Christmas Eve/Christmas Day menus

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I talked to my family about what they wanted to cook since I can't. They are willing to do ham, stove top stuffing, garlic green beans, crescent rolls and pickles/olives for christmas day. Dessert they would like cheesecake topped with cherry pie filling and my daughter who doesn't like cheesecake will make brownies.
Pretty easy and the cooking isn't too bad for them.

Christmas eve we usually just do a sandwich and then do cheese/sausage/crackers, fresh vegs and dip, petit fours, and this year my son requested oatmeal raisin cookies so I'll teach him how to make those. He can bake and I'll supervise. We open gifts on christmas eve so it is nice to just do munchies that evening.

 

[Squirlz]

Just the 2 of us. We're doing Prime Rib this year.

 

[Turn the Page]

Our holiday meals for Christmas Eve and Day are largely the same every year.

We do our big celebration with my family on Christmas Eve and have a schmorgesborg of heavy apps and desserts. Every year we have shrimp cocktail, homemade meatballs (unlike the nasty Great Value meatballs DH's cousin had at his extended family Christmas last Saturday, we both had tummy aches after eating them), some sort of hot chip/cracker dip, veggie tray, fruit tray, cheese/cracker/meat tray, all sorts of Christmas cookies for dessert, usually there is a small turkey or ham with rolls for mini sandwiches, baked brie, and a few other things I can't really remember right now. There is very little variation in the offerings though sometimes we will throw a new dish in there to see how it goes. We open presents with my family that night.

Early Christmas morning is spent at home and we open presents. After that we go back to my parents for a Christmas breakfast of eggs benedict and homemade cinnamon rolls.

Christmas with DH's family is Saturday and MIL usually does some heavy app type things too. Their family's hot potato salad (which I think will make an appearance at our Christmas this year too as my mom is intrigued) meatballs again, I think usually chicken wings, fruit and veggie trays, a few types of salad, and a few other things that I don't really remember right now. That is not as tasty as my parents house because MIL does not believe in using any seasonings or spices....on anything.....at all. No salt, no pepper, no basil, thyme, orgegano, rosemary, nothing. It is a bit, shall we say, bland.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Our holiday meals for Christmas Eve and Day are largely the same every year.

We do our big celebration with my family on Christmas Eve and have a schmorgesborg

This is feeding trough 7 of 9. Resistance is futile. Prepare for assimilation. You too will become one, with the schmorgesborg.

 

[Turn the Page]

I'm not sure on Christmas breakfast this year. Typically, I do overnight french toast--similar to the recipe soccerdad linked. I would actually LOVE to do some kind of all-inclusive casserole, just because it would be so easy to pop in the oven, and then have everyone eat a nice breakfast. But, of my four kids, one doesn't like casseroles or cheese. Another is a vegetarian. All four of them hate potatoes (?!?). Buncha spoiled brats, if you ask me, but Christmas morning is not the time or place for that fight.

I've had a request for cinnamon rolls this year. Specifically, Rhodes thaw and bake cinnamon rolls--my kids go nuts for their dinner rolls, and we used to love their cinnamon rolls, too. Problem is, I haven't been able to find them, down here in North Carolina. I've been on a quest. Their website says they're in Walmart Supercenter (not ours), Harris-Teeter (not ours), and Lowes (going this morning). If I truly can't find them, I'll probably try Sister Schubert's instead. Or just go with the overnight french toast casserole.

I make a really good baked oatmeal casserole with strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips my kids love.

https://www.thediaryofadebutante.com/homemade-oatmeal-bars/

I usually cut down on the brown sugar and chocolate chips and it still tastes great. I normally will make a double batch of it, slice it up, and keep it in the fridge and the kids will heat up a square of it for breakfast before school so no reason you couldn't make it the night before and just reheat it on Christmas morning though it really only takes a few minutes to put together. Word to the wise, the bananas really don't do anything for it. If you bake it with the bananas on top you end up with little tan hockey pucks and that is not appetizing. If you really want the bananas just slice them fresh on top after you bake it.

 

[Snowflakey]

I do one that sound familiar
6 slices of white bread cubed
1 20oz. Can Crushed pineapple drained
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup butter ( softened )

Cream sugar and butter together in a bowl
Mix in eggs 1 at a time
Add in pineapple and bread. Mix and put in to a greased casserole dish. Baked at 350 for 60 minutes.
Can be done ahead then reheated

Do a search for pineapple bread pudding/stuffing as there are different versions. Seen them with raisins, vanilla, half regular sugar/ half brown sugar etc.

We have it any time we have a big gathering with a ham. Also easy to double up if needed.

Sorry those of you who asked for my Pineapple stuffing recipe. I keep forgetting to look at it at home but this is it! I always double it and that makes the right amount! You need to make it, it won't disappoint!

 

[Turn the Page]

This is feeding trough 7 of 9. Resistance is futile. Prepare for assimilation. You too will become one, with the schmorgesborg.

No resistance here. I assimilated years ago. It's the only way to do it.

 

[tink89]

This Christmas my dad and husband are doing the cooking. Ham and ribs with mashed and we will see what other sides they do.
I will still end up doing some kind of dessert, but have not decided yet on what. Probably a Flan or cheesecake or both.

 

[Kuchi Kopi]

Christmas Eve is homemade pizzas. We are making fig-prosciutto pizzas w/arugula, (Pioneer Woman recipe). Yum!
Christmas morning is a green chile egg puff bake, with bacon/sausage on the side, and pastries. Oh, and mimosas, of course. For Christmas dinner I'm getting a beef brisket dinner through Honey Baked Ham store. Comes with potatoes al gratin and cinnamon apples. The brisket dinner is only available online. In fact, mine is arriving tomorrow.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I realize that Lowes must a grocery store where you live, but I did a double take imagining cinnamon rolls next to the hammers and paint, lol.

Sorry to be late, getting back to this thread, but yeah--that took a little getting used to! I think one is Lowe's and one is Lowes, not that it makes much difference. The grocery store is a Whole Foods wannabee, and too overpriced for me, so I rarely go there.

As to the cinnamon rolls, we did a scientific taste test. We put up Rhodes microwave rolls against two types of whack 'em rolls, against Sister Schubert's. The Food Lion whack 'em rolls won! (Sorry, Sister, you came in last!). I would still love to find the Rhodes thaw and rise rolls, no luck yet. I wrote to them, and they said the store has to order them, so I talked to the frozen food manager of Walmart, but still nothing. Sigh!

 

[QueenIsabella]

I make a really good baked oatmeal casserole with strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips my kids love.

https://www.thediaryofadebutante.com/homemade-oatmeal-bars/

I usually cut down on the brown sugar and chocolate chips and it still tastes great. I normally will make a double batch of it, slice it up, and keep it in the fridge and the kids will heat up a square of it for breakfast before school so no reason you couldn't make it the night before and just reheat it on Christmas morning though it really only takes a few minutes to put together. Word to the wise, the bananas really don't do anything for it. If you bake it with the bananas on top you end up with little tan hockey pucks and that is not appetizing. If you really want the bananas just slice them fresh on top after you bake it.

I would love this, but my gang isn't big on oatmeal. I don't think they'd see it as a Christmas dish. Rumor has it that Christmas Day is going to be 81 degrees down here. I just have a bunch of picky little snotheads, what can I say.

 

[klacey1]

I would love this, but my gang isn't big on oatmeal. I don't think they'd see it as a Christmas dish. Rumor has it that Christmas Day is going to be 81 degrees down here. I just have a bunch of picky little snotheads, what can I say.

LOL!


Christmas Eve is Polish Christmas at the in laws—pierogies, cabbage, sausages, etc. It’s my first year going and I’m so excited!

I’ll be cooking Christmas Day. In the morning we’ll have cinnamon rolls, bacon, and mimosas. Sadly my SO is not into breakfast casseroles or I’d love to make a strata.

Our Christmas dinner appetizers are crack bread, raw veggies in the shape of a Christmas tree with dip, baked lemon butter shrimp, and possibly toasted ravioli if I’m feeling ambitious. For dinner we’ll have Caesar salad, ham, a fancy Mac & cheese (this will serve as an entree for the pescetarian in the group, but I’ll make enough for the meat eaters to have some on the side of their ham), stuffed scallops, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables.
I’m planning on making the Caesar dressing from scratch, which I’ve never done but always wanted to do. Some members of the crowd are big fans of getting tableside Caesars in fancy restaurants, so I’d like my salad to wow. The rice pilaf is a tradition for my in laws, and all on my SO. I grew up in a very Irish household, and our carb side was always some form of potatoes, never rice!
I’d prefer scalloped or twice baked potatoes as the potato side, but both seem a little repetitive with Mac and cheese.

 

[Pugsly]

We decided to do something a little different since we hosted Thanksgiving too and didn’t want to serve the same thing.

Our menu includes tamales, chili, cornbread, guacamole, salsa and chips. For dessert, I’m making a sopapilla cheesecake.

Christmas Day will be really laid back - just DH and I as we need to pack before leaving for NYC on the 26th.

 

[mellvswdw1]

After 13 years together we have traditional meals that if I changed my DH would have a meltdown! Lol!

Christmas Eve- prime rib, baked potatoes, salad and shrimp cocktail

Christmas morning- cinnamon rolls and a Tex mex breakfast casserole(the kiddos aren’t into the casserole)

Christmas lunch and dinner- glazed ham, Cracker Barrel style hash browns, deviled eggs, seven layer salad, and Cookies!

It’s just the four of us this year our two little ones and my DH and I, but I know that this is the one time of the year that if I vary from the standard my DH will be sad. After losing his dad a little bit ago, he’s really tied to our traditions. Normally my family and his dad would travel to see us. I’m ok with tons of leftovers just to see him smile and tell me he’s happy and excited for Christmas.

We may have a Bloody Mary or baileys and hot chocolate as well! Lol! Merry Christmas!

 

[TipsyTraveler]

(Vegan versions of everything)

Christmas Eve:
Sausage balls
Pot pie
Sugar cookies

Christmas Morning:
Breakfast casserole
Cinnamon rolls

Christmas Dinner:
Cheesy broccoli bites with sriracha dip
Stroganoff
Braised red cabbage
Cranberry pound cake
Truffles

Still figuring out the drink situation. Probably just wine and egg nog on Christmas Eve but I'm kind of in the mood to do a specialty drink for Christmas in addition to the basic wine, nog, champagne options.

 

[ronandannette]

(Vegan versions of everything)

Christmas Eve:
Sausage balls
Pot pie
Sugar cookies

Christmas Morning:
Breakfast casserole
Cinnamon rolls

Christmas Dinner:
Cheesy broccoli bites with sriracha dip
Stroganoff
Braised red cabbage
Cranberry pound cake
Truffles

Still figuring out the drink situation. Probably just wine and egg nog on Christmas Eve but I'm kind of in the mood to do a specialty drink for Christmas in addition to the basic wine, nog, champagne options.

Hi! You are the only vegan I know and I’m a little embarrassed to say I can’t really imagine how you make a lot of those items without eggs or dairy. I’m truly interested - can you school me a little?

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Hi! You are the only vegan I know and I’m a little embarrassed to say I can’t really imagine how you make a lot of those items without eggs or dairy. I’m truly interested - can you school me a little?

Sure!

Most of the ingredients can be bought in a vegan version at my regular grocery store. The milk, butter, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, sausage, chicken, meatballs -- all that stuff is a direct swap. If a recipe calls for 16oz. of sausage, I just use 16oz. of vegan sausage instead.

For savory recipes that call for eggs, I use egg replacer which is just potato starch mixed with water. For baking I'll either use the egg replacer or substitute 1/4 cup applesauce per egg. There is a "vegan egg" on the market now, but I've only seen it online and it's way more expensive than I'm willing to spend, so I haven't tried it. The breakfast casserole I'm making is the type of thing that would normally call for scrambled eggs to be poured overtop, so for that I'll blend tofu, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, spices, etc. to make a cheesy-eggy tasting mixture with a similar consistency. That's not going to fool anyone into thinking it's real scrambled eggs, but it's tasty on its own merits and this is one of my go-to breakfast recipes.

Vegan desserts can be a bit trickier because some things don't substitute as well, and also because baking is just not my forte, so I try to stick to things that are simple with straightforward substitutions. (I leave the homemade ice cream, taffy, mousse, and whipped creams to my BIL, who's not vegan but likes a challenge.) The truffles I'm making are just the simple Oreo kind (Oreos are vegan) and when something calls for chocolate I'll use either dark chocolate or semisweet from a brand that doesn't contain dairy.

And occasionally I get lucky and find a non-specialty item on the shelf that happens to be vegan, as is. I had a recipe for cinnamon rolls I was going to use but the store brand in-the-can were vegan, so I'll happily take that shortcut.

 

[charming23]

Christmas Eve will just be my Aunt and I so we are going out for dinner

Christmas brunch is at my Aunt and Uncle’s House with my dads family. Don’t know what we are having there.

Christmas dinner is at my Aunt’s house with my moms family. We are doing lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and dessert.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

We are 41 for Christmas so it's pot luck. I'm making ham, Mac and cheese, others are bringing chicken, meatballs, ziti, salad, various vegetables and dessert. We don't do appetizers since it's crazy. We just get right down to dinner.

 

[ronandannette]

Sure!

Most of the ingredients can be bought in a vegan version at my regular grocery store. The milk, butter, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, sausage, chicken, meatballs -- all that stuff is a direct swap. If a recipe calls for 16oz. of sausage, I just use 16oz. of vegan sausage instead.

For savory recipes that call for eggs, I use egg replacer which is just potato starch mixed with water. For baking I'll either use the egg replacer or substitute 1/4 cup applesauce per egg. There is a "vegan egg" on the market now, but I've only seen it online and it's way more expensive than I'm willing to spend, so I haven't tried it. The breakfast casserole I'm making is the type of thing that would normally call for scrambled eggs to be poured overtop, so for that I'll blend tofu, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, spices, etc. to make a cheesy-eggy tasting mixture with a similar consistency. That's not going to fool anyone into thinking it's real scrambled eggs, but it's tasty on its own merits and this is one of my go-to breakfast recipes.

Vegan desserts can be a bit trickier because some things don't substitute as well, and also because baking is just not my forte, so I try to stick to things that are simple with straightforward substitutions. (I leave the homemade ice cream, taffy, mousse, and whipped creams to my BIL, who's not vegan but likes a challenge.) The truffles I'm making are just the simple Oreo kind (Oreos are vegan) and when something calls for chocolate I'll use either dark chocolate or semisweet from a brand that doesn't contain dairy.

And occasionally I get lucky and find a non-specialty item on the shelf that happens to be vegan, as is. I had a recipe for cinnamon rolls I was going to use but the store brand in-the-can were vegan, so I'll happily take that shortcut.

There is chocolate that doesn't contain dairy?!? Must be a regional thing...

Seriously, thanks for that. It was very informative and it sounds like a very practical approach you take. Just to be sure, booze is vegan without any modification, right?