Prepare the Perfect Holiday Dinner Ahead of time in One Month!

Christmas or any holiday cooking can seem very daunting, but for those us who suffer from a chronic illness it can be especially bad. The whole point of the holidays is to enjoy family and friends, not go nuts trying to put a meal together for the entire family, only to leave you feeling tired, sick and unable to enjoy the dinner or the company.
It takes more work to cook and clean for the holiday get together, then it is actually worth.
Well I have learned a thing or two from my mother and mother-in-law to be on entertaining with little to no stress. My mother is great at planning ahead and my soon to be mother-in-law is amazing too. Below is how my boyfriend’s mother put together an entire holiday meal all ahead of schedule.
Her number one rule is never to be afraid to ask for help. Most of the time those that are invited will offer to bring something. It’s OK to say yes!
Make a list of things that if approached, you can ask people to bring. Now when it comes to family, my mother will usually just come out and ask them to bring something.
-Bottled pop or wine
-Fruit platter, or cheese platter
-Veggie side dish
-Dessert
These are easy things to ask for, since most can be just simply bought at a grocery store. Many stores offer great fruit and cheese platters and side dishes and desserts are easy and quick, but this will help a lot for you too.
My boyfriend’s mother thought ahead in planning her whole menu for Thanksgiving (this makes a great Christmas meal too).
-Turkey
-Twice Baked Potatoes
-Broccoli Bake
-Salad
-Stuffing (her’s was homemade, but I recommend boxed)
-Corn
-Apple pie
Now this is a pretty standard meal for holiday entertaining, but now I will show you how in one month you can have most of this done and in the freezer to save you a lot of time and headaches on the day of your get together.
Out of the meal above the twice- baked potatoes, broccoli bake, and apple
pie can be made ahead.
Week 1 – Shopping- go out and get all those ingredients you’ll need including the turkey. It’s a good idea to shop for your turkey a good deal in advance, even up to two months ahead, as the holidays tend to go pretty fast. Now if you wanted to add a ham, you could buy it now but a ham would be a good idea to ask someone to bring, as we only usually have one oven. However, a ham can be cooked a day ahead and then just warmed in the microwave.
Week 2 – Apple pie. This is when you make your favorite apple pie, or buy one and put it in the freezer. What my boyfriend’s mom did was one day she made the dough, then the next day she made the filling and put it together, covered it well with saran wrap and placed it in a freezer bag. However, even if you buy a pie I recommend covering it with saran wrap and putting into a big zip lock bag for added freshness and to keep it from becoming freezer burned.
Week 3– Potatoes. This is the time to make those yummy twice- baked potatoes, when you make them you go right to the near end stage of filling them and sprinkling them with bacon or cheese then place them in an air tight container and if you have a bag or zip lock bag big enough put it in and into the freezer it goes.
Week 4- Make the broccoli bake right up until the baking point. DO NOT BAKE. At this point make sure you wrap it in saran wrap, tightly cover it and put into the freezer for best results. I make this no more then a day or two ahead
before the actual gathering. If this is made the night before, simply leave in fridge, do not freeze. I would not make earlier than a week ahead.
2 days ahead – Take turkey out of freezer and leave in fridge to defrost. You want the turkey to be as defrosted as possible, to speed up cooking time. This depends on how big it is. My boyfriend’s mom had a big turkey which took three days to defrost and on the big day it was still a bit frozen, so it really varies. Remember to defrost the turkey in a big bowl or container, as you don’t want it leaking or contaminating the fridge items.
Night before– Take everything out of the freezer and leave in fridge.
Day of.-This is it, now it is important to start early, but if you can’t get up early, solicit the hubby and kids to help or ask a family member or friend to come over early to help. First thing first, take the potatoes, apple pie, and if you froze it, the broccoli bake out of the fridge and let sit on the counter to fully defrost, unless they are already fully defrosted, then leave in the fridge.
Now you have two choices. You can either bake the apple pie first and let it sit, then just warm it for a few minutes before serving, or you can bake the pie while everyone is eating or after the dinner while everyone relaxes, that
is up to you.
First thing to go in is the turkey for it’s set time, because remember it’s important for the turkey to come out at least a good 30-40 min before dinner, to rest. Make sure it’s cooked well, as this is already stuffed. Once the turkey is out of the oven you place the potatoes in the oven for a good ten to fifteen min., then add the broccoli bake to the bottom rack to start it cooking or if you can fit it on the same rack depending on how many you are making. Once the potatoes are done finish cooking the broccoli bake, Both these shouldn’t take long because if fully defrosted the potatoes just have to warm, since they are already cooked, and the broccoli bake is a fast dish. Meanwhile make the gravy either by package or by the turkey drippings, and we usually make an extra box of stuffing. Also microwave the corn either from a can or frozen. Add butter and salt, it’s so good no one would ever know it was microwaved. Also don’t forget to pop open a can of cranberry sauce. Once everything is cooked and ready to serve, you can bake the pie if you haven’t already. Also if you don’t want to do the twice baked potatoes my mom has done the mashed potatoes from a box and they are so good and easy while the broccoli bake is cooking you can whip those up same time as the stove top stuffing, corn, and gravy is going.
Now dinner is done!
Sit at the nice table you set the night before and enjoy the company. Always take the help of family members for clean up and then place the fruit on the table, At this point it’s great to just sit and talk for a bit to allow the big meal to digest, after which you can serve the pie and other desserts. Then some coffee and or tea and you are done.
This whole big dinner was planned a month ahead and most of it frozen, you are left with minimal cooking and most of it is just simply placing things in the oven the day of, but the food prep is done. By spreading it out over a month you don’t feel overwhelmed.
Here are some other dishes that freeze well.
Lasagna
Stuffed shells
Any casseroles
Macaroni and cheese bake
Seasoned pork chops
Seasoned chicken breasts.
Pasta sauce and meatballs.
Most things can be frozen with the exception of fish (I found fish doesn’t
freeze well)
Don’t be afraid to make things ahead and freeze, especially when entertaining. After all, just because we’re sick doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy entertaining, we just have to do a little thinking ahead.
Here are the recipes for the twice-baked potatoes and broccoli bake.
Twice Baked Potatoes
10 (8oz baking potatoes) or however many you make, depending on your number of guests.
½ c melted butter
½ c heavy cream hot
¼ c of sour cream
¼ c diced onions- diced finely and sauteed
3oz of cheddar cheese crumbled
3oz of bacon fried and crumbled (or buy the already bacon bits, it’s a time
saver because I hate frying bacon)
Bake potatoes; Cut in half and scoop potatoes out. Mix all ingredients in
mixer or by hand. Spoon back into potato skins. Bake 15 min at 400 degrees.
Broccoli Bake
INGREDIENTS:
1 package (10 ounces) frozen broccoli cuts
3 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
PREPARATION:
Cook broccoli 3 to 5 minutes; drain. Whisk together eggs and mayonnaise; add broccoli and onion and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in a
greased casserole. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes.
Serves 4. (You will need to double it according to your number of guests)
By: Stefanie Leale © 2006 Butyoudontlooksick.com