"If you are like me, cooking a holiday dinner really zaps your energy.
There is a way to cook this meal and still enjoy the family and I am
going to tell you how in step-by-step instruction. This plan worked
for my Thanksgiving celebration two years ago. That was the first time I
ever tried this method. I well never do another holiday meal without
this plan." - FlyLady
Dear Friends,
What can you do today that will keep you from having to do it
tomorrow? This is a question that I ask myself, while planning for a
holiday dinner.
So I am going to ask you some questions. Starting Sunday and
Monday before Thursday's dinner.
- Have you taken the frozen turkey from the freezer and put it in the
refrigerator to thaw? This takes several days. I plan on cooking mine Thursday
morning. Place that gobbler in a garbage bag and put it in the refrigerator.
This is the only safe place to thaw a frozen turkey. You don't want
people sick from salmonella. I don't even trust thawing in a sink of
cold water.
- Have you made out your Menu? Decide what you are making and what your family members want to bring to relieve some of your burden. Don't be a Martyr. Let them help. This morning I called my
Dear Mother-in-Law and asked her to make our favorite cranberry
salad and sweet potato casserole. Then I called my sister-in-law
and she wanted to make the dressing and a veggie tray. Just look
at what I don't have to cook. I will make the ham and turkey,
corn, mashed potatoes, a broccoli salad, a squash casserole, the
rolls, and pumpkin pies. With this delegated, I made a list of
ingredients for each recipe. If you are like me, your recipes are in
your head. I just have to think and write down the items that are
needed to make each dish. Then, take your list and check your pantry
and freezer for items that you already have on hand. If you have a
well stocked pantry, you will only need to purchase fresh veggies,
eggs, and diary products. Don't forget to buy the items that are your
last ones in your pantry. This keeps you from running totally out of
anything and having to make a last minute grocery run in the middle
of cooking. I just hate to do this.
- Do your table cloths and napkins need laundered? Ironed? If you put
them away last year clean, you will not have this problem, if not
check them out and take of this now. I hate to iron, so I only buy
permanent pressed ones and pull them out of the dryer as soon as they are
finished and place on the table or an unused bed until the table is
ready to set.
- Now, is you china dirty or dusty? Get it washed on Sunday or Monday! I
love our china, and many people tell me not to put it in the
dishwasher, but I say pooy on this. My dishwasher has a china/gentle
cycle and I don't use any dishwasher powder. The dishes get clean and
I didn't have to hand wash them. I do the same for the silver, except
the knifes. I hand wash them. Crystal too. Water glasses, tea glasses
and the proper wine glasses for the wine you may be serving. My SIL
and her Mother-in-Law like white wine. So I need to dust off a few of
those.
- Where are your favorite serving dishes? Turkey platter, casserole
dishes? Are they clean? How many do you need for your table? Get them
out on Monday too. Pick out what dish you want for each menu item,
also the serving spoons for each. Set them aside, This way you will
not be rushing trying to find the dish you had in mind while your
guests are sitting down to the table. Don't forget your bread basket.
Monday Morning first thing, I will do my weekly home blessing.
Vacuum, dust, empty trash, change sheets, cull magazines, clean
windows and mirrors and mop the floors. I have done most of this over
the weekend. There will be about 45 minutes worth of sprucing up on
Monday morning, then I can go to the grocery store. For the most part
with my routines, zones, and basic weekly cleaning, the house stays
looking nice and all I have to do is concentrate on the pretty, cutey
things that make our home welcoming to our visitors, family, and friends.
One thing that I need to make sure of, is that the refrigerator is clean and
organized before I go to the grocery store. This I do every week, so
it is not that bad. There have been times... (we won't go there, but you
know what I mean). I want to have plenty of room for the groceries and
the casserole dishes that I will be preparing in the next couple of
days.
After looking at what I have to cook, I am going to pick out the items
I can fix on Monday and Tuesday.
Robert loves to bake pies, so I will let him do the pies on Monday.
Now that we have more than a two-butt kitchen and he has his very own
oven at the other end of our kitchen, he will not be in my way.
On Monday after I get back from the grocery store, I can put
together a squash casserole, a broccoli salad, and break the fresh
green beans for stirred fried green beans. Now mind you, I don't do
this all at once and I don't start the process with a dirty kitchen.
All the groceries have to be put away. And I have hot soapy water in my sink and the dishwasher is emptied. Then I can start to put together the
casserole and the broccoli salad. One at a time, cleaning up and
totally putting everything away before I start the next dish. Now you
may think this is stupid, but this is the best thing I have ever
thought about for not getting overwhelmed when cooking a big meal. You
only have the things out that you need to fix the dish at hand. Do not
be tempted to leave out an item that you will need for the next one.
It doesn't work that way. Once it is in the baking/serving dish, the
preparation utensils washed up and put in the dishwasher, then you can
go on to the next menu item.
I will set the table Wednesday and make it pretty.
Whip the cream for
the pies. Get the turkey washed and sinks sterilized after handling poultry. I use comet for this and hot water. Clean hands and counters and knives. Do not have any other food products out when you are handling the turkey.
This will leave me cooking a turkey, and a ham, making mashed
potatoes, cooking the corn, stir frying the green beans, and making "angelled"
eggs (I had a friend that called devilled eggs this, and I loved it) for Thursday.
Planning my schedule for Thursday:
To do this, I need to check the
cooking times for the items that need to be fixed. I have a time table
ready to input the proper times to put things in the oven and get
them ready for the meal.
The rolls take 2-3 hours to rise and then they need 15 minutes to
cook. If we are going to have them at 1:00 pm for dinner, then I need
to have them ready to set out on the counter by 10:00 am to thaw and to
rise. Now I can get them ready on Wednesday, by putting them in a pan
with melted butter and then placed back in the freezer till time to
get them out.
The turkey is 12 pounds, I expect to cook it for 4 hours, this mean
that I need to put it on at 8:00 am. I want it ready by noon, so that if it is not done by the poultry thermometer, I can cook it a little
more.
Wednesday, get the turkey and the ham ready to go into the oven. I will
put the ham on before I go to bed and set the oven to turn off 4 hours
later when I get up in the morning.
Here is my final schedule.
7:00 am Get dressed to shoes in my holiday jumper, fix my hair and
face, make coffee, and have a dab of breakfast. Do my regular Morning Routine
7:30 am Boil 1 dozen eggs. Put eggs in pan of cold water and bring to
a boil and remove from heat and let stand for 25 minutes in the hot
boiling water and finish cooking with the lid on. Then run cold water
over the eggs to cool and release the shell for easy peeling. This is
the only item that I will do and start something else while they are
getting totally cool. I will remove them from the boiling pan and
place on a bowl to cool, while I get the turkey ready to pop in the
oven.
Fry bacon for Broccoli Salad.
Melt butter for turkey, rolls and mashed potatoes have it handy.
8:00 am Put Turkey in the oven, set the timer for 4 hours.
Cut up precooked giblets and boiled eggs for the gravy, add
to chicken broth and mix flour and water make a paste and
pour into cold broth, Put back in the refrigerator for cooking later.
8:30 am Make angelled eggs: Mayo, mustard, and sweet pickle relish.
9:00 am Put corn on to cook: Frozen corn and butter.
Set up coffee maker for after dinner coffee.
9:30 am Peel potatoes, put in pan of water. set aside.
10:00 am Put frozen rolls on the counter to thaw.
10:30 am Put squash casserole in the oven to cook for 1.5 hours.
Make giblet gravy and set on back burner to simmer/warm.
11:00 Cook potatoes
Stir fry Green beans
put bacon bits in broccoli salad
11:30 am Mash potatoes and set on back eye to stay warm.
12:00 am Take out squash casserole and put in rolls. Check Turkey for
doneness and remove from oven. To sit so it can be carved.
12:15 Take out rolls, brush with butter.
12:30 Set up buffet table with the food. Put ice in the glasses.
1:00 Turn on coffee, sit down to dinner and enjoy my friends and
family.
List of stuff to put on the buffet table.
- Turkey
- Ham
- Gravy
- Mashed potatoes
- Green beans
- Squash Casserole
- Broccoli Salad
- Angeled Eggs
- Corn
- Rolls
Items that are being brought by the family:
- Sweet potato Casserole
- Dressing
- Cranberry salad
- Veggie Tray
Dessert table:
- Pumpkin pies
- Pecan Pies (Brother-in-law is making)
- coffee
- Coffee cups
- Cream and sugar
- Wine
- Water pitcher
- Tea Pitcher
Now I can hear you all now. This is alot of food. We are having 10
people for dinner. I love to cook and am only fixing family favorites.
Oh by the way, clean-up will be a breeze, because I put all of the left
overs in Ziplock(TM) bags, no more creative stacking of casserole dishes
in the Refrigerator. I will divide the turkey and ham and give most away and
freeze the rest for later casseroles. Do not wait on this. Put it away
as soon as you are finished and you still have plenty of help. Don't
wait. It only get harder to do. Have plenty of those give-away new
Glad(TM) bowls for your company to take home with them.
Catch you later,
FlyLady
P.S. I hope this helps you a little to see the way I think.
Even though we have a new 2 butt kitchen, I still had rather stay out
of my dh's way. Life is good with one cook in the kitchen.
Do you know the Chinese symbol for peace is a picture of a house with
one woman under the roof. Another symbol for (I don't know if it is
chaos or unhappiness) is 2 women under one roof. LOL Maybe it should
be a husband and a wife in a kitchen. LOL Who both think their way is
best. I have to bite my tongue a lot. He loves to cook, so I get out
of his way. He is such a sweetie.
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