It’s the countdown before the official countdown! The holidays are here and your family and friends are coming to town. Everyone wants to see your new home and you want to show-off your kitchen and cooking skills.

Impress your friends and family with some delicious food that is quick and easy to make!

We put together a few recipes that will make your kitchen smell amazing and with our spacious open concept floorplans, your house and guests will feel merry and festive.

Sausage Pinwheels

Need to prepare some crowd-pleasing appetizers? Sausage pinwheels are perfect for sitting around the living room, talking, and having a few snacks. File this one away for need-to-make Christmas recipes.

You’ll want to get a tube of crescent rolls and unroll the dough onto a floured surface. Make the dough into 1 continuous piece by pressing the perforations.

Now spread half a pound of uncooked pork sausage across, and then sprinkle the top with some chives. Roll up the dough and cut it into 12 pinwheels.

Bake the pinwheels at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.

Recipe inspired by Taste of Home

Cider-Glazed Ham

For easy dinner recipes, there’s nothing better than cider-glazed ham. It’ll feed lots of guests and will be low effort to make, so there’s not much cooking to do in the kitchen.

In addition to a ham, you’ll also need:

• Apple cider vinegar

• Brown sugar

• Apple juice

• Some fresh thyme

• Apple cider

• Mustard

Combine the first 4 ingredients together in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar’s dissolved. Then, boil it until you’ve reduced it by half.

Strain this mixture and stir in some mustard. Let it cool off.

Now place your hand in a roasting pan and brush the glaze all over. Bake it for 40 minutes at 425 degrees. Take the ham out, turn it over, and brush it again with the glaze.

Bake the ham for another 15 minutes and serve after you let it stand for 10 minutes.

Recipe inspired by Taste

Family Friendly Punch

If you need to serve up Christmas drinks or New Year’s drinks, then this family friendly punch recipe works for both!

You’ll need:

• Cranberry juice

• Orange juice

• Pineapple juice

• Sparkling apple juice or cider

• Ginger ale

To decrease sugar intake, substitute the sparkling apple juice or cider with sparkling water or sugar-free lemonade. Just mix all these ingredients together in a large bowl gently and the punch is ready!

You can add some orange slices, pomegranates seeds, cherries, and/or cranberries in glasses so people can just ladle in the punch and have some delicious garnishes ready to go. This goes amazingly well with cupcakes and other dessert dishes!

Recipe inspired by Nat’s article “Non-Alcoholic Christmas Punch For The Holidays” from “The Mindful Mocktail” website.

Serve up These Christmas and New Year’s Recipes

Now you have a great collection of quick and easy Christmas and New Year’s recipes. If you’ve got guests coming over soon, then have peace of mind knowing you can whip up these recipes in no time and impress your guests too! You’ll be able to be a fantastic host with minimal effort.

If buying a new home is part of your New Year’s resolution, then get in touch with us now! We have amazing floorplans and wonderful communities throughout El Paso and Socorro, Tx.