lavender's green Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 What are y'all cooking for the holidays? We're getting bored with our usual holiday standbys. I shine when it comes to desserts and appetizers, but the main meals are lacking. I guess it's partly because I intentionally keep it simple (meat, veg, salad, starch, cranberry sauce, gravy). Simplicity is good, don't get me wrong, but I want to see my family devour a holiday meal the way they devour the evening-before cheeseball. Or maybe I should just switch over to a heavy appetizer meal. Anyway, let's have a thread about meal plans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Rib roast, yorkshire pudding, spinach with cheese sauce, roasted brussels sprouts (or possibly asparagus) with bacon, mince pie with vanilla ice cream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 We smoke a turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Dh might smoke a turkey to bring to ddil's parents' house. Dss and ddil usually host but he's working (he's a firefighter/paremedic) and ddil's mother said she wants to host something very low key. Nibble food or food kept warm in a crock pot is the plan. There won't be a sit down dinner; instead everyone will just eat when hungry or graze throughout the day. Normally I would make ravioli and meatballs (my mother's traditional Christmas meal). Due to the above plans I'm thinking of just making meatballs (no ravioli or other pasta) and making them cocktail size though still Italian style with sauce. They can stay warm in my crock pot and will be the right size for our planned appetizer style menu. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) Raviolis, garlic bread, salad, cranberry sauce and frosted sugar cookies for dessert on Christmas Eve. Pretty easy stuff. MIL has an easy dinner for Christmas - brisket and ham, rolls, Bob Evans mashed potatoes, some kind of vegetable... ETA: for Christmas breakfast we've been having bagels with eggs, cheese, and sausage. I used to always make some kind of breakfast casserole but couldn't find something everyone agreed on. The bagels make everyone happy. Edited December 6, 2017 by Kassia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 One our meals is just appetizers. My kids love it. MIL loves it and we can just grab what we like and go with it. I often ask for input as to which ones to make so everyone gets a choice. Go with what you enjoy and makes it simple for you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Dh might smoke a turkey to bring to ddil's parents' house. Dss and ddil usually host but he's working (he's a firefighter/paremedic) and ddil's mother said she wants to host something very low key. Nibble food or food kept warm in a crock pot is the plan. There won't be a sit down dinner; instead everyone will just eat when hungry or graze throughout the day. Normally I would make ravioli and meatballs (my mother's traditional Christmas meal). Due to the above plans I'm thinking of just making meatballs (no ravioli or other pasta) and making them cocktail size though still Italian style with sauce. They can stay warm in my crock pot and will be the right size for our planned appetizer style menu. Awesome...I'm really warming up to the idea of an appetizer menu. My kids go bananas over meatballs, but in my mind they've always been categorized under "easy freezer meal." Gonna re-think that one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceseeker Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) We do appetizers and graze all day. If I am really ambitious we do a sandwich tray too. I want to relax with my family, not cook and clean all day. I do that the rest of the year and Christmas is supposed to be special, right? 😀 Luckily my family is all on board and no one gives me grief about this. We do a nice meal on tree decorating day though. This year it was a roast. Edited December 6, 2017 by CaliforniaDreaming 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 We've had trouble establishing a tradition for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners. My kids don't like lasagna, which is what my mom always made for Christmas Eve. I also grew up with prime rib and yorkshire pudding for Christmas day, and while everyone eats it, they don't LOVE it, and we end up with expensive leftovers that don't get eaten. We tried the appetizer thing and it felt too much like junk food. I discovered that after weeks of holiday eating, everyone is in the mood for something a little healthier. So for the last couple of years we've grilled tri-tip steaks for Christmas day (even though it is not grilling season in Oregon) and had mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, and chocolate ice cream for dessert. Everyone likes that and it's not too much work. Last year we did chicken Kiev for Christmas Eve and everyone liked that more than the appetizer/KFC/pizza type dinners we had previously tried. So we'll probably do that again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas Eve growing up was always paella. I imagine I'll start that with my own kids when they aren't all in bed by 6:30. Right now, Christmas Eve dinner for DH and I and any other adults who've come to celebrate with us is individual Beef Wellingtons. I make them ahead of time (slated for this weekend), and freeze them, so all I have to do Christmas Eve is bake them, toss together a salad and a veggie side. I also make extra for our Valentine's Day dinner while I'm at it. Christmas morning is a French toast casserole and an egg casserole, and I leave them out and encourage nibbling. We have spaghetti and meatballs as a late lunch/early dinner, also straight from my freezer, with pre-made garlic bread and an easy salad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Breakfast - waffle house Dinner - gourmet burgers - with every fixing - and fresh sweet potato fries - and pie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Another idea, depending on the number of people is to ask each family member to name 1 thing they would like. Then see if it at all resembles an easy menu. We did that for Thanksgiving and DH chose deep fried turkey, one kid chose a special triple chocolate cake, one chose brussel sprouts, one hot potato salad, etc. In the end it made a meal and everyone was happy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinnia Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 We barbecue for Christmas Day. A butt or two, a turkey, maybe some ribs. It's an all day affair, and it's fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 We don't have a big Christmas meal, we do appetizers and desserts. Last year, we also got a big sushi platter from our favorite Japanese restaurant and everybody liked it so much that were doing that again this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Coffee, homemade cinnamon rolls and bacon Christmas morning. Lamb steaks, bake potato with veggies plus dessert for Christmas Dinner. Christmas Eve, not sure yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas eve lobster tail and steak. Christmas day brunch egg casserole, hash brown casserole, pull apart monkey bread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender's green Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas eve lobster tail and steak. Christmas day brunch egg casserole, hash brown casserole, pull apart monkey bread Yum! We always used to do lobster tail for Christmas Eve. Then one day I became allergic. I miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingaway Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas Eve is soups, a charcuterie board, and all the homemade Christmas candy comes out. On Christmas Day we do bread bowls filled with cheese fondue and then have steak, ham and veggies for dipping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Out for Chinese on Christmas Eve. Christmas day: Beef tenderloin, mushroom casserole, roasted potatoes, green salad, yet-to-be-decided green veg. Possibly one more veggie. Ice cream and cookies for dessert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I do the giant appetizer feast but I throw in cheese/sausage, veggie/dip and a rainbow of fruit platter to balance out the junkier parts. The fruit platter is always the first to empty out. Other times we order a large number of items from the Chinese takeout and let everyone create their own buffet from it. We also like fondue (I just by the premade cheese, making it from scratch was way too much effort). For New Year's Day we also have cold peel and eat shrimp. It's great because it's all made the day before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 We do the appetizer dinner on Christmas Eve with cookies and candy if I've made any more dessert. Christmas breakfast is something like French toast or cinnamon rolls with something to balance the carbs a bit (sausage, a little cheese). Christmas day is always a roast beef (the closest to prime rib I can afford at the time), some form of potatoes, some vegetable, dinner rolls, black olives, and a bigger dessert like a cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I don't know yet. I'm thinking maybe snacky type treats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I like to celebrate our culinary heritages Christmas Eve. The last few years we've have Quebecois tourtiere, or spiced meat pie, with roasted root veggies, salad, and tarte au sucre. But this year we might go with my husband's Lebanese background and have kibbeh, tabouli, hummus, baba ghanouj, rice, stuffed grape leaves and baklava. I'd purchase all but the kibbeh, tabouli and rice. To keep things easy Christmas day I often do steak, potatoes, sautéed peppers and onions, and greens, then whatever sounds good for dessert. Costco has a yummy cheesecake assortment... Amy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas Eve -- we do an approximation of Italian Seven Fishes. This makes more sense with a big Italian family, so we have salmon as a main course and (about) six appetizers. Kids favorite is bacon wrapped scallops marinated in maple-soy. Christmas brunch -- cheeses, pate, smoked salmon, fruit, Christmas cookies, sweets like marzipan, etc. Christmas dinner (in the evening) -- my kids would be horrified if we did not have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Buche de Noel for dessert is another must have. Kids are reminding me now how critical it is, lol. Boxing Day, just because we don't want the holiday to be over -- nice meal of some sort. Plum pudding in flames. Perhaps I will also make mince pies or a fruitcake of some sort? New Years Eve -- fondue and cocoa bar. Last year, I added rice and peas with collard pesto, will do something similar. Epiphany -- I make an almond Pithivers. Puff pastry from Trader Joe's. I will never understand why this is available only in early fall for about a nonosecond and runs out before a Thanksgiving. I remembered to stock up, but grrr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Christmas Eve will be swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and salad. We usually make it for the work crew on Christmas Eve. Maybe it will be the Friday send off meal. Dh is going to want the prime rib we have in the freezer for Christmas. Haven't thought beyond that. It will just be our immediate family on Christmas Day this year, so just a handful of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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