The saying goes that “planning is everything� and if you find that at Thanksgiving you are not calm, cool, or collected but rather you are running around like a chicken with its head cut off, chances are you need to do more planning. You more than likely are not giving yourself enough time to prepare for Thanksgiving. Planning ahead can eliminate the stress of cooking the biggest meal of the year and actually give you some time to enjoy it. So if you are looking to make this Thanksgiving less stressful and a whole lot more fun, here are preparation tips for an easy Thanksgiving-
1. Make your desserts the day before Thanksgiving. This really makes sense because it’s so hard to bake everything at the same time; everything seems to bake at different temperatures. Even if you are not baking, this easy preparation tip comes in handy. Having your pies, cakes, etc already made will give you more time to work on preparing the turkey, vegetables, etc. For an even easier preparation, buy the desserts from a local bakery. If you think making desserts from scratch will drive you over the edge this Thanksgiving, go to a local bakery and choose desserts that you can pass off as homemade. With the selection many local bakeries have today you might even like them better than your own!
2. Peel the potatoes the day before Thanksgiving. This easy preparation tip may not seem like it would save a lot of time, but it really does. The day before Thanksgiving peel the potatoes, place them in a bowl of cold water, and then put them in the refrigerator. If you do this they won’t oxidize and turn brown. When you are ready to cook your potatoes you can simply drain off the water and cook them like normal.
3. Make the cornbread for homemade dressing the day before Thanksgiving. Baking the cornbread the day before eliminates one more task from the big day. This goes for any bread that you may be making to use in the stuffing. Having the bread made (or cubed if using ready made) bread will leave you with just having to mix up the ingredients and bake the dressing.
4. Cut up all the vegetables the day before Thanksgiving. This also will save a lot of time. Whether you need vegetables for your homemade dressing or you are putting out a vegetable platter, this is an easy preparation tip that will make your Thanksgiving more enjoyable.
5. Thaw the turkey well ahead of time. Nothing is more horrifying than going to fix your turkey on Thanksgiving and it’s still partially frozen. Simply by following this easy preparation tip this Thanksgiving, you will be able to get everything finished on time rather than having to wait around longer because your turkey still isn’t done.
6. Purchase the dinner rolls rather than making them from scratch. You may feel completely against this easy preparation tip, but the bottom line is that you can buy rolls that will be just as good as homemade. There are rolls in the freezer section that you thaw and then let rise or use the wonderful crescent rolls found in the dairy section next to the biscuits. If you honestly cannot bring yourself to do this, prepare your dough in advance and freeze it before it rises. Then all you have to do is remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw and rise before baking.
7. Have someone else do the little things. You can cut down on a lot of the work by using precut vegetables from the produce section or buying pre-made mashed potatoes. If you really want time to enjoy your guests why should you waste your time this Thanksgiving cutting vegetables or baking rolls? For an even easier preparation share the responsibility. This Thanksgiving ask your friends and family to bring different dishes and all you have to do is cook the turkey. One of the added bonuses (besides less work for you) is that everyone gets to enjoy everyone else’s creativity.
8. For the easiest Thanksgiving ever-Order a Thanksgiving dinner from the store or a local restaurant. You can get wonderful Thanksgiving dinners from your local grocery store and many restaurants will cater the entire dinner or even just the items you don’t want to cook. Just be creative and remember what Thanksgiving is really all about-sharing the day with the people who mean the most to us.
More posts like this one in Celebrations.