I’m sharing my go-to, homemade holiday party dishes that stay in my rotation year after year. When it comes to bringing food to holiday gatherings, I try to bring things that everyone will like and that I can prepare partially or completely in advance. I’m not a fan of the holiday rush, so staying at least one day ahead with my baking and cooking helps in avoiding that.

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Aprons are from Etsy

Sourdough Bread Crumbs:
Cube a loaf of sourdough sandwich bread and spread in a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 300F until golden. Flip every 10 minutes with a spatula.

NORA Prenatal Tea: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUX6wo_pV...

Loaded Bacon Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes:
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 3 T butter
- 1/4 C cream
- 2 Oz. Cream cheese
- 1 t salt
- 1/4 t pepper
- 3 slices of bacon, fried & chopped into bacon bits
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- Chives

Place whole potatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 400F for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Allow potatoes to cool enough to handle, then cut in half and use a spoon to scoop out potatoes - leaving a little bit in the skin so potatoes hold their shape when re-filled. Mix potatoes, butter, cream, cream cheese, salt, and pepper until smooth. Scoop potato filling back into skins then top each with shredded cheese and bacon. Bake for the second time at 350F for 20 minutes. Top with chives and serve.

Bowtie Mac N Cheese: (I doubled this in the video)
- 12 oz. dry bowtie pasta
- 1/4 C butter
- 1/4 C flour
- 4 C milk
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t pepper
- 1/2 t garlic powder
- 1/2 t onion powder
- 1/8 t nutmeg
- 4 C white cheddar cheese
- Bread crumbs for topping

Boil pasta al dente. While pasta is boiling, make the cheese sauce. Melt butter in a large dutch oven, whisk in flour to make a roux and let it bubble for a minute or two. Slowly pour in milk, whisking while you pour. Sauce will thicken over 5-10 minutes, whisk in salt, pepper, garlic, onion, nutmeg, and cheese. When cheese is melted, remove from heat. Drain the cooked pasta and add to cheese sauce. At first, it may look like you have too much cheese - but the pasta will absorb the sauce and it will thicken up. Top with toasted breadcrumbs & serve.

Crockpot Cheesy Cream Corn: (I doubled this recipe in the video)
- 30 oz. Frozen corn
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 1/4 C butter
- 4 oz. Cream cheese
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t pepper

Dump everything in a crock pot and set on high for 4 hours. Stir every hour.

Gooey Butter Cake from Scratch:
Recipe for 9x13 baking dish

Bottom Cake Layer:
- 2/3 C or 10 T butter, softened
- 3/4 C sugar
- 3/4 C brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 t salt
- 2 t baking powder
- 2.5 C flour

Gooey Butter Layer:
- 12 oz. Cream cheese
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 t vanilla
- 5 C powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 baking dish. Make the cake layer - cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs. Add salt, baking powder, and flour and mix. Batter will be very thick, consistency between cake batter and cookie dough. Spread evenly in the bottom of baking dish. Prepare the gooey butter layer. Cream the cream cheese, brown sugar, and eggs together. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, mix well until smooth. Pour over the cake layer. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or. until edges are golden brown. The middle will still be jiggly when its done, that’s good! It will set up over time.

Spicy Bacon Deviled Eggs: (I doubled this recipe in the video)
- 12 eggs
- 1 C mayonnaise
- 2 T spicy mayo
- 1 T mustard
- 2 slices bacon, fried and chopped into bits
- Smoked paprika

Add 1 t baking soda to water with eggs, boil for 10 minutes, turn the heat off, wait 5 minutes, then transfer eggs into an ice bath for 10 minutes. Peel eggs, rinse, halve, and egg yolks to a mixing bowl with mayo, spicy mayo, and mustard. Use a hand mixer to beat mixture until smooth. Spoon into eggs, top with bacon bits, and sprinkle with smoked paprika.

Instant Deep Dish Pizza:
- 2 C water
- 2 t instant yeast
- 1 T sugar
- 1.5 C flour
- 1 t salt

Add ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. This is a very hydrated, almost pourable dough. Allow dough to rise for 45 minutes. Preheat 2 well-seasoned, standard cast iron skillets at 425 until piping hot. Pour some oil in the bottom of each hot skillet so the surface is coated. Pour or spoon half the dough into each skillet. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings, then bake at 425 for 20 minutes until edges are golden brown. Allow pizza to cool in skillets for 10 minutes before serving.