Christmas Dinner Side Dish Ideas....

homemade mac and cheese
Brussel Sprouts with carmelized onions and little bits of crispy pancetta
Lasagne (everyone needn't take a ton)
or pasta
Arugula Salad with thinly sliced tart green apples..
Sauteed Green Beans with toasted pine nuts
Roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes

This is a whole list of great dishes (most side dishes but also some appetizers & desserts) that a group of women collaborated to make. It's focused on Thxgiving but all of the dishes are great for Christmas too.

http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/SkinnyScoop_Staff/the-tha...

We have a spiral ham every Christmas too...

... *my* favorite side dish is fresh steamed green beans tossed w/a couple pieces of diced cooked BACON...grease and all...and don't forget to salt them!

OH-MY-GOODNESS-IS-THIS-YUMMY!

yummy sweet potato casserole!!
hash brown potato casserole
broccoli cheese
scalloped corn

Scalloped Potatoes
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Steamed Broccoli with lemon butter Garlic sauce
Steamed carrots with dill
Roasted Red Potatoes with salt pepper and rosemary
Steamed mixed squash
Peas with pearl onions
crispy salad with cranberries, toasted walnuts, feta cheese and balsamic dressing

There is something that my inlaws call holiday potatoes. It is a casserole with shredded potato, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, sour cream and onions. I can find the recipe if you want. When i have my side here, i do the traditional mashed potatoes. Homemade mac and cheese goes very well with a ham :) A fun green side is broccoli, sauteed in a pan with olive oil, almond slivers, garlic and salt/pepper.

So many holiday side dishes are comfort food/heavy, as they should be. :) I like to add this one to lighten things up a little bit. The fresh rosemary in this dish keeps it festive for the holidays.

Edamame & White Bean Salad (double this recipe for more than 4 people)

1 pkg shelled edamame
1 can white kidney beans (cannellini beans), drained and rinsed
1 TBL fresh rosemary chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (I use 2; if you don't like garlic so much, use 1)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Black pepper
2 TBL olive oil

Heat the olive oil over medium; saute the garlic just until fragrant and turn off heat. Add rosemary to saute pan & let warm with the garlic & oil. Set aside. Put the edamame into a serving bowl; add the cannellini beans. Season with fresh cracked black pepper. Add the rosemary/garlic mixture, and be sure to spoon all of the oil from the saute pan in as well. Stir in as much feta cheese as you like. Serve at room temp. Even better on day 2. :)