How was your Christmas? Did you get everything you wanted?

I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you that my kiddo’s reaction to every single gift was the same. She squealed and giggled and yelled, “It’s just what I wanted!!!” It was a good Christmas.

We actually have two more Christmas events next weekend, and boy, that really confused her. “Another Christmas? With our other family?” Of course, that paled in comparison to the Who’s On First runaround we had when I mentioned our friend Sara who does not have children, and that sweet girl thought I was talking about my cousin Sarah who has four children. “But what about her kids? Where did they go? Why doesn’t she have kids anymore? Where ARE they?”

I eventually realized that we were talking about two different people and tried to set her straight. Meanwhile, Mark’s head just about exploded.

In addition to the family and the presents, our Christmas was full of food, including a few new (to me) recipes. Just like Thanksgiving, some were bigger hits than others.

In what’s hopefully becoming an annual tradition, I made my version of Pioneer Woman’s lasagna for my in-laws on Christmas Eve. Both my husband and brother-in-law deemed it delicious, with the perfect cheese to sauce ratio. I also made a pumpkin pie from scratch (kind of – if you count opening two cans and a frozen crust as “from scratch”) and it turned out okay. It could have baked a little longer, but that didn’t really slow us down.

Speaking of Christmas traditions, I attempted to create a new one by making monkey bread for our breakfast on Christmas morning. And it didn’t exactly work out as I’d hoped. I used jumbo biscuits, and I’m assuming – based on the not-so-perfect results with a dried out top and doughy bottom – that I was supposed to use the small ones. Also, the recipe calls for three cans of biscuits and, jumbo or not, no family of three needs that much monkey bread!

For Christmas dinner, my mom asked me to bring appetizers. I made my usual tortilla rolls, a dip that I’ll post about later, and the tastiest Chex Mix I’ve ever had. I read about this snack on Alli-n-Son’s blog, and it is tasty. I’ll share my version, so you can make a batch for New Year’s Eve!

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

1/4  cup brown sugar
1  tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4  cup butter
2  teaspoons vanilla
2  cups Cinnamon Chex
2  cups Honey Nut Chex
2 cups Golden Grahams
8  oz honey-roasted peanuts

Add the spice to the sugar. Melt the butter and stir in vanilla. Combine them into one bowl. Pour six cups of cereal into a really big bowl and mix up. Pour butter mixture over cereal, then add nuts and stir. Nuke it in the microwave for 5-6 minutes, stirring every two minutes or so. Spread onto cookie sheets and let cool.

The original recipe calls for pecans, but I don’t like pecans. It also didn’t include Golden Grahams, but I like Golden Grahams. No offense to the original recipe, but I like my version better!

How was your Christmas . . . food? Did you cook and/or eat anything new?

This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Foodie Friday, Grocery Cart Challenge, Friday Firsts and Food on Fridays. It will also be linked to Ingredient Spotlight at Eat at Home.

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