<p>Roll your own sushi and a salad bar can also be a great hit, as can a pasta bar. </p>
<p>We always have lasagne (I make and freeze ahead). Caesar salad out of a bag, garlic bread. I’m now very hungry. The ham and mac n’ cheese sounds great too.
We also do steak and lobster dinner for Christmas eve. cole slaw…baked taters…rolls…gotta quit thinkin about food! Veggies, all of it…goes on the grill so it’s easy.</p>
<p>@conmama and @tired already Here is my stromboli recipe:</p>
<p>frozen white bread dough ( I use Rhodes )
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb salami
1/2 lb ham
American Cheese - about 8 or 9 slices
Provolone Cheese - same as above
scallions or diced onions
1 tomato diced
Italian seasoning</p>
<p>Thaw bread-spread out on cookie sheet sprayed with Pam
Brush dough with beaten eggs
layer ingredients down the middle-start with a meat, then a cheese, veggie
Season with Italian seasoning
Fold over lengthwise carefully…bake at 325 degrees for about 30 mins</p>
<p>I’ve also done a turkey/swiss/mushroom combo.
I serve with a green salad and sometimes a couscous dish.
Enjoy!</p>
<p>My go-to, fast meal, so flexible and ridiculously easy, is pork tenderloin. I get them when they’re on sale and always have one in the freezer. </p>
<p>Nice thing with soup is you can easily make one vegetarian and you can have meat toppings for the salad. You can get a couple of good kinds of bread from a bakery. My sister-in-law used to do this for her big dance party though now that the kids are older, she’s switched to just doing lots of appetizers and starting the party later.</p>
<p>Mac and cheese with a salad can be a killer (and can be made up in advance and frozen)…I have a recipe for one that is a killer, with multiple cheeses that is completely yum…</p>
<p>Okay…fork over the recipe!!</p>
<p>How about Cornish game hens?</p>
<p>If you are inviting more people than you can fit around a table, a buffet of appetizers/dim sum will be more managable than entrees. Food you can eat with one hand, and won’t leave stains. 
For years we spent Christmas at a B & B where the owners always made " grandmas ribs" for xmas eve.
New owners now however, and this year my daughter will be preparing the meal for the lodge.
(& doing the dishes, which doesn’t seem fair. The original couple split that duty)</p>
<p>Id serve an arugula salad or somethng with some bite to balance the richness.
<a href=“http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/CheesyInfo/Recipes/FirmCheese/BeechersWorldsBestMacCheese.aspx”>http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/CheesyInfo/Recipes/FirmCheese/BeechersWorldsBestMacCheese.aspx</a></p>
<p>Hanna, come on over!</p>
<p>I have to work Christmas evening shift so we’ll be doing brunch that morning. So,that pushes the beef tenderoin to Christmas Eve dinner.</p>
<p>Thanks for starting this thread. I think we are going to do a soup and salad thing this year instead of appetizers. Maybe do the appetizers on December 30 which is our family NY eve. </p>
<p>Thinking I’ll make chicken soup, and have noodles, and matzoh balls. Then a salad with lots of different toppings (mushrooms, grape tomatoes, carrots, croutons, eggs, garbanzo beans, shredded cheese, peppers, olives, etc). And a couple of nice breads and cheeses.</p>
<p>And maybe chocolate mousse for dessert!</p>
<p>VABB, we’re doing beef tenderloin Xmas eve, too. Maybe as a Wellington. D2 wants to make a pie, but it’s the same pie she’s been talking of since 2008. A salad bar sounds like a great way to keep the work down. </p>
<p>I used to do beef tenderloin, but have decided that even though it’s wonderfully tender it actually isn’t that tasty. My youngest loves rack of lamb so that’s become the new Christmas eve meal.</p>
<p>I made a yummy spinach salad today from Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook: Baby Spinach Salad With Dates and Almonds Recipe - NYT Cooking.</p>
<p>This was hit with 20 something crowd- ( and adults) kick up the cayenne for more flavor
Nice side dish if looking for something new !!!</p>
<p>Pioneer woman’s Chicken spaghetti-</p>
<p>Chicken Spaghetti
Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8</p>
<p>Ingredients
2 cups Cooked Chicken
3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese</p>
<p>Preparation Instructions
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups.
Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook.
When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.</p>
<p>Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil</p>
<p>Our traditional Christmas eve dinner is tamales, chili, and queso. When we lived in Texas, I was able to buy the tamales from the ladies at our church - chicken or pork. Then just pop in the microwave and you’ve got an easy dinner. </p>
<p>This year, we’re going to my aunt’s house for a huge extended family dinner (over 45 of us). She’s having it catered with lasagne, salad, bread and cheese pizzas (for the little ones and my 20 yr old picky eater!). Each family is bringing a dessert. </p>
<p>@leftrightleft…yum…thanks so much!</p>
<p>@southjerseychessmom…I’ve made the Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti and it’s awesome!</p>
<p>I can’t believe that Pioneer Woman is taking credit for that Chicken Spaghetti recipe. It’s the same one that I grew up eating. It’s an old Southern thing, I guess. </p>
<p>That chicken spaghetti is great. I make it a lot.</p>
<p>I’m planning an informal extended family holiday dinner for the weekend between Christmas and New Years. I’m having Brunswick stew using my mother’s 50 year old recipe. </p>