Christmas Eve Finger Food Dinner

Christmas Eve dinner out our house always needs to be special and tasty but simple. There's always the hustle and bustle of guests, gift wrapping, final preparations, etc. so we're too busy for a grand affair, but everyone has come to love our special finger food night with lots of goodies to boot.

The center piece of the meal is a crockpot full of MeMe's chili. The cracker plate is adorned crispy saltines and always Ritz holiday crackers. A side of cheeses includes simple squares with holiday colored toothpicks, shredded cheddar and mozzarella and Kraft spray cheese for the kids at heart.

The finger food counter is adorned with Holiday garlic cream cheese rolls, a batch of bbq smokies with toothpicks for easy snatching, orange marmalade cream cheese with club crackers and chips with dip (usually French onion and ranch).

The goodie table is adorned quite nicely with at least one of everyone's favorites at hand. Everyone comes sweet and leaves even sweeer with all these tasty treats to choose from: butterscotch cookies, haystacks, gingerbread men and women complete with cinnamon dots and Dede kisses (this is what my grand kids call my family recipe for peanut butter candy).

Below you will find recipes and/or descriptions of the necessaries to have on hand to make all of this come to your family gathering on Christmas Eve. So happy shopping, yummy eating and Happy Holidays to all of you and yours.

Shopping List: 2 lbs. ground chuck, 2 packs of chili seasoning mix (McCormick's mild-our choice), plenty of onions, 2 cans petite diced tomatoes, 2 cans chili-ready tomatoes, 4 cans chili beans, powdered garlic; saltine crackers, Ritz holiday crackers, Keebler club crackers, block sharp cheddar, shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, 2 cans of spray cheese, toothpicks, packaged ham (thin, but not too thin), Philadelphia cream cheese 8 oz. (2 or 3 blocks), 1 jar green olives, 1 jar sweet gherkins, chips of choice, French onion and ranch dips, 2 - 18 oz. bottles bbq sauce of choice, 2 packages little smokies, worchestshire sauce, flour, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butterscotch morsels, cinnamon, margarine or butter, eggs, vanilla, old-fashioned oatmeal, shortening, molasses, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, paprika,1 large can Eagle brand milk, 1 bag coconut, 1 box pitted dates, almond flavoring and cinnamon red hots.

Now here's the recipes:

Meme's Chili: Brown the ground chuck and then just add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and cook throughout the day on Christmas Eve. It will be just right for dinner. Add: 2 packs chili seasoning, 3 to 4 diced onions, 2 cans petite diced tomatoes, 2 cans chili-ready tomatoes, 4 cans chili beans and garlic to suit your taste.

Cheese & Crackers: Place the shredded cheese in small bowls and cut cheese squares with toothpicks in them covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator so they are easily removed and ready to put on the table. Place the crackers of all varieties around a plate an hour or so before time to eat. Set the can cheese out beside the crackers.

Holiday garlic cream cheese rolls: Begin preparation by setting out your cream cheese at room temperature for about an hour. When slightly softened, mix cream cheese with garlic powder and worchestshire (if desired). Adjust the garlic cream cheese mixture to your taste by increasing or decreasing the amount of garlic powder or worchestshire sauce. Place ham slice on cutting board and spoon in approximately a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture. Adjust the amount of cream cheese mixture to fit your liking.

Gently roll the ham cocoon style up and around the cream cheese mixture. You have now just created your first garlic cream cheese roll. Continue rolling until cream cheese mixture is gone. Place the rolls pinwheel style around the perimeter of a round platter.

Skewer an olive sideways and attach to center of each garlic cream cheese roll. This adds some red and green to this holiday dish. Once all rolls have the olive décor, sprinkle lightly with paprika to add a little more flavor and holiday flare.

Place remaining olives and pickles in a pile in the center and refrigerate until ready to serve.

BBQ Smokies: Place both packs of smokies and 2 bottles of bbq sauce in the crockpot for several hours on low. They will be perfect by dinner time. Then, just set the pot out with toothpicks nearby for guests to skewer their own.

Orange marmalade cream cheese and crackers: On a pretty plate, place cream cheese block in the center, spoon the orange marmalade around the cream cheese and place the club crackers around this. Place a butter knife on the tray for easy accessibility.

Just set out the chips and dips in the bags and bowls for easy clean up.

Now for the Goodies!!!

Haystacks: Mix together 1 large can Eagle brand condensed milk, 4 cups coconut, 1 cup chopped dates, 2 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. almond flavoring. Drop by tablespoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.

Gingerbread cookies: Add the following into a large mixer bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed then refrigerate for 1 hour. 2 ¼ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup shortening, 1 egg, 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. ground cloves and ½ tsp. ground nutmeg.

After 1 hour, place chilled dough on lightly floured surface and roll with floured rolling pin and cut out your gingerbread men and women. You can reshape and reroll the extra trimmings. Pick up your cutouts with a thin spatula and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Decorate eyes, nose, mouth and buttons with red hots. Bake 8 minutes or until browned. Remove to rack or counter top to cool.

Butterscotch cookies: Mix all ingredients together and drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Then, cook at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool, then eat. Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 cup melted butter or margarine, 1 tsp. vanilla, 3 cups old-fashioned oats, 1- 11 oz. package butterscotch flavored morsels.

Dede kisses are a special recipe handed down to me by my mother. Sorry, I can't divulge the recipe. You have to keep some secrets ya know J

So there you have it. A complete Christmas Eve dinner many parts of which can be made in days prior so that you don't have to do it all at one time.