How about going back to the beginnings of this great nation and going for a Colonial theme with your President's Day menu? There are many great dishes that can be traced back over the centuries. You can find many great resources online that highlight the cooking of Colonial America. You might even find a few bonus recipes if you browse websites about Williamsburg, VA or other cities that were of import during the colonial days and those years when we were a fledgling nation.

If you search carefully you can find many resources that may give you even more ideas about cooking and serving a colonial style feast fit for a President's Day celebration. You will find many books relating to etiquette of the day and expectations along with a few that were devoted to food preparation and some books that were published much later and contained recipes that have been passed down from one generation to the next with a gold mine of recipes that were often used during colonial times.

If the idea of a colonial feast isn't your idea of a great way to celebrate American Presidents then there are other options available. One great cooking idea for Presidents day is the good old American Barbecue. There are those among us who feel that there is never a time of year in which a barbecue can't take place. It doesn't matter if there has been a foot of snow overnight there are many of us who are perfectly comfortable digging out the grill and throwing a few steaks and potatoes on for the sake of an honest excuse to celebrate and what better way than to honor those men who have led our country throughout history?

Even when using the grill and barbecuing for President's Day you are not limited to foods that are typically barbecued. If you are of the mind you should consider doing something you may not try every day on your grill. Some popular firsts for many people include food items such as a whole pork tenderloin. This goes great with grilled or broiled vegetables, rice, and bread and feels like a very American thing to eat. Of course, hamburgers are quite nice and very American too.

Of course you could go the route of honoring the President's fitness award on President's day by electing to go the healthy route with your cooking and eating. Great ideas would be broiled fish or chicken, chicken noodle soup (soup is good for the soul after all and it is in February), steamed veggies, and a side of long grain and wild rice. Though there are some that find President's Day the perfect excuse to go after some comfort food. Beef stew, vegetable soup, chicken and dumplings, and good old Virginia ham with all the trimmings might make an excellent choice for those seeking comfort and warmth on this, sometimes, cold winter President's day.

However you choose to honor all the past Presidents with your cooking be sure to take a moment out of your cooking schedule to send positive thoughts and hopes toward the current leadership whether you approve or not. This is a position that very few of us could fill and still maintain some degree of sanity. For this reason we should be grateful for those who do.

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That being said there are ways you can go about cooking the perfect mother's day meal and creating very little mess for mom to clean up if you are willing to put a little bit of effort into the planning phase. In fact, even the most cooking impaired among us have options for creating a grand feast worthy of mom with very little mess when all is said and done. The perfect plan some may say and mom might be inclined to agree. Even better you won't find yourself on a waiting list and jostled about by others looking to get a good seat at your favorite restaurant on this day that is often one of, if not the, busiest restaurant days of the year and no it isn't ordering take out from said restaurant.

There has been a recent emergence of gourmet cooking stores cropping up that allow guests to come in, prepare meals for the family with fresh ingredients, close examination, and explicit instructions that are delicious, nutritious, and only need to be heated in the oven when the time comes to prepare the meals. They sit nicely in the freezer and can quite often be prepared in various sizes to accommodate different needs. You can prepare delicious dishes such as coconut shrimp, Caribbean pork roast, and delicious pasta dishes to bring home for Mother's day and mom will truly appreciate the fact that she doesn't have to clean up a huge mess when the day is done. If you want to be an even bigger hero for mom, pitch in with everyone to clean up what mess has been made so that she can sit back, relax, and enjoy her big day.

The places you can go to do this for mom are not exactly inexpensive though they will cost less than six servings at your favorite restaurant (well unless it's McDonald's) and are a great deal of fun to put together. They will be called different names and you may have several from which to choose. They can often be found online through a search of 'meal preparation centers' and are a grand idea for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and any other holiday or birthday that brings the family together. Of course, these meals aren't a bad idea for those nights when you just don't feel like going through the hassle of preparing a big meal for the family. It's great to have a freezer with food that can be taken out and prepared on demand that doesn't taste like a TV dinner.

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In certain parts of Italy, because of the Catholic tradition of abstaining from red meat on Christmas Eve day, there is a tradition of having fish for the evening meal. This is commonly referred to as a 7 fishes dinner and is a fascinating tradition for those who enjoy seafood. It's certainly a new and refreshing dinner idea for many people if you are looking for something a little different from the ordinary. Even if fish really isn't your food of choice there is no rule that says you can't prepare a nice Italian feast for your Christmas dinner. The important thing is that you have friends and family gathered near and prepare the food with love. You do not have to have turkey or ham in order for the meal to qualify as Christmas and there is no reason that you have to stick with traditions that you really do not enjoy.

A traditional German Christmas dinner might be a neat tradition to try in America as well if you are looking to introduce your family to various cultures or just want to do a little something extraordinary for Christmas this year. One thing to note is that many Germans have their Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. A traditional German Christmas dinner often consists of dishes such as stuffed Christmas Goose, Potato Dumplings, Red Cabbage, and Baked Apples for dessert. Of course you do not have to choose a traditional Christmas dinner for your Christmas German cuisine there are plenty of great German dishes that can be enjoyed if you wish to bring a German theme to your Christmas table. Do whatever tastes good and it might be best to choose foods that are relatively easy to prepare rather than those that are time consuming so that you can enjoy time with friends and family rather than cooped up in the kitchen.

If a taste of the UK is what you have in mind for your Christmas Dinner table then you might find the foods bring a flavor that is a little closer to home than you may realize. Popular Christmas dinner favorites in the UK include dishes such as roasted turkey, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts, dressing, and pudding pie. One interesting tradition that is popular in the UK is that of Christmas crackers, which hold little gifts and goodies inside.

Another interesting choice for your Christmas table may be to include your favorite Mexican dishes for dinner. Most Americans have a soft spot for Mexican cuisine and it is definitely warming to eat on a cold winter's day. The point is to make your Christmas dinner menu fun to eat, fun to prepare, and something that is likely to make your guests smile while building fond memories of your Christmas day.

The same may be said of most cuisines, even those from cultures that do not traditionally celebrate Christmas. Thai, Indian, Chinese foods make wonderful themes for a Christmas table if you are knowledgeable about the cuisine and willing to undertake the tasks of preparation as part of your Christmas dinner plans. The trick is really in finding dishes that are relatively simple to prepare, difficult to mess up, and can easily be skipped in the event that something does go wrong. There are tons of distractions on Christmas in most households and you do not want Christmas dinner ruined because one dish is proving difficult or impossible or (heaven forbid) gets burned, dropped on the floor, or eaten by the dog.

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Most people who have a huge Halloween party will find that they will be interrupted throughout the evening with trick or treaters seeking the perfect treat. While we want to enjoy the ghosts, goblins, kings, and princesses gracing our stoop we also do not want to burn the food we are working hard to prepare. For this reason we need to select foods that require little attention during the preparation process rather than foods that are quite time consuming and attention demanding.

Crock pots are a blessing to have around on a night like Halloween. You can begin the food cooking well before the little goblins begin their appointed rounds and have the dishes you've prepared kept warm while you're waiting for guests to arrive or doling out treats at your front door, whatever the necessity of the moment may be. You can even cook normal favorites in the crock pot or cook them on the stove and use the crock pot to keep them warm.

Some excellent spooky crock pot ideas include spaghetti brains. Prepare the sauce and the noodles ahead of time separately. Mix the sauce in the noodles and keep them warming together in the crock pot. Meatball eyes are another crock pot favorite. Stuff the meatballs with one stuffed olive eyeball and place in spaghetti sauce. Bat wings (which are actually chicken wings) with your favorite sauce are also excellent in the crock pot. Sloppy Joes can also be prepared and stored in the crock pot then served open faced over buns with small triangle cheese slices for eye and a pickle for eyeballs and a large triangle of cheese for the mouth.

Another great Halloween cooking idea is to prepare as much as possible ahead of time. There are all kinds of frightening and ghastly goodies that can be made ahead of time and stored for the big day. Make your spooky offerings such as dips that can be made cold and used for veggies, which can also be chopped ahead of time, can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for the big day. Cookies can be baked and decorated and stored in advance. Devilled egg white mice can be made earlier in the day and stored in the fridge on waxed paper.

The Internet is full of great recipe ideas for delicious and devious Halloween desserts, snacks, and treats. There are far too many to try them all. However, if you have favorite foods that are easy to prepare and a good party food you might want to search the net for a manner of making the food more appropriate to a Halloween theme. You can make your own pizza a little spookier by decorating it in a manner that is spooky or painting pictures, such as a jack o lantern face with pizza sauce. There are plenty of things you can do to raise the fear factor even on family favorites if you use a little creativity and give it a fancy name (like spaghetti brains).

The most important thing about Halloween as a holiday is that it gives children of all ages the perfect excuse to use their imaginations and play pretend. The food you cook doesn't have to be too terribly spooky in order to be a perfect fit for the theme of the day. A few simple adjustments, a little dash of food color, and a lot of imagination can make any meal so much more Halloween worthy in the end.

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With so many dyed eggs around it would be a shame not to incorporate them into the meals that are being prepared for your Easter menu. There are many ways to do that and a favorite in my house is with devilled eggs. In addition to devilled eggs, which are excellent appetizers you can also chop the eggs up and include them in potato salad, egg salad, or chicken salad (which also happens to make excellent finger sandwiches for a light appetizer). You may also use boiled eggs in the making of cornbread dressing and/or giblet gravy, which are both popular Easter dishes in some southern states.

The good news is that there are plenty of dishes that go wonderfully well with eggs. If you like ham this is a great dish to serve with dressing, to make ham salad with later, and to simply have along with your favorite egg recipe. Ham is relatively simple to make as the hard part is often waiting on it to be finished. If you want even more simplicity the only thing you really need to do to have an excellent ham dinner is poor a can of Coca-Cola over the ham, cover it in aluminum foil, and bake it for the necessary duration. It really can't get any easier than that though there are plenty of more complicated ham recipes available.

You will want to offer plenty of side dishes to compliment your main dish. Popular favorites are vegetables, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, dressing, sweet potato casserole, and rolls. These are all relatively simple to prepare, not very time consuming and can also be delegated to guests if you'd like without too terribly much fuss. You'll also want to have a few appetizers on hand for the time before dinner is ready and a couple of desserts for the perfect finish – as if those chocolate bunnies from the Easter basket's are not enough.

For those looking for fare that is a little lighter on Easter I recommend offering salads with low fat dressing, steamed veggies, use diet coke on the ham instead of regular and prepare at least one sugar free dessert as well as offer some fruit and a raw veggie platter with fat free dip along with the appetizers. Easter is a day to celebrate and you shouldn't leave family members who are dieting to dread their lack of healthy eating options. You'll also find yourself surprised by those who, given the option, will eat the healthier foods if they are available.

Make sure you offer plenty of drink options ranging from bottled water, coffee, tea (sweet and un-sweet if you live in the South), and favorite pop brands of family members as well. If you are hosing Easter dinner at your home in addition to these cooking ideas I also suggest offering a place for your guests to change clothes if necessary. Many people come wearing their Sunday best and while it was great for church services and photo opportunities they don't often fare too well with gravy, butter, or grass stains.

Of course you could skip all the advice above and go for a down home hoe down of a barbecue for the Easter holiday that in some parts of the country signals the approach of Spring. Barbecues are often appealing because it limits a good bit of the mess to the great outdoors and gives the kids involved a great place to run, play, and let off steam.

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First of all, you absolutely must adopt the KISS policy. Keep it simple silly. The meals you plan for your contributions to holiday cooking in your own home and for various events and pot lucks that take place this time of year should be simple to prepare, take little time, and cost as little money as possible.

Do things in bulk. Rather than trying to squeeze in a few minutes hear and there mark out large chunks of your calendar and dedicate those times to tasks such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and wrapping and stick to that one thing during its allotted time slot rather than trying to cook, wrap, clean, and shop at the same time. This saves confusion and lessens the opportunity of something getting boiled, burned, splattered, ruined, or forgotten.

Plan ahead and shop ahead. This saves valuable time and money because you aren't impulse buying at the last minute. Whether you are shopping for food items for meal preparation and cooking or the perfect gifts for friends or family putting things off often tends to result in spending more money than intended and getting less value for that money.

Make sure you have enough room inside your fridge for the foods you need for preparation and storing the foods that need to be chilled once they've been prepared. Space is a must and if you do not have enough space in your refrigerator you need to be making other plans for food that needs to be kept cold in the interim.

Plan a quick and easy back up in case something goes wrong with one of the more complicated dishes or casseroles. A last minute substitution that is quick and easy is a much better option than not having enough to go around. You never know what's going to go wrong when dealing with the holidays and it is best to be prepared when something does.

Make sure the turkey or ham is properly thawed and that you've allotted the necessary time for cooking. In fact an extra hour is often the best way to go as you never know what kind of differences there will ultimately be in cooking time for your main course.

Clean as you go. This little tip will save so much time, trouble, and pulled hair that you will never really know how wonderfully valuable this nugget of advice really is. Dishes are simpler to clean when still warm and before food has time to dry and set in.

These tips do not guarantee a perfect holiday cooking experience but they are an excellent way to guarantee less stress in the mix.

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Of course, you could begin preparing and freezing large casserole favorites as early as August for the Christmas season. In this instance you could freeze all your family favorites and have great dishes not only for family functions that require a pitch in dish but also for those nights when you are far too busy to be bothered with something as demanding on your limited attention span as actually preparing a home cooked meal. This is possible the best method for each Christmas cooking known to man. If you prepare casseroles and similar dishes that work well with a holiday theme throughout the year be sure to double your efforts next time and freeze half for busier months such as November and December.

Of course there is one method that may be a little easier in the long run though a good deal more costly. This is the supreme cheater method. There are plenty of businesses that offer you the opportunity to put together or 'assemble' meals then bring them home to freeze and bake. This isn't quite home made though it tastes as good and might convince those at the parties and events you attend that you are in fact an excellent cook even if you have difficulties finding your way to boiling water. Some cities have several of these meal assembly stores while others have none or only one. You need to constantly check with the menu if you are a finicky eater because they often rotate some of the more popular dishes so that they aren't available all the time. Since the food is frozen you can typically plan your sessions for those times when they are offering the dishes you are interested in creating.

A variation on the theme above is purchasing prepared meals in the freezer section of your local supermarket. There are a few surprisingly good meals to be had especially if you are considering macaroni and cheese or lasagna for your offering. These are meals that you bring home and heat in your oven. They are often sold in foil pans, which are great for potlucks and pitch ins but not so much for looking good. If that isn't the utmost concern these are definitely a possible fit for your needs and your plans. They also happen to be fairly budget friendly which is something most of us can agree is a great thing.

You do not have to have super powers or even a great deal of cooking talent in order to make a Christmas dinner that is delicious and easy to make when time is short. Careful planning well ahead of time is often the key to a successful Christmas season. Most of us begin our shopping early there is no harm in also beginning our cooking a little early too.

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Of course this isn't a perfect plan but it is a good plan. Another great plan is to prepare pieces and parts of your Christmas dinner ahead of time. With careful planning there are items that may be prepared as much as a few weeks ahead of the big day and stored either in air tight containers at room temperature or frozen for heating or baking on the big day or within a reasonable time frame of Christmas for best results. Any of the prep work that can be taken care of before the big day is one less thing to be taken care of when the time comes and that becomes a load off your mind.

Make lists. Lists are wonderful things. If you learn to live by your lists you will wonder how on earth you ever got anything done without them. When you are planning your Christmas dinner right down everything you plan to have, who is bringing what, what you are making, and what ingredients will be needed to complete each and every single dish. Go through your pantry and see which items you have in abundance and which items you will need to prepare the meals. Head to the store at least a week ahead of the big day and purchase all but the fresh ingredients you will need in order to prepare your Christmas feast.

Another thing you will need to do is make sure you have a list of all the non food items you will need to stock ahead of time. Make sure all the bathrooms are stocked, that you have plenty of garbage bags, waste baskets, paper plates, cups, napkins, cutlery, and other items that will be needed in order to make things go smoothly when your guests begin to arrive. These are little things that matter and may get overlooked if you fail to plan ahead.

You should also make a list of decorations, invitations, and gifts or games you may need to purchase for the day too. You want your day to go as smoothly as possible and you want everyone to fill wanted, appreciated, and anticipated. It may be a great idea to pick up a couple of generic gifts for a male or female in case someone unexpected shows up (you really never know) and have extra wrapping paper and supplies on hand in case someone has an emergency rewrap (as in a kid opened a gift intended for someone else). Most importantly plan to be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy as much of the festivities as possible.

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It is fairly safe to say that for most of the country the weather on the fourth of July is going to be a little bit on the warm side. While there are exceptions to every rule this is the general rule of thumb. For this reason you should prepare your menu according to that and avoid foods that are going to melt quickly or will not look as appealing in warm weather. You should also take proper precautions for storage and keeping things from spoiling by leaving them out in the elements too long. Store as much of the food as possible until it is time to serve.

This may somewhat limit your offerings but opens the door to other offerings. Rather than have chilled pies for dessert choose cake that can be stored at room temperature. There are sure to be a few chilled recipes or dishes that are best served and/or stored chilled. Be sure to have plenty of cold gel packs or ice on hand and plenty of ice chests and other appropriate containers, especially if you are going to be camping or cooking out away from home, on hand to take care of at least the amount of food you are contributing that needs cold storage.

If you are going to be camping out or enjoying the great outdoors on the fourth consider foods that can be prepared with a Dutch oven. There are many great recipes and these foods can pretty well cook for the prescribed length of time and served immediately if you plan properly. These ovens are quite useful and can prepare everything from cakes and muffins to stews, chili, and roast beef with vegetables. In other words, a Dutch oven opens doors that may not be widely available to the average camper on a cookout.

Foil packet meals are also excellent choices for your Fourth of July cookouts. These leave little mess, little fuss, and more often than not taste great. Dishes such as Hobo Stew and Creek Bank Potatoes are very popular and quite savory for the average cook out. They are also rather simple to prepare with few ingredients. This makes them an excellent choice for cooking on a grill or even in a Dutch oven if you have one at your disposal, which I highly recommend not only for Fourth of July meal preparations but also any time you are cooking in the great outdoors. You might find that you love it so much you don't want to do without it.

Another great tip when cooking away from home on the Fourth of July is to keep things simple. You do not want to lug around stacks of condiments, dishes, bowls, trays, etc. Keep things as simple as possible and try to use dishes that require few ingredients yet still taste great. The more simple things are when dining in the great outdoors the more you can appreciate the simplicity of being in the great outdoors.

Don't forget the appeal of simple hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats as great Fourth of July meal ideas. These foods are easy to prepare, easy to clean up, and go great with chips. No muss, no fuss, remember? The less time you spend on meal preparations, the more time you have available to get around to enjoying your time in our great countryside. I can't think of many better ways to celebrate our independence as a nation than by enjoying it.

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If you are among the many people around the world who resolves that this next year is going to be the year that you take positive steps to reducing your weight and improving your overall health the way to begin isn't by loading up on carbohydrates and champagne. So out go the peas and in goes the cabbage and corned beef (in small proportions however). Begin the year by understanding portion size, the value of fresh vegetables, the idea that the meat isn't supposed to take up most of your plate, and the notion that dessert is a rare treat not the anticipated ending of an ordinary meal.

These are outstanding beginnings. Not only do you need to rethink the way you eat for your New Year's Day festivities but also the way you prepare the foods you love. High fat preparation methods are out. In is the idea of using seasonings that contain no or very few calories and leave little fat behind as evidence of their participation in the savory flavor of your meals. Herbs and seasonings are a healthy cooks best friend because they help eliminate visions of blandness invading every meal to come until your fitness goals are met and you've reached a state of maintenance in which a few more calorific luxuries are allowed.

Stop frying. The frying process adds simple carbohydrates and fat to your cooking. These are two things you want to try to eliminate from your diet all together. While I am not personally an advocate of removing all carbohydrates from any diet I do believe it is a good idea to switch, whenever possible and tolerable to more complex carbohydrates that are healthier to consume. Fats should always be in moderation however, it is best to save their use for those times when it is a real treat rather than wasting them on well, dinner. Reserve the fats for fun food and rewards rather than squandering them on fuel that is meant to merely get you through the day.

Another thing you need to learn when cooking for the New Year's Holiday and trying to keep things on a more healthy note is that bigger isn't necessarily better. This means that by sticking to the proper portion size you may avoid over eating and filling up. You do not want to leave the table full you want to leave the table wanting a little bit more (not hungry but definitely not full). Eating the proper portions reduces the risk of overeating and feeling bloated or stuffed later on. It also helps you understand what your limits are better and where you need to make cuts in your dietary habits.

Prepare for smaller meals rather than cooking one huge meal for New Year's Day and carry that eating ethic through the rest of the year with you in order to achieve optimal results. Food is the fuel your body needs to carry out its duties properly. The bad news is that far too many of us really enjoy food to the extent that we overindulge, which also prevents the body from working properly. You will need to work to discover what the optimal amount of food and calories is for your dietary needs but it starts by eating healthy one day and following up the next. New Year's Day is a great day to begin a new way of eating. Are you ready?

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