quickest/easiest Christmas dinner

jopsey

Sorry if this is in wrong forum please dont hesitate to move

I know its not excatly money saving but as I have a 19 month old little boy I want to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen on Christmas and as much time with my little fella

I make a roast every week and never buy prepared or frozen veg or anything else but am considering it ,my question is how can I cut corners for time but don't mind paying extra for quality

Also has anybody ordered from asda/tesco for Christmas delivery and where they happy/unhappy with quality of fresh produce,
.
I really want this Christmas to be hassle free as possible and the key I think is preparation ,preparation,preparation which is much easier with this site:j

comping_cat

I always prepare my veg the night before (including the potatoes) so i just have to turn them on when ready xmas morning. I also make any sauces the day before too, and warm them in the microwave.
If you want to save loads of time, cook in advance and then freeze it all, just need to defrost and warm up on Christmas day then!!!!

Rachie_B

we cook the turkey on xmas eve
prep all the veg the night before too so its all ready to go

make your piggies in blankets now and freeze them on a baking sheet so all you have to do is take out and then bung in the oven,same goes for stuffing balls

do an easy starter which doesnt take much prep or one that you can prep and leave in the fridge etc

*Louise*

I don't buy a whole turkey - I buy the big pieces of turkey breast which are much faster to cook.

LJM

hi i like to perpare my veg in advance also makes life so much easier,yet i cheat on the meat, in iceland they do all diff joints meat off the bone cook from frozen.so i tend to get the turkey from there and then bung it in the oven for a couple hours,plenty time to watch my kiddies open/play with their pressies then,rather than mucking about in the kitchen

papoosue

For the last two years I have had my 'Christmas Dinner' on Christmas Eve for the simple reason that I wanted to spend time with my children on Christmas Day and not stuck in the kitchen cooking or washing dishes. I was dubious at first but it was a real success and on Christmas Day we just eat whatever we like. I know it's not really helping you with the meal but I thought it was maybe an alternative idea for you.:)

emilyt

When my 2 dd's were little i too wanted to spend christmas day with them and not in the kitchen.
We decided that we would have a buffet on christmas day. This worked out better than we thought. If anyone turned up to give them presents there was always a sausage roll or a cake we could offer them.
We could eat when we wanted and the girls loved it. Lets face it children are usually so excited they don't eat that much in the way of a proper meal anyway. Too interested in their new toys.
They even ask me now if we can have a buffet instead of the traditional meal. I refuse as they are now 17 and 19. I did used to do the christmas meal on boxing day though. Hope this helps.

southwestmaid

I can recommend Aunt Bessie's frozen parsnips. I usually cook and mash my swede the day before and re-heat in the microwave, tastes just as good and prepare everything on Xmas eve, carrots are ok re-heated too although i like my greenstuff cooked on the day. Last year I cooked a turkey Crown (Turkey without legs) and it was far quicker and easier to carve.

emmaBZ

well this year im getting a cook from frozen butter basted turkey crown from iceland cost £5-£7.50 had one last week to try and it was lovely...just bung in oven for 1 & 1/2 hrs and no messing around ...probably do it with roasters ect but last yr had roast beef with chips....kids loved it and seemed to be easier than roasters...

victory

papoosue wrote:

For the last two years I have had my 'Christmas Dinner' on Christmas Eve :j do exactly the same!! xx

jopsey

Thanks everybody for reply got some really good tips ,quite fancy the christmas dinner on Christmas eve idea that would be great or if DP pulls a face we could cook it Christmas eve and re heat it on Christmas day

My DP quite likes having his roast heated (cooked to death )up in the oven once its gone cold (yuk) but I could be swayed this year and just micro mine and little fellas

you are stars will get down to iceland to look at turkeys and parsnips