Nothing says festive holiday gathering like a pot luck! Each year, the ladies I “do life with” from my wonderful faith home, Hosanna, gather together for some holiday cheer. We savored some annual favorites and sampled a few new taste treats. We also all agreed….
there is a greater need than ever for a focus on what provides true Joy. This is the greatest defense for pusing back the darkness in the world. Check out Hosanna’s sermon on Joy if you’d like to go deeper on this life changing message. Don’t get confused by the amazing dance number that proceeds the sermon. You see, we take our joy seriously at Hosanna!
Now let’s move on to the grazing!
An annual favorite that we all request, is Linda’s Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts. They’re a sweet/savory sticky finger food that’s so worth the mess! Linda’s promised to get this to me shortly, so stay tuned for a future post for this recipe.
Any self respecting soiree also requires dip. Both Patty’s Dill Pickle Dip and my Aunt Janice’s Onion Dip, fit the bill quite nicely! They are both very easy to whip up as well. This onion dip is an annual favorite but beware – it’s highly addictive. It just may become your new weakness, as it is has almost everyone who’s tasted it.
We move on to the soup and salad, which served as the main course for the meal. Thankfully, I have a salad addiction, which helps to balance out my chip & dip addition. This Orange, Bacon and Pecan Salad also features feta, and avocado with a tart citrus vinaigrette (but seriously, how long can you make the name of a recipe?) Sherri whipped up a hearty batch of Wild Rice Soup topped with toasted almonds, which paired very nicely with the salad.
Last, but certainly not least, were delicious little cheesecakes contributed by Tammy. These cheesecakes actually spawned a business for her daughter Megan, called Simply Sweet Cheesecake. While I am not able to share the cheesecake recipe, do check out Megan’s site to learn more about her offerings.
This group of gifted gals also put their DYI talents to work, creating some great Christmas gifts. We were treated to Sherri’s hand-crafted coconut oil moisturizer and Tammy’s homemade jelly and apple butter. I also baked up some cookies to create the little gift bags pictured at the top of this post. If you’re looking for a few new selections for your holiday cookie tray, check out these recipes for Sable Butter Cookies, Pecan Orange Cookies and Tart & Sassy Cranberry Lemon Drops.
With the first holiday party under the belt, and a full calendar of more parties to follow, I am more dedicated than ever to stick with the new mall walking regime with my daughter. We had a great walk this week which totaled over 12,000 steps. Tis the season!
[…] Our menu for the pot luck was a great array of appetizers, soup, salad, cookies and rhubarb cheesecake. Everything was delicious. While the Squash Salad is the only recipe I am blogging from this year’s party, you can also check out this array of recipes from last year’s party. […]