We like scalloped potatoes, applesauce and roasted asparagus. I've also made corn pudding or a rice casserole instead of the potatoes - here's a couple of recipes for you. Becky Lompoc, CA * Exported from MasterCook * Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe By :Taste of Home Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 small onion -- chopped 1/2 cup celery -- chopped 10 ounces frozen broccoli -- chopped 1 tablespoon butter 8 ounces processed American cheese 10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup, condensed 5 ounces evaporated milk 3 cups cooked rice In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion, celery and broccoli in butter for 3-5 minutes. Stir in cheese, soup and milk until smooth. Place rice in a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over; do not stir. Bake, uncovered, at 325F for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Can use steamed fresh broccoli and regular milk instead. * Exported from MasterCook * Corn Pudding Recipe By :Marilyn Chatham Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :1:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix 1 can yellow corn -- drained 1 can creamed corn 2 eggs -- beaten 1 small onion -- chopped Combine all ingredients. Bake in greased 9 x 9 pan at 350F for 45-50 minutes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A nice side dish with ham.

Your soup night sounds fab! We did a nod to it being Christmas Eve with a beaded tree for a centerpiece. Ann T., avoid your eyes, and skip the rest. :) Soup was minestrone flavored stone soup. I think the caterer left as much food as was served at our big party, so there were a lot of celery and carrots, grape tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli left. Those were all diced for the soup, plus a couple of onions, half a head of garlic, some yellow vine tomatoes, a bag of baby kale and a white cabbage. So I didn't have to go down to the garage, the base was what I had in the kitchen freezer. That's three cups of low FODMAP chicken stock and three cups of beefy cabbage soup. I added a can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of fire roasted, and a smaller can of tomato sauce, plus vegetarian no-MSG bouillion and a little jarred soup base, for the salt. :) Some pepper, Tabasco (because I was too tired to clean serrano peppers from the garden) and mostly red wine. The starter was salmon salad made from the cranberry mustard salmon skewers leftover, broken up and dressed with what I think was the remoulade from the fried chicken drummettes. It had separated, and was a thick mayonnaise consistency and very herby, with a good acid sharpness that went well with the fish (which hadn't gone fishy). That was served with the leftover tortilla chips and relishes: baby corn, spiced baby carrots, pickle chips, raddishes and mixed olives. I also made some kale chips for something light. :) The soup was served alongside a leftovers casserole: a layer of latkes on the bottom (I thought they'd make it easier to serve but they fell apart), then layers of jewel rice, butternut curry, chopped broccoli, then filled with a bread pudding made from dry, bready donut holes, a (new) pretzel baguette, the chicken from the drummettes, the Moroccan beef cubes from another skewer, a couple of sundried tomato chicken sausages I had in the fridge to add more meat, and a couple of (new) leeks sautéed with a packet of small diced pancetta. There was cinnamon on the donut holes, the flavor of which came up more in the custard than it had on the donuts, but it went well with the garlic pepper I seasoned it with. Dessert was a tarte made from a sheet of frozen puff pastry that needed using. It was brushed with leftover passion fruit sauce, topped with leftover crème anglaise, and leftover fruit. :) There were also everybody's favorite freshly baked Toll House cookies from the Toll House cookie expert and party colored Dutch chocolate half dollars (leftover). The pudding casserole could have been improved upon (custard in the bottom layer under the curry to glue it together--the curry was a rich paste so I thought it would do the job, but it just softened everything--and cut up the donut holes smaller so they'd stick better), but everyone liked it and ate well of it. I heard a few "stuffed"'s. :) My fridges heaved sighs of relief to see so many containers removed! Most of all, we had a delightful evening with loved ones who couldn't be at the big party.

Timely post as I was just thinking about this not a half hour ago as I followed the Post guy’s truck up the road, one house at a time...for what seemed like miles. I’m not glad to see that we are the only one’s that have been frustrated with the USPS services but I am relieved to know it’s not just me and my expectations for a door delivery are not too high. Most all packages we get are crammed in the box at any expense, but when they’re just too big for the box, I find them on the other side of our porch which means they’re literally tossed over the railing (out of eyesight) and no where near the door. It also seems to be a different person every day, so no, I’m not leaving anything out for any of them. Just my opinion but I think the genious who decided that carriers like UPS and Fed EX should partner up with the USPS really didn’t think that one through. It’s bogged down the USPS and service is no where near what it used to be (and it wasn’t great back then!)

My online shopping was all good: Kohl's, Best Buy, LL Bean, Land's End, Amazon and Ebay. I have my items sent to work as our neighborhood has sadly had things stolen from porches. There were some things I ordered late and they have not arrived yet - but I knew the dates were post-Christmas when I ordered. Only one is a semi-gift (a jacket for my husband who lost a lot of weight and needs one in a smaller size). The upside of those is that I'm shipping them to Son#1's place of work, as I won't be back to my own job for a couple of weeks. So we're going to meet him for dinner once he has both my orders. Katlan's rude checkout clerk reminded me of my rude clerk story from several years ago. I was buying Christmas ornaments to decorate a metal tree I'd gotten from a specialty store. The sum total was probably more than I'd spent for the tree itself. I was buying a couple of other things too. As the clerk was ringing the things up we realized that there was something wrong with one of the boxes I was buying. The clerk ended up being really rude about it. We finished the purchase with the plan that I would go way back to the seasonal section to get another box - even the cashier manager had come over to help because she heard the rude cashier. However, after starting to walk back to switch the boxes, instead I turned around and went over to customer service and told them I wanted to return everything. Everything?! Yes. I said that the clerk had been really rude and and that made me mentally step back and realize that I was overspending. Customer service wanted to know who the clerk had been, but I said that I understood that it's the stressful Christmas shopping season and I didn't want to point her out, but just wanted my money back. (I ended up getting the tree ornaments from Joanne Fabrics and used some JF Bucks I had to pay!) I guess a thank you to the rude clerk for helping me to spend less?