Christmas Preparation and Quick Meals

December has arrived! This is such a busy month for everyone with Christmas preparation, events with family, friends and work. At the start of the month it is a little overwhelming to think of everything that needs to happen – on top of the regular activities. Arrghh I am scaring myself now!!!! One bonus for me is that I have finished my Christmas shopping. I keep a list on my phone across the year to keep track of family memebers and gifts.

On my mind this week is organization.

The month of December:

Write a lists, or lots of lists
Remove any excess items from your list
Any “nice to do” items that are time consuming get removed
Keep meals on the family menu quick this month (that may be your aim every month?) This stir fry recipe below is a great one for a quick healthy dinner.
Consider purchasing items online, avoid the December rush in the shopping centers
Pre-plan the month so that all items are covered and you can start as many as possible early in the month. This helps to avoid panic closer to the big day.

This is an outline of my plan for the next three weeks:

Week 1 –

Write Christmas Cards,
Make jam for kinder teacher and friends
Put up the Christmas Tree and decorations
Start to add extra items to the supermarket shop if they are on sale, such as cheese, crackers, and general pantry items.
Make a list of the events you need to attend and plan for anything you need to do, such as buy a gift for a child attending, make a dessert
Plan Christmas Day menu
Order Meat

Week 2 –

Spring clean and prepare the house for visitors who are staying
Send Christmas Cards.
Do a Market shop for the Christmas period

Week 3 – Christmas Day is the end of this week!

Make as much food in advance as possible
Complete your Christmas grocery shop

I hope that these tips help you to enjoy the period and keep the wonder of Christmas alive for the kids. It is such an exciting time for them.

Quick Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe

This is an ideal meal to make after a busy day as it only takes short time to prepare and has a quick cook time. Kids love it as the honey gives a lovely richness to the sauce.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 adults, 2 children (plus leftovers)

Ingredients:

170gm of rice stick noodles or noodles of choice
1/2 tablespoon oil
4 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
3 cm piece of ginger – grated
400 grams of rump steak – thinly sliced
1 carrot – peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 red capsicum, core and seeds removed and thinly sliced
handful of green beans – chopped in half
6 stems of broccoli
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, or gluten free
1 cup of fresh spinach leaves – washed and chopped
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of honey
generous handful of fresh basil leaves

Steps:

Bring a pot of water to boil
When the water has reached boiling point add the rice stick noodles and cook for 7 minutes, or according to the package instructions
Heat a wok on medium high and add the oil then the ginger, garlic, and beef. Cook for 2 minutes, stir and remove the beef. Set aside.
Add vegetables (except the spinach) to the pan and stir as they cook. When the noodles are cooked add them into the wok with a small amount of the water as you transfer from the pot to the wok. Add the soy sauce, honey, basil leaves, meat and spinach.
Stir until combined and the meat is warmed
Serve and enjoy

Tips & Hints:

Take the steak out the fridge prior and allow it to reach room temperature prior to cooking
Add chilli for the adults, or if your children do not mind chilli
Use the vegetables you have available, I change ingredients depending what is in my garden, or the fridge

Have a look at what is on other people’s mind with Rhonda’s regular Friday edition of On My Mind at Down-To-Earth blog.