MMC 30-Minute Holiday Menus for the 2010 Holiday Season

Are you planning to host a special dinner during this holiday season? I love to entertain but don't have much time to prep (sound familiar?) so I have picked up a few shortcuts along the way. I have some 30-minute holiday dinner menu suggestions for you! You really can host a holiday dinner in 30 minutes - Flat!

If you are serving an appetizer course with your dinner, for an elegant start to a wonderful meal I like to serve: brie with mango chutney; smoked salmon with a dill dip; grapes and a green vegetable platter that will go well with the dill dip; water crackers; gourmet olives. All prepared in 30-minutes or less (of course!).

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to put dinner on the table quickly. (My quick prep techniques are in parenthesis.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

Let's get ready...

Poultry Dinners:

Turkey Breast with French Country Gravy (crock pot with jarred Alfredo pasta sauce)
Long Grain and Wild Rice (boxed rice mix)
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (halved and sauteed cut side down)
Crescent Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Pound Cake Torte (purchased pound cake and icing)

Glazed Cornish Hens (microwaved with brown sugar / mustard glaze)
Pecan Stuffing (chopped pecans added to boxed cornbread stuffing mix)
Dilled Baby Carrots (bagged baby carrots)
Mixed Greens with Cranberries and Citrus (bagged greens, jarred citrus, dried cranberries)
Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream (purchased pumpkin pie, canned whipped cream)

Beef, Lamb, Pork Dinners:

Eye of the Round Roast Beef with Peppercorn Sauce (crock pot with dry onion soup mix, instant peppercorn sauce)
Mashed Potatoes (frozen steamers or instant masked potatoes)
Chop House Salad (bagged baby greens, tomato, onion, bell pepper, and blue cheese with vinaigrette)
Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Individual Boston Cream Tortes (purchased pound cake, instant pudding mix, chocolate syrup)

Lamb Chops with Savory Butter (broiled lamb chops with red wine and herbed butter sauce)
Rice and Vermicelli Mix (boxed rice and vermicelli mix)
Parslied Carrots (bagged baby carrots)
Beet, Goat Cheese & Walnut Salad (red tip lettuce, canned beets, goat cheese, chopped walnuts with bottled vinaigrette)
French Bread, Butter (purchased French bread)
Minted Pears with Ice Cream and Raspberries (canned pear halves, creme de menth, fresh raspberries, and ice cream)

Pork Medallions with Tarragon Sauce (pan seared mustard-rubbed pork medallions with tarragon sauce)
Buttered Rotinni (boxed rotinni)
Steamed Zucchini
Yeast Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Blueberry Cheesecake Tarts (graham cracker tart shells, instant cheesecake pudding mix, blueberry spread, lemon curls)

Spiral Sliced Ham (purchased fully cooked)
Quattro Fromage (macaroni with 4-cheese sauce using cheeses such as Fontina, Asiago, Provolone, Gruyere, Cheddar, Swiss, or Romano or a bagged blend of your favorite cheeses)
Peas with Mushrooms (frozen mix)
Lemon Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries (purchased lemon pound cake, fresh strawberries)

Seafood Dinners:

Surf and Turf (cleaned and deveined shrimp, beef fillets or top sirloin cuts)
New Potatoes
Caesar Salad (bagged Caesar salad mix)
Chocolate Eclairs with Strawberries (puff pastry, instant pudding mix, chocolate syrup)

Poached Fish in White Wine Sauce (frozen perch or haddock poached in white wine sauce)
Duchess Potatoes (instant garlic mashed potatoes)
Baby Peas (frozen peas)
Baked Tomato Halves (halved tomatoes with shredded Parmesan cheese topper)
Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Coconut Cream Pie with Berries (graham cracker tart shells, instant coconut pudding mix, shredded coconut)

Vegetarian Dinners:

Linguine Primavera (linguine with a primavera sauce and fresh vegetables of mushrooms, red bell pepper, green beans, broccoli, squash, and onion)
Watermelon / Raspberry / Strawberry Salad (fruits in a jarred raspberry vinaigrette)
Rolls, Butter (purchased rolls)
Fresh Fruit Tart (pineapple and orange slices mixed in cream cheese blend and poured in a baked purchased pie shell with blueberry garnish)

Fresh Tomato and Double Cheese Tart (puff pastry, Roma tomatoes, baby bocconcini balls or shredded mozzarella, shredded Parmesan cheese, and black olives brushed with olive oil)
French Green Beans (canned Frenched green beans with mushrooms and onion)
Pineapple Salad (canned pineapple and mandarin orange sections over fresh spinach)
Embellished Chocolate Cookies (purchased cookie dough with mini chips and coconut)