WFMW - Christmas Edition

Today Shannon is hosting the First Annual Christmas Edition of Works-For-Me Wednesday. Guaranteed to provide you with hundreds of fantastic holiday ideas that will make your Christmas even more wonderful. I'm only too happy to oblige with a few ideas.

I'll start with a couple of recipes.

1. First, here's a great dip to take along when the hostess of that party you're attending has asked you to bring something for everyone to munch on while she gets dinner on the table. Or make it for your family or guests to eat while you finish making dinner or while you're watching the big game. It's super easy to make, doesn't require any cooking, doesn't have to be kept warm, it makes a lot, and it's pretty healthy.

Black Bean Salsa
2 (10 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes w/ green chilies, drained
2 (11 oz) cans yellow sweet corn, drained
2 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, drained
1 red onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Tortilla chips or pita chips, to serve

Mix all ingredients, if possible refrigerate for an hour to let flavors develop and blend. Serve with chips.
Serves 10-12

**modified from Food that Says Welcome by Barbara Smith (Michael W. Smith's Mom)

2. Each year during the week leading up to Christmas my girls and I spend a day making pecan pies. We keep two for ourselves to eat after Christmas dinner which is a tradition that I brought to our family from my childhood. But mostly we make the pies to give away as very special Christmas gifts. (My mom used to do this.) They're great hostess gifts, teacher gifts, neighbor gifts, boss/co-worker gifts. We bake them, let them cool and then use a coloful wrapper to cover them. All that's left is affixing a card and giving them away. It is the best Pecan Pie evah!

Georgia-Style Spiced Pecan Pie

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon flour
9-inch, unbaked 1-crust pie shell


Combine the first 4 ingredients. Mix next 4 ingredients and add. Blend pecans with flour and stir into the mixture. Turn into a 9-inch pie plate lined with unbaked pastry. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400F) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate (350F) and bake 40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. If needed, cover the edges of the crust with foil to keep it from browning too quickly.

Yield: One 9-inch pie.

from The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day & Lillie Stuckey

And finally an ornament idea. My parents started this when I was a kid and I brought it to our family the first year of our marriage. We have personalized ornaments. All you need is a box of plain ball ornaments in whatever colors you like, a bottle of white school glue and glitter. Just write the name on the ornament wih the glue and then shake on the glitter. Tap off the excess and allow to dry. Viola! Your very own personalized ornament! As our kids have gotten older, they have really enjoyed helping make ornaments for the newest sibling's first Christmas. When relatives or friends have visited at Chrismas, we've pulled this out and had them make ornaments. Then the next year when those ornaments were hung on the tree, we reminisced with joy about that visit. We have ornaments for kids we sponsor through Compassion International. They're members of our family too! We even have ornaments for our pets! (I know what you're thinking, but hush!) I know it's exciting for our kids when these ornaments come out and they get hang them on the tree. I can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices. I know too, because I remember what a thrill it was for me as a kid. Come to think of it. It's still a thrill.

Don't forget to visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Christmas WFMW ideas.