Back to some more Christmas recipes.....

So as I mentioned earlier, we hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Besides French meat pies, and the Mac 'n Cheese, I served a nice spinach salad with homemade dressing that I found on MyRecipes.com and also a savory Herbed Monkey Bread courtesy of Paula Deen's website. Both were great, something different than the usual old bread & salad! And on top of that, they were both pretty easy recipes, which was something I needed with 2 straight days of cooking!!!

Herbed Monkey Bread

(from PaulaDeen.com)

1 stick butter melted, plus 1/4 cup melted butter, plus more for pan

1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

2 packages biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine cheese and Italian seasoning.

Roll each individual biscuit into a ball. Dip each piece in the 1 stick of melted butter, then coat with the cheese mixture. Place dough into prepared pan; overlapping will occur. Bake bread, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning, if needed.

Let cool in pan, 10 minutes; invert bread onto a serving plate. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup melted butter on top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Spinach & Mixed Greens Salad

(from MyRecipes.com)

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

Greens:

6 cups torn spinach

4 cups gourmet salad greens

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon

To prepare dressing, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Stir in onions.

To prepare greens, combine spinach, salad greens, and tarragon in a large bowl; add the dressing, and toss well. Serve salad immediately.