The most festive and delicious Christmas dinner recipes
Christmas dinner recipes should be easy enough to bring you joy rather than trouble when cooking. Considering that this time of the year is very busy, most women prefer not to bother and ask their close friends and relatives to join them in a restaurant. There all the hard work, including cooking and decorating, will be done by someone else. However, Christmas is a holiday that is about coziness and, unfortunately, you are unlikely to find the restaurant filled with a homely atmosphere.
Click NEXT to see easy Christmas dinner recipes that will not drive you away from home and have a happy pinning!
Eating meat is not a must at a Christmas party, so why not opt for avocado recipes? The meals that contain avocado are definitely healthier and lower in calories. Besides, they are really mouthwatering.
Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Crusted Roast Beef
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Ingredients
- 2 pound eye of round beef roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 stalks fresh rosemary
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Rub roast all over with olive oil. Chop leaves of rosemary and combine with garlic, sea salt and pepper. Rub around the outside of the roast to form a crust.
Preheat a skillet or multicooker to 400 degrees. Add roast and sear on each side until lightly browned (4-6 minutes). Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar and transfer all contents to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.
Remove and let rest for 15-30 minutes then slice to serve. Cooked this from start to finish in my 4 quart multi cooker, first by browning at 400 degrees then switching to slow cook low for 8 hours.
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Creamy Garlic Mushrooms
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Ingredients
- 8 oz or 225 g whole white mushrooms
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of Cream Cheese. (you can also use low fat variety)
- 1 teaspoon of fresh or dry herbs, such as tarragon, basil, parsley
- salt & pepper
- teaspoon of Olive Oil
Instructions
1. Heat a pan with a teaspoon of oil and add the mushrooms and garlic on medium heat. Stir and toss until soft and a little liquid is released from the mushrooms. If the mushrooms do not release any liquid, add a couple of tablespoons of milk or broth. (Sometimes, depending on the season, mushrooms can vary in juiciness!)
2. Then add the cream cheese and combine. Add the herbs and taste, season to your taste with salt and pepper.
TIP: To avoid the cream cheese from splitting, you should make sure the heat is not too hot, if you are not sure, remove the pan from the heat whilst you add the cream cheese, combine well, then return to a gentle heat until the sauce is bubbling gently and heated through completely. As you will know, any cream products have a tendency to split or curdle if you add them to any high temperatures, so do not turn the heat up!!
3. Serve straight from the pan, or you can transfer to an oven dish and place in the oven (covered) to keep warm until you are ready to serve.
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And if you do not like avocado but wish to have something healthy, you can pick some other vegetarian recipes. Besides being rich in fiber and, therefore, keep your digestive system healthy, vegetables contain vitamins that help you to look prettier.
Lemon Herb Roasted Potatoes
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Ingredients
Oil Mixture:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 dashes ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Cut slits on the potatoes, do not cut through. Mix all ingredients in the Oil Mixture together.
Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and brush with the Oil Mixture. Make sure to brush inside the slits of the potatoes. Save some for basting.
Roast the potato for 1 hour, basting the oil mixture at 30 minute interval using the remaining Oil Mixture. Serve immediately after roasting.
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Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
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Ingredients
- 6 ounces sliced prosciutto, halved horizontally
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
1. Working one at a time, wrap halved prosciutto slice on each asparagus spear at an angle, covering the entire length of the spear. Repeat with remaining prosciutto and asparagus.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add asparagus and cook until prosciutto is crisp and asparagus is tender, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Serve immediately.
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The Best Green Bean Casserole
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1.5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large portobello mushrooms, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 6 oz french fried onions
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish, set aside.
2. Blanch the beans: In a large pot, bring about a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Add the green beans and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Then add the half and half and simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the green beans. Transfer green bean mixture to prepared casserole dish. Top with the bread crumbs and then layer the french fried onions on top.
6. Place casserole in the oven and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes. If your onions start to brown too quickly, cover the casserole with foil. Serve immediately!
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Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Apples
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Ingredients
Filling
- 1 oz. (1 cup) dried whole porcini mushrooms
- 2 oz. (3/4 cup) dried apples
- 1 lb. kale, bottom stems trimmed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons brandy or Calvados
- ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb. ground pork
Pork Loin
- 1 (trimmed) 2½-3lb pork loin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
- 3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto
- 5 springs rosemary
- 4 medium apples (such as Granny Smith or Fuji), quartered, or 8 small apples, halved
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup dry hard cider
- ½ cup low-salt chicken stock
Instructions
1. Place dried mushrooms and dried apples in separate small bowls. Add 1 cup boiling water to each bowl. Let mushrooms and apples soak until very soft, about 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid (about ¾ cup). Cover and chill liquid. Drain apples. Drain apples, discard soaking liquid. Finely chop mushrooms and apples, combine in a small bowl, and set mushroom and apple mixture aside.
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2. Meanwhile, blanch kale in boiling salted water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Using tongs, transfer kale to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until cool. Remove any large, tough ribs.
3. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and apples; cook stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, rosemary; cook for 1 minute. Add brandy and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool. Add ground pork and stir to combine.
4. Pork: Ask your butcher to trim and butterfly a pork loin for you. Unroll the roast like a carpet, until the entire loin is flat. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound to an even thickness.
5. Uncover pork. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Place kale leaves on top of loin in an even layer overlapping as needed and leaving 1 inch border. Spread filling on top of kale. Roll pork into a tight cylinder. Warp one layer of prosciutto around roast. Tie roast securely with kitchen twine in 1 inch intervals. Tuck rosemary springs under twine, spacing apart. DO AHEAD: Pork roast can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before continuing.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place apples in a roasting pan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil in a large skillet. Brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes total, then set on top of apples in pan. Add cider and ½ cup water to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Pour mixture into roasting pan. Roast pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loin registers 140 degrees (it will be cooked medium but still slightly pink), about 1 hour and 40 minutes (check for doneness at 1h30). Let roast rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
7. Put roast on a platter. Reserve apples from roasting pan; spoon off fat from juices in pan. Place pan on top of stove over medium-high heat. Add chicken stock. Pour in reserved mushroom liquid, leaving any sediment behind, and cook, scrapping bottom of pan to release any brown bits, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain sauce; slice pork. Serve sauce and apples alongside pork.
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