The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at OSU chapter.
As holiday breaks approach, the opportunity to cook a delicious homemade meal is too good to pass up. Here are five easy-to-make meals you can add to your holiday palate, from peppermint Oreo truffles to cheesy potatoes!
1. Peppermint Oreo Truffles
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: one hour and 20 minutes
Yield: 20-30 truffles
Ingredients:
- 16-ounce package of Oreo Cookies
- Eight-ounce package of cream cheese
- One ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Eight ounces of white melting chocolate
- Crushed candy cane
Recipe:
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
- Place the Oreo cookies in a food processor or blender and mix until it’s finely ground.
- Add the cream cheese and peppermint extract, mixing until the ingredients are well combined and smooth.
- Using a small ice cream scooper, scoop some dough into your hands and roll it into a ball, placing it onto a cookie sheet.
- Repeat these steps until all the dough is used.
- Place the cookie balls into the refrigerator until they are chilled (for at least an hour).
- Follow the instructions on the candy melt package to properly melt the chocolate until it’s smooth.
- Remove the Oreo cookie balls from the refrigerator and dip them into the melted chocolate.
- Place them back onto the baking sheet and top them with crushed candy cane.
- Put them in the refrigerator again to let the chocolate harden
- Enjoy!
2. Cheesy Potatoes
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: one hour and 45 minutes
Yield: 12 people
Ingredients:
- Two pounds of frozen diced potatoes
- Eight tablespoons of salted butter
- 16 ounces of sour cream
- One (10.5 ounces) can cream of chicken soup
- Salt and pepper
- One teaspoon of dried parsley
- Eight ounces of freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- Two cups of crushed potato chips
Recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a nine by 13-pan with nonstick spray.
- Melt the butter in a large bowl.
- Whisk the sour cream and the soup into the melted butter until they’re fully combined and then add salt and pepper and parsley if it’s wanted.
- Fold the potatoes into the mixture, folding and stirring until the potatoes are coated.
- Add the potatoes into your baking dish and drizzle the leftover sauce onto the potatoes.
- Top the potatoes with cheddar cheese.
- Sprinkle the top with crushed potato chips.
- Bake for 60 minutes.
- Enjoy!
3. Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 33 minutes
Serving size: 16 mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 16 large fresh mushrooms
- Four ounces of cream cheese softened
- Six ounces of crab canned or frozen
- Two green onions thinly sliced
- Two tablespoons of parsley
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese
Topping ingredients:
- ¼ cup of breadcrumbs
- One tablespoon of melted butter
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and thaw the crab meat if it is frozen.
- Mix the cream cheese until it’s smooth and stir in the remaining ingredients (it’s recommended that you use a hand mixer for a fluffier mixture).
- Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems and scoop out the insides.
- Fill the mushrooms with the cream cheese mixture.
- Mix the butter and breadcrumbs together to make the topping.
- Sprinkle the topping over the mushrooms.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.
- Enjoy!
4. Buttery Garlic Green Beans for our veggie lovers
Prep time: Five minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Servings: Four
Ingredients:
- Some butter
- Minced garlic
- Lemon-pepper seasoning
- Green beans
Recipe:
- Bring the green beans to a boil and then to a simmer until they are somewhat soft.
- Drain the green beans and then add them to the skillet again.
- Add butter and minced garlic and cook them for one to two minutes, stirring to ensure they are coated in the sauce.
- Remove them from the skillet and add the lemon-pepper seasoning.
- Enjoy!
5. Turkey
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: Four hours
Servings: 14 servings (14-pound turkey)
Equipment:
- Roasting rack
- Carving knife
- Probe thermometer
Ingredients:
- 12 to 18-pound turkey
- One peeled and quartered onion
- One quartered lemon
- One to two sprigs of rosemary
- One to two springs of thyme
- One to two sprigs of sage
- Salt and pepper
Butter ingredients:
- ¾ cup of unsalted butter
- Six minced cloves of garlic
- One teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- One tablespoon of chopped rosemary
- One tablespoon of chopped thyme
Vegetables under the turkey:
- One peeled and quartered onion
- Three ribs of roughly chopped celery
- Two roughly chopped carrots
Recipe:
- Remove your turkey from the fridge one hour before roasting, allowing it to reach room temperature.
- Remove the giblets from the turkey.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and pat the turkey down with a paper towel.
- Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper, then fill it with onion, lemon and your herbs from the first section of ingredients.
- Mix your butter, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme to make your seasoned butter.
- Loosen the skin of the turkey, sliding your fingers between the skin and the rest of the turkey and rub on 1/3 of your butter.
- Rub 2/3 of your butter on the outside of the turkey.
- Place the turkey on your roasting rack and place your vegetables underneath it, tucking in the wings so they do not burn.
- Place the turkey in the oven and roast it for 15 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 158-160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the turkey and leave it to cool for 30 minutes.
- Carve the turkey and use the leftover juices for turkey gravy if wanted.
- Enjoy!