Christmas dinner for a small family.

[Cera]

My family, growing up, was huge. This is my first year away from home where I'm responsible for the festive dinner, and have no idea where to cut back. We had everything with all the trimmings, but now it's only me, my boyfriend and our infant son. I have no idea how to do the extravagant thing without things going to waste.

So, any of you with small families, what do you do? It seems it would be a shame to cook up a storm and throw almost everything away,

[olga]

My family, growing up, was huge. This is my first year away from home where I'm responsible for the festive dinner, and have no idea where to cut back. We had everything with all the trimmings, but now it's only me, my boyfriend and our infant son. I have no idea how to do the extravagant thing without things going to waste.

So, any of you with small families, what do you do? It seems it would be a shame to cook up a storm and throw almost everything away,

A very merry :welcome: to you!!! :yahoo:

Well, Im part of a small family too, but most Christmas we spend the day with friends, so we cook everything and do not throw a thing!!!

Many years ago, when I was a little girl, we had the same problem.. Mum was cooking all day and she ended up throwing most of what she had cooked..

So, what about inviting some good friends home, for the big day? :candycane1:

[Cera]

Thank you for the welcome!

I would LOVE to invite people over, but most people seem to be staying with their families. Our families have been very.. demanding. They both want my son to be with them, and don't understand that we can't visit them both on Christmas day (My parents are 300 miles away, and neither me nor my boyfriend drive) and they were all being so unkind that we decided we'd spend christmas just us three.

[olga]

Thank you for the welcome!

I would LOVE to invite people over, but most people seem to be staying with their families. Our families have been very.. demanding. They both want my son to be with them, and don't understand that we can't visit them both on Christmas day (My parents are 300 miles away, and neither me nor my boyfriend drive) and they were all being so unkind that we decided we'd spend christmas just us three.

Well, I know exactly what you mean!! A lot of new families have that problem, including my best friend who has ended up celebrating with her husband and their two little children..She really has got tired of them!! :candycane1:

Well, why dont you try somrthing else? You can go to a closed friends house for a while and then go back home and celebrate the day just the three of you! I dont know, its just a silly idea..

[Merry Christmas Darling]

Buy the smallest turkey you can find or sustitute Cornish game hens. Now, unlike my mother and most Americans, I liked to have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, so I would get a small roast and do that if my family were small. If you have room in your freezer compartment, you can put leftover turkey in there. The turkey can be cut in bite size pieces and put in a casserole type dish when you're in the mood for it.


Chicken or Turkey Casserole
1 1/2 c. uncooked macaroni
1 1/2 c. diced chicken or turkey
1/4 c. chopped pimientos
1 c. milk
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 c. drained mushrooms
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth

Stir all ingredients together in a 1 1/2 quart ungreased casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
COOKS.COM


Turkey and Dressing Strata
This recipe is great for using leftover turkey and stuffing from Thanksgiving! (Note that chicken may be substituted for turkey.)

1 (10 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c. milk
3 c. cut up cooked turkey (or chicken)
1 1/2 c. leftover stuffing (sometimes referred to as dressing, it is made with bread, sauteed celery and sauteed onion).
1 tbsp. grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 1 1/2 quart casserole. In 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, heat undiluted soup with milk; stir in turkey.
In casserole, layer stuffing and turkey mixture twice, ending with turkey mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. (Makes 6 servings.)
COOKS.COM

If you don't do turkey in the UK, tell me what your menu was like at Mum's house. I'll see if I can figure something out.

[Merry Christmas Darling]

Do you have a pudding basin? You can freeze your Christmas pudding:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=340902

[Merry Christmas Darling]

Leftover pudding

Still got pudding leftover from Christmas Day? Never fear, turn it into a whole new tasty dessert.

Ingredients (serves 6)
400g leftover Christmas pudding
1/2 lemon, zested
2 eggs
300ml milk
1 tbs light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Icing sugar, to dust
Ice-cream or cream, to serve
Method
Crumble the pudding into a bowl or roughly process in a food processor, then stir in the zest.
In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and milk and pour over the pudding. Set aside for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 190°C and grease a 23cm pie dish.
Spread the pudding mixture into the pie dish, flatten the top. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30 minutes.
Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with ice-cream or cold, cut into slices like a cake and topped with cream.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/6056/leftover+pudding

[JollyElfDC]

I was also going to suggest cornish hens. They are festive and special, and you won't have any leftovers. Rack of lamb would be nice too. I would also suggest googeling Valentine Menus". I'm sure there are several great meals for 2 that would work for Christmas dinner as well. (I don't think the baby will eat much)

I think you and your boyfriend should talk about what you both "have to have" for Christmas dinner. I've heard people say "it's just not Christmas without (for example)smoked oysters" and other people say "what do smoked oysters have to do with Christmas?" If you must have smoked oysters, by all means buy some, but if neither of you really want them, skip it.

I'm sure you're not the only one with a situation like this. Let us know what you decide. I'm sure it will be helpful to others.

[AmyK]

Last year I made our Christmas dinner; it was just my husband and I. I made a LOT of food, but almost all of it got eaten. The best part of Christmas dinner is the leftovers! And you can freeze whatever will freeze properly.

I just made everything in the smallest proportions I could get away with.

We had a turkey roast (smaller than an actual turkey but not too small), roast beef (DH doesn't eat poultry), mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, and peanut butter celery.

It was a lot of food, but it worked out.

[Blue07]

Perhaps you can consider making stews. One of the dishes I always make is a gigantic pot of lamb stew on 23rd and we (family of four and all pretty small eaters) have that for Christmas eve dinner. We have the leftovers for Christmas day and sometimes, even Boxing Day. I keep the remaining stew in the refrigerator and simply reheat it the next day. Best part is ... the stew gets tastier as the days pass! And, we can laze around on Christmas day and not have to bother about cooking.

[markgbarba1987]

well, I belong to a small family.. All my mom does is cook more variety but of less amount...
in other words, many kinds of food but of small amounts.. It is just always enough for us. If their maybe some left, some of my relatives bring them home...

[ornamentmaven]

Deciding which family to spend Christmas with is a problem for everyone. So, when I got married 30 years ago, we established the tradition of alternating years. One year with my family, the next with his. It has worked out perfectly. My husband and I are both the oldest children in our families, so all of our siblings followed suit and got on a coordinating schedule. Just make sure that the family not visited has somewhere to be that day! You could also invite both families to come to your house!

As far as your menu, eat whatever you want just make it small. Seafood, roast beef, and ham are good options.

[Holiday Mom]

One of my girlfriend's is having the same problem so what what her and her husband have done this year is to make reservation at the resturant of one of our city's best hotels. Neither one of them even knows how to start cooking a turkey and when you factor in all the other costs of making such a huge meal, they found that it's only a little bit more for the restuarant. Plus no prep and no clean up. I almost wish I could ditch my family and go with them lol

[Big Boi]

Why not have gifts and food for the holidays when you can have shoes for the holidays as well. If you use the codes for footlocker and Eastbay you can get a discount on shoes

East Bay:


Girlemo1 - 15%off any order


Girlemo2 - 20% off any order of $75 or more

Footlocker:


Flemo123 - 15% off any order

[Ellie]

I'd make whatever your favorite meal is. You could always scale back on the amount you cook.

We usually have a small Rib Roast and with the leftovers, I'll make Shepards Pie, one of our favorites!


:santa2: :merrychristmas: :santa2:

[Merry Christmas Darling]

Cera hasn't come back to this thread.

[Lulu]

I have hosted some smaller holiday celebrations and my rule of thumb is to choose 1 protein, veggie, potato and desert to make. That way you're not over doing anything and you'll have some leftovers.