First step was to pick a protein. We were between ham and roast beef. My dad and I were all for the roast beef, but my mom was insisting on ham. However, once we pointed out that we had ham for Christmas she decided it was time to cook up some roast beef! My dad went out and bought a 6 pound roast beef. He has a rub that he uses every time he cooks it that he considers a "secret" so I wasn't allowed to get the recipe for it (however I do know that he used bay leaves and they smelled AMAZING!)
Next step was the side dishes. I voted for a green bean casserole because, well, I love love love green bean casserole! I looked up a simple recipe for it and all I needed was:
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- 2 cans of green beans
- fried onions
We also wanted a starch, so we decided on au gratin potatoes. I grabbed two boxes from the store and made them following the super simple instructions.
Finally, some sweet Hawaiian rolls with butter and we were in business!! My brother and boyfriend came over to join my parents and I and we had a blast. We even pulled out the Wii to play Mario Kart for a while which we haven't done in a long time!
I know that the meal consisted of a lot of ready to go items and that I did not really push my skills for this week. However, I was barely feeling up to cooking at all, much less a family holiday dinner. But, my mom was not feeling good either and having me help allowed her to rest. I also got the chance to cook with my dad which does not happen very often.
Next week I hope to be better and back to cooking something amazing!!!