No. 118: What to Make When All Your People are Home & Hungry All the Time

Because it’s only a few days away

There are enough people telling you what to wear to be festive and or cozy this time of year—I’m sitting that one out this week. Instead, we’re going to create a realistic handful of recipes to look forward to and prepare ahead of time to stay and sane and satiated this time of year.

Our kids start Christmas Break with a half day on Thursday and while they only go to school two days a week all year round, there’s something so uniquely exhausting and surprising that happens in their bodies during this three week stretch of time. They’re hungry constantly. They’re in the kitchen endlessly. They devour packages snacks in seconds flat which means heartier, meal-adjacent snacks to keep them full for longer.

On top of that, I like to have some go-to recipes that are impressive and reliable enough to bring to gatherings or to provide for hosting and some serious tradition-worthy recipes that will become family favorites for years to come.

Reading this back reminds me just how exhausting this can be if we let it, but we’re not going to do that. No, ma’am. We’re prepping ahead. We’re planning. We’re placing a Costco delivery order and sticking strictly to paper plates for a month straight. We’ve got this.

Foolproof Make-Ahead Recipes:

These are the recipes you’re going to want to make a double batch of and freeze half for the week after Christmas. Don’t skip this, okay? Trust me.