19 years young. Christmas Meal for Parents.?

Question

Hey guys.

This year my parents have done a lot for me and I wanted to do something for them for Christmas. I have purchased them gifts but I think which will really make an impression would be a nice meal. Any suggestions on what to make them? And if so... some recipes to go along with it. I want to make this a memorable Christmas so all are welcome to put in their 2 cents! Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You know I did the same thing once I was out on my own and I did the old fashion Thanksgiving meal I wanted them to know I could do and that I had learned from them over the yrs.. You know it is not hard to cook a small turkey and all the trimming's, most of the stuff you can get in a box so it would be really easy. Now if your not in to doing the old fashion thing then I would go for a really good steak and salad or even a casserole dish of some kind and a salad. here are some recipes for you.

This is the turkey..



Cooking Method: Bake
Prep Time: 30
Cooking Time: Over one hour

Makes: 14 servings (5 oz. meat & 1/2 cup stuffing each)

Ingredients

Stuffing
1 package (12 ounces) bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 medium onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
3 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped dried apples
6 cups chopped pecans, toasted
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 package (16 ounces) cornbread stuffing mix
2-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup Parkay® Original-stick, melted
PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
Turkey
1 cup apple jelly
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Butterball® Turkey, (16 to 18 pounds), thawed if frozen
Gravy
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. STUFFING: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Set bacon aside. Add onion and celery to drippings; cook over medium-high heat 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Combine bacon, onion mixture, apples, pecans, thyme and sage in large bowl; stir in stuffing mix. Add broth and Parkay, stirring well. Set 7 cups of stuffing aside for stuffing turkey. Spoon remaining stuffing into 1-1/2 quart baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake covered 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes.
2. TURKEY: Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine jelly, juice, vinegar, honey and salt in small, heavy saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1-1/4 cups, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1/4 cup mixture for gravy; set remaining mixture aside for basting turkey.
3. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey; refrigerate for another use or discard. Drain juices from turkey; pat dry with paper towels. Fill neck cavity with part of the stuffing. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey. Fill body cavity with remaining stuffing. Place turkey, breast up, on flat roasting rack in shallow roasting pan. Spray turkey with cooking spray. Place small pieces of aluminum foil over skin of neck cavity and over stuffing at body cavity opening to prevent over browning during roasting.
4. Brush turkey with some glaze mixture. Loosely cover breast and tops of drumsticks with aluminum foil to prevent overcooking. Bake 2 hours.
5. Uncover turkey breast and brush turkey with additional glaze mixture. Return foil to top of turkey and continue roasting until meat thermometer inserted deep in thigh reaches 180°F. Let turkey stand 15 minutes before removing stuffing and carving.
6. GRAVY: Pour drippings into 1-quart measure; skim fat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Add broth, reserved glaze mixture and enough water or broth to make 3-1/2 cups.


Here is Green bean bake this is so good!!


Classic Green Bean Bake

Cooking Method: Bake
Prep Time: 10
Cooking Time: Over one hour

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Butterball® Chicken Broth
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) Marie Callender's® Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 package (16 ounces) frozen French cut green beans
1 can (8 ounces) La Choy® Sliced Water Chestnuts
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 package (6 ounces) prepared stuffing
1/4 cup margarine or butter
PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine broth and soup; mix until well blended. Pour the beans, water chestnuts and pepper into a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, set aside.
3. Combine stuffing and margarine together until blended; evenly spoon over green bean mixture. Cover, bake, for 25 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

POTATOES: YUMMY LOADED


Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Cooking Method: Bake
Prep Time: 30
Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into eighths
1 cup low-fat milk, or whole milk
1-1/2 cups French onion dip, (12 ounces)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese, (2 oz.), or Parmesan
2 slices cooked Armour® bacon, crumbled (1/4 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain; return to saucepan. Using potato masher, mash potatoes with milk. Blend in dip, salt and pepper.
3. Place potato mixture in shallow 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon and bake 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.


OK here is a Cassarole that is like having Turkey dinner all in one!!

Turkey Shepherd's Pie
INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups cubed cooked turkey
* 1-1/2 cups turkey gravy
* 2 cups shredded carrots
* 4 cups prepared stuffing
* 2 (15.25 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
* 4 cups warm mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. In a greased 2-qt. baking dish, layer the turkey, gravy, carrots, stuffing and corn. Top with potatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until edges of potatoes are browned.

Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
INGREDIENTS

* 1 (14 ounce) package seasoned dry stuffing mix
* 1 teaspoon ground sage
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
* 2 boneless, skinless turkey breasts - cooked and shredded
* 1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the stuffing crumbs, sage, celery and chicken broth, and then set aside. Place the celery soup and the chicken soup into two separate bowls and add 1/2 of a soup can of water to each. Stir these well and set aside.
3. Sprinkle 1/3 of the stuffing crumb mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Then layer with 1/2 of the shredded turkey meat and pour the celery soup mixture over this. Sprinkle another 1/3 of the crumb mixture over this, followed by the remaining turkey. Pour the chicken soup mixture over this and top off with the remaining stuffing mixture. Drizzle the melted butter over all and press the entire mixture down into the dish until firmly packed.
4. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes.


I am sure you know how to cook a steak so I wont help on that but let me know how it goes I hope this will help if you need more help please let me know..

Answer 2

I would choose something that is easy to cook well. No use attempting something really fancy but difficult! The possibilities for failure are too high!

I think they would really like you cooking them a meal, just as a concept. So it wouldn't need to be haute cuisine.

There are also plenty of things that you can cook in advance and use on the day. Coq au vin is a great example. Basically a chicken casserole, but with beautiful extras! Cook a day or two or even three in advance. Heat up on the day and serve with crispy saute potatoes, or potatoes in their jackets even, and some nice veg.

Laying the table all lovely will be nice too.

Answer 3

If you want to do a traditional turkey dinner, buy just the breast if it will only be for the three of you. Make a fruit salad, apples, bananas, pineapple, grapes, mandarin oranges. Do some mashed potatoes and gravy (even the boxed ones are really good, and buy a can of premade gravy). Some green beans or asparagus and dessert. Maybe a store bought pumpkin pie and ice cream. You don't have to make everything by scratch to show them how much you love and appreciate them. For some other great ideas go to www. foodnetwork.com

Answer 4

It depends on your cooking skills. If you are a novice stick to something simple, like ham. Buy a good size ham (usually already smoked) Decorate the outside with round slices of pineapples, filling the hole with mandachino cherries (insert tooth pic). The hams usually come with a brown sugar baste that you make yourself. It is simple, just add water and baste as you cook it. Cooking instructions come with ham. After about 45 minutes in the oven, start to baste it with the brown sugar mix and do it every 30 minutes. The brown sugar will carmelize and give it a great presentation with the pineapples and cherries. Serve with salad, or other side dishes (mash potatoes, corn etc.,).

Good luck !

Answer 5

I would do a nice lasagne with salad and bread with their favorite dessert. They'll appreciate the effort no matter what you make. If you have a signature dish you're comfortable making, you should go with that. Play to your strengths, and you are lucky, because you're in a position to know what their likes and dislikes are.

For inspiration, try checking out the top 20 Christmas recipes on allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Holiday-Cooking/Christmas/Top.aspx

and NO, I'm NOT advertising, it's a great resource, so I recommend it. I gain nothing from recommending a website that has been helpful to me.

Answer 6

You can't go wrong with traditional Christmas dinner! Turkey or ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the works. Honestly, it doesn't take much cooking skills, just the time to actually do it. Even if you take some short cuts (store bought rolls, stove top stuffing, etc), they will be totally impressed. Good luck!

Answer 7

aaww that is so sweet...most people believe that you should have ham and sides on christmas but i think that thanksgiving was so close before that most people have had enough of that....

i think that something that would be easy on you would be to grill some really good steaks and jumbo shrimp...bake up some potatoes with all the fixings and toss a really nice salad!

Answer 8

Turkey and/or ham, broccoli, cheese, and rice cassarole;dressing; spiced yams; pumpkin pie; sweet potato pie; and apple pie; I think that would be a good Christmas meal for your parents, they might enjoy it. I'm sorry, I don't have any recipies, good luck on your meal making for your parents.

Answer 9

It sounds like a great idea I hope it turns out well. Try this website it has many recipes and menu ideas.
http://www.epicurious.com/cooking/menus/bonappetit/christmas

Answer 10

Awwwww... I wish my 19 year 'young' son would do that for me. They'll be thrilled just at the thought. Good luck with the recipes.

Answer 11

Here's what you do.....Prime Rib, (roasted garlic) mashed potato's, vegetable and a salad and bread. Its all simple stuff and if you aren't sure how to cook any of this, refer to the "Food Network" website. Good luck........