Anyone with children knows that by the end of Christmas Day, grownups can find themselves out of energy for preparing Christmas dinner. It's not necessary to order out for pizza--if you can even find a place that delivers on Christmas. Modern technology and your local grocery store can help you prepare a menu that requires less time in the kitchen, so you can spend more time with your family.
Appetizers
Kim Tilley of the website MomsMenu says that the simplest of the simple is a fruit or vegetable plate. Also consider shrimp cocktail, or--if your crowd is large enough--do all three. Most markets sell pre-cut vegetables, so it's only a matter of laying them out nicely on a plate and adding a bowl of dip. The dip can be as easy as combining cheese spread and salsa.
You'll also find frozen shrimp readily available, and they need only a quick boil before chilling and serving. Purchase ready-made cocktail sauce for the shrimp.
Sides and Salad
Many potato recipes require a minimum of effort. Baking them requires virtually no work at all. Potatoes Anna uses only three ingredients: potatoes, salt and butter, which you simply slice, layer and bake in a casserole dish. Tilley also recommends glazed carrots--just boil slices in orange juice and serve. On the website Allrecipes, Pam Anderson suggests roasted onions, pointing out that you don't even necessarily have to peel them.
A festive Waldorf salad can be almost effortless; it's just a matter of tossing apples, celery, walnuts and raisins with olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice, and then serving over iceberg lettuce.
Main Course
Don't rule out pizza just because you can't have it delivered. Both Tilley and the website FamilyFun recommend homemade pizza in the shape of a Christmas tree. The kids can help make it and it can be part of the holiday fun. Dough can be purchased ready-made and cut into any shape you want. Pizza sauce is available by the jar. Decorate the tree with your family's favorite toppings.
You can also press the crock pot into service for the main course. Pot roast, chicken or ham can be prepared early in the day and left to slow cook through the festivities.
Baked ham and beef tenderloin require a minimum of preparation time. A Martha Stewart recipe for tenderloin is available at Delish.com and requires only 15 minutes of prep time. You can pop either one in the oven and forget about it, except for a little basting, until it's time to serve.
Dessert
Tilley says that baked apples are a matter of just wrapping pie pastry around slices, adding a little sugar or cinnamon, and baking for an hour. And don't overlook your local bakery for cakes and pies to purchase the day before and refrigerate overnight. Bring them back to room temperature, and serve with a scoop of ice cream.
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