December 2021 - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's

Hello again! And a very happy new year to you! 

It's been a whirlwind these couple of days but it is NO excuse. And today I would like to share with you the menu that I have done up specially for Christmas. 

For Christmas Eve, I did:

1. Beef Stroganoff 
2. Roast Pork Belly 
3. Cucumber Salad (extremely refreshing!)
4. Oven Baked Rice Pilaf with Walnut and Cranberry 
5. Mashed Potatoes (a tad overcooked... oops.)
6. and a very simple Mac & Cheese 

I was very happy to share that it was well liked by even the pickiest members of the family and of course the star of the show was the roast pork. 

Friendly feast for the ravenous: roast pork, mac and cheese, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and beef stroganoff

For Christmas Day, I did: 

1. Slow Cooked Turkey Breast (extremely moist)
2. Roast Ham 
3. Pigs in Blankets 
4. Roast Potatoes (crunchy!)
5. Mashed Potatoes 
6. Roasted Brussel Sprouts 
7. and... a very easy green salad!
    

The turkey was moist, the roast ham was delicious and we even had some leftover beef stroganoff from the day before! (Sticky hands were all over the food so I couldn't take a proper picture.) 

 

Roasted Potatoes, scattered with semolina and lined with ghee *Scrumptious*

Pigs in Blankets, wrapped with bacon and drizzled with sea salt

Slow cooked turkey, the moistest, softest turkey breast ever with roasted brussel sprouts 

Food was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have done it without the help of my family! 

I also did a timetable for when the oven was prime "real estate" and needed some planning as to when to move things around. 

Christmas Eve Menu Itinerary

Christmas Day Menu Itinerary 

I am extremely proud of my timetable, took a while to plan it all out but as it turns out, I did have some free time on my hands, thanks to the family helping out. 

We also dressed up the table a little bit, I was so proud of how good it looked at the end of the day. I bought rosemary and eucalyptus from GG Flower Wholesale and the scent was so lovely, it spruced up the house a bit. I also laid down disposable table cloths to dress it up. I have the flair for the dramatic. To make it "sparkle" a little more, we also added in table scatters of Christmas trees and literally threw a line of stars across the table.   

I have a large family.. who apparently likes to play mahjong. :D

The budgeteer's individual table setting :) 

So that's it for me! I love to plan these things out and then let everyone have fun at the same time! Until next time! xxx