Every year, we have some tried-and-true holiday favorites - and some we’ve had to convert to GF - but overall my approach is rinse and repeat! Since we are hosting, I planned out our meals and menus ahead of time, and I am also going to plan for the basic kid GF back-up meals in case they aren’t interested in the adult fare.
I’m planning to serve a continental style breakfast in the morning so people can help themselves. And lunch is going to be GF takeout or sandwich orders for the non-GF people visiting. My primary focus is GF dinners, desserts, and my favorite Christmas morning strata!
As much as I’d love to be someone who is a take-it-or-leave-it cook, I can’t bear for my kids go hungry or risk a poor dinner disrupting their sleep. If they REALLY don’t like what I made, here are some backups I keep handy, and that I plan to have around for the holidays:
- PB&J’s
- Chicken sausage or nuggets
- GF Mac and Cheese
- Yogurts and Cheese Sicks
- Plenty of fresh fruit
- Frozen GF pizza (we love Banza)
- Air Fryer bean and cheese tacos (takes less than 5 min)
- Frozen meatballs or hotdogs
On to the main event!
Christmas Eve Eve
Dinner: I am actually seeing friends this night, but before I go I will pop my Risotto con Ceci in the oven for the fam. This is a hearty vegetarian risotto that feeds a crowd, and the kids love piling on parmesan. Add a simple side salad for some greens, or your kiddos favorite veggie side.
Dessert: I am planning to stockpile cookies, both cooked and frozen, this weekend so dessert will be a breeze. I am going to make the Caro Chambers brown butter skillet cookies from her fab cookbook (with GF flour), and a whole bunch from Healthy Gluten Free Family, especially the Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies and Soft and Chewy Ginger Cookies. I think I have one more round of roll out/cookie cutter baking left in me, so we’ll have some of those as well! I love the Healthy GF Family Gingerbread Cookies, and while we use an old family recipe for our sugar cookies, Healthy GF Family has a similar one here!
Christmas Eve
Breakfast: Yogurt, Fruit, GF Toast, Spreads/Jams and maybe even some GFKC Granola with a ginger spice kick (to do this add, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp cloves or allspice).
Lunch: Sandwich takeout for the non GF guests! Likely a PJ & J with fruit and yogurt for my kiddos.
Dinner: We love to do fondue or raclette on Christmas Eve because it’s festive and really more of an assembly meal than a cooking project. This year we’re doing raclette. (If you are unfamiliar, a raclette machine is a small electric grill you place on the table that cooks your food on a cooktop, and simultaneously melts your cheese on the bottom - which you then dip the food into like fondue!) We’ll do some light snacks like hummus and veggies to start.
Raclette typically calls for a very specific type of cheese, however I also like to use sharp cheddar. I recently shared this post on how to put together a raclette dinner party. I personally don’t love raw meat in the mix, especially with kids, but we’ve found we like to use precooked sausage. Our other favorite dippers are bread, small baked new potatoes, cooked broccoli, and this year I plan to try marinated artichokes and olives, which I’m guessing the kids will skip! But I know the bread and sausage will be a hit.
Dessert: Healthy GF Family Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I can’t wait to make this!
*Before bed I will make and refrigerate our Christmas morning strata so I don’t have anything to do in the morning except watch the kids open gifts.
Christmas
Breakfast: Christmas Morning Breakfast Strata, GF Biscuits, and Cranberry Orange Bread. For the strata, I highly recommend the GFKC Anytime Strata. However if you are more of a meat eater, I’ve long loved this Lidey Heuck recipe, which you’ll need to tweak by using GF english muffins. For the Cranberry Loaf, try this one from Healthy GF Family.
Lunch: My mom is in charge of tomato soup and GF grilled cheeses, so it will be nice to pass the reins for a meal!
Dinner: We’re planning to do a pretty classic meal of Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes and Roast Chicken, likely with some cheese and crackers to start. I’ve long seen Damn Good Green Beans from Serena Wolf, so I think I’ll finally give those a try. We typically make roasted garlic mashed potatoes, but I saw another Caro Chambers recipe for Boursin Mashed Potatoes and we are 100% trying that this year! Last but not least, we’re going to make two of Ina Garten’s Engagement Chicken for our main course. I’m excited to make this traditional yet flavor packed GF meal for my family.
Dessert: Allllll the cookies. No more cooking for me!
What are you planning to make? What are your favorite time-saving tips and tricks? I’m planning to delegate and accept more help this year - and bake in advance!
I hope you have a wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season! I’m so glad you’re here :)
P.S. Here’s a quick and easy bonus breakfast or snack recipe! (Please skip if you do not tolerate GF oats!)
The Gingerbread Breakfast Cookie
Mash one banana then add:
1/2 cup GF rolled oats
3 Tablespoons nut/seed butter of choice
1 Tablespoon ground flax
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 scoop GF vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup GF chocolate chips
Mix fully and shape into cookies (should make about 6) and pop in the oven for 10 minutes at 375. Enjoy!