For the Holiday's as part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias® I made this easy and festive meal for dinner.

I wanted to make something hearty yet still nutritious for a family holiday meal. I made garlic seasoned tri-tip, bacon-cranberry green beans and red-garlic mash. We bought all of our ingredients at Smart & Final for under $30 and it is a 30 minute meal!

My kiddo and I headed to Smart & Final to find all of our ingredients to make a yummy holiday meal for under $30. I really was not sure what to make until we got to the store and saw all the fresh produce and meat. Our local Smart & Final in Mira Mesa has totally changed... for the better! I previously shopped there for big items for parties but now I know I can grab everyday items too. We picked up some halos and raspberries for less than we typically pay.

I spotted a really big bag of green beans for under $4 and my holiday meal started clicking in my head. Green beans with bacon are a new favorite in our house. As we headed down the fruit aisle my kiddo spotted minnie mouse on a bag of Cranberry Craisins. Aha! I thought adding craisins to the the green beans would be a fun holiday addition and let me tell you - it was!

It seems like it was harder to get into the holiday spirit this year. I think last year was so easy because it was the first year our girl could interact with holiday traditions. Everything was new and fun to experience with her so we did a LOT of fun holiday activities. I think I may have burned myself out last year. So I decided this year that we would keep things a little more low key. We decorated the house, we have looked at Christmas lights, we have done a couple fun crafts and we have the original chocolate advent calendar. All we were missing was a good and hearty meal.

Earlier this week I cooked thin cut tri-tip, bacon-cranberry green beans and red-garlic mash with a stuffed mushroom appetizer. All of this food was under $30 and took less than 30 minutes to make. It was so tasty that I thought I would share the recipes with you.

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Red Garlic Mash Potatoes

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Ingredients

• (1) 2 lb Bag of Baby Red Potatoes
• 5 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
• 1 Teaspoon of Lawrys Garlic Salt
• ½ Cup of Milk
• 3 Tablespoons of Butter
• Fresh Thyme for garnish

Instructions

1. Boil 4 quarts of water
2. Chop up Baby Red Potatoes into 1 inch pieces
3. Place potatoes and fresh garlic into boiling water
4. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes
5. Drain Water
6. Mash Potatoes and garlic with a potato masher or forks
7. Add remaining ingredients and stir
8. Garnish with fresh Thyme

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Bacon Cranberry Green Beans

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Ingredients

• 3 Cups of Geenline Green Beans
• ½ Pound of First Street Bacon
• ½ Cup of Cranberry Craisins
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into ½ inch pieces
2. Sauté until crispy and set aside
3. Remove most of the bacon oil from the pan. Leave 1 tablespoon.
4. Add Green Beans and butter
5. Sauté for 4-5 minutes
6. Add cooked bacon back into the pan with cranberry craisins
7. Sauté for 1 minute
8. Serve

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

The stuffed mushrooms were sold pre-made in the produce section. I popped those in our toaster oven for about 10 minutes.

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Garlic Seasoned Thin Cut Tri-tip

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Ingredients

• 1 Package of Thin Cut Tri-Tip
• 1 Tablespoon of Lawrys Garlic Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Heat grill pan on Medium heat
2. Season tri-tip with garlic salt and pepper on both sides
3. Add to the pan
4. Cook tri-tip for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Our first holiday meal of the season turned out fantastic. My husband was very happy for the meat and potatoes. He said "Um... can we have this every night?" I don't think I could eat it every night but it sure was a good holiday meal to get us in the Christmas spirit.

Check out Smart & Final's Social Circular. Follow Smart & Final on Twitter and Facebook to find other Holiday Meal ideas. #ChooseSmart

What have you been doing to get into the holiday spirit? Share your ideas below.

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.