Holiday Feast Time Saving Tips

The Thanksgiving Holiday is just days away. In an effort to keep your stress down and have more time to enjoy with the family here are some tips to help you. Planning is the #1 key to a successful fun filled day.

1) Develop your menu. I usually ask my family members what dishes would they like me to prepare and then I add to it to give us a big variety of things to eat.

2) Make a detailed list of every item needed for each dish you’re planning to prepare. This gives you an overview of every item you need for your family feast.

3) Take an inventory of ypur pantry to see which items you already have and to make sure that you have enough. There is nothing like preparing a dish to realize you forgot one of the key ingredients.

4) Prepare your shopping list and head to the store. Look through the sales flyers for deals and coupons.

5) Food Prep. Now that the shopping is done you can start to prepare items ahead of time to make your cooking journey a breeze. I chop and cut vegetables days ahead and put them in storage bags and /or containers to save time when I start cooking.

6) Cook items in shifts. I usually take two days to prepare dishes and desserts. For example I prepare my dressing the day before and put it in the refigerator and on Thanksgiving morning I pop it in the oven. This gives ypu fresh baked dressing where the seasonings had the opportunity to sit in the dressing overnight before baking. Prepare and group items together that can be cooked at the same temperature.

7) Disposable items. I use aluminum pans and lids for holiday meals. They are easy to store as you can stack them in the refigerator. There are numerous designs of decorative disposable plates, cups and plastic wear to make your holiday festive which aleviates timely dishwashing thus giving the cook more time to spend with the family.

Following these tips will help you to be more organizaed thus creating more time to enjoy your time with family and friends. Have a happy and blessed holiday season!

Lady Sweet Chip