Thanksgiving Tip: Tuesday

Remember to be thankful as you busily prepare for the "big feast".
When I was 17 I prepared my first Thanksgiving meal. My father told me on Tuesday that I would be the chief chef for our 30 guests.

I cried.

I begged.

I stomped my feet.

Nothing worked. 

I had to figure out what the heck to do. I asked my dad for help.

He sat me down, made me make a menu, and prepare a time line for my big day in the kitchen. In the end, I made a great meal. Almost everything was warm all at the same time, and I felt really proud of myself.

Tuesday is a great day to write out your plan of attack.

• Write down your checklist of meals. 
• Figure out when you need to begin cooking each item in order for it to hit the table just right. 
• Decide when you will do any preparation. (For example, I peel potatoes the day before and store them in the refrigerator in a bag or bowl of water).
• Create your master schedule. This piece of paper is magical for those who have never tackled such a complicated meal. It saves me every time!

Thanksgiving Week is Here!

With the holidays upon us its a great time to make a few meals in advance so you can relax and enjoy the holidays even more.
Yes, this requires planning, shopping, and even cooking but a few meals in the freezer can make all the difference in the world!
Have you heard of iMom? I get these email updates almost everyday. I love them because they are short and to the point.
Today's email was all about preparing in advance for all the craziness, by doing a bit of advance cooking. Love it!

Check out these ideas for make ahead meals!

Thanksgiving Tip Monday: It's late in the day so just breathe:). Make sure your turkey is defrosting! A bird can take a few days to be ready for roasting. While this may seem obvious, many people forget to thaw their birds.

Thankgiving Planning

It's just the right time to begin planning my Thanksgiving Meal.
Actually, I am a little behind. I like to spread the shopping over a few pay periods to be honest. How about you?

So far I have my turkey and fixings for pumpkin pie.
This years Thanksgiving Menu so far:

Breakfast

• Eggs Benedict and juice

Dinner

• Turkey and Gravy
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato casserole
• pearled onions
• cranberry sauce
• Fresh rolls
• pumpkin pie
• Apple Pie

Leftovers:

• Turkey sandwiches: (I am thinking panini's this year)
• Turkey tortellini soup (It was a hit last year)
• Individual Turkey pot pie's
• pie, pie, pie

I am still making my list and am looking for a great veggie dish.
Any suggestions?

Enough Pie Dough to Feed an Army

It's time to starting thinking about the holidays.

I was thrilled to learn the next recipe I am going to share with you about 8 years ago. Great grandma was visiting and she filled my freezer with balls of ready to roll pie dough. The recipe turns out to be super easy, and when you are done you will have enough dough for 30 open pies, or 15 pies with a top crust.
Don't make the same mistake I did. I though, "there is no way I will ever justify having that much pie dough". Wrong! I made pies, pot pies and stew filled dinner pockets with the dough. It's a super staple for your freezer during the cool months to come.

Grandma's Pie dough for 30 pies