Screw extra work. Why add stress?
Cut corners & have a great gobble day!
1. Make your mashed potatoes in your crockpot!! Keep on warm during dinner- no cold potatoes and no perfect timing issues! Recipe below or adapt your own.
2. Buy the fricken canned cranberry sauce. Everyone loves that accordian-shaped delight.
3. BUY A PIE. Don't deal with baking- splurge at the bakery for a killer pumpkin pie or other favorite...like pecan pie.
4. Microwave your veggies. It only takes 5 minutes for 1.5 bags of organic broccoli to steam up bright green in a microwave safe GLASS dish. Pour the 1-2 bags in the dish, cover with enough water to wet them all and hit 5min, start. Last minute- no worries.
5. Write guests names on gourds and place on their placemats. Easy with no craft hangover.
6. Splurge on precut veggies, prewashed salad mixes and organic cherry tomatoes. No wash, no spinning. No cutting. Toss and toss again!
7. Have a kids table with its own decor. Cover the table with a cloth. Decorate with a glittered pumpkin, leaves, gourds. Put a basket of rolls, small butter knife, small milk pitcher, bowl of serve-yourself fruit, serve yourself potatoes. Kids like scooping and pouring their own stuff and all you have to do is air drop some bird on the plate. (4 & upto avoid messes).
8. Put help-yourself water/milk pitchers on the counter/table. Remember how helpful those things are...put hubby on water-patrol!
9. PREMIX a jug of holiday cocktail delight. Don't bring out all the bar gear. Go with festive colors like reds, oranges and jewel tones. Pour all properly measured ingredients in a bottle. All you need are martini glasses and an ice shaker. Pour, shake, serve. Here's a pommegranate cosmo recipe that you can make spectacular with a lime-rind-and-sugar rimmer. Muiltiply the ingredient amounts by the number of people.
ONE generous Pommartini SERVING :
2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1-2 oz pomme juice
<1 oz fresh lime juice
Splash with champagne or club soda.
Shake. Pour into ice shaker. Pour into suggared rim glasses. Cheers.
10. DO not, I repeat, do not deal with making real gravy! I tried three years in a row. No way, never again. IF you can pull it off, you are a domestic diety. Otherwise, buy it.
11. Stuff apples, onions in the bird cavity. Keeps the inside moist.
12. Sneak one time release adderall from your kid's RX bottle... just for the sake of staying on culinary task ALL DAY LONG. It will keep you focused with zero unfinished kitchen business and clean up will be a whirling, swirling snap. Kidding. This is a joke but it sure sounds tempting!
13. Write down what you are thankful for on a big, family poster or in some creative display. That way after a few martinis you'll remember what you are truly thankful for!
14. Have a games and entertainment on hand! Yahtzee, electronic catch phrase, pictionary, soduku, scrabble, trivial pursuit, photo albums out, and home videos within armsreach. All those provide instant entertainment for tired, lazy or hard-to-please guests.
15. ASSIGN something to your guests! Cut your workload and have them bring a side/dessert/drink. Don't let them come empty handed!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
CROCKPOT MASHED POTATOES INGREDIENTS:
- 3 lb. small red potatoes
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 1 can chicken/veggie broth
- 1 cup cream cheese with onions and chives, softened (optional, may add butter or sour cream to taste)
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk
