The One-Hour Holiday Meal Miracle

Have you seen the awesome recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron? Not only did she bring together all the traditions of Easter Dinner, she did it in two baking sheets and all in under an hour! Too good to be true! While this might not serve a large group, it’s perfect for a small family gathering. And it doesn’t require a kitchen turned up-side-down. While the dinner is cooking in the oven, a quick wash of a few bowls and pans makes clean-up a snap. Line the baking sheets with heavy foil, and clean up just got even easier. This is a great idea not only for Easter, but anytime you want to serve up a wonderful “Sunday” supper without a lot of work.

Be sure to check out the original at Chelsea’s for all the detailed photos and helpful video.

Are you wondering why I’m sharing an Easter Recipe in the middle of Christmas? That’s an easy answer. My extended family is going to get together this year at the Farm on Christmas Day. My Dad is going to put out a smorgasbord of cold-cuts for sandwiches and an assortment of salads such as Macaroni Salad. Knowing my sister, she’ll probable be the one to whip up a Jello Salad. Dad does this type of spread so that people can come and go, there is no set timetable and we just graze as we wish. That means my family (Hubby and Kiddo) won’t be getting a hot Christmas Dinner. Way back when, we had a fancy seafood supper for Christmas Eve; went to Midnight Mass, then had a nice ham dinner Christmas Day. I miss that. So this year, I’m going to do a reverse of sorts. We’ll still have our wonderful Seafood Supper Christmas Eve (stay tuned – recipes posting tomorrow). The way the holidays fall this year, my guys have four days off. So on Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve, I’m going to cook up a supper fit for the holidays with all the usual trimmings. This Two-Pan magical supper is perfect for the three of us without going all crazy. And it will work for any small family holiday supper.

Note: Line the baking sheets with foil for easy clean up. Then follow the recipes as directed, including parchment paper or butter.

Au Gratin Potatoes
3 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Prepare two extra-large sheet pans by lining them with parchment paper or buttering both pans. Arrange the oven racks so that one rack is the second down from the top and the other oven rack is the second one up from the bottom. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Start with the potatoes. Scrub clean and then thinly slice (1/8th inch thick) all the potatoes.

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Briskly whisk in the flour and, whisking constantly, stir for 30 seconds.

While whisking constantly, slowly add in the milk and whisk until smooth. Allow to thicken.

Add all of the seasonings at once. Stir in the sliced potatoes and then cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until potatoes are fork tender. If needed, add a few extra tablespoons of milk. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese.

Arrange the potatoes on 1/3 of a parchment covered (or buttered) sheet pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese over the potatoes. Place the rest of the potatoes on top and then sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Set baking sheet with potatoes aside until ready to bake.

Honey Butter Carrots
1 pound baby carrots,* washed and peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, optional
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon honey

Place the washed (completely dried) and peeled carrots on the sheet pan and drizzle with oil, salt and thyme (if desired). Toss to combine. Separate the carrots to one half of the second sheet pan.

For the carrots: combine the butter and honey and melt in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Pour over the carrots and toss to coat. Spread carrots in a single layer over one half of the second sheet pan.

Parmesan Asparagus
1 bunch thick asparagus, woody ends removed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

On the other side of the sheet pan add the asparagus (break off the woody ends). Pour the oil and seasonings over the asparagus and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

Bake on the bottom rack for 10 minutes; stir veggies around, and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Remove from the oven.

Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham
1 and 1/2 pounds Smoked Boneless Ham, OR 3 (7 ounces EACH) ham steaks (halved crosswise)
1 can sliced pineapples (reserve the juice)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Slice the ham into thick slices. Place on the parchment lined sheet pan next to the au gratin potatoes. Place a pineapple slice on top of each ham slice, overlapping on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the juice from the canned pineapples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Whisk. Generously coat all of the ham with this mixture.

Bake the potatoes and ham on the top rack for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are crisp and ham is thoroughly warmed through. Remove from the oven and add the baguette slices on the last 1/3 of the sheet pan. 

Toasted Baguette Slices
1/2 large baguette, sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Spread butter over each slice and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the baguette is toasted and soft.

Remove from the oven and garnish the potatoes with fresh parsley if desired. Salt and pepper everything additionally to taste and enjoy immediately!

Thank you Chelsea! This is surely a keeper.