Christmas is for opening presents, enjoying delicious food and making memories with your family. It’s not for spending hours in a hot kitchen cooking an extravagant lunch.
Take a load off this year and make Christmas lunch easy by choosing simple recipes you can prep before the big day. And the best part about these convenient meals? You’ll spend less time in the kitchen and more time getting involved with the Christmas festivities.
Here are our top 3 Christmas lunch ideas you can meal prep ahead of time in your Adelaide kitchen.
Photo credit: Half Baked Harvest
Oven-roasted cranberry dijon glazed ham
Make this zingy, sticky ham a day or two before Christmas and simply reheat it in the oven or microwave.
All you need is:
2 cups of fresh cranberries
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2.5-3 kilos of cooked ham.
Combine the cranberries, water, and honey in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat.
Stir the pot occasionally for about four to five minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped.
Throw in the dijon mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper. Continue to cook for another three to five minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove the pot from the heat, and puree the sauce in a blender until it’s smooth.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Prepare a roasting pan with a roasting rack. That way, the ham won’t get soggy on the bottom. Place the ham on the roasting rack and use a sharp serrated knife to score the ham diagonally.
Use a brush to coat the ham with the cranberry sauce, and place the pan in the oven to roast. You’ll need to cook the ham for 20-25 minutes per 500 grams or until a thermometer registers 60℃.
Brush the ham with sauce 20 minutes before you take it out of the oven.
Serve the ham with the remaining glaze.
Photo credit: Sparrows and Lily
Cranberry jalapeno dip
This sweet yet spicy dip is best left overnight to allow the flavours to marinate and develop. A super quick and easy appetiser to impress all your Christmas guests!
Gather together:
1 and ¼ cups of fresh cranberries
1/4 cup of spring onion
1-2 fresh jalapeños
2 tablespoons of coriander (optional)
3/4 to 1 cup of sugar (according to taste)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
A pinch of salt
500g of softened cream cheese.
Hand chop the cranberries, spring onion, jalapeños and coriander and add to a bowl. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt on top of the cranberry mixture and stir gently until blended.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
Take the cranberry mixture out of the refrigerator and stir all ingredients together. Strain out all liquid using a fine colander.
Whip softened cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth, and spread cream cheese over the bottom of a dish.
Pour cranberry mixture atop cream cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Photo credit: Half Baked Harvest
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Pull out the slow cooker and prep this hearty chicken dish on Christmas Eve. Then let the slow cooker do all the hard work for you while you concentrate on more important things - like enjoying that Christmas beer.
2-3 slices of thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
4 carrots, chopped
750g of boneless chicken breasts
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of dry red wine, like Cabernet Sauvignon
1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. If there's excess bacon grease, drain off all but one tablespoon.
Add the onion, garlic, and tomato paste to the skillet and cook for five minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of your slow cooker.
Throw the red wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, chicken, carrots, and mushrooms into your slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for six to seven hours or on high for four to five hours.
Once done, reduce the sauce by cooking it for another 15-20 minutes uncovered. Remove the bay leaves and thyme, and stir in the parsley and reserved bacon.
Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes.
