Transforming Christmas Dinner from a Chore into a Simple Success

If you're the cook, does Christmas Day feel anything but a holiday? Relax. You can organize yourself for the easiest Christmas ever. Remember, it's all about family and friends, not working yourself to death trying to prepare a Norman Rockwell-like holiday feast. Saint Nick himself couldn't tell the difference between these dishes and the ones that take hours.

The main dish is usually the biggest cooking chore of the day. And if it's the traditional turkey or ham, it's a definite oven hog, as well. If your choice is turkey this Christmas, roast your bird the night before, carve and spoon some chicken broth over it to keep it moist. Only families in movies carve the turkey at the table while all the other dishes get cold. For ham, just buy it. But don't spend a fortune at those specialty ham stores. Get a spiral-sliced, honey ham from the warehouse store. Mix the packet of glaze with water, spoon it over the ham and throw it in the oven for an hour or so. Like the turkey, there's no reason you can't do it the day before.

For super-simple gravy to go along with the turkey, just open up a few jars of turkey gravy from the grocery and stir in some of the drippings from the turkey pan. Many grocery stores also sell frozen turkey gravy.

Everybody loves the dressing. Or the stuffing, depending on what part of the country you're from. For an authentic Southern cornbread dressing, mix up crumbled cornbread muffins, a few slices of white bread, sautéed onions and celery and two chopped cooked sausage patties. Throw in a couple of caps of canned chicken stock (there's always a Southern debate as to how moist the dressing should be) and two beaten eggs to hold it all together. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes.

If you've shunned frozen mashed potatoes, it's time to give them a try. They're delicious by themselves (made in the microwave of course), but for an extra wow factor, add in herbed or garlic cream cheese after cooking. Or sprinkle the cooked spuds with bacon bits and cheddar cheese if your family won't be adding gravy. Get a double dose of potatoes with sweet potato casserole. But don't bake your own sweet potatoes. Dress up canned, mashed ones with a mixture of butter, flour, nuts and brown sugar.

Steamed green beans make an easy addition to turkey or ham. To be a little more sophisticated, douse fresh asparagus and onions with olive oil and bake until the onions are browned.

Add whole berry cranberry sauce - nobody does it better than Ocean Spray - and your Christmas dinner is complete. But is it? No, wait!

If apple pie is the dessert of choice, try these simple fake-outs. Fill a refrigerated pie crust with frozen cinnamon apples. Dust with a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar, top with another refrigerated pie crust and bake till done. Serve with frozen whipped topping. Or buy a frozen double crust apple pie, and stir up a sauce of two TB melted butter, ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup heavy cream. Cook over low heat about ten minutes, and serve atop your hot apple pie.

Another choice for a simple and festive dessert is eggnog. Not the homemade kind that's too much work, but the stuff you buy at the grocery and add in your own brandy and cinnamon. Served by the fire, you'll be rested and relaxed. No Ebenezer Scrooge in the kitchen this year!