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11/07/2024 02:22 PM

Family Coming? Friends On The Way?


Brace For The Holidays. Here’s How To Make More Time For Conversation, Laughter, Crazy Board Games

Like most folks, my favorite part of any holiday is spending time with family. The anticipation and excitement of the kids coming home from college, relatives visiting from out of town, and dear friends and neighbors getting together is all I need to feel good. When you add delicious food, you have my description of heaven.

Growing up in a big family meant that noise and commotion were a regular part of my home life. When my other siblings went off to college and/or married and moved away, the house grew duller as it grew quieter. The anticipation of their return home for a holiday, especially with an added spouse and children, was always a source of delight. The planning and preparation were often as fun as the holiday dinner itself. Planning for travel, sleeping arrangements, and of course, menu, took several enthusiastic phone calls. Special food, and more food were always a top priority. Just thinking about them made my mouth water.

Holidays like Thanksgiving often come with traditional entrees, side dishes, and hors d’ouevres. Assigning a particular meal item to a particular guest and coordinating the rest was a given.

But what about the other meals? If arrival day is Wednesday, what to have for dinner? Thanksgiving Day breakfast needed to be substantial enough for a crowd yet varied enough for those who preferred to ‘save room’ for the big dinner. And what about Friday and the weekend? How many turkey sandwiches can one eat? And, who really wants to spend enormous amounts of time preparing meals while cherished guests are visiting? Is calling out for takeout the only answer?

Fortunately, no.

There are so many wonderful dishes that can be prepared ahead of time, stored, and used when needed. French Toast Casserole with some local maple syrup, with some crisp bacon and a bowl of fresh fruit is sure to be a breakfast crowd pleaser. Fruit salad can be prepped the night before and kept in an airtight container. My favorite way to make crispy bacon is to lay strips on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the bottom rack of an oven for 15-20 minutes. If you are heating up your French Toast Casserole for 30 minutes, cook the bacon at the same time. You will be hands free to enjoy coffee with your guests.

Another key to a weekend full of delicious meals is using leftovers to create something new. A tasty breakfast or dinner entrée is Potato Crusted Quiche. Using leftover mashed potatoes and whatever cheeses and veggies you have makes this a natural for a busy holiday weekend. The crust can also be made from leftover sweet potatoes. Both add depth and richness to the quiche which is earthy and satisfying. Everyone will enjoy it. I used breakfast sausage along with kale and cheeses I had leftover, but the possibilities of folding in whatever you have on hand is endless.

Bolognese Sauce is delicious, uses fresh ingredients and can be frozen for weeks in Zip Lock bags. The benefit of doing so is that the bags lie flat, and so they do not take up a lot of room in the freezer. You can use the sauce to make a make a delicious kid-friendly entrée of Spaghetti Pie. It tastes cheesy, like Lasagna, but is fun like spaghetti. One pie feeds a crowd. This amazing sauce does not need to be in a casserole. Cook up any type of pasta, add bread and a salad for a delicious feast.

A super casserole kids will love is Hot Dog Noodle Casserole. My friend Mauren brought this dish to a potluck, and it was a huge hit. I love great comfort food, and this hits all the buttons. It can be prepared in advance or prepared in a short 20 minutes.

While these recipes are by no means exhaustive, I hope they suggest that there are ways to feed a crowd besides takeout. Whatever your tastes and dietary restrictions there are so many delicious make-ahead recipes for your holiday family gathering. Having friends and family participate in meal preparation creates the most special memories. Home cooked meals beat any restaurant meal. The smell of cooking and baking fills a home with warmth that speaks of love. And since you will not have to brave traffic and restaurant lines, you will have more time for laughter and crazy board games.

French Toast Casserole

Who doesn’t love French Toast? Ten minutes to prepare. Add additional ingredients like sliced apples, walnuts, or blueberries in the bottom to make it extra special. The casserole makes its own syrup, but have some on hand for those who like their French toast supper sweet.. Double this recipe and make extra, it is so delicious, it will disappear!

Ingredients:

1 cup plus brown sugar

½ cup butter

8 oz loaf of crusty French bread, cut into bite size pieces

2 cups milk

6 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste

Directions: Grease a 9”x 13” baking dish. Stir 1 cup brown sugar and butter together in a saucepan over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves in the butter, 2 to 4 minutes. Pour into prepared baking dish. Spread a 1-1/2 – 2-inch layer of bread pieces on top. Beat milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour milk mixture over the bread. Move bread so that all the liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Uncover and sprinkle the top with an additional 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Lola’s Bolognese Sauce

I visited my friends Tom and Lola on a recent trip out west. Lola made this delicious Bolognese over noodles. It was heavenly. She doubles and quadruples this recipe and stores it in the freezer. I made a single recipe, which was enough for two Zip Lock bags which I will heartily enjoy this winter.

Ingredients:

2 tbl olive oil

½ cup diced onion

1 large carrot, scraped and diced

½ cup diced celery

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

½ lb. ground beef

½ lb ground pork

½ cup white wine

1 cup chicken stock or canned broth

1 35-oz can imported Italian plum tomatoes, hand-crushed with juice

6-8 basil leave

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add the ground beef and pork. Season with salt and pepper. Stir continuously until the meat lose its pink color, about 10 minutes. Using the lid to hold back the ingredients, drain off the excess oil. Stir in wine and cook 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with juice, oregano, if using, and the basil. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for an hour or until meat is soft and sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately or let cool and store.

I added extra Chicken Stock and deleted the white wine. Since I let it cool to store, I was also able to skim off additional oil before storing in Zip Lock Bags.

Maureen’s Hot Dog Noodle Casserole

My six and three-year old neighbors helped me taste test this recipe. Delicious!

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. pkg of egg noodles

1 10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

½ cup milk

½ cup sour cream

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 lb hot dogs, sliced

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the egg noodles. Drain and set aside. Grease a 9” x 13” baking dish. In a large mixing bowl combine soup, milk sour cream, cheese and hot dogs. Mix well. Add the noodles and until evenly coated. Pour into prepared baking dish. Cover and bake until heated through and bubbly about 30-40 minutes. Remove cover, top with crumbled bacon. Bake uncovered until bacon is heated about 10 minutes.

This dish can be prepared and frozen, then thawed and baked.

Potato Crusted Kale and Sausage Quiche

This great quiche is an entire meal. Serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I boiled the potatoes for the crust, but you can also use leftover mashed sweet potatoes. There are many options for you to use ingredients that you have on hand and customize to your tastes. Omit the sausage for a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lb bag of mini yellow potatoes, or any potato of your choosing

2-3 tbl butter

1 cup shredded cheese, I used Swiss, Fontina, and Cheddar

Chopped kale or spinach

Chopped sausage, I used 7 links of leftover breakfast sausage

1-1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

Salt, pepper, spices to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of an oven safe deep dish pie plate or spring-form pan. Boil the potatoes until soft or use leftover mashed potatoes. Press the softened potatoes into the bottom and up the sides of the pan forming a crust. Season with salt and pepper. Ad some grated parmesan if you like. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, chop kale or spinach. Cook and chop breakfast sausage or cook until no longer pink chicken or your favorite sausage out of its casing. Shred a cup of your favorite cheese. Swiss works best. But a combination of several types you have on hand works fine.

In a four cup or measuring cup pr mixing bowl combine milk, eggs, and spices. Add the shredded cheese. In the baked crust add the kale, sausage and the cheese mixture. Spread evenly. Add a splash of extra milk if too dry. Bake 40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting. Serve warm. Freezes well. Easy to reheat pieces in microwave.

Spaghetti Pie

Easy to make ahead and pop in the oven when needed, everyone will love this cheesy pie. My taste-testing neighbors gave rated this a TEN out of TEN. It tastes like lasagna, but better and more fun with spaghetti.

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti

2 tbl olive oil

3 large eggs, beaten

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1-1/2 cups marinara sauce

1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese

½ pund cooked ground beef or Italian sausage (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie plate or spingform pan.

Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking. Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the beaten eggs and parmesan cheese. Add the cooked spashetti and coat evenly. Press the spaghetti mixture into the greased dish to form a crust. Spread the ricotta cheese over the crust. If using, layer the ground beef or sausage over the ricotta. Bake 20 -30 minutes until cheesy and lightly browned, watching carefully.

I made a variation of this I called Spaghetti Lasagna using the same ingredients, except adding a layer of mozzarella. I used spaghetti instead of lasagna noodles when layering up. Both can be prepared and frozen in advance.

Making meals ahead of time and freezing them can make feeding your friends and family around the holidays easy, even easier than ordering take out. Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
Pasta with bolognese sauce Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
The bolognese sauce can be freezed in Zip Lock bags and then laid flat to optimize storage space in your freezer. Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
Mashed potatoes can make a delicious crust for a quiche, and that can be a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes. Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
The ingredients for your quiche can vary according to what you have on hand in your fridge. Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
French toast casserole Photo courtesy of Liz Egan
Hot dog noodle casserole Photo courtesy of Liz Egan