I love a mix of traditional and new, so for many of our holiday meals I keep some of our tried-and-true favorites and mix them in with new dishes. Check out the bottom of the post to see how to make all these dishes in advance so you can spend time with family instead of stressing about cooking on Sunday.
Here's what we had this year:
The Main Dishes
Baked ham - great instructions here for not drying out your ham
Lamb shepherd's pie - you could use beef or a combo of beef/lamb
Penne with vodka sauce - the alcohol cooks off
Bright, Colorful Sides
Tumeric-pickled eggs - these were a pretty yellow and tasted great! If you're not a fan of curry and cumin, you could just make regular deviled eggs for the filling.
Sweet potatoes topped with pecans - Almost like a pecan pie dessert. But I tell myself sweet potatoes, so therefore healthy!
Roasted asparagus - classic & easy, but if you like them crisp-tender check them after 10 minutes
Extras
Caesar salad - homemade croutons are easy to make and take the salad up one notch. Eggs aren't a necessity, but anchovies and Worcestershire sauce are. Trust me on the anchovies.
Other extras: my husband bought a shrimp ring and a bunch of fancy olives and cheeses because he went to the store hungry!
Desserts
Lemon cake - I just love lemon cake. See Crystal's Instagram story for a healthier version, though! Make a boxed lemon cake and top it with this delicious, easy frosting.
Bread pudding - one of my husband's favorites
Here's how I managed it all in advance:
Friday
Make the shepherd's pie, sweet potatoes, and vodka sauce. Clean the house.
Saturday
Set the table.
Make the pickled eggs, Caesar dressing, lemon frosting, and bread pudding (but don't bake it).
Prepare the ham.
Prepare the asparagus and wrap them in foil.
Tear the lettuce and store in a bag.
Frost the cake.
Sunday
Go to church.
Bake the ham.
One hour before dinner bake the sweet potatoes and shepherd's pie. Simmer the penne sauce. Add the asparagus to the oven twenty minutes before dinner and at the same time cook the penne. Assemble the salad (this is always a great job for guests asking to help).
Happy Resurrection Day!
<3