Family Sized Goodness: Food For The Holidays

This yummy #HolidayReady sponsored post has been brought to you by a Collective Bias social shopper insights study. As always my thoughts, opinions, and {family size} comfort food goodness are my own.

I love the holidays. But they don’t call this the “busiest time of the year” for nothing. From Thanksgiving to New Years Eve, I swear its a whirlwind of shopping, family gatherings and of course…FOOD! And I do that with family sized favorites from Walmart.

This year the weather has been sure to kick up quite the winter storms for us. With travel, visitors, and potlucks; I’m relieved that I either have something to bring {or cook for us} in a snap. So it was extremely helpful to have Stouffer’s party-sized entrees {and Edy’s ice cream} on hand.

The frozen Stouffer’s family sized Lasagna {with meat sauce} and Stouffer’s party sized Macaroni and Cheese are two that we delight on baking up. Most notably because they pair so well with the Digiorno rising crust pizza. As it happens in our house {as well as yours I’m sure}, I often feel like a short order cook during meal times. The holidays however give us a chance to make everyone happy.

This year saw us taking our Lasagna with Meat Sauce on the road. The first year in many to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws, we wanted to concentrate on the aspect of being together finally…not being in the kitchen all day. With cooking times in both a frozen and thawed state, you can serve up a great entree in less then 1-2 hours. No muss – no fuss- and all flavor; I paired ours up with a premixed salad and garlic bread knots. And really, nothing says holiday buffet like piling your entree on top of the salad to make more room on that plate!

And when it comes to the holidays, nothing says tradition like baked Macaroni and Cheese. However I’ve got the unique position of having two children that don’t appreciate the golden browned topped goodness baking said dish creates. That’s why I love the Stouffer’s version, this party-sized dish is deep enough to still dish them out all the ooey-gooey cheesiness we all delight in. They are none the wiser and everyone is all the happier.

But the holidays are also to keep the kids happy too, and  meal-time like a great pizza is perfect for my son. But its not delivery, its Digiorno! A pizza cooked straight on the oven grill, this goes from freezer to table in under 25 minutes. Plus, when I stock up on this rising crust pepperoni variety I’m able to easily rearrange the thick pepperoni slices to one half. That gives the adults a double meat version and the kids a great plain cheese pizza.

On the event we also bake up the Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese two favorites get even better! After the pizza has been baked in the oven as directed, take it out and immediately top the cheese half with the Stouffer’s mac-n-cheese. Then as the pizza takes 5 minutes to cool and settle, the newly added pasta will gently melt into the upper layer of pizza cheese. Slice as normal and enjoy!

After all this great food, make sure to save room for dessert! Keep that freezer feeling important, and turn to the slow churned light Edy’s ice cream. Now…while I love the taste of Eggnog, drinking the real thing just gives me the heebie-jeebies. But you will find me first in line to get the new limited edition Very Merry Eggnog ice cream from Edy’s that is in stores right now. {Its simply spiced Christmas yumminess!} My favorite way to serve it is a-la-mode with scoop over a warmed caramel apple pie.

But this isn’t about the pie people. Its about the slow churned creamy ice cream that is slowly melting while being drizzled over top with real Eggnog. The result is an amazing soupy, {holiday inspired} comfort food masterpiece. We even go a step further and grind cinnamon and sugar over top. Seriously, if you pour milk over your ice cream on a routine basis, this dessert is right up your alley.

And there you have it. Our go-to holiday favorites stocked to our bellies delight. Its helped us stay organized with visiting family, kept the kids focused on more then toys, and served up hot eats after being shut in from winter storms. Kind of makes you wish that the holiday season started earlier right? {LOL}

How do you prepare your kitchen {and freezer} for the holidays? Ready to make your own meals easier during busy {holiday} times?  Then make sure to check out the Nestle brand on www.meals.com as well as Twitter and Facebook. You can also find great ideas from Nestle frozen foods in the Live SoFab Holiday digital magazine and at your local Walmart. 

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and their client. As always, my thoughts – opinions – and overall enthusiasm are my own. Thank you. #HolidayReady #cbias #shop