Cornish Food Market

How to feed a houseful of hungry guests this Christmas on a limited budget

December 12, 2011 in | 0 comments

The Christmas season is associated with crisp winter days and cosy log fires, over-excited children, gathering with family and friends, and good food and good cheer. But for many there is also pressure to spend a fortune, and if guests are expected over the holidays it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the expense of it all.

Expecting a houseful of hungry guests this Christmas, but got a limited budget? With a bit of preparation and clever cooking, you can keep the cheer and still be cheap.

It is well known that in Britain, a lot of our food ends up not in our stomachs, but in the bin. So start by carefully planning what to cook for the big day. Visit lovefoodhatewaste, who not only have lots of clever ideas for using up leftovers (Christmas and otherwise), but who have also devised a Christmas portion planner. cornishfoodmarket.co.uk has taken out a lot of the guesswork by offering Christmas veg boxes for 2-4 or 4-6 people. And making simple changes like having a large roast chicken or a succulent roast ham instead of a huge turkey when numbers are smaller can make a huge difference to the final spend.  If you are plannng on having Turkey for Christmas, make sure you get the right weight to feed the right amount of people.

As much as we all love the Christmas feast, few of us finish off everything. So for Boxing Day and beyond, embrace the idea of using up those leftovers – it’s not being mean, it’s being clever…. and delicious! We have added a wealth of recipes to our website to help you along, including Christmas Turkey Pasta, Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Pasties, and Bubble and Squeak. Not forgetting the most important part of the meal, try out our sweet recipes for Christmas Pudding Strudel and Christmas Pudding Ice Cream.

Need more inspiration for using up that turkey? Don’t forget to whip up some Turkey Stock and try our recipe for a classic winter warmer of Turkey, Lentil and Vegetable Soup. Then go to leanonturkey where you will find a whole section dedicated to using up what can be a dreaded leftover.

And because it is the season for eating as well as giving, homemade edible gifts are not only thoughtful, but make a good impression and can keep costs down. We have come up with some yummy gift ideas to make individually or to include as part of a homemade hamper for that extra-special person:

Christmas Cut-out Cookies
Traditional Biscotti
Chilli-Infused Vodka
Mature Cheese Sables
Tomato and Apple Chutney
Rocky Road Brownie Mix
Holiday Shortbread Bites

Happy Cooking, and Happy Christmas!