Slow cooked shredded ham in a brown sugar and mustard sauce. This is the sort of thing you prepare a day or so in advance so that when you serve it you don't really have to do much of anything at all. Great for times when people will be in and out, eating irregularly all day.
Chopped broccoli, crumbly bacon and lots of grated cheese, and red onion too are doused with a lovely red wine vinegar and mayonnaise dressing, and chilled.
'I first tried this stuffing a few years ago, and it fast became our family's favorite,' says Kathy Traetow of Waverly, Iowa. Her hearty corn bread mix is flavored with mushrooms and bacon.
I wanted a different side dish one night, so I dressed up my usual scalloped potatoes with bacon, green onion and extra cheese. Microwaving speeds things up, but you can save even more time by preparing it a day early.