2 Super Quick Side Dishes for Christmas Dinner

It’s Christmastime—that wonderful time of year when family and friends gather around the dinner table and enjoy food and fellowship. If you are responsible for bringing the Christmas side dishes this year, keep stress at bay with these delightful and easy recipes. Fool guests into thinking you spent hours in the kitchen when instead, you caught up on some much-needed sleep. Shhh… it’ll be our little secret.

1) Creamy Double Mashed Potatoes

This easy recipe produces mashed potatoes so creamy they’ll even wow the mashed-potato connoisseurs at the table. While spuds are a definite staple among Christmas side dishes, surprise guests by creating a tasty variation to the traditional recipe. The two types of potatoes in this recipe provide complexity; the Neufchatel cheese offers a rich and smooth taste; and the crumbled bacon adds a delicious burst of flavor. Warning: prepare for second and third helpings.

Creamy-Double-Mashed-Potatoes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb. sweet potatoes (about 2), peeled, cut into chunks

1 lb. red potatoes (about 3), peeled, cut into chunks

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 slices Oscar Mayer Bacon, cooked, crumbled

Directions

Cook potatoes in boiling water in large saucepan 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain. Return potatoes to pan.

Add Neufchatel; mash potatoes just until Neufchatel is blended. Gradually add broth, continuing to mash potatoes until desired consistency.

Stir in bacon.

2) Classic Green Bean Casserole

When most people think of easy recipes for Christmas, green bean casserole is often the first dish that comes to mind. You simply can’t go wrong with green beans, cream of mushroom soup and French fried deliciousness (I mean, onions). As an added bonus, this recipe calls for Cheez Whiz! If time is not on your side, Classic Green Bean Casserole will save the day (and brighten everyone else’s).

Servings: 10

Ingredients

3 pkg. (9 oz. each) frozen French-cut green beans, thawed, drained

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup Cheez Whiz Cheese Dip

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 can (2.8 oz.) French fried onions, divided

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Mix all ingredients except half the onions in 1-1/2-qt. casserole.

Bake 35 minutes, topping with remaining onions after 30 minutes.