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Holidays, Recipes · December 7, 2020

Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu: the Italian Christmas Eve

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Oh, how I pig out on love the Feast of the Seven Fishes menu we make every year! But it can be an intimidating meal to cook, right? If you are hosting this traditional Italian Christmas dinner this year, here are some easy seven fish dinner recipes along with a few funny stories of my “Feast of the Seven Fishes” past…


(This post probably contains affiliate links. My full disclosure policy is quite boring, but you can read it here if you’d like!)

What are the seven fishes eaten on Christmas Eve?

There aren’t seven specific fishes to be eaten on Christmas Eve, but rather that you should have a total of seven different fishes.

Of course, we’ve had years when we had 6 and years when we’ve had 9.

I’m not exactly at the top of my math game when my favorite spill-proof wine glass is filled with Pinot Grigio and I’m trying to cook AND keep my kids busy at the same time. So…we just go with it.

(Oh, and speaking of kids I’m totally getting this t-shirt for little Thor (the 6-year old), this one for big D (the 23-year old), and this one for my dad – how cute are they?!?)

Anyway. Some people say each of the seven fishes should be in it’s own recipe, but we don’t always follow that either.

Feast of the Seven Fishes Appetizer Recipe Ideas:

Simple Cold Shrimp Salad by The Healthy Foodie

Calamari Avocado And Grapefruit Bruschetta by Garlic And Zest

Gouda And Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms by Striped Spatula

What does a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner menu look like?

Typically, we start with cold shrimp cocktail (in these adorable fishy mini-appetizer dishes), then go to soup and pasta (see the ah-leege reference below). Then it’s like the ocean exploded and the other 4 fishes come out at the same time.

It can be quite overwhelming and filling!

If you’re hosting, coming out with one or two at a time is probably ideal but that also makes for a very long time sitting at the table, ha!

Free holiday dinner planner

Feast of the Seven Fishes Soup & Salad Recipe Ideas:

Pan Seared Scallops with Warm Asparagus, Kale and Tangerine Salad by Kitchen Confidante

Clam Chowder by Natasha’s Kitchen

Classic Lobster Bisque by Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

What to put on your Feast of the Seven Fishes menu:

Like I said, we don’t have any hard and fast rules of what to put on our feast of the seven fishes menu.

But.

There are some things that always make their way onto the table: baccala (salt cod), fried smelts (with the head, of course!), and linguine con alici (linguine in a butter sauce with anchovies and bread crumbs), which somehow we all pronounce ah-leege.

I’m pretty sure that’s not even close to being the right pronunciation, but it makes me sound like a good italian girl to my non-italian friends, soooo we go with it.

Update: I googled it, it’s not right by a long shot. LOL

Other than that, it changes every year.

One year my Grandma made fish sticks. I swear I’m not joking.

Moral of the story? Make it your own. Put whatever recipes you want on your Feast of the Seven Fishes menu – it’s your holiday!

So I think I’m going to splurge on these beautiful japanese soup bowls, and this beautiful understated fish platter (I wouldn’t normally buy something just for one day but it’s totally something that can be used all year!).

Feast of the Seven Fishes Main Entree Recipe Ideas:

Steamed Mediterranean Mussels by Life Made Sweeter

Roasted Sardines And Cherry Tomatoes by Wild Greens And Sardines



Roasted Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner by Kitchen Of Youth

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce by Steel House Kitchen

Does this Seven Fish Feast still seem very intimidating to you?

I have one last idea for you. You could make a simple Cioppino (fancy word for fish stew) recipe and call it a day! Have someone bring a few loaves of crusty Italian bread and someone else bring the salad.

…aaaand done.

pro-tip: I always make my soup in this particular cast-iron pot (but I’ve used cheaper brands and they seem to be similar – buy one you can afford but DEFINITELY get one!) It not only cooks and browns beautifully, but it keeps the soup hot on the table for a long time! It’s a cooking pot and a gorgeous serving dish – and you know I love anything that can do double-duty! Plus, it’s my favorite color 🙂


San Francisco Cioppino by House Of Nash Eats

Maybe next year, you’ll have a few funny stories of your own “Feast of the Seven Fishes” past…

Just don’t make fish sticks. 😉

Make your Feast of the Seven Fishes menu plan on this Christmas Dinner Planner:

Free holiday dinner planner

In: Holidays, Recipes · Tagged: christmas, holidays

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The best, true, good love. Nothing can separate us The best, true, good love. Nothing can separate us from it. 
❤️ Happy Valentine’s Day!
Fun fact: I have ZERO poker face. Like none. I’m Fun fact: I have ZERO poker face. Like none. I’m a thinker and have  always lived in my head. It’s the Enneagram 5 in me. 
Bonus: it’s allowed me to be able to talk my way out of any situation. (Except that one time in social studies in 10th grade when a girl was bullying me and I had to fight back. Let’s just say she left me alone after that!😂).
Anyhoo. A friend recently said to me “it makes sense that your face betrays you because you’re so in control of your tongue”. 
My face betrays me 😂 
She’s right, I can hold my tongue pretty well unless it’s something that really gets my goat. 
🐐Fun fact #2: “gets my goat” is one of my favorite phrases ever!
🤢 Fun fact #3: I am not a picky eater and will eat just about anything but don’t you dare make me eat a sandwich with the cheese and Mayo touching!! 
Tell me: are you a thinker too?!? What are some fun facts about you?
One of the most common misconceptions I hear about One of the most common misconceptions I hear about planning for more than one week is that it takes so much time...

But the reason this is such a big misconception is because if you think it take a lot of time to make a seasonal meal plan, think about how much time it takes you to meal plan from a blank slate every week. 
Let's look at it over the course of a year.
1. weekly meal planning 1 hour x 52 weeks = 52 hours
2. monthly meal planning 1 hour x 12 months = 12 hours
3. seasonal meal planning 2 hours x 4 seasons = 8 hours 

And we're not even talking about how much time you're losing by following a weekly meal plan and subsequently grocery shopping. 

Think about how much you're missing out on with your family by spending so much time planning and shopping so often. An hour meal planning + 2 hours grocery shopping every single week is 3 hours a week you could have back to do fun things with them!

I mean, I get it...you NEED to feed your family every day, right? (kinda something we hafta do...).
But you can  do 👏🏼 it 👏🏼 differently 👏🏼
A seasonal meal plan with not only help you spend less time in planning-mode, but also help with your grocery shopping so that you can go to the grocery store less, and stop making emergency trips to the store because you forgot something.

And while you're here, let me tell ya this: avoiding a seasonal meal plan because you don't have TIME is HOGWASH... because I have lots of short cuts and tricks to show you that will maximize your time. 

PS. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post - I'm sharing my newest meal planning formula calendar... It's only around for a few days...see ya tomorrow!

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Meet Karyn. She had amazing results as a customer Meet Karyn. She had amazing results as a customer of ours and I need to share her with you.
 
She bought the Daily Dinner Blueprint calendar, dug right in, and told me she was so excited because she got these results:

📆 her meals are planned until SPRING (and she said it was painless!)!
🛒 a streamlined grocery shopping list!
🥣 an ingredient-based plan that doesn't limit what her family is eating!

She also said how every month "will be even quicker and easier"!

Here’s what she had to say about our business in her own words...
"My husband and I just did our first plan using your system and I wanted to drop you a line to say THANK YOU! Once you wrap your head around the process, and you start using it, it's easy to see how it will streamline grocery shopping without limiting what you are eating!

WOW! I would have to say this was pretty painless! Another benefit is I can see a clear way to categorize my recipes for future use! Each successive month will be even quicker and easier!

Back in the day, Emeril would've said "BAM, kick it up a notch!" I love that my meals are planned UNTIL SPRING! 🙌."

Thank you Karyn for being a customer! 💜
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One of the most common mistakes I see people make One of the most common mistakes I see people make when it comes to meal planning ​is doing it backwards.
BACKWARDS = planning your meals THEN doing your grocery shopping. 
Honestly, I used to teach it this way. 
But I found this doesn't work because:
🕳 you buy single, hard-to-find ingredients that end up in a black hole after you use it for just one recipe (oyster sauce in the back of the fridge, I'm looking at you...)
💰 you overbuy ingredients thinking this is the week your toddler finally eats broccoli, or this is the week you're totally going to cook every night...but end up eating the same thing over and over anyway.
🤷🏻‍♀️ you have too many options and if your plan gets interrupted (which it WILL), you're left staring at a full pantry or fridge wondering "what can I make???" And then end up ordering takeout!

Don't worry, I've got ideas for you. Check out my stories for 3 things you can do instead of backwards planning!
I could tell you so many things about this girl... I could tell you so many things about this girl... 
...my BFF Cara @apurposedrivenmom 
...but I want to focus on how she KILLS it at going after her goals. And loves teaching other busy mamas to do the same. 
She helped me map out an action plan for my goals on Saturday and wow, guys. Just wow. 
So I asked her if she would help my audience with their goal setting for the new year...
...and she agreed! 
Join both of us this Thursday (LIVE!) for “How to Take MASSIVE ACTION on your Goals (without burnout or overwhelm)”.
Sound like something you want to chat about with us?!? Link is in my bio (just click this picture of Cara and I!).
Who else hates throwing away lots of un-eaten prod Who else hates throwing away lots of un-eaten produce at the end of the week as much as I do? 
Focus on an ingredient-based meal plan instead of the other way around. That's what the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar does. Here's this week's meal plan...
🍕🌮 🍔 
‣‣‣Monday: Dinner Blueprint # 51 (A4+B1+C3)
Homemade Pizza Dough & Pizza Sauce (two recipes)
‣‣‣Tuesday: Dinner Blueprint # 33 (A3+B1+C1)
Blackened Tilapia Tacos
‣‣‣Wednesday: Dinner Blueprint # 10 (A1+B3+C2)
Crispy Lemon Chicken & Veggies
‣‣‣Thursday: Dinner Blueprint # 5 (A1+B2+C1)
Santa Fe Double Chicken
‣‣‣Friday: Dinner Blueprint # 40 (A3+B2+C4)
Baked Fish Sticks (+ leftover veggies or salad)
‣‣‣Saturday: Dinner Blueprint # 13 (A1+B4+C1)
Santa Fe Double Chicken Soup (just add a carton of chicken broth to leftovers to make soup)
‣‣‣Sunday: Dinner Blueprint # 3 (A1+B1+C3)
Chicken Parmesan w/Pasta
🍕 
If you're following along on the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, these are the same Dinner Blueprint #’s for each day. You can use the blueprint to come up with your own dinner idea, or use the linked example recipe.
🌮 
If you don’t own the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, you can purchase it by clicking my link in bio or if you're seeing this on Facebook, click here:
https://mpb.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1065589/?action=signup
🍉🥬Tell me... what fruit or veggie do you always end up throwing away? (watermelon and fresh spinach here!)
I don't know about you, but I can waste time like I don't know about you, but I can waste time like a CHAMP. Like re-drying the same load of laundry 3 times or scrolling IG like a zombie in bed.
Anyone else?
But I don't like it. 
And I definitely try to be more intentional on the things that give me more time back than what I spent on it. 
Meal planning is one of those things. Spend ONE hour a month meal planning, and you'll gain so many more hours each day (and *bonus* - it's during that dreaded pre-dinner time when the kids are maniacs!)

P.S. Please stop weekly meal planning. That doesn't actually save you time. (you can watch the ✨free training✨ in my link in bio if you want to know how often I suggest!)
Tell me...what would you do with an extra 30 mins each day?
New Month...new meal plan! Take an hour and make a New Month...new meal plan!
Take an hour and make an easy, monthly meal plan that focuses on the ingredients you eat and love - not one that tells you what to make (and then you have to go grocery shopping to get everything!) 
That's a backwards-based meal plan, friend.
Here's a sneak peek at my method:
Make a quick grid of 3 rows and 4 columns.
3 rows: A, B, C
A - main ingredient
B - side dish
C - flavor profile
4 columns: 1, 2, 3,4
Assign each space an ingredient and then mix and match... 
Here is each "formula of the day" for the rest of the week (since Jan 1st lands mid-week). Straight outta the January meal plan from the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar... 
🍕🌮 🍔 
‣‣‣Friday: Dinner Blueprint # 36 (A3+B1+C4)
Parmesan Crusted Tilapia w/butter pasta
‣‣‣Saturday: Dinner Blueprint # 14 (A1+B4+C2)
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
‣‣‣Sunday: Dinner Blueprint # 23 (A2+B2+C4)
Italian Stuffed Peppers
🍕 
If you're following along on the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, these are the same Dinner Blueprint #’s for each day. You can use the blueprint to come up with your own dinner idea, or use the linked example recipe.
🌮 
If you don’t own the 2021 Annual Meal Planning Calendar, you can purchase it by clicking my link in bio or if you're seeing this on Facebook, click here:
https://mpb.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1065589/?action=signup
🍔 Tell me... what's on your meal plan this week?
The 9-gazillion chicken recipes on Pinterest overw The 9-gazillion chicken recipes on Pinterest overwhelms me.
You too?
One of the many reasons I love chicken is because it's just so versatile. I mean, it cooks quick and there's sooooo many options out there. Just search "chicken recipes" and you'll come up with tens of thousands. 
(I'm looking at you again, Pinterest...). 
These are way too many options for me, so I created a simple mix and match method to come up with new dinner ideas.
✔️ limited ingredients means I'm not overwhelmed 
✔️ starts with flavors my family already loves to eat
✔️ less options means I can get dinner on the table quicker instead of staring into the fridge hoping dinner will just jump out at me!
Here's a few of these ideas on my meal plan (right outta my Annual Meal Planning calendar...).
What's your family's favorite chicken recipe?
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