Happy New Yeark aka The Holiday Kitchen is CLOSED!

[SRL]

Help! Someone please just shoot me now and put me out of my holiday misery. The cooking and dishwashing just never seems to end!


I saved baking for when the kids were out of school, thus we baked (and washed up) for a few days before.


Christmas Eve we do an appetizer spread--a few homemade, a few storebought, and goodies.


Christmas Day we typically go to inlaws, but they got the flu so I wound up making a big meal here since my mom was joining us....and she didn't have the flu.


Yesterday I cooked a nice meal for a friend who is recovering from surgery. I'm glad to do it for her but was so tired I just went to sleep last night and am now looking at that mound of dishes this morning. Cheese soup dishes the next morning--whatever was I thinking?

Tomorrow we're getting together with inlaws for that Christmas so I have rolls and sides to do. By now I'm seriously all Christmased out! I'm supposed to do the fruity stuff--am thinking a jello salad I can do today and hot spiced fruit tomorrow since that's super easy.

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve and we always get together with church friends. I always bring fruit slush and need to make that up today so it has time to freeze (translation: more sticky dishes). Plus I think I'll just go with some humus and pita chips instead of more cooking.


After that I'm plannning to .

Whoever wrote that Twelve Days of Christmas song obviously didn't live at my house! Surely she had servants...lots of them...and they likely were busy cooking the turtle doves into a pie for the next night's supper.

Are any of the rest of you still Holiday Party Animals like me? What's on your New Year's menu?

 

[hearts and roses]

Lol, SLR, sorry you're too pooped to party!

The weeks before Christmas I spent baking up a store of cookies and other baked goodies!

Christmas eve I made a ham dinner, froze the rest and the bone. We picked and snacked Christmas day and hit up a movie after visiting with mom. That night, my sister from PA arrived and she was supposed to make dinner on the 26th but ended up going to an AA mtg instead-I cooked instead. Then on the 27th, my b'day, we spent the day with mom, following a nice breakfast out, and then easy child, H, and my sister made me a great dinner AND cleaned up. I made leftovers on wednesday and last night H and I went out for soup. Tonight, my friend from LI is coming up and we're going to a concert so we will grab something out and tomorrow night I'm using the leftover ham and bone to make a nice bean soup. I'll make some popovers to go with that. We have some friends coming over to ring in the new, better, year. And then? On new years day my friend and I will hit up some of her favorite stores for as long as I can stand it and on Monday I will bring her back to the ferry. I will probably get about two hours of down time! And we wonder why we are so tired.

 

[busywend]

Mine is not quite as bad as yours. We have both been off work all week so we have more dishes than usual. We did a pot roast in the crock pot last night.

I baked before Xmas and we are hosting the New Year's Day gathering. We are keeping it simple. I am making sauce tomorrow (to freeze about 8 meals) and I am making a Baked Ziti. But, we are just having cold cuts, the ziti, and potato chips for the meal. Others are bringing Appis and desserts.

 

[AnnieO]

I know the feeling...

Last night I decreed it was LEFTOVER NIGHT, pulled ALL the leftovers out of the fridge and...

TWO SHELVES of furry stuff. We had left: Stew or chicken (Saturday/Wednesday).

What IS it with my family that we can't seem to EAT our leftovers? What a waste. All that cooking...

 

[InsaneCdn]

Step...
I've had to re-classify the food that goes into the fridge.

The first set is "planovers". Those are never a problem. Extra chicken becomes meat for wraps for lunches... etc. This stuff goes into the fridge (or freezer) with a PLAN.

The second set is "leftovers". I've learned to not feel guilty about these. I'm not expecting the kids to stuff themselves just to avoid leftovers. IF it works to use some of that up for husband's lunch, great. IF there's several bits of stuff that I can toss on the table for a leftovers meal, great. If I get to fridge cleaning day and didn't use them? OUT.

 

[AnnieO]

LOL... I try not to make enough for leftovers, but it always, always seems to happen.

See... husband and Jett swear they love leftovers. But unless it's rice, Jett won't eat it leftover (sometimes, even rice gets furry). I have to call a 'dovers night. And when husband is in charge and I tell him to heat 'dovers? I come home to a pizza box.

So... A while back I started tossing stuff in bags in the freezer, and eventually I will make gumbo. (NOT. I know better.)

Sigh...

 

[SRL]

My kids have just a few leftovers they really like but my husband often misses eating with us and goes for the leftovers first.

I didn't get to my fruit slush until pretty late last night and I hope it freezes in time. Usually we have frigid temps so if nothing else I stick it outside. Not that I'm complaining!

I think I'm also going to make deviled eggs since I have plenty of eggs and take hummus and chips tonight to New Year's. Does anyone make hummus at home? We love it but the brand we like is really pricey.

I made a black cherry Coca Cola jello salad that I've never made before for tonight--I usually don't care for jello salads but this is tasty. I'm off now to start the roll dough, also a small veggie tray, and if time maybe some cookies since ours are pretty much decimated.

SRL, Two more holiday food fests away from being done...

Anyone trying new appetizers for tonight?

 

[trinityroyal]

I decided to experiment with a few new things for New Year's Eve this year. Nothing grand, just a slightly different version of stuffed mushrooms, a chorizo sausage that bought on impulse at the grocery store, and a new low-carb cheesecake recipe.

I treated husband and Little easy child to a sample platter for dinner last night, making smaller quantities of everything I'm making tonight. They pronounced them a hit, so I will indeed serve them. Other than that, I'm just barbecuing salmon and pork tenderloin. Keeping it WAY simple this year. Last year's elaborate nonsense burned me out.

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Other than that, I'm just barbecuing salmon and pork tenderloin.

"JUST"????

Like... that's about 100x more work than what I'm putting in.
No, wait... that's infinitely more, because... I'm doing NOTHING.