Today we talk about food. Can't have Christmas without food can we?
When it comes to food there are several areas that we need to consider. We have the actual Christmas meal, freezer meals for the lead up to Christmas that may make our lives easier, we have food as gifts and baking.
Looking at our planner, let's make a list of what we might be preparing for Christmas 2021.
Gift giving/cookie exchange/baking. Is this something that you are planning to do this year. Start by thinking about who you may be giving the gift of food to. What are you going to make? Have you made the item before or is this the first time? Do you need to do a trial run to see if the recipe works?
Baking for the family and cookie exchanges are a lovely way of sharing your talents and home made treats to friends and family. Once again think about what you might want to bake. Look through old family recipe books, Christmas magazines, books from the library. Compile a list of interesting cookies and baked goods. Check the ingredient list. If there are too many ingredients or you think the instructions look a bit fiddly maybe this is not the item for you. I don't have a lot of ingredients in my baking cupboard and am often put off by the expense of buying all those items just for a batch of cookies. I just about always go to my tried and tested baked goods.
If you are going to gift baked goods or participate in a cookie exchange give some thought to how you are going to present the gift. There are many beautiful gift boxes made for this purpose. Add buying gift baskets or boxes to the planner so that you have ample supply before your baking begins.
Freezer meals are a great help in the busy weeks leading up to Christmas. With many more activities, cleaning days, school events and outings sometimes we are too tired to think about cooking a meal. There are many ideas of batch/freezer meals in the MHH kitchen chatter section. Think about what your go to meals may be and prepare one or two for in the freezer for those busy times. By having a few items in the freezer it will make life a little easier and also cut down on the expense of take out food.
Some cookies, pies and other items can be made and frozen now for use later in the year. If you have an abundance of fruit that is in season now, freeze the surplus.
The main meal!
Are you hosting a large family meal, will you be preparing a dish to take to a friends home? Are you hosting several times over the Holiday season?
Whatever you do as the main Christmas meal start making some plans now. Once again, will you be using family favourite dishes or are you trying something new? If you are trying something new I do suggest a trial run to see how it works especially if it is a major component of the meal.
Think about all the ingredients, the meats, the sides, the accompaniments, the desserts and the drinks. A lot of thought goes into planning the main event.
Think about what you served last year. Was it well received, did you prepare enough, was there too much, if it was stressful or too time consuming to prepare that dish maybe giv it a miss this year.
Now that you have given thought to what you will be preparing this year let's look at budget. Money is always a consideration when it comes to Christmas, it can be an expensive time of year. To lessen the blow on the budget try and divide the ingredient list over the remaining shopping trips.
On your shopping list add items that can be bought now. Butter if a good price can be bought now and frozen. Flour and sugar can be bought now and as long as it is stored properly will last until baking begins. Can you buy the vanilla and sprinkles now? Try and stockpile as much as you can now.
I look forward to reading about all the wonderful mouth watering treats that you are planning to serve your family for Christmas 2021
magicalholidayhome.com
When it comes to food there are several areas that we need to consider. We have the actual Christmas meal, freezer meals for the lead up to Christmas that may make our lives easier, we have food as gifts and baking.
Looking at our planner, let's make a list of what we might be preparing for Christmas 2021.
Gift giving/cookie exchange/baking. Is this something that you are planning to do this year. Start by thinking about who you may be giving the gift of food to. What are you going to make? Have you made the item before or is this the first time? Do you need to do a trial run to see if the recipe works?
Baking for the family and cookie exchanges are a lovely way of sharing your talents and home made treats to friends and family. Once again think about what you might want to bake. Look through old family recipe books, Christmas magazines, books from the library. Compile a list of interesting cookies and baked goods. Check the ingredient list. If there are too many ingredients or you think the instructions look a bit fiddly maybe this is not the item for you. I don't have a lot of ingredients in my baking cupboard and am often put off by the expense of buying all those items just for a batch of cookies. I just about always go to my tried and tested baked goods.
If you are going to gift baked goods or participate in a cookie exchange give some thought to how you are going to present the gift. There are many beautiful gift boxes made for this purpose. Add buying gift baskets or boxes to the planner so that you have ample supply before your baking begins.
Freezer meals are a great help in the busy weeks leading up to Christmas. With many more activities, cleaning days, school events and outings sometimes we are too tired to think about cooking a meal. There are many ideas of batch/freezer meals in the MHH kitchen chatter section. Think about what your go to meals may be and prepare one or two for in the freezer for those busy times. By having a few items in the freezer it will make life a little easier and also cut down on the expense of take out food.
Some cookies, pies and other items can be made and frozen now for use later in the year. If you have an abundance of fruit that is in season now, freeze the surplus.
The main meal!
Are you hosting a large family meal, will you be preparing a dish to take to a friends home? Are you hosting several times over the Holiday season?
Whatever you do as the main Christmas meal start making some plans now. Once again, will you be using family favourite dishes or are you trying something new? If you are trying something new I do suggest a trial run to see how it works especially if it is a major component of the meal.
Think about all the ingredients, the meats, the sides, the accompaniments, the desserts and the drinks. A lot of thought goes into planning the main event.
Think about what you served last year. Was it well received, did you prepare enough, was there too much, if it was stressful or too time consuming to prepare that dish maybe giv it a miss this year.
Now that you have given thought to what you will be preparing this year let's look at budget. Money is always a consideration when it comes to Christmas, it can be an expensive time of year. To lessen the blow on the budget try and divide the ingredient list over the remaining shopping trips.
On your shopping list add items that can be bought now. Butter if a good price can be bought now and frozen. Flour and sugar can be bought now and as long as it is stored properly will last until baking begins. Can you buy the vanilla and sprinkles now? Try and stockpile as much as you can now.
I look forward to reading about all the wonderful mouth watering treats that you are planning to serve your family for Christmas 2021
Holiday Cooking
Share recipes & menus here. This is also the place to ask about cooking related topics.
magicalholidayhome.com
