Midwest Epicurean: Christmas in July

Christmas, to me, is just like the popular Christmas song lyrics: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! When I got married I started a tradition where I buy Josh a Christmas in July present and I listen to Christmas music for that one day. I know it’s kind of silly, but we have fun with it. This year, my friend Katie and I decided to have a full on Christmas in July dinner with our husbands and a great time was had by all! It was fun to come up with a summertime Christmas themed menu. I’m only sharing one recipe though, because let’s face it, the rest of it was not very healthy! We splurged a bit because it only comes once a year…well, twice in this case. :)

This week, my grandma and mom came to Wichita to visit and we made pepper jelly…LOTS of it!

I was excited to have some back in stock because I saw this idea on Pinterest and needed an excuse to try it.

Simply, cut your cream cheese (I use Neufchatel because it has less calories, less fat, and more protein) in the shape of a tree and pour the pepper jelly on top. I cut a little bit of green pepper to make the tree trunk. I wanted to make a star as well, but my Christmas cookie cutters are packed away with all the Christmas stuff. We were left with a starless tree, but I still think it turned out great!

Katie, who is much more artistic than me, free handed an amazing star out of cheese and brought a gorgeous cheese platter!

We enjoyed our appetizers while dinner finished cooking and then it was time for the main event. I made fish, shrimp, and cheesy potatoes (made with the cream of chicken substitute). Katie brought a vegetable side dish, bread, and the new Skinnygirl White Peach Margarita. Below are some pictures and the recipe for the baked fish. It’s one of my favorite ways to prepare fish. It is so easy and it looks beautiful out of the oven. Oh, and it tastes amazing as well!

I love me some Skinnygirl! The original is still my favorite, but this is a close second! Katie and I had a good conversation about the serving size of this. Remember, it's 100 calories, but that's only for 1.5 ounces. It's still a MUCH better choice than a regular margarita, but measure/watch your pours. And, no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, there is a small portion of a Christmas tree in the left part of this picture. I went all out this year.

I found my Christmas tree cookie cutter in a kitchen drawer so I was able to make the Apple Pie Christmas themed.

Such a festive red and green dish using summer veggies!

Baked Mahi Mahi (or whatever fish you like)

2 T. parmesan flavored breadcrumbs (or 1 t. Italian seasoning and 1 t. parmesan cheese added to regular breadcrumbs)

2 T. chopped red bell pepper

2 T. chopped yellow bell pepper

2 green onions, chopped

¼ jalapeno pepper, chopped

4 T. butter, melted

2 T. shredded mozzarella

4 (6 oz) fillets Mahi Mahi

Preheat oven to 375. Stir together all ingredients except fish. Place fish in a dish sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Spread topping evenly over fish. Bake 30 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes to make crispy on top.

I got this recipe from one of friends, KoKo, and the original calls for crab meat to be mixed into the topping. I am not sure how much because I am allergic so when I copied this to a recipe card I left it off. It would be a great addition though!