Holiday Meals You Need to Try! From-scratch Family Recipes

I'm sharing some of my favorite from scratch meals for this season. Everything from cozy holiday dishes to quick weeknight favorites and even a special breakfast that makes the morning feel a little magical. These are meals that turn ordinary days into memories. Perfect for hosting. Recipes you can prepare ahead, enjoy together, and feel proud of without stress. I can't wait to show you how simple ingredients, a little love, and a bit of patience can create meals your family and your guests will remember long after their plates are So grab a warm drink, settle in, and let's prepare a few delicious and nourishing meals together. Tonight I'm trying a different version of like a cheesy mashed potatoes that's done in the slow cooker. I'm curious to see if this works good. I think it will. I'm serving it with this lovely salmon dish and because the potatoes are done in the crock pot this would be a great sort of dish with the salmon to serve during the holidays if you have guests over because the other pieces just pretty much go in the oven and cook which means you can prep most of it beforehand and you can actually spend some time with your guests. Potatoes, mashed garlic, broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper go into the crock pot cooking low and slow for around four to five hours. Potatoes aren't usually something I serve with a soy-based salmon dish but these creamy gouda potatoes pair perfectly. A little helpers joined me in the kitchen to make a quick from scratch marinade for the salmon. Simple ingredients that turn into the most delicious glaze at the end as it cooks and brings everything together. A cake pan I find is the perfect flat dish for marinating a decent amount of fish and I always reach for my large kitchen scissors when cutting fish. No extra cutting board, no mess, and only one dirty hand. Shaved brussel sprouts and sliced pear roast in the oven while the salmon marinates and then the salmon goes right in with it to cook for another 15 minutes. It's not the most expected pairing but really trust me on this one. The flavors are incredible and it's the kind of meal that kind of surprises people in the best way and makes the holiday taper maybe truly memorable. Back to the mashed potatoes. A blend of three cheeses. I got it here gouda, white cheddar, and parmesan. Makes this extra good. My kids love their potatoes really creamy so I decided to whisk them. Between I think that and letting them cook a little too long they did turn out slightly grainy. I think the potatoes went for a little too long. I was working and missed a big fork tender so check on that if you make this. And my kids I think while it's fine for a lot of people my kids really like don't like texture unless it's like really whipped nicely so I'm going to take them out put them in here and put them back in here to pretty much finish them off with the cheese and butter. A good reminder that crock pots all cook a little differently. Mine tends to run a little hot on low so it's worth checking them every now and then which I didn't do and sticking with a hand masher for best texture. The cheese melts in gently on low and then some brown butter goes in at the end and it turns this pretty simple standard dish into something really really good and memorable. Brown butter just takes about an extra 10 minutes to make and it's always worth it. I never regret it. It's the perfect thing to do also while the main dish finishes cooking. Those Brussels sprouts have been roasting for 15 minutes so then I add the salmon in to cook for about another 10. Wild salmon is thinner and darker in color so it usually cooks quite a bit quicker than what recipes will say. You'll know it's done when you see like the little white pieces appearing in the center and that's usually perfect for me. The leftover marinade simmers for around five to eight minutes reducing into the best glaze that brings this whole meal together. For browning butter you just kind of need to whisk it constantly and you'll see when little brown bits start to form at the bottom and the color will start deepening almost into an amber. When it reaches that light amber take it off the heat and just keep whisking and it'll slowly turn into a darker color and that's it. That's the exact flavor you need. Put all of it over the potatoes. Finish with a bit of sage and you'll have the best mashed potatoes you've ever made. All right let's see how they taste. Texture's not perfect but they gotta be good. It's seriously so good. Taste the brown butter. You taste the gouda for sure so get that. The sage adds a nice touch at the end and I think next time if I can't keep a better eye I'm just gonna make these the way I normally make mashed potatoes. Put them back in the... salmon's ready. Put them back in the pot and just let the cheese melt there. You don't have to do them in a crock pot but I might try again to just keep a better eye on it and see how it turns out. Finish the salmon with that glaze and honestly it's also the best salmon I've ever cooked. I was so surprised and happy with this meal. I thought we'd have leftovers but my three-year-old ate almost two fillets himself and this is coming from a kid who used to never touch fish. I couldn't have been more proud. I've only recently learned how to properly cut pomegranates. It's completely changed how often I use them too. You just start by slicing off the very top and gently popping it open. Inside you'll see these natural seams running through the fruit. That's exactly where you need to score it on the skin and then just hold it over a ball. Pull the sections apart and use a spoon. A large spoon works better to tap the back of these pieces. The seeds fall out so easily. No mess. No frustration. And what used to feel like an annoying task now takes less than two minutes. It's a holiday meal that feels thoughtful, is beautiful, and also a little bit surprising. And this is how my kids ate it and mostly happy plates at the end. They love the salmon and the pears definitely the most. Seeing them enjoy something I made from scratch it feels so fulfilling at the end of a long day. I find breakfast is the easiest meal to feed my family. Everyone wakes up hungry, they're well rested, and not usually very picky. We usually rotate through the same simple staples. Egg, sausage, bread, fruit, grits. But whenever I try something new the whole morning feels a little bit more special. My oldest is raving the entire breakfast. 100% making my morning even better. And this time it's sourdough gingerbread pancakes. And y'all, you must make this over Christmas break. It's so good. I ferment the batter overnight in milk which adds more nutrition and protein than fermenting in water. It deepens the flavor in a really good way too. I'm using my go-to sourdough pancake recipe and adding in one teaspoon of cinnamon, a fourth of teaspoon of ginger, and three tablespoons of molasses for that gingerbread flavor. This base is really versatile though. You can easily turn it into like a pumpkin or apple pie pancake, cinnamon roll, or even go savory with some fresh herbs and spices. A la carte, a savory Korean pancake we often for lunch too if you're interested. To prepare this batter I just mix everything except the baking powder and baking soda and let it ferment overnight in the fridge. Waiting to add those until the next morning makes this pancake a lot more fluffy. This whole thing also means breakfast is already halfway done before the day even begins. Can't hate on that. And as the batter rests the flavor continues to develop. The natural acids in the starter help break down the gluten forming enzymes making the pancakes easier to digest too if that's important to you. I like to cook these in a small amount of coconut oil. I found that using less than I usually would for regular pancakes works best since sourdough pancakes I find tend to brown or even like darken a little faster. Just enough to keep them from sticking. These freeze really well too so I usually make a double batch, store the extras in the freezer. It's nice knowing there's a quick from scratch breakfast ready for busy mornings. Still homemade and nourishing and something my family looks forward to. We are in for a treat tonight. I'm gonna make this short rib pasta ragu sauce. Seriously so good and ribs they're not found these on sale which is good. I try to get them when they are on sale because it's not cheap. And this is how much is it here? This is three pounds. I did a little bit less than the recipe because they are expensive and it'll be fine. It's mostly about browning these real good and then adding a nice mix of vegetables to give a flavor and let that brown a lot and letting it simmer for a long time. While those are browning away I'm just going to chop up some vegetables or pretty much dice the vegetables really fine. This creates a lot of flavor letting this brown in the pan and adding some tomato sauce. So good. I always leave the meat fat in the pan. It adds so much flavor than any seasoning ever could. A lot of recipes will take take some of it out but I leave it. This is a pasta sauce we're making and it helps it to be delicious. As the vegetables cook too they slowly caramelize becoming rich and slightly sweet. All of that combined with the brown bits on the bottom of the pan melts into the braising liquid and creates the deepest most delicious sauce. It's the kind of flavor that lingers something family or guests will definitely remember. This is not a dish to rush though. Let it take its time. The results are 100% worth it. Let that cook a good 15-20 minutes. You really need to give it time to cook and get really brown. It develops so much flavor for the sauce and it takes about that much time anyways to get everything cleaned up and get all the other ingredients out so you can just throw it all together. So nice to walk out to the garden these days. I'm going to miss it. Such like a nice breath of fresh air when you've been inside the whole day but I just take a bunch of herbs whatever I have at hand. I've got rosemary sage and some thyme left over from some other things I make. I wrap them up and then I can take them out later. This makes it so much easier than chopping herbs if I'm not actually to be kind of a pain. This is an even better meal to make for guests I think than the first one with salmon because so much of the prep happens earlier in the day. I love using a quiet nat time to get most of my cooking done. I'm able to get like a very peaceful rhythm that I just can't find with the little ones underfoot and it actually ends up being you know I think good for me mentally. Once everything is ready to braise I add about three cups of stock. You can also replace one cup with red wine if you'd like even more depth. I just didn't have it. Crushed tomatoes go in next along with the fresh herbs a bay leaf and a parmesan rind. The short ribs simmer gently with the lid on for about two and a half to three hours filling the house with the most comforting smell. And just check it occasionally if the liquid looks a little low just add a little water. Then when it's time for dinner the rest comes together easily. The meat just falls off the bones just remove it discard the bay leaf and parmesan rind in there don't forget that and stir in the pasta. A splash of cream or milk and a handful of shredded parmesan goes in. I almost forgot these two but remembered while plating thankfully. And just like that dinner is ready rich and made to be remembered which it definitely is and I'm still thinking about it. We all need a quick easy homemade meal this season too right? But that doesn't mean you need to sacrifice flavor all the time. This creamy chicken chili is one of those meals I come back to again and again. My kids help me throw it together at about 10 minutes in the morning which is amazing. I turn the rice cooker on and by the time dinner rolls around most of the work is already done. Today is a family picture day so it's perfect for this dinner. We could go out to eat but after photos the kids are always exhausted and the last thing they need is to be stuck sitting in a restaurant chair. So having a warm comforting meal ready at home takes so much pressure off this evening. This recipe has saved me more times than I can count and somehow it never gets old. My kids prefer their vegetables chopped a little larger and using homemade broth gives this chili a lot more flavor and makes it more nourishing too. At dinner time all that's left to do is shred the chicken. It really falls apart so easily after cooking like this and then mix the cream cheese in with a bit of the broth separately before stirring it in. You definitely want to do it separately. Everything heats on high for a few minutes and that's it. It's ready. I'm using a cream cheese here from an Amish market we visited on our recent vacation in a while. It made this dish taste so much better. Since I've started buying grass-fed cream cheese and it really does make a difference, one of my new year's goals though is to start trying to make this myself and can't wait to see the difference it makes. Meals like this remind me that even on a busy full day we can still gather around something homemade and delicious. It's not impossible. Well, I hope this gave you a few ideas for your table next week. Not perfect meals, not extravagant, just planned and made with a lot of love. And long after these dishes are done I hope what remains is the feeling of being fed a good meal and gathered with the people we love. Thanks for watching. Don't forget to follow along for more. Take care.