Say you have a house full of people over the next week or two and you need to keep the meals rolling out. Or, maybe you have been tasked with bringing part of a meal to someone’s house for a vacation gathering. I’ve made a list of some of my favorites. The Baked Ziti with Roasted Eggplant is the most labor intensive, but many readers noted they substituted cooked Italian sausage for the eggplant and an easy meal was ready in no time. I’ve included my fifteen-minute recipe for marinara sauce for a quick bowl of pasta, too.
Rachelle’s Italian Sausage, Onions, and Peppers
Baked Ziti with Roasted Eggplant, Mozzarella, and Marinara Sauce
I like to make one of these delicious, crowd-pleasing chilis when I have a lot of people to feed. The Buffalo Chicken Chili is super quick, especially if you use rotisserie chicken for the meat.
Award Winning Buffalo Chicken Chili
My Favorite Silver Palate Chili
If you are a duck hunter or know someone who is, chances are their freezers are full of ducks. Ask for a few; I’m sure your hunter friends will share. This stew, served over a wedge of hot cornbread, is divine.
If you are a making a turkey dinner for Christmas, check out the recipes for sides under Thanksgiving Week. Note the no-fail make-ahead gravy recipe. You’ll see why reader Susie Ries traveled to her daughter’s house in Wisconsin with a Knorr’s chicken bouillon cube packed in her suitcase.
It wouldn’t be a holiday meal in a big Italian family without batter-fried cauliflower. This is one of the most popular recipes on the blog. I love the festive Brie Bites, too. They take about fifteen minutes to assemble and bake.
Auntie’s Italian Fried Cauliflower
Hot Pepper Jelly and Pecan Brie Bites
Special morning breakfasts call for special crowd-pleasing foods. Here are a few of our favorites:
Mom’s Monkey Bread, circa 1970
50 Ways to Make a Breakfast Frittata
Desserts are my favorite food to cook. These Italian Sesame Seed cookies are not too sweet, easy to make, great dunked in coffee, and last for a long time in a sealed container. After a warm chocolate chip cookie, they are my favorite cookie on the planet. The Ricotta and Lemon Cookies are heavenly, as well.
Italian Ricotta and Lemon Cookies
If you are looking for ideas for foods to bring in the New Year, don’t forget to include collard greens, black-eyed peas, and pork. The greens represent the color of money and thus, economic fortune, the peas (lentils, in the Italian tradition) represent coins, and plump pigs represent prosperity. Here are the tried and true recipes I make every New Year’s Day.
Sautéed Collards (or Swiss Chard), Toasted Pine Nuts and Cranberries
Brooks’ Pork Tenderloin with an Amazing Marinade
It’s easy to spruce up your dining room table with greens from the yard. I took a walk with my dear friend, Lou Ann Brown and we came up with this post.
Winter Floral Arrangements Using Greenery from the Yard
Happy cooking and happy holidays to you and yours!
Don’t miss a recipe! Become a subscriber and have every post delivered to your Inbox.
Follow Judy’s Chickens on Instagram and Pinterest @JudysChickens.
Always check this website for the most up to date version of a recipe.
© 2014-2018 Judy Wright. All rights reserved. Photos, videos, and text may only be reproduced with the written consent of Judy Wright.
@judyschickens 
Thank you so much for this great posting. So much wonderful information.
Thank, Laurie!
Thank you, Judy🎄
Thanks, Julia.