Confessions of a Sugar-Free Foodie

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

December 29, 2010 at 9:27 pm Leave a comment

This foodie has been extremely busy this holiday season. It started with Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law joined us and we had an easy going Thanksgiving dinner. We had a Spiral Ham, my famous “Fried Corn,” Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, and a family favorite Macaroni & Cheese (Regular and Spicy). My mom sent a homemade Monkey Bread in the mail and we picked up a Red Velvet Cheesecake from Sam’s Club. Of course the sugar-free foodie could only have one bite. But it was a delicious bite!

The “Fried Corn” recipe is a hijack from my brother-in-law Jamison. The “fried” really is just sautéed corn in bacon grease.  The recipe is pretty simple. Keep in mind it is NOT fat-free! But it is always a hit. 

The very next weekend we hosted a Holiday Brunch for my managers. I asked each guest to bring their favorite breakfast sweet since I don’t do the sugar thing. My son was thrilled that several guests brought Cinnabon. We can’t make a trip to the mall without him getting one. I think he ate three that afternoon.

I supplemented the breakfast sweets with Breakfast Bites, Honey Butter Biscuits with Ham, Shrimp Cocktail with my special Cocktail Sauce, Potatoes with Cheese, Onion, and Bacon (see comments regarding the potatoes below).

The Sausage Breakfast Bites are an idea I got from a fellow bypass patient’s website I discovered early in my weight loss journey. The World According to Egg Face site has tons of yummy foods that are high in protein. The bites I made used Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage, and Onion.  Check out her site for lots of variations of these tasty breakfast treats. They are great to have on the go when the morning is short on time.

The Cocktail Sauce I make is also a hijack from a high-end restaurant in Northern Kentucky. The Cocktail Sauce has Bay Shrimps in it, so when all of the “big” shrimps are gone, everyone chows down on the remaining sauce.  The sauce is heavy with fresh Horseradish, Cilantro, Onion, and fresh Lemon Juice.  Sure to make your next Shrimp Cocktail a hit!

My only casualty of the brunch was the fact that I forgot to put out the Potatoes.  Hubby helped me in the kitchen the night before.  He was in charge of the Potatoes and put them in the garage refridgerator. As I set the buffet and put out all the dishes I prepared, I completely forgot the Potatoes in the garage.  But trust they did not go to waste. Hubby, the kids, and I destroyed them that night with steaks on the grill!

To quench my guests’ thirst I served fresh coffee using my Keurig single serve coffee maker and Mimosa’s with a melon ball of Raspberry or Mango Sorbet. We served these refreshing drinks at both this and last year’s holiday brunches and got a tremendous response.

After the holiday brunch my schedule was consumed with work and squeezing in Christmas shopping.  Shopping was for both my family and the 30 children my job adopts during the holidays.  In addition to the Christmas hustle, Hubby’s birthday falls a few days after Thanksgiving and mine is in the month of December.  Layer on decorating the house; we were spent!

By the time Christmas arrived I was already exhausted. Enter the family! Here’s what my humble home contained during the holidays: My mom (and her dog), Hubby’s mom, my Sister (and her dog), her fiance’, their three kids, and their niece.  Add that to our two kids and our dog; we had a house full!  There was LOTS of cooking going on. 

Christmas Eve Dinner almost mirrored Thanksgiving.  The only difference was my mom was in town, so the Monkey Bread was eaten hours after baking. Christmas night we used the leftover sides to frame a beautiful standing Rib Roast. My mom put her foot in the seasoning and stuffed it full of garlic.

Over the last few days one by one my guests have headed home. This morning the last guest left. While I’ll miss them all terribly, it is nice to have a quiet house. My sister helped de-Christmas the house, so it feels like our normal home again. 

You’ve probably noticed there are no pictures of food on this blog entry. That’s because I was so frustrated with my camera’s subpar quality. I asked for a camera for Christmas and got a Nikon S4000. It’s an amazing camera and takes pictures like nobody’s business. I can’t wait to get those professional looking photos of my yummy goodness creations. So stay tuned. 

I hope you all enjoyed your Holiday and have a safe New Year.  I’m looking forward to attending watchnight service at our new church home.

Many Blessings, Natalie

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