Tips for Make Ahead Holiday Meals

by Jessica on December 14, 2010

The following post is from Jessica of GoodCheapEats and LifeasMOM:

source: Good Cheap Eats

There are so many things to do at the holidays — the gifts, the decorations, the parties, the food. And the month can easily get away from us, leaving us disappointed that we might not have enjoyed the moment as much as we would have liked.

Often we squeeze just too many things into those last few days before Christmas or New Year’s. Wouldn’t be nice to just stretch time to fit our list of things to do?

source: Good Cheap Eats

Well, you can if you practice some cook ahead techniques.

Make a Mix

I love to prepare my own baking mixes. About once a month I line up several ziptop bags and assembly-line style, prepare the “dry team” of many of my baked goods. It doesn’t take very long and in about 20 minutes I have an assortment of mixes for homemade brownies, pancakes, waffles, muffins, biscuits, and cornbread.

By doing so, I’ve significantly reduced the time it will take to whip up fresh baked goods in just a few minutes. Just make sure to label each bag clearly with the recipe name, baking instructions, and what still needs to be added.

Just think about the fresh baked waffles that you’ll be able to mix up quickly on Christmas morning without even having to make the coffee first!

source: Good Cheap Eats

Freeze It

I love my freezer. I don’t know what I would do if it broke down on me. Cry, most likely. The freezer allows me to cook when I have time and still serve my family homecooked meals when I don’t have time.

You would be amazed at all the dishes that you can make and freeze ahead of time. And the holiday season is a perfect time to put “make and freeze” into practice.

  • Hosting a big turkey dinner? Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and even turkey can all be prepped ahead! Cool completely, wrap well, and freeze.
  • Casseroles make a great, cozy supper over the holidays. Enchiladas, lasagnas, and noodle casseroles are easy to make and reheat super well after being frozen.
  • Consider a huge Mexican buffet. Tamales are known to be extremely Christmas-y as well as freezer friendly. Homecooked beans, shredded chicken, and carnitas all freeze well. Set out fresh tortillas, chips, salsas, and other fresh toppings for an easy and delicious meal.
  • Want to present a variety of Christmas cookies? Bake and freeze all you want! Store the cookies in airtight containers in the freezer until about an hour before you are ready to serve.
  • Hosting a big Christmas or New Year’s breakfast or brunch? Be sure to read these tips from Simple Bites for a great make-ahead and freeze breakfast.

Create a Timeline

Most important to pulling of a successful meal is timing. A pre-made feast doesn’t help you any if it’s rock hard frozen in the freezer come dinnertime.

Print out a Holiday Dinner Timeline sheet and walk backward through your dinner. List all the courses to your meal, and make sure you know when each thing needs to be thawed, reheated and served. For more help, read this explanation of how a timeline can help your holiday dinner.

By planning ahead, you’ll have everything on the table at the same time – a home cook’s dream come true!

Don’t let checking off your to-do list get in the way of good times or good eating. Many of the things that you love to eat at the holidays can easily be made ahead of time.

With a little careful planning, you’ll be feasting as well as enjoying time with family and friends.

What do you do to make your Christmas meal prep easier?

A gourmand at heart, Jessica Fisher has learned to reconcile a tight budget with her love for great food. As a busy mom of six voracious eaters, she regularly shares healthy, delicious and budget-friendly recipes at GoodCheapEats. She also writes at her parenting blog, LifeasMOM.
  • http://twitter.com/HopeAbound Kristen Barrett

    As always…GREAT advice!

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  • Anonymous

    This is great advice. I appreciate the meal timeline downloadable. I have a difficult time getting everything ready at the same time, not just at Christmas, but for any major meals!
    Bernice
    http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2010/you-cant-change-everything/

  • http://twitter.com/AllieZirkle Allison Zirkle

    I love this! I used the holiday dinner timeline last year and it worked out GREAT!

    Allie

  • MooreMagnets

    I have one thing to say … who ever did that lego thing up there … well they are in NO relation to my children! I have NEVER seen legos so organized … I thought just keeping them in a bin was a success!

    Oh … and I love containers … maybe too much … I need to declutter my containers!!

  • http://twitter.com/tyjosmom Amanda

    great article. i talked about this alittle bit yesterday. wow i want to shop at that dollar store!!

  • http://organizingthedetails.wordpress.com Gil

    Great Tips. It’s the exact same ones I tell my friends and family, because they just LOVE to buy the containers first and then find ways to fit them into their house and hold “something”… when they have plenty of items to fit somewhere (but not the pretty container they just bought). Oh, and I envy your dollar store. Ours has a horrible selection (next to none) of containers and the store is usually such a mess it’s nearly impossible to find anything. I end up having to go to the Container Store (which is a lovely store, but much pricier) to find containers that I need. Although the best place to “shop” for containers is the ones I already have at home!

  • http://www.closetpages.com Tabitha K

    Great tips as always! We just took advantage of some great sales that Target had on plastic storage containers. We only needed a few and got some great ones for about $4 each. My mother needed quite a bit to replace cardboard storage boxes in her attic with plastic ones, so we got her some too!
    Love the “shop your supply first” too. I have some wicker storage baskets that I’ve had for about 10 years – they’ve served so many different purposes over the years. They work for what I need, when I need them.

  • Pentamom

    Actually, I think that Lego thing is over-organizing, unless your child is (quite literally) OCD (in which case it might be a good idea.) When I try to over-organize that much, it just makes it impossible for me to get the stuff put away, ever. That goes double for my kids. With kids I find it most practical to have adequately sized, accessible bins into which things (in broad categories) can just be “thrown” (assuming it’s not something fragile.)

  • Pentamom

    I meant to add that I like the post — I didn’t want to be only critical!

  • Peggy

    i was just in my dollar store and it no where looks as good as that one. Sigh

  • http://joannatopazt.blogspot.com/ JoannaTopazT

    I’m reading this from a computer perched atop an old microwave stand. :)

  • http://peachrainbow.blogspot.com/ Peach Rainbow

    Lovely post and I particularly love the 6th point ;D

  • Pentamom

    My microwave stand lives under a suspended kitchen counter that has no cabinet below. (Ironically, the microwave is on the counter above.) The stand holds my “boxed pantry” stuff in the closed part below — cereal, crackers, things like that. The little lower shelf holds my mugs and cereal bowls, and the top just has space for boxes of tea below the countertop. It just fits between the brackets that hold up the countertop.

  • Hamameliss

    I actually have to comment about the Lego posts above. Actually, you don’t have to be OCD to organize your Legos like that. My brother and I had an extensive collection of Legos that we periodically organized in the same way as shown in the picture (except our bins were much larger and the pieces weren’t stacked in an orderly fashion. If you are at all serious about building things with Legos, having the different shapes sorted like that really makes building things much easier.

    • Hamameliss

      Sorry, didn’t realize I posted this twice….oops!

  • http://www.crossdrivenhome.com MB

    Wow, this really helped. I just posted a comment on Laura’s blog about needing to find more pantry space. This helped me realize that I should probably get rid of things I don’t use and then make due with what I have. Got to rethink this whole thing through now!

    • Anonymous

      I just went through my kitchen cabinets and my pantry this past weekend. We cleaned out all the tools and utensils we never use, (and put away stuff we only use once or twice a year!) boxed up some stuff to go to the food bank, threw away a lot of old stuff. It felt so good to get that done!
      Once you have the *extra* stuff out, it will be a lot easier to determine what kinds of storage things you might need! Good luck!

      Bernice

      Life… your way moderator

      My latest post- How does your faith affect your ability to cope?

  • Sharisse026

    Awesome! Knowing that information already, it always good to have a refresher. Yes, plenty of stores are advertising organizing stuff in their stores and I get so in awe I have to stop myself from shopping before finding out the size and if I really need it. I was in Target yesterday by myself and couldn’t get a hold of myself standing in the bins/containers aisle for a long time :-)

    • Anonymous

      I am so bad about that too! I think that subconciously I think that if I had *those* products, I would be organized! Ha, if it were only that easy! But it is fun to look! I especially love Ikea and the Container Store!

      Bernice

      Life… your way moderator

      My latest post- How does your faith affect your ability to cope?

  • Blair

    Thrift stores are also good places to pick up cheap, non-pretty containers. I feel better about buying them there because I get to re-use.

  • http://joyceandnorm.wordpress.com/ Joyce

    Love Starfall!! Will check the others out right now. =) Thanks!

  • http://joyceandnorm.wordpress.com/ Joyce

    Love Starfall!! Will check the others out right now. =) Thanks!

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    Ooh, thanks, Lori — I actually saw this but couldn’t figure out how it
    worked (I was just skimming), but I’ll go back and sign up now that I’ve
    read your review!

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    They keep everybody entertained here as well!

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    Great list — thanks so much for sharing, Heidi!

  • Laura

    Thanks for the great post. So many great ideas to help me remember what is most important to me.

  • Laura

    Thanks for the great post. So many great ideas to help me remember what is most important to me.

  • Stacey

    I love this! It’s so easy to get distracted by things that aren’t important. I think sometimes we have good intentions, but they just get off track! Thanks for the reminder!

  • Anonymous

    Yep, it is very easy to get off track! One thing to ask yourself if you are fretting over something is this “Will this matter next year, next week, tomorrow?” The answer to this will help you decide if it is important enough to do!
    Bernice

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Love this post! Right now I need to focus on taking care of my body – getting enough sleep, rest, exercise. Just finished having the flu and boy does it remind me ever so much that our health is a gift.

    • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Agreed — we just went through that as well, and I really had to focus on myself to get better!

  • Sigh of Relief

    Thank you SO MUCH for this article! I JUST left the dollar store in the midst of downtown Nashville–during lunch hour, and after paying for my items, I left my wallet on the counter. I walked out the door, then immediately walked back in.
    Thank GOD my wallet was still on the counter! Surprisingly, considering how busy it is right now, no one was in line behind me and the cashier did not notice that I left it sitting there.
    I literally just made it back to my office and started researching steps to take in case my wallet was ever lost or stolen.
    I avoided a SERIOUS bullet today, however I do thank you for your very informative article!! I am downloading the printable right now!!

  • Josh

    YES YES YES! Dave Ramsey’s plan is simple (simple does not equal easy, mind you) and WORKS!!

  • Josh

    YES YES YES! Dave Ramsey’s plan is simple (simple does not equal easy, mind you) and WORKS!!

    • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Hehe, love your enthusiasm! I’d say most people who’ve gone through the plan
      share that!

  • http://www.joyfullythriving.com Kristen

    Indeed! As of last week, my husband and I are debt free (save our mortgage), and oh, does it feel good! The emotional freedom is just as freeing as the financial freedom. Dave Ramsey’s baby steps do indeed work!

    • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Congratulations — that’s awesome!

  • Janelle

    I am on a monthly budget. I do that because my husband gets paid once a month on the 15. So what I do is write down all the bills that need to get paid within the next 30 days and, if extra ones pop up I try to pay those too. That way I feel such a freedom and I don’t spend the money where it shouldn’t be spent. I even go as far as putting in savings and tythes into my budget. I notice when I give to God what is his, he will multiply the ability for the money to go farther. In which case I feel truly blessed when I am obedient to God and do things his way.

    I am also teaching my kids when it comes to giving to the Lord. My 8 year old son is such a cheerful giver. I am so proud of him. My daughter is 2 and she as well loves to give and I find that so much more rewarding than anything.

  • Michelle

    My husband and I always have good intentions of making a budget, be we yet to complete one. I am thinking of trying the bulletin style one, that might work well for us. Thanks for sharing!

  • Pingback: Christmas Meals The Easy Way | Blog Archive | Party Costume Shop

  • Lucey1113

    Another great place to get inexpensive containers and baskets is at The Christmas Tree Shops.

  • Grace4deaf

    Forget the lego picture, it was the next picture that just made me get drool all over my screen! I do think it’s really mean of you to put up gorgeous lust-inducing pictures of containers in stores & then tell us to WAIT to buy them & use what we already have. I’m still licking the screen…….

  • Hamameliss

    It may actually be a child’s organizational scheme. My brother and I often sorted our Legos into bins by a similar system (although our bins were much larger). We found it helped when we were constructing things either from directions or on our own, so we could find the pieces we needed. We had a rather extensive collection and there were certainly times where everything pretty literally covered the floor, but it wouldn’t take long before we got frustrated finding pieces and would sort things out. And neither of us is OCD, that I know of (my house and husband would certainly laugh at that suggestion).

  • Anonymous

    Oh, I definitely think that serious Lego enthusiasts of all ages organize
    their Legos pretty carefully. In this case, though, it literally is a
    picture of an adult’s collection!

    Thanks for chiming in!

  • Anonymous

    I think recognizing the issue is half the battle. You can do it!

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    Hmm, I think there’s a big difference between perfectly polished and slovenly, don’t you? I don’t think that I need to straighten my hair, put on makeup or dress in really nice clothes every day when a ponytail and t-shirt and jeans will do for some days. I really see both sides of this coin because I think getting dressed and putting on makeup can make you feel good and affect your self-image, but I don’t think that means you need to do it every single day.

    Thought provoking comment — I’m still tossing it around!

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    That’s a hard one, I know — for some reason we think people will judge us or notice every little thing, and a lot of times, I don’t think they care even half as much as we think they do!

  • Anonymous

    I think you understood my intent Mandi. We should always be clean and presentable, but we don’t have to always be dressed to the hilt to go anywhere. Jeans, a colored tee, and maybe a little makeup will do. Dress and look in a way that makes you feel comfortable, and doesn’t cause you stress!
    Bernice

  • http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    I have no idea you’ll find it, Bernice — just keep at it!

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