The recent holiday season had me thinking more than usual about company meals—not the co-workers kind of “company,” but actually for guests coming to my home. Apparently, we’d gone quite a while without asking people over and had become more likely to invest in a “third space”, eating out rather than at home.

Given the range of company we were having—some just for dinner, some staying for several days, some coming for a holiday brunch, and so on—I needed a matrix of ideas. I created a basic spreadsheet for each date of the holiday period, starting well before Christmas and ending a few days after the New Year.

Photo by +Simple on Unsplash

Don’t be fooled into thinking I’m super organized. It’s simply that food ideas flit in and out of my head all day, every day, and I had to corral a few of them and decide what worked well together. This season, for me at least, was not one where I could throw a last-minute meal together and be sure it would all work. Plus, with two refrigerators full, I needed to remember what I’d bought for what meal, or risk wasting it!

First, I went through the staples. These are the meals I learned to cook from my mother, like classic roast beef—and no real recipe. Like any working woman, I use a crockpot when I’m working away from home all day and need a meal at home for dinner. Mine is simple: a quality eye of round, a sprinkle of garlic, salt, and pepper, plus a box of Lipton’s Beefy Onion Soup Mix. I add a little water to ensure a good quantity of au jus, and may chop up onion, potatoes, and carrots so I have a one pot dish. A fresh loaf of grocery store bread, some fruit on the side, and, after 8 hours on low, dinner is served. I even threw the leftovers in to start a meaty and delicious stew.