A Cheats Christmas

HariboJunkie

mirry wrote:

I have always found christmas stressfull so this year am looking for any tips for cheating and cutting corners.....

Do you think cooking the meal the day before hand and then reheating on the day would work ?

Using paper plates and cups to save the hassle of washing up ? (or is this bad for the enviroment)

what things can be frozen ?

would long life milk be easier to stock incase we run out ? does it taste nice ?

do any of you cheat and if so how ?

Last year my oven broke on Christmas eve:eek: We cooked the beef that night in a neighbours oven and cooked the veggies on the hob. i plated it all up and reheated it on Christmas day. I found the day so much less stressful and actually spent time with the kids instead of in the kitchen.:D

Anastacia

We pre-prep all the veg etc but cook it on the day. Main thing is to enjoy the event, be relaxed & have a glass of sherry or whatever. If the turkey takes an hour too long it doesnt really matter. Just chill & enjoy.

boglin

We cook our turkey in a Weber kettle barbecue as it comes out so beautifully moist and actually cooks in less time than in a conventional oven; there are instructions in the recipe book that came with it - it is very easy and the big advantage is that hubby deals with that - every hour he has to add more coals, which coincides nicely with a trip out to the shed for another beer...:beer:

That leaves the oven free for less-stressful fitting-in of everything else; I love all the stuffing balls, sausages, etc and they take up so much room - I make all of these the day before (although you could prepare further in advance and freeze them). That also means less washing up if they are all ready to cook in their dishes - and you could buy foil tins for these, for throwing away afterwards, if you like. You could even do the potatoes in big foil dishes. Surely the cooking pots and pans are the worst to wash, rather than the plates? To be honest (and please don't shout at me for wasting money!) you could buy very cheap roasting tins like the sort that come into the supermarket at Christmas and throw them out afterwards...they tend to rust anyway...(think of it as saving time as well as money on the washing up liquid and heating the water!!!):T

I make a timetable like another poster does - as long as I can still focus on my list (typed in nice big CLEAR font lol) I remember when to put things in the oven/on the hob. It isn't rocket science to work back from the Estimated Meal Time - and that takes further stress off you on the day.

You could have finger-food starters - eg dips with yummy prawns (such as the giant prawn ring from Iceland) and veggies - buy the bags of pre-cut carrots, for example....again, less washing up. The kids will love dunking those in ketchup if they aren't fond of 'real' dips!

Like so many people, we can't manage pudding after that great feast - so why not go easy on yourself and buy some chilled or frozen desserts in individual containers, that can be thrown away afterwards - again, economical on time (no washing up!) and those not eaten straight away will keep far better than a large trifle that has been dug into.

Hope some of this may help!

super41

We always cook the turkey on Christmas Eve because we have a lot of people around and a small oven! We never reheat it the next day because a) I'm worried about food poisoning, b) you need the space and time to heat it up and c) personally we think it tastes better cold. With lashings of hot gravy and warmed plates shouldn't upset anyone!

1. Prepare all your veg the day before and don't go overboard. Eg. do you really need roast and mashed potatoes? We decided not though we'd done both for years!

2. Prepare as much in advance as possible and freeze - e.g. HM stuffings, Christmas pudding, cake (obviously!), and other desserts, starters, etc. Can even make your rum sauce the night before.

3. Good little tip which I'm going to do this year: instead of a starter serve canapes with pre-lunch drinks. Enables you to skip a course, saves washing up and time!

4. Worth having some UHT milk in, just in case you run out, it's fine for custards/sauces etc.

5. Rope relatives/guests into washing up or stacking the dishwasher.

I want to have a relaxed Christmas Day this year after 3 very hectic ones. Also will have a 6 month old baby therefore time more limited this year.

emg

I hate UHT milk, even in coffee or tea. I just keep some extra semi-skimmed or skimmed in the freezer - let it defrost overnight, give it a shake in the morning. I find skimmed freezes a little better than semi so I'm not sure what fall-fat milk would be like.

mirry

great tips everyone, I feel alot more relaxed now ,about it all........thanks.

Doozergirl

We've started to eat dinner later now as Chistmas seemed to be over by about 4pm before. Now everyone has something to look forward to.

Last year we had an early buffet lunch and ate dinner around 7pm - you then have all day to carry out the chores and it's not so rushed. It's lovely and cosy when it's dark and you can have candles lit and the table looks better, IMO. I also resent having to get up early to put the turkey in.

You could always buy your vegetables and even your joint, in fact, everything pre-prepared from the supermarket; fresh or frozen depending on budget, but I think peeling veg is what husbands are made for.

Paper plates? Nooo. I enjoy the spectacle of a fully laid table and it's the best excuse to get out the best crockery. I've spent all my time cooking, so others can wash up!

Hello

I dont believe there is a question on this site about UHT milk, listening has come in useful after all, who'd of thought?:whistle:

UHT is Ultra Heat Treated - no added chemicals of any kind, just milk heated up, therefore no chemicals needed. This is assuming you avoid the added bacteria and fish oils type. Your ordinary UHT has nothing extra in it.

Always keep it in the fridge - warm UHT is yucky, cold you won't notice the difference and I have challenged many who thought different and won.

Also, buy Skimmed instead of Semi Skimmed and Semi Skimmed instead of full fat as UHT does taste creamier. I think this is one reason people say they don't like it, they are buying the wrong type. I guess you would buy full fat if you like channel island gold top?!

One more tip - exactly the same goes into the value packs as the not so value packs, so save yer pennies and buy value.

Hello
x

I finally answered a post where I know what i'm talking about - woohoo!! :j Hope I haven't taken too long and someone beat me to it!!

Hello

I always cook my turkey the day before, or even 2, I only have one shelf in my oven and need that for the roast potatoes etc. I do as much as I can the day and night before veg preparing, pud making, preparing breadcrumbs for the bread sauce, quartering and sticking the cloves in the onion, everything I can. That way it's just a matter of throwing everything together on the day.

Hello

HappyMedium_2

I really cheat, go away on holiday to the sun shine from 15th-23rd then go to my daughters for Christmas dinner - its cheaper but I always pay for the turkey and the crackers.