One of my favorite Christmas traditions is having appetizers and desserts on Christmas Eve. Whether it is all family or a mixture of family and friends, we like to get together and share lots and lots of different foods. We’ve tried having traditional ham or turkey dinners on Christmas Eve, but we always go back to the appetizers. I honestly think we all like to have a little something different every now and then.
There is really no end to the variety we have shared with one another through the years. (You can read about one of our Christmas Eve celebrations here. It also includes my Sausage Balls recipe.)
One of my personal favorite appetizers is this one: Saucy Water Chestnuts with Bacon!
I know there are at least a dozen recipes for water chestnuts with bacon floating around out there. I really don’t know how similar they are to this one, because I’ve been using the same one for years and haven’t even offered to try anything different! This particular recipe came from one of the many church cookbooks I got at my household shower…many, many years ago! (I wish you could have a household shower every twenty years or so!! Most of what hasn’t already been replaced, needs to be pretty soon.)
Saucy Water Chestnuts with Bacon
1 pound sliced bacon
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts
1 and 1/4 Cup ketchup
1 and 1/4 Cup sugar
2 and 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
The directions call for cutting the bacon in half. To be quite honest, I either cut mine into fourths or use more than one water chestnut per piece of bacon. It’s about impossible to make them come out completely even…just play around with it!
Wrap the water chestnuts with bacon, secure with toothpicks, place in a baking dish, and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Drain the grease from the pan.
Combine ketchup, sugar, and Worcestershire Sauce in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Combine the sauce with the water chestnuts in the baking dish and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve hot!
These make a great appetizer or snack, but Sunshine Boy and I may or may not have eaten some for dinner tonight!! I actually think they would pair really well with a spinach salad of some sort. They also reheat well, so you might consider doubling the recipe…just in case!
Hope you enjoy them! What are your favorite appetizers?
