How to Feed Hungry Holiday Guests on a Budget {Caramelized Onion Bacon Tart Recipe}

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You know you’re going to have guests visiting over the holidays – and they’re going to need to eat – but you want to be able to spend time visiting with friends and family, not in the kitchen the entire time. Plus, who wants to spend the time or money replicating the main holiday meal?

The key to feeding hungry holiday guests on a budget is to cook something ahead of time that’s affordable, simple and can be frozen and brought out when you need it.

This Caramelized Onion & Bacon Tart is the perfect meal that can be duplicated and served with a simple salad or any number of the other holiday side dishes below that not only embrace the flavors of the season, but are sure to please a crowd. And because I’ve done my shopping at ALDI, you know it’s frugal too.

Holiday season is right around the corner and we all know how expensive hosting can get. Whether you’re feeding a big crowd or meal prepping for your week, ALDI can help you save up to 50 percent* on your groceries.

In fact, I spent less than $50 for all these dishes and I have enough to feed up to 10 guests with the delicious recipes I’m sharing with you today.

The holidays are all about celebrations, and you should be able to savor every joyous, frenzied moment – without stressing about the toll on your bank account – and that’s exactly how ALDI can help. ALDI has foods to fit anyone’s lifestyle – they make shopping easy and most importantly, affordable!

I demonstrated this recipe on Talk of the Town, but just in case you missed it, I have all the details for you here:

Caramelized Onion & Bacon Tart

Ingredients:

• 6 slices Specially Selected Center Cut Bacon, chopped
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 1 Bake House creations Pie Crust
• 1 tablespoon Carlini Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Iodized Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Stonemill Essentials Italian Seasoning
• 8 ounces Happy Farms Swiss Cheese Block, grated
• 2 tablespoons Priano Romano Shredded Cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°
• In a medium frying pan, sauté bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Reserve.
• Add onions and cook low and slow until caramelized (anywhere from 10-20 minutes). Remove and reserve for later.
• Combine the vegetable oil and melted butter in a small bowl. Roll out the pie crust onto a baking sheet and brush on half of the butter mixture.
• Sprinkle the pie crust with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
  Spread shredded cheese evenly over the crust, leaving a 3″ border. Top with the chopped bacon and onions.
• Fold the border over the filling to form a rustic edge.
• Brush sides with remaining oil and butter, then sprinkle whole tart with 2 tablespoons Romano cheese.
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

As I mentioned above, this Caramelized Onion Tart with Bacon is a great building block for a fast, frugal meal to feed your holiday crowd, but I also recommend supplementing it with some other side dishes highlighting seasonal flavors. The following are a few other crowd pleasers that will not only complement the tart, but can be made fairly quickly and inexpensively when you pick up your ingredients at ALDI.

Just click the links above the photos for the recipes:

1. Beyond-Compare Brussels Sprouts