and then added a good sprinkle of Italian seasoning and some melted butter. I then sprinkled the mixture over the casserole and baked it until it was hot and the topping had browned a bit. YUM! A huge hit and even good the second day! Tonight was leftovers of everything, along with a pot of chili warmed up from Christmas eve, and leftover cornbread. After the 5 of us had finished, it all went in the oven on 150 until my Brother and Sister in law got in from Rhode Island (about 11 pm), and they ate as well. I sliced the leftover ham and put brown sugar and some Pumpkin Pie spice over it, and about 1/2 cup of apple cider for liquid, in a pyrex casserole dish with lid. The sugar and cider made a sort of glaze and it was wonderful. Much better than yesterday in my opinion.
