Organizing for Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving can be a time of stress but shouldn’t be. It should be a time of family fun and everyone coming together to eat a wonderful meal. Of course it is all to help us remember and realize how thankful we need to be for everything we have.

There are many this Thanksgiving who have lost their jobs, lost family members or are fighting life threatening illnesses. Along with our thanks we need to pray for them.

Enjoy your family, make amends if things are problematic and have a fun day together. To help make your day come off without a hitch planning ahead is essential.

Here is my list of To Do’s that may help you in keeping your cooking/planning stress down so that you can enjoy what is most important on Thanksgiving: Family and Friends
1) Make a list of who is coming to your meal.
2) Plan the menu. Make note of what days you are going to prepare each item.
3) Make a grocery list from the menu.
4) Check what you have to see what you need to buy.
5) Plan your grocery shopping day, making sure you have time for thawing of your turkey or premaking dishes. (Good  idea to make room in your refrigerator by cleaning out the old left overs, so you have room for all the food).
6) Do your shopping.
7) Try to clean your house in preparation the day before you have to do your cooking so you don’t over load yourself. Have your kids and husband help if possible.
8) Start your cooking, making sure you have storage space for the food. (Plastic bags can store many things including sauces. Just seal tight and lay flat..you can add many layers of food in a small space.)
9) Plan your Thanksgiving day cooking so that everything finishes about the same time.
10) Clean as you go and you won’t have as many dishes to wash after dinner.

Personally I am one that does the basic clean up to make room to get pies out and served, but I have no problem letting dishes set until after all my family/company has left. I would much rather spend time visiting with them while they are here than being up to my elbows in suds in the kitchen.

Eat lots of turkey, take that walk after the meal and enjoy family!

(this is a revised version of post from last year.)

Onion’s anyone?

I love onions used in recipes but I hate to cut them ..{tears}.  When I do cut up an onion or part of an onion I like to cut up several at once.  Then I divide them into 1/2 cup servings and place them in individual sealed baggies.  I take several of those baggies and place them in one large one (date it) and place it in my freezer.  I don’t have any problems with the smell coming through with the double bagging (and I also keep a baking soda box in my freezer for odors.

Next time I have a casserole or want to use some onion in a recipe…I just pop out a bag and its ready. No tears involved this time.

Tips to get Dinner in a Flash!

I have to admit that I am no diva in the kitchen.  In fact, I really don’t care for cooking.  I have to do it…so I do. If someone told me that I could have a free full time cook …I would jump on that one!

I live for fast and easy ways to make meals.  Since I do not like to cook, I want to get in and out of there fast…not spend all day preparing a meal that is gobbled up in 10 minutes and then I have as much time cleaning the kitchen afterwards. (I know….very poor attitude).  I admire those woman that do cook like that and believe me I wish I was one of them…..but alas, I would much rather spend my time organizing my office than making a meal. (yes…kind of sick isn’t it? )

So to that I say…here are a few tips that I have learned over the years that can make throwing a meal on the table an easier chore.

1) Prechop onion and peppers. Do several while you have them out and while you are crying over your onions anyway. Then divide them into 1/2 cup portion sizes and put into small freezer bags. I store those little freezer bags inside one larger one for the onions especially (to help reduce any smell). Then when you go to make a casserole or such you can just grab a baggie out of your freezer and you do not have to take the time (and smell and tears) to chop your onions.

2) When making a meal….double it if it is something that can be frozen.  Make a huge batch of chili at the beginning of the fall.  Then freeze it in individual servings if you want or dinner size portions.

3) Freeze food in freezer bags to save room. Years ago I did the Make 30 meals for the month in one day deal.  The way they suggested storing your food was in freezer bags. You can cool it down a little bit and then put it in a freezer bag (chili, tomato sauces etc…work) and lay them flat to freeze. You can get oodles in your freezer.

4) Think about your dinner that morning. Grab any frozen meat from the freezer and have it thawing during the day so that when dinner comes you don’t have to use the microwave to thaw your meat. (that still takes time)

5) Use your crockpots. I love mine.  Throw everything in first thing in the morning.  Dinner is ready in the evening and your whole house smells good all day long.

I have to admit that I thought of doing this post only because I saw a contest for a Samsung side by side refrigerator . I can soooo use a new refrigerator!  I have a fairly small one in this house and with 7 of us…I drool over them.  I thought…hmmm …a post that my readers can use..and a contest at the same time. Why not?

You can also enter to win the refrigerator by clicking this link and adding your own ideas.  I would also love to know them if you want to list some in my comments. (That won’t help you for the contest…but it will help other readers on here. ) If you want to link to your post on the contest for the comments I have no problem with that either…I just love to see new ideas for this sort of thing.)

The Good Home Cookbook Review and Giveaway *THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED*

Who can’t use a new cookbook? There is so much packed into this cookbook!!

The difference about this cookbook is that it is all recipes that are “good home-cooked” meals. It claims to be “The only cookbook entirely tested in home kitchens across America!
Cool! Over 1,000 classic, simple, clear cut recipes that taste and smell like they came from Grandma’s kitchen.
It even gives the appearance of one of Grandma’s cookbooks with the hand drawn pictures. (It actually does remind me of one my mom used to have)
I personally would like to have had some photographs of some of the dishes along with the hand drawn pictures. I like seeing what the dish looks like.

To Buy: Go to Abrams Books and purchase it for $29.95.

To Win:

1) Go to Abrams Books and and check out their site. Tell me how many pages are in this book.
Then come back here and comment on it. Please be sure to leave me your e-mail address in your FIRST comment. (Each week I have people who don’t win just because they have not entered their e-mail address)

For Extra Chances To Win!!

1) Twitter about this contest! Come back here and tell me you did.

2) Blog about this contest! Come back here and add the link to your blog.

3) Follow me on twitter. Come back here and add your twitter name.

4) Follow my blogs (add yourself to right sidebar to follow). For each one of my blogs you follow (organizing and review site) you can earn an extra chance. Tell me about each one you followed when you come back here to comment.

5) Add any of my 3 buttons (Organize with Sandy, Review, Pouchee) to your sidebar and earn an entry for each one you add. Come back here with the link to your site where you added them.

6) Subscribe to my Review blog. (left sidebar)

7) Subscribe to my Organizing Blog. (Right sidebar)

This contest is open to US mailing address only.
Only one person from mailing address eligible to win.
(will send out an e-mail to the winner and you will have 48 hours to respond back to me or I will pick another winner.)

This contest will run until August 19, 2009 8:00 pm EST  *THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED*

Share my Recipe Sunday – Meals for your family when you are Away

I wanted to get some ideas from you on what you do for meals for your family when you are away from home on a trip.
I am leaving for Blogher on Thursday of this week. I need to not only plan for myself and my trip, but for my family when I am away.
I have to admit I am not going to make meals for my family. I know many of you do…but my hubby has no problem cooking for himself or the kids when I am not there. He even does it at times if I am here, but busy doing something else.
I will however get to the grocery and make sure things are stocked before I leave. I will also make sure the laundry is all caught up and have the 2 teenagers get packed for camp. (They will be leaving before I get home on Sunday)

Share my Recipe Sunday

I love simple and easy recipes especially ones that are family friendly and lower calorie!!

Do you have some favorite recipes? Would you like to share them with others and also bring some traffic to your blog? Then you have come to the right place.
Pick up this button, leave your recipe for others to share and you will accomplish both! Be sure to come back each week and add a new recipe!!
I will also be giving out my “Sandy’s Gem of the week award” to my favorite recipe for the week!!

If you want to pick up a recipe look around and take one. You may post it to your blog as long as you link it back to this site with this button but your must give the person who added the recipe credit by also posting the link to their blog in your post with the recipe.

If you want to pick up a recipe to post on your blog there are a couple of rules:
1) Pick up the button and post it with your post to link back here. Also please give the creator of the recipe credit by using their name with a link to their site. Do not post their recipe without giving them credit.
2) Please do not start a Share my Recipe Sunday list on your blog. It needs to be linked here please.

To post your recipe here is how to do it:
1) Add your name onto the Mr. Linky with the link to your site and the name of your recipe.
Post your recipe on your site with the Share Your Recipe Button with it. Link the button back to my site please. That way others can add onto the list and pick up recipes and share theirs.

2) You must be willing to let others share your recipe on their blogs. It will increase the traffic to your site.

3) Mr. Linky will be continuous. Your name my appear several times on the list if you submit several recipes. Be sure to make your link to your specific recipe, not your site in general.
This will give others coming to the site all of the recipes to choose from, not just one weeks worth.