Well, little silver cameras disappear!
But that's okay, I paint pictures with words for a living, so here we go:
Our Herne Family Christmas party....
SO MUCH FUN!!!! And I don't have pics until someone sends me some, but we had a ball.
I love family gatherings, I love seeing brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, grandbabies, and for some siblings, great-grand-babies! How fun is that????
Everyone brings a dish to pass, which equates way too much food, and yet, we managed to go through a lot of food, and a lot of fun!
My sister-in-love Linda and brother Sean brought a ginormous kettle of meatballs and sauce, Sean is famous for his meatballs and this is a family tradition.... and a pot of pasta, with more meatballs and sausage and deliciousness!
Peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake???? I can't even!!!!
Rye boat, an antipasto style meat and cheese tray, and my nephew Joe brought down the kid side of the house with an amazing tray of chicken tenders, boneless Buffalo chicken wings and popcorn chicken: Can you say happy kids???? And he brought his toddler son, Sean Joseph who is the third Sean in our family! #lovefamilynames
Famous Blodgett family punch, from Betty Crocker: (three batches made and enjoyed!)
1 12 oz. can frozen orange juice thawed
6 oz. (half a 12oz. can) frozen lemonade, thawed
1 quart apple juice
1 2 liter bottle of ginger ale, chilled
1 quart of rainbow sherbet
Stir apple juice, thawed orange juice concentrate and lemonade concentrate in big punch bowl. Once blended, pour in ginger ale. Scoop sherbet onto the punch and watch it fizz!!! This was originally "Floating Island Punch" in the Betty Crocker Recipe Card library from decades ago. We upped the amount of o.j. from the original recipe, but other than that it has stayed the same and been a crowd pleaser at every kind of party!
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| This picture was from our "Fight Like a Girl" party for my buddy Lisa as she fought breast cancer. Her daughter Taylor wanted to plan a party in her mom's honor... and we were honored to help! |
But you can't get any more simple or more beloved than this new arrival at the family parties:
Skyline Chili Dip!
1 can Skyline Original Recipe Chili (I order it from Amazon, link is embedded!)
8 oz Cream cheese, softened
About a cup of shredded sharp cheese, more or less, more is never bad, right?
Spread cream cheese in small baking dish (a pie pan works great)
Pour chili over cream cheese
Sprinkle generously with sharp cheddar cheese.
Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.
Serve with Frito Scoops or Tostito scoops, and you will have a very happy party crew!
No after pic even though I've made this 3 times in the past month. It is a ridiculously marvelous new fave!
And then there's this, our tradition of laying our good deeds at the feet of our Savior:
Every time a child does something kind or thoughtful or giving, they get to lay a piece of yarn in the waiting manger. When baby Jesus arrives, his bed is warmed by good deeds. :)
And Mary and Joseph are trekking around the room, on their journey to Bethlehem. ETA: Christmas Eve!
God bless us, everyone!
Multi-published author Ruthy Logan Herne loves God, Christmas, Eggnog, Chocolate, Coffee... Oh, wait, that should read God, family, country... and then the food, LOL! But there are days when chocolate and coffee rank pretty high!
Come to facebook and friend Ruthy because she loves to chat over there and stop by Ruthy's Website to see what's goin' on and what's coming up!
Yum-o!! I don't think we have Skyline Chili here in GA. But i may try a substitute.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!!
Edwina, I have one word for you: Amazon. I'm going right now to put in the link because Tina makes fun of me for never adding LINKS!!!!! We don't have it here, either, and it's not like any other chili. It's more like the "hot sauce" we serve here to garnish burgers and dogs. It is OH, SO GOOD!!!!
DeleteI'm fangirling over the punch. Haven't had that in years. Used to be all the rage for showers, if my creaky old memory serves me right, but I lost the recipe and voila here it is. Thanks, Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteI never make dip but I should. I don't eat chips at all so I don't think of it until I'm having a party or invited to a potluck and if I bring the chip and dip it's always premade dip.
Love the lining the manager tradition. Great way to focus children on the real meaning of Christmas.
Kav, I know this is a meat dip, and that's not your thing, but we can agree to love the PUNCH!!!!! SO FAVORITE!!!!!! I CAN'T EVEN!!!!! :)
DeleteChristmas at Ruthy's house! My virtual attendance through the Yankee Belle Cafe is becoming a new tradition :) Thanks for inviting us!
ReplyDeleteThe Skyline chili dip looks fabulous. I haven't seen Skyline chili in our stores, but I'll look for it. I wonder if Amazon carries it? Hmmm....
And I love the way your family grows. A third generation of Sean! I love it when family names are used again and again...except when I'm trying to work on genealogy. One of my ancestors is Christian Yoder. He had a son and grandson named Christian Yoder, and a cousin, and an uncle. Let's just say it's a genealogical nightmare!
I went back and added the link, no one carries Skyline Chili here, it's a Cincinnati thing... With Big and Rich, of course!
DeleteJan, that's like "Nick" in Greek families.
And "Joe" in Italian families.
And "Chris" in our family, too. We have Christopher, Christine, Chrissie, Chris and Chrisi and Christian.
WHAT????????? And all are the same generation except for Christian.
FACE-PALM!
Jan, that sounds like my husband's family. So, his father is named Francisco. A son is named Francisco. An uncle on the mom's side is named Francisco. Two aunts are named FraniscA (on on each side). THEN two grandkids out of the many are named FranciscO and two are named FranciscA. Seriously...
DeleteLike Ruthy's family, they use a lot of nicknames. I didn't even know a lot of them had the same name for years because I thought their nickname was their given name.
Love the tradition of warming Jesus crib with the yarn of good deeds. What a clever idea. Love it.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays and partying and praying. Oh yes, should be in different order like your chocolate. smile
The kids love this tradition and they'd like baby Jesus out all year, warming him. I wonder if it would get old?
DeleteI can guarantee he'd get broken!
I first heard of it when my oldest ones were in Sunday school and they did it.
And I stole it!!!
I'm trying this dip for sure (with a substitute chili)!I love warm/hot dips.
ReplyDeleteLove the punch recipe from Betty Crocker. That was my first cookbook in 1974. Still use it, the mac and cheese is still my go to recipe, made it for my Christmas party Sat. and there was hardly any left of a double recipe.
I hope the camera turns up.
Btw: read and reviewed The Unexpected Groom, loved, loved loved it! Now off to run errands and look for Tina's book.
I found the camera, tucked on a shelf behind Christmas dishes!!! And I think I set it there myself.
Deletesigh.... :)
Don't use a substitute chili. It's not that I'm a chili fancier, it's that Skyline chili isn't like any other chili. It's not like chili at all and it won't taste anything like this.
Now I'm wondering if our hot sauces at burger joints are all just open cans of Skyline chili!
#smart
Okay Ruthy, I'll take your word for it on the chili and add the Skyline to my next Amazon order.
DeleteYes!!!!! :) And it's pricey, but I figured once I fell in love with it, that it's one of those a few times/ year things. Holidays. Superbowl. Holidays. Superbowl. Well, maybe picnics. :)
DeleteWoo-hoo! I love family gatherings. And I have no doubt yours is one killer bash, Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteCream cheese, chili, cheese and Fritos? What's not to like. Sounds like deliciousness in a pan to me.
Merry Christmas, Ruthy!
Mindy, this is so good, and I've got such a goofy stomach that half the time I can't eat anything with heat, or Mexican or .... well, you get it! I've got a plain Yankee belly! So annoying. But this is amazing and doesn't bother me a bit... So that's wonderful, right??? Merry Christmas, Tex!!!
DeleteWhat a fun event! I want to experience Advent and Christmas at Ruthy's! I'll be there next year. :)
ReplyDeleteMissy, you should be here! You'd love it! We'd make cookies and talk about God and romance and we'd do good deeds and lay yarn on the manger and we'd be nice to people and we could sing together and watch Mary and Joseph make their way to the creche....
DeleteAnd drink coffee, tea and Snapple and I would cook for you.
Did I mention cookies??????? :)
I love that table setting! So festive!
ReplyDelete4 cans of chili for $25.29? It's that good?
ReplyDelete