Family Christmas Cookoff 2015

Every year my family does a Christmas Cookoff. We cook various foods and then get together to eat them and vote on which one we like best. We also exchange gifts at that time. The menu is completely random. It is sort of like having a pot luck.

This year's foods:
Mozzarella stuffed meatballs
Bacon cheeseburger deviled eggs
Squash with cherries and feta cheese
Squash and apples with cinnamon and cranberries
Green bean casserole
Lemon pepper marinated chicken
Sugar-free jello salad with cherries and walnuts
Pea and cashew salad
Chocolate chip cookies (made with the help of my almost 3 year old nephew)

I ate half of a meatball, one deviled egg, 3 bites of the squash with cherries, 1 bite of the squash and apples, 1 ounce of the lemon pepper chicken, and a small bite of the pea and cashew salad.
This was the most I have eaten since I started on solid foods. I was not stuffed. I was satisfied and I had lots of protein.
Since the meatballs and the deviled eggs were made by myself and my boyfriend, respectively, we got to take the leftovers home.
I also took some of the jello salad as I didn't get to try any, and some of the squash with cherries. I love squash.

We then exchanged gifts. It was so much fun seeing my nephews open their gifts. They were both very tired and were up past their bedtime.
My mom got me a bracelet (she has a matching one) that says "she knew she could and so she did" along with the saying printed and framed. I absolutely love it! She is having surgery this month (the same surgery I had).
We never really had a close relationship when I was growing up. Now we do. She owns her own consignment store and gives piano lessons. She is amazing and I am so proud to be her daughter. This is a journey that we will share and compare.

We forgot to do the voting for the food, but I plan to put together something so that we can all place our votes. We have an apron that the winner signs and dates with the year and then gets to keep all year long.