Brunch, lunch, and dinner homegating tips for Buccaneers vs. Cardinals and other Christmas Day games

For many the holidays are about friends, family and food.

For us, those things are all true, but also football.

It is not just the ability to watch the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day this year, although that may be a bit more curse than blessing this season. It is about the ability to spend time with the family and do something you enjoy together.

This year there are three games on Christmas Day for your enjoyment, although I don’t think the NFL got the matchups they were hoping for.

The Green Bay Packers at the Miami Dolphins kicks things off, the Denver Broncos at the Los Angeles Rams is the afternoon game and the evening game is your Arizona Cardinals hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So, while we have a full day of NFL games, we need to prepare a feast for such an occasion.

How do we prepare for three full meals?

Glad you asked, and here is what we will be doing on Christmas Day for our feasts.

Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins, 11 a.m. Arizona time

Brunch means a couple of options.

The first is the always popular monkey bread, which now is easier than ever to make and serve for any big gathering.

While we still use biscuit dough, and mix them together, you can grab the premade kits that make it easy.

We also have an egg bake casserole, which is easy to make the night before and throw in the oven while you open presents and have it ready after the gift exchange is over.

You can find any casserole you like, but we usually use this recipe.

• 10 eggs
• 1 package of tater tots
• 1 package of thick cut bacon (diced and rendered)
• 1 cup cream
• 1.5 cups of Monterey jack cheese
• 2 tablespoons of Kinder’s The Blend (or just salt, pepper, garlic).

Render the bacon, then mix together your eggs, cream, cheese and seasoning, once bacon is cool add it to the egg mixture. Layer a 9 x 13 aluminum pan with the tater tots on the bottom, after you spray with some non-stick cooking spray of course, then pour in your egg mixture and cover with foil. You can make ahead of time or wait til the morning, we always have it ready the night before.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes, remove the foil on top and then bake for another 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams, 2:30 p.m. Arizona time

Then it is time for lunch and you have some choices. If you are like us, we are keeping it light in the afternoon, but with five kids, including three teenage boys, it means we have to keep them full.

So, we use the King’s Hawaiian rolls and make little ham and cheese sliders.

You can use any recipe you like, but we use the one from Through Her Looking Glass, and we also love to use the Christmas ham leftovers if we are getting to enjoy these the next day, subbing out the deli ham.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Arizona Cardinals, 6:20 p.m. Arizona time

Finally, the main event. Not just the Arizona Cardinals game, but for us it is the prime rib dinner.

While I can give you details on everything, the meat is all that matters and quite frankly all I take care of, while the rest of the family brings the side dishes.

First off, get yourself a standing rib roast, I prefer the prime from Costco if you are a member and can swing it, but you do what is best for you.

If you have a smoker, continue reading. If not, well, you can enjoy the recipe and look for a smoker for the Christmas/Holiday gift season.

I have been enjoying the recipe from Hey Grill Hey for years, and recommend it over any other I have tried, and I usually try one to two a year before going back to this one.

It is a long day of food, family, friends and football and makes this holiday season a different and special one.

Hope you all enjoy.