For any "big" meal I am hosting I follow a basic plan:
Appetizers - One cold as in veggies + dip, a cheeseball or other chilled dip with crackers or even shrimp cocktail; Then one hot - either something prepped ahead and frozen for popping in the oven or a hot dip of some kind...Artichoke Dip is easy and always a crowd pleaser and can be kept warm in a small crockpot too.
If a really large group, I'll either do two hot and two cold or sometimes I'll specifically ask people to bring an appetizer to help out.
Main Dish - Sounds like you have this one down - Turkey is a great choice - we always do ours in a roaster oven - cooks it great and leaves ovens free for side dishes! Roasts, ham or special pasta dishes like lasagna or stuffed shells are also mains I lean towards.
Side Dishes:
I try to balance the following categories...
- Starches - Potatoes, Bread Stuffings or Corn based dishes, usually no more than 2 in this category
- Vegetables - At least one of these, often green bean or asparagus based. Roasted baby carrots are good too. Or I have a Roasted Butternut Squash with Pecan Parmesan that is to die for! Could go with any main!
- Salads - Depending on the main this might be a tossed salad with a homemade salad dressing, or a pasta salad. Broccoli salad is another good one too.
- Bread - Dinner rolls can be simple or fancy. Rhodes frozen bread rolls are a favorite of mine, just a matter of getting them rising in enough time to be baked up at the last minute. I also have a recipe for Make Ahead Butterhorn Rolls that are really good as well.
Dessert:
If I know there will be a lot of kids I try to make sure I have something they'll like - brownies, cookies, something like that. People often bring desserts too, of course.
Beyond that, the sky is the limit. One thing that I can recommend if you don't want to make your own are the Edwards brand frozen pies. The Key Lime is made with real juice and it is fantastic. The chocolate one is also great. You just put them in the fridge a couple of hours before serving. Brew some good coffee to go with and dessert is DONE!
Beverages:
I make sure we have plenty of ice, fresh brewed iced tea and water. Beer for the guys
Then either wine or a punch for the gals. Pop or juice for the kids.
Main Course Menu Examples:
If I were serving turkey I would probably choose PW Mashed Potatoes (can be made ahead and reheated in the oven), stuffing, a green bean casserole (basic recipe but I add sharp cheddar and Velveeta), simple tossed salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing and Rhodes rolls served with real butter.
For a ham main course I often do scalloped potatoes but mashed work great too, some sort of cheesy scalloped corn (either in oven or crockpot), Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter Sauce and Herb Cream Cheese Crescents (made with frozen puff pastry - can make ahead and pop in oven when it's time)
For a pasta main I will pair with a tossed salad + Creamy Parmesan dressing and either garlic bread or I also like to make Garlic Butter pull apart rolls using Rhodes roll dough as a base - you partially thaw the rolls in microwave, cute in half then dip in the butter then toss is a mix of shredded Parmesan/Asiago/Romano before setting to rise. You can make a wreath shape or any shape you want but it bakes up really nice and is always a hit! Other nice options are plain bakery bread, sliced and warmed in oven served with a dipping mix + olive oil. Marinated mozzarella balls or prosciutto wrapped melon slices are good too for appetizers with this type of meal.
Pulling it all together:
I am more than happy to share any recipes I've mentioned or help you brainstorm something else! I really LOVE meal planning
Do you have any go to side dishes you've made before that you really love? Or are you still working on building a roster of things you can pick and choose from?
What flavors do you and your family really love? Are you looking for things made from scratch or recipes that use more shortcuts or is a mix of both fine?
Do you have crockpots?
You are ahead of the game by starting your planning now! Plenty of time to flesh out a menu for Easter and based on how that goes you can probably finish tweaking your planning for the other big menus for the year!