Fun & Frugal Tips for Holiday Cooking Traditions

Holiday traditions become traditions for a reason – we love them.  But sometimes our budget doesn't love them quite so much.  When you get trapped into doing certain things and having certain foods during holiday gatherings, spending beyond your budget is a distinct possibility. How can you get away from paying more than you want to for these traditional foods and holiday entertainment year after year?  It may be a bit uncomfortable at first, but when you see the savings, you'll be glad you learned to break away.

Traditions May Have To Fall

It is very often difficult to break with tradition, especially during the holidays.  However, if you're hosting a holiday gathering and you have a budget to consider, you may have to step on some toes. I won't say it's going to be easy. The struggle may be internal, in your own mind.  Or, the struggle may be external, family members telling you that you “simply can't” skip Grandma's special six-hour-twelve-layer-dessert that costs as much to make as Junior's orthodontist bill.

Personal feelings can play a big part in these traditions. If you break the news to the family that this year you don't want to cook something or do something that you usually do, and you're met with shrieks and tears, then suggest that someone go ahead and take on that particular tradition.  You don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but be honest.  Then, if someone wants to take up the mantle, by all means, let them. Everyone wins, tradition is intact if someone feels it should be, and you are off the hook for the expense. And remember, not everyone in the family is necessarily in love with the tradition that you've been trying to figure out how to eliminate from your plans.  Do a fact-check in your family and find out before you spend the money and time on something nobody really wants.

Brainstorming New Traditions

If you and your family agree that a tradition must be lovingly set adrift, it is time to begin anew. This is where everything starts getting interesting, and fun. It's time to get everyone on board and start brainstorming. So the question is put to the family; If we're going to let go of the huge meal and all the other expense surrounding a holiday, what do we replace it with?

Christmas dinner in Sweden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A fun idea to break away from tradition is to set a theme for your holiday dinner.  Have everyone bring one dish that they feel is consistent with that theme. For instance, make your dinner about the immigration of people from all over the world.  Feature dishes and decor from any region you think would be interesting. Choose areas of the world that are unknown to you, or celebrate your own heritage, or share a dish you enjoyed from your travels. Have fun with the variety that a themed event can provide.

But, don't stop there.  How would you like to host a beach party for Christmas?  Or a picnic for Thanksgiving?  Or a traveling meal, going between a few houses instead of one person responsible for the entire meal? The brainstorming session is all about throwing ideas on the table for everyone to consider.  Let your thoughts run wild and have fun with this new experience.

You Don't Have To Do It Again

Now that you are excited about brainstorming new ideas, it's time to remind everyone that even THIS new tradition doesn't have to be a tradition.  Next year you may forget the theme and just have hot sandwiches and movies.  The following year maybe you will host a Christmas breakfast instead of dinner.  Nothing is written in stone – even traditions.  

The idea is that if you have the privilege of hosting a holiday gathering for your family and friends, then you have the say about exactly what sort of event it will be.  Are you going to tote out Grandma's celery seed biscuits again, and throw them all out again, or are you going to get creative?

You don't have to stick to traditions when they don't work for your budget.  And when you try new traditions, you don't have to do it again. Don't let traditions dictate your budget.  Find a way to break free and enjoy what's really important – spending time with people you love and having some fun!

Recipe: Nutty Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This simple recipe makes a perfect holiday side dish. The nutty, earthy flavors of Brussels sprouts and pecans are kicked up a notch with the addition of garlic and olive oil, and roasting brings out the rich sweetness in the sprouts. It's a snap to make, and adds a nice bit of healthy green to your holiday plate!

Nutty Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(Serves 4-6.)

Roasted brussels sprouts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 cup pecans, rough chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine and coat well with the oil.
3. Arrange evenly on a large baking sheet.
4. Put in preheated oven and bake until Brussels sprouts are fork tender and slightly browned, about 20 to 30 minutes, turning the Brussels sprouts with a spatula at least once during the baking time. 
5. Remove and serve hot.

Giving Traditional Favorites A Makeover - Low Carb Holiday Classic Sides

When we start putting our holiday menu down on paper, we usually notice something happening.  The same dishes appear year after year after year.  Aside from the traditional main dish, there seems to be a pattern in many households of our favorite side dishes reappearing.  It's wonderful to follow tradition, but what happens when those family favorites are in conflict with your healthy diet?  Many sides we love are not exactly what you'd call low-carb.  So, how do we reinvent our holiday side dishes?  Let's take a look at a few new ways to treat a few old favorites.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Anyone on a low-carb diet will automatically push past the mashed potatoes and gravy.  We know it's loaded in carbs, right?  But the clever cook can easily replace the traditional favorite with a new favorite; Mock Smashed Potatoes and Golden Au Jus. The secret to this low-carb dish is simply that you aren't cooking potatoes; you're creating potatoes out of cauliflower. 

Boil cauliflower, then mash or put in food processor with cream cheese and other ingredients, and you have a smooth potato-like texture.  You can thicken the “potatoes” a bit with a tablespoon or so of almond flour if you wish.  Add garlic, Parmesan cheese, onion, salt and pepper to add even more flavor. 

Then the gravy is simple. All you need really is the pan drippings, a little water, and a saucepan over medium high heat.  Get the liquid bubbling and let it reduce by half and you'll have a nice, rich gravy without any added flour.  Of course, if you wish to thicken the gravy a bit, a little sprinkling of flour won't add a significant amount of carbs to the meal.

Green Bean Casserole

You know you love a big heaping helping of this favorite dish, but just one look at that can of cream of soup and you also know it's off limits.  But you can have this traditional side dish again;  all you need to do is control the ingredients.

Once you have your green beans cooking and your seasonings ready, you just need the sauce to bring it all together.  That thick creamy sauce is what makes the dish, right?  Create your own cream of soup by making a simple white sauce using milk and almond flour to thicken.  You can also stir in a bit of cream cheese to give it an even creamier texture.  It's really as simple as opening a can once you get the basic technique down.

As for those crunchy onions on top, the carbs don't account for much in the entire dish, but if you want to eliminate them entirely, but keep the onion taste, oven fry some thinly cut onion that has been coated lightly with olive oil.  When they get golden brown, toss them into and on top of the casserole for all the flavor without any breading.

Sweet potato, commonly referred to as a yam in the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweet Potato Casserole

This favorite side dish will take a lot of tweaking, but with the carb savings you'll enjoy, it's well worth it. Sweet potatoes are loaded with carbohydrates, and I don't mean a little;  I mean a lot!  One trick for bringing the carb count down is to mix pureed pumpkin in with the sweet potatoes.  You maintain the texture and flavor (remember, pureed pumpkin doesn't have any flavor of its own), and bring the carbs down within a reasonable amount.

Of course, you'll want to avoid as much sugar as possible, so one alternative is to stir in a bit of stevia (a natural sweetener made from the stevia plant - it has no carbs and does not affect blood sugar levels, and it is much sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way), just enough to bring the sweetness to a level that you're used to.  Another way is to readjust your thinking entirely when it comes to sweet potato casserole.  You may want to make it savory instead of sweet.  A sweet potato casserole made with crispy bacon or sausage instead of marshmallows and sugar could be a nice change on your holiday table.

Cranberry Relish

There are even ways to tweak this tangy sweet side dish.  Cranberry relish is typically not what you would call low-carb.  The amount of sugar in most recipes is pretty much off the scale, and the canned variety is even worse.  But, even though the amount you would normally eat at one sitting won't amount to too much, there are still ways to reduce the normal amount of carbs.

One interesting way to reduce the amount of carbs in a bowl of cranberry relish is to “bulk” up the relish as much as possible with lower carb ingredients.  Surprisingly, the peel of the orange is lower in carbs than the fruit itself.  Fill your food processor with raw cranberries and the zest from the peels of a couple of washed oranges and process until finely chopped.  Then, add sections of the orange, tasting after a few are processed, and stop adding when you have a nice blend of tangy and sweet.  Add a sprinkle of stevia or sugar just until you've gotten the sweetness you like. You'll be surprised how little sugar you'll have to add if you taste it first.

All of these makeovers have one thing in common – you have to just stop and think before you do what you've always done.  Often that's all it takes.  When you rethink the ingredients, you can usually eliminate or substitute something that is healthier and just as tasty.  You may even be creating new holiday dinner traditions.

Cooking Irish Favorites for St. Patrick's Day

There is something about St. Patrick's Day that brings out the Irish cook in all of us. If you are not of Irish decent it may not have quite this profound effect upon you. If you are, then I'm quite certain you will understand what I mean by this. There's something about revisiting traditions that may have been lost in the fog of coming to a new world and adopting a new way of life that is lifted on this one day of the year. As a result old favorite recipes handed down from mother to daughter over the centuries come out and grand meals are prepared.

If your mother wasn't of Irish decent and you do not have a stockpile of wonderful Irish recipes in your inventory there are a few great websites on the Internet that offer excellent recipes that have already been converted to standard American measurements that will have Irish eyes - and any eyes that think they might wish to be Irish - smiling once again.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Corned beef and cabbage is a classic Irish favorite. You can also include more veggies in the meal by adding great things like potatoes and carrots to the recipe. This is a great meal because it can be put in the crock pot before the work of the day begins, and with very little effort you'll have a tasty dinner waiting for you at the end of the day. Very little work is necessary in creating an outstanding feast that many will think you've had to miss a parade or two in order to prepare!

Lamb stew is another great dish to put on your St. Patrick's Day table. There are also slow cooker or crock pot recipes available for this family favorite if you take the time to search them out. This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that is very popular in cooler climates for the St. Patrick's Day festivities. This makes a great lunch or dinner and goes quite well with Irish Soda Bread.

Shepherd's Pie is another hale and hearty meal that is a wonderful addition to the St. Patrick's Day festivities. This dish is a favorite among those who have tried it and might just become a staple recipe in your kitchen once you give it a try!

And no Irish meal is really complete without potatoes of some kind on the table. Keep this in mind no matter which meal you cook. There must be potatoes in order to complete the meal or it simply cannot be authentically Irish! This may be a slight exaggeration but you really can't go wrong with potatoes for this holiday meal.

Picture of a beam in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course Irish coffee and green beer are quite often the drink choices for St. Patty's day celebrations and they are never a bad choice, provided someone not drinking those drinks is doing the driving. If alcohol isn't your beverage of choice it is definitely not a requirement. However, if you are feeling particularly in line with the green theme of St. Patrick's Day you could make a green milk shake, a green smoothie, green powdered drink mix, or any other green drink that comes to mind. The drinks and even the colors aren't really all that important in the end. It is all in good fun at this point even if it isn't Irish in nature. There are some days when it just pays to be green despite the fact that Kermit still claims, "it ain't easy being green."  :-)

Holiday Cooking Tips for Better Outcomes

The holidays are an extremely hectic and chaotic time for many of us. We run from one place to another with more "to do" lists than we think we will ever manage to complete. One thing is certain and that is that throughout all the running around and festivities that are going on it is quite likely that you are going to either drive yourself crazy being obsessively over-organized, or you are going to forget one dinner, event, or gift during the season that is going to prove to be important enough for a mad dash out into the cold. Depressing though the thought may be, the following tips can help you avoid potential breakdown as a result of the constant insanity of the holidays.

Image via WikipediaFirst of all, you absolutely must adopt the KISS policy: Keep it simple silly. The meals you plan for your contributions to holiday cooking in your own home and for various events and pot lucks that take place this time of year should be simple to prepare, take little time, and cost as little money as possible.

Here are 3 simple tips to help you accomplish this:

1. Do things in bulk. Rather than trying to squeeze in a few minutes here and there, mark out large chunks of your calendar and dedicate those times to tasks such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and wrapping and stick to that one thing during its allotted time slot rather than trying to cook, wrap, clean, and shop at the same time. This saves confusion and lessens the opportunity of something getting boiled, burned, splattered, ruined, or forgotten.

2. Plan ahead and shop ahead. This saves valuable time and money because you aren't impulse buying at the last minute. Whether you are shopping for food items for meal preparation and cooking, or the perfect gifts for friends or family, putting things off often tends to result in spending more money than intended and getting less value for that money.

Make sure you have enough room inside your fridge for the foods you need for preparation and storing the foods that need to be chilled once they've been prepared. Space is a must and if you do not have enough space in your refrigerator you need to be making other plans for food that needs to be kept cold in the interim.

Plan a quick and easy back up in case something goes wrong with one of the more complicated dishes or casseroles. A last minute substitution that is quick and easy is a much better option than not having enough to go around. You never know what's going to go wrong when dealing with holiday cooking, and it is best to be prepared when something does.

Make sure the turkey or ham is properly thawed and that you've allotted the necessary time for cooking. In fact an extra hour is often the best way to go as you never know what kind of differences there will ultimately be in cooking time for your main course.

3. Clean as you go. This little tip will save so much time, trouble, and pulled hair that you will never really know how wonderfully valuable this nugget of advice really is. Dishes are simpler to clean when still warm and before food has time to dry and set in, and you will feel so much peace when you finish your meal and realize you only have a few dishes to clean up afterwards (and that's what the kids are for)!

These tips do not guarantee a perfect holiday cooking experience but they are an excellent way to guarantee less stress in the mix.

Labor-Free Labor Day Cooking

Today we have a special Labor Day edition. It's a day early, so you can follow some of the tips here, for a stress-free Labor Day meal!

Image via WikipediaIt's almost a misnomer, but there are plenty of ways that you can make the cooking for your Labor Day meal virtually labor-free compared to years long past. (At least the cooking that will take place on the actual holiday.) This is a good deal in most homes as often the ones doing the cooking really don't get to enjoy the holiday and still have to go to work the very next day. By doing most of the labor for the meal preparation ahead of time you will have very little to do on Labor Day itself other than setting up the table and reheating the items that need to be heated.

The first thing you absolutely must do in order to enjoy a truly labor free Labor Day is plan ahead. Plan a menu that is full of items that can be prepared ahead of time and either stored, refrigerated, or frozen in such a manner that very little work will be required to have them ready to serve on the day of the main event. Some excellent ideas for this include foods such as vegetable trays (the veggies can be chopped a day ahead of time and stored in zipper bags in the fridge, sausage balls (these may be prepared well ahead of time and frozen), and frozen desserts.

Once you have the menu planned you need to do the shopping a bit ahead of time. Shopping close to the holidays is a little more hectic, a lot more crowded, and you are twice as likely to either not get the items you need or forget something from your list. Another thing is that you should have a list and just like Santa check it twice to make sure that everything on your list has been purchased. If not, you need to either go back into the fray and get it or (if the store is out) make immediate plans to stop in another store and pick up the missing item. You do not want to be going on a mad hunt for an open store on Easter morning.

Once you've done this, consider meals that can be made relatively trouble free in the crock pot. This means a few minutes of trouble in the morning, for each crock pot treat, and hands free cooking the rest of the day. Barbecue ribs and baked barbecue beans are popular crock pot items that require little prep work and taste great at the end of the day.

Image via WikipediaIf grilling is indeed something that is an important Labor Day tradition for your family, try to do all the marinating and rubs the night before so that the grilling is straightforward and everything is ready to go in the morning. While you're at it, you may want to toss a few of the veggies you set aside for the veggie tray onto the grill as well.

Another thing you need to do to limit your labor contribution to the Labor Day cooking is recruit help for the process. Invite friends and family that will be joining in the experience to bring specialty dishes that they prepare. This leaves you free from the need to prepare that particular dish and, equally important, from the need to clean up after the dish was made. If you have kids and a husband put them to work for the preparation and the clean up efforts! There is no rule written that says you have to do it all and you shouldn't be expected to. Make others contribute their fare share and take a moment to have a nice cold glass of tea.

If you do all of the things mentioned above you will find yourself anticipating rather than dreading Labor Day and that your efforts really pay off quite well in the end. In fact, you may have time to hit the hammock for a little while if you're lucky!

Related Articles on Labor Day Cooking:

• Cooking Out for Labor Day (menopausemaniac.com)
• MyPlate is Labor-Free for Labor Day (prweb.com)
• Do You Know What You're Cooking for Labor Day? (esquire.com)