❄❄ Let It Snow ❄❄ :: Christmas 2012 Chatter Thread

jen49

There is only the 3 of us , so I just get a crown thing in a tray, and a piece of beef in a tray. They only cost about £5/£6 each.

They are really quite small, but as we have both, we only have a couple of slices of each.
And there is no washing up afterwards either :j:j

I cook them on Christmas eve, slice what we will need, and put the slices in gravy, over night.

I really don't like cooking on Christmas day, so we have frozen everything. Tesco do frozen roast potatoes in goose fat which are to die for. I have to cook the whole bag as ds eats them cold. (If only he would actually eat the dinner at the table, and not hiding in his room.!!)
He loves a roast, but it is all just a bit much for him. Although for the last 2 years I have managed to get him to sit with us, by having Lottery Scratch Cards on each plate. I am the only one not to have won anything yet. He has won every year and dd also won last year.

I also get fresh veg in bags that can be steamed in the microwave, as I am dishing up.(Can't stand lukewarm veg)

We have Aunt Bessie Stuffing Balls, and Yorkshire Puddings.

I know it is all very lazy, but I would rather spend the day with the kids in the lounge than on my own in the kitchen.[/QUOTE]

:T:T
I dont think its lazy at all - done it myself before today

Possession

Own_My_Own wrote: »

I know it is all very lazy, but I would rather spend the day with the kids in the lounge than on my own in the kitchen.

I don't think it's a question of being lazy at all, we all do what we want to make Christmas Day special for us. For you that's using frozen stuff so you can maximise time with the kids, for others that might be spending time in the kitchen for foody delights. We will be at my mum's this year and she has never used a frozen or ready-prepared roast potato in her life, but we will still do stuff beforehand which minimises the amount there is to do on Christmas Day. My sister is veggie, and the nut roast will be already made and veggie and 'normal' gravy made so they can all just be heated up. My dad will prepare the turkey the night before so it can go straight into the oven. We will peel and prep all veg on xmas eve, probably having par-boiled the potatoes. Honey roast parsnips are made to a Delia recipe which tells you to freeze them and cook from frozen. Cranberry sauce and brandy butter made earlier. They might buy some bacon-wrapped sausages to save time. Might even make the bread sauce the day before so it can be heated in the microwave. Everyone has their own time-saving ways. I certainly don't want to be in the kitchen more than I have to on Christmas Day. I want presents!:rotfl:

lazysheep

Own_My_Own wrote: »

I really don't like cooking on Christmas day, so we have frozen everything. Tesco do frozen roast potatoes in goose fat which are to die for. I have to cook the whole bag as ds eats them cold.

Which ones are these please? Am cooking this year for the first time and am slightly nervous as have never cooked roasties before so need some good ones on standby!

VICSH

HI thanks for all the advice on the christmas dinner.
Christmas day there will be 6 of us for lunch and then another 4 in the evening so I want to make sure there is enough to do cold turkey/ ham buffet style in the evening.
Our menu consists of the following:
Turkey (this is the bit i am still worried about, when people say 'prep' what does that mean, I am used to cooking roast chicken so thought it was the same really)
Gammon in coke Nigella recipe cooked the night before in coke then glazed in the hot oven on the day :-)
Roast pots in goose fat
honey Parsnips (does anyone have delias receipe they would like ot share)
Sausage meat stuff (homemade)
Sausages wrapped in bacon I think I will jsut buy these
Normal boiled veg
Bread sauce ( buying it)
Turkey gravy (buying it)
When I write it down it all seems easy enough. I have a xmas pudding and my mil is bringing another dessert so I dont need to worry about that.
I am hoping to prep most of the stuff xmas eve and dress the table etc so xmas morning it is a case of putting the turkey in the oven and then rest should kinda take care of itself :-)
One thing I am going to do is buy disposable roasting trays though if anyone sees any please post there is one thing spending the mornign cooking which i quite enjoy another spending the day scrubbing pans lol....

VICSH

Also I saw the maccaroons (sp) on the M and S website and someone mentioned on here you can buy these instore I lvoe these but we dont need enough to feed 12 from the ordering service do you know when they are instore?

Own_My_Own

lazysheep wrote: »

Which ones are these please? Am cooking this year for the first time and am slightly nervous as have never cooked roasties before so need some good ones on standby!

They are Tescos Finest and are in a black coloured bag with gold writing on. I roast them for about 10 mins, then season them before roasting until crisp.
Even my Dad, who is a roast potato monster thinks they're nice.


I also buy their frozen roasting vegetables. I just take out the potatoes. It has carrots, onions and parsnips in it. I am the only one who eats it, so don't do anything to it. But you could brush with honey at the same time you are seasoning potatoes.

(the potatoes don't really need seasoning but I like to think I added something to the meal):rotfl:

Possession

VICSH wrote: »

HI thanks for all the advice on the christmas dinner.
Christmas day there will be 6 of us for lunch and then another 4 in the evening so I want to make sure there is enough to do cold turkey/ ham buffet style in the evening.
Our menu consists of the following:
Turkey (this is the bit i am still worried about, when people say 'prep' what does that mean, I am used to cooking roast chicken so thought it was the same really)
Gammon in coke Nigella recipe cooked the night before in coke then glazed in the hot oven on the day :-)
Roast pots in goose fat
honey Parsnips (does anyone have delias receipe they would like ot share)
Sausage meat stuff (homemade)
Sausages wrapped in bacon I think I will jsut buy these
Normal boiled veg
Bread sauce ( buying it)
Turkey gravy (buying it)
When I write it down it all seems easy enough. I have a xmas pudding and my mil is bringing another dessert so I dont need to worry about that.
I am hoping to prep most of the stuff xmas eve and dress the table etc so xmas morning it is a case of putting the turkey in the oven and then rest should kinda take care of itself :-)
One thing I am going to do is buy disposable roasting trays though if anyone sees any please post there is one thing spending the mornign cooking which i quite enjoy another spending the day scrubbing pans lol....

Mr T has disposable roasting tins in now, they are usually by the freezers. Re. turkey, it depends what kind of joint you have. If you have a great big turkey, it just needs planning on how long to cook it and the fact that you will be unlikely to fit anything else in the oven at the same time. You may also want to consider taking the legs off and cooking them alongside as recommended by Jamie Oliver, as this means cooking time can be slightly less and the turkey breast will have less chance to dry out. I force some kind of butter under the skin of the crown to make it moist. If you only buy a crown obviously the cooking time and space are less. My parents for the last few years have bought a boned, stuffed turkey from M&S which is already prepared on a foil tray.
Parsnips - sorry, it is parmesan parsnips rather than honey.
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/accompaniment/parmesan-baked-parsnips.html
It says you need to defrost them but I have cooked from frozen, just given them 5 mins longer. I see no reason why you couldn't follow the recipe but instead of parmesan drizzle a melted honey & soy sauce glaze over them instead.
Sorry this went on so long. It is easy, it just needs a bit of time management that's all.

kez_s

VICSH wrote: »

Also I saw the maccaroons (sp) on the M and S website and someone mentioned on here you can buy these instore I lvoe these but we dont need enough to feed 12 from the ordering service do you know when they are instore?

That was me! We bought them last year as part of the 4 for 3 deal, they didn't have the gold or silver ones, just the pink & brown in a pack but they may change them for this year! I don't know when they start putting the Christmas food out but I'm sure they were quite well dated but we bought a few party type biscuit things. Like you I don't really want to buy that many even though I'm sure they'd get eaten! With quite a few of their buffet items on the food to order they were in smaller packs on the 4 for 3 and I'm going to order stuff like that, that way.

With regards to the gammon in cherry coke does it have a strong cherry taste? I've cooked the gammon in coke quite a few times and it's gorgeous but never tried it with cherry coke, just didn't want the cherry flavour to be too strong if served with other savoury things, just thinking of perhaps trying it this way for boxing day!

TigerLilly1003

princesskitty29 wrote: »

Phew! Just caught up! I don't get to post on here very often as every time I log on I have to catch up by about 10 pages! :rotfl:

There was loads I wanted to comment on but it's all got a bit much now! Good luck and best wishes to all the mums-to-be and mums-that-might-already-be - we shall wait to hear! Welcome newbies and lurkers, and well done to everyone on all bargains! Also thanks to those of you who gave me ideas for the golf boxers, I shall check out TKMax and Next.

The only Christmas shopping i've managed this week is a book and dvd for my OH. I have a massive long list typed out all ready to be bought, i'm itching to get out and buy it all but I just haven't had the time! I'm going to pop to Poundland at lunchtime today to make a start. I found this on Amazon that I really want to buy for my OH as we've just bought a home together:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gifts-Men-leads-screws-pointless/dp/B004T8MVME

But it got me thinking that this might be a good present for any men that are hard to buy for? You could fill it with chocs and things for Christmas. Just an idea if anyone is stuck.

I'm getting excited as i'm going home to my parents in a couple of weeks and they have a Home Bargains so i'm setting some time aside to go in there! I'm also visiting my auntie in Sheffield at the start of November and i'm hoping they have B&M's (is that what you call it?) or similar! :T

From looking on camelcamelcamel it appears that this tin has been down too£2.89 in the past. I have posted a watch on it so hopefully goes down to under 5 pounds. will let everybody know if it does as its a great quirky xmas gift :beer:

moneysavingmumofone

littlemschatabox-Christmas jumpers go for silly money on ebay too! :eek: Ive looked a few times but they always go for too much! Has anyone seen any christmas jumpers for boys from age 10 up?

Damzel_In_Distress-Would you mind sharing the clothing offer? Got a few men stil left to buy for!

Money maker-Hope you feel better soon.

ellie9ellie-Oooh I LOVE Brave! I want a Merida doll. Cant wait for the DVD to come out!

pinknfluffy28-90 mins of David Tennant is fine by me.

princesskitty29-I love all the stuff in that range, I have several notebooks on my amazon wishlist! Love the 'evil plans and stuff' one.

OwnMyOwn-If I had to cook Id be doing it the 'lazy' way too!

Ahhhh just noticed the christmas stuff is online at halfcost!! http://www.halfcost.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=11&catalogId=10001&categoryId=10401&top=Y&showSubCategory=no