A Six-Day Meal Plan for Christmas Week + A Shopping List
What to make when you're trying to relax but also want to feel festive and need to feed a crowd.
With two college-age kids home for the break, I want to do some advance planning to ensure I’m not stressed about meals. Since we’ll be spending time in a mountain town where getting a reservation for five at the last minute is tricky, I plan to make most of our meals at home. Plus, it will save us many American dollars that can then be used for my Christmas gifts, right?! My husband can be in charge of grocery shopping (but let’s be honest, I’ll be writing the list) and I’ll do the cooking. Sometimes, when we’re out of town, my kids each plan and cook one dinner, which takes three nights off my plate and becomes a healthy competition. My husband also has a few signature recipes that somehow use 500 bowls and pans in the making: Chicken Parm is his go-to. Since I’m meal planning for next week, I thought I’d share my menu in the hopes it helps you simplify your week, too.
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Sunday
Meatballs! I’ll attach a recipe PDF at the end of this post. We use this perfect recipe in cooking classes and it’s one of my favorites. You can steal some of this recipe’s techniques to improve any meatball recipe in your repertoire: Use a box grater for the onions to help them dissolve into an almost paste-like consistency, and use a microplane to grate the garlic. Also, soaking the breadcrumbs with the ricotta is key to forming a soft and flavorful paste that binds the meatballs together. You want all the meatball ingredients to blend well so that every bite is well-flavored. Serve with your favorite gluten-free or regular spaghetti and Rao’s Marinara or Marcella Hazan tomato sauce. I’ll put out some raw crudites for snacking while I cook—that way, everyone can get a base layer of veggies in them before they carb load. Serve the veggies with storebought hummus, Jalapeno Buttermilk Ranch or the White Bean Dip with Rosemary Oil from my cookbook.
Monday
Something “one pot” would be ideal since we have lots of holiday cooking ahead of us. I thought about making a big pot of Kale and White Bean Soup, but I know only 3 out of 5 of my family will be excited about it. My husband requested Chicken Pot Pie. I make mine with rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry. It’s not too time-intensive if you purchase the chicken and the crust, and you can assemble it a day ahead. I’m craving Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Casserole (recipe below) so that’s the winner winner chicken dinner—it uses premade frozen rice, a rotisserie chicken and lots of broccoli. Tip: Shred the chicken right when you get home from the store. It will be easier to do when it’s warm. Assemble the casserole a day ahead if you want!
Tuesday
It’s Christmas Eve, which means chili at my parent’s house and skillet cornbread. We might also have a salad or skip it to have one bowl to balance on our laps while opening a few grandparent gifts. We'll most likely steal some of the date squares I make for my dad as dessert. That recipe is in my cookie post and Grandma’s Date Squares are also in my cookbook.
Wednesday
For the past couple of Christmases, my mom has made a super easy short rib recipe in the slow cooker. She gets meaty short ribs from a local Idaho rancher and sears them in a hot pan (use avocado oil and a heavy skillet). Plan for at least one pound of short ribs per person. The ribs go in the slow cooker with a bottle of teriyaki sauce for 8 hours on low. It’s so easy, hands-off and stress-free. I make steamed short-grain Calrose rice in my rice cooker, the steamed broccolini from my cookbook (I skip the optional vinaigrette; I’ll add a PDF version of the recipe below), and lots of condiments (chili crisp, soy sauce, sriracha and kimchi). It’s not a super formal Christmas meal, but I love how hands-off the prep is, and my kids love the flavors. In the past, we’ve also made my Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin. You can find that menu on my blog. I serve the beef tender with a potato side, a green veggie and kale salad.
A note about Christmas breakfast. This year, I’m testing a make-ahead breakfast casserole (attached below) and my mom is making a Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Icing. You can make the bundt cake a day or two ahead and store it at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The casserole can be assembled and refrigerated a day or two ahead. Serve it with the melon salad I attached in Knife Skills: Part 3.
Thursday
Boxing Day! We might just heat up leftovers TBH. But if we have leftover short ribs, I might enlist my live-in prep assistants (ie, kids and husband) to help chop veggies for fried rice. I add a base of onion, carrot and lots of celery, and then add in chopped green veggies (broccoli, asparagus, sugar snap peas, etc). I follow my husband’s family’s technique—I wrote about Aunt Shelley’s Fried Rice in my cookbook. It’s delicious with leftover meat added to the mix or you can keep it vegetarian. Use leftover slightly dried-out rice, or make a fresh batch and spread it out on a sheet pan to dry out a bit before adding to the pot. If you don’t have a wok, you can make this in a big 7-quart Dutch Oven.
Friday
Taco night! Make my go-to recipe with ground turkey or beef. And if you want the meat to stretch extra far and add some veggies into your people, add 1 cup frozen riced cauliflower to the mix. Sometimes I also add a can of drained pinto beans to the taco meat, it’s a one-stop tortilla filling. Don’t skip the tomato paste and chicken or beef stock in order to end up with a saucy taco filling. Grab store-bought salsas to make your life easier. If you don’t feel like making guac, buy it. Or slice some avocadoes. I prefer shredded cabbage over shredded lettuce in my tacos—cabbage doesn’t wilt and stays crunchy. Make a green salad tossed with Super Simple Salad Dressing for anyone who wants to skip the tortilla and make a taco bowl. If you’re feeling energetic, add homemade black beans (this version is made in the Instant Pot), Kale Guacamole and Quick Pickled Red Onions. I also love this La Taqueria Sauce, a knock-off of the hot sauce at my favorite San Francisco taco spot. Those recipes are all just icing on the cake, though. If nothing else, throw together a pan of taco meat. Everyone can make their own plate and heap on store-bought toppings. You might think about doubling the amount of taco meat and using leftovers in a breakfast scramble or for sheet pan nachos or quesadillas.
The Shopping List
A note about grocery lists: Print the recipes you plan to make and finalize the shopping list after you’ve checked what you already have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer.
Do Ahead Tips
Get someone to shop for you today, or do a massive order from a grocery delivery service today or tomorrow. Also of note, I’m not planning to make all the recipes attached below, but I wanted you to have options! Here’s what I’d do right away:
Make the Super Simple Salad Dressing and stash it in the fridge. You can use it for lunches and dinners all week long.
Cut carrot and celery sticks for snacking, or buy them pre-cut.
Shred the rotisserie chicken for the casserole when it’s warm and stash it in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the Christmas morning breakfast casserole on Monday or Tuesday, but bake it the morning of.
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