Last Minute Holiday Dinner Tips

Time can be very precious during this time of year when everyone is typically so busy – planning and attending parties, shopping and wrapping gifts, cooking and preparing for family meals, mailing Holiday cards, baking cookies – the list goes on and on. To some people, the holiday dinner can be quite time consuming, even overwhelming. Most of us want to make the meal special, so we feel even more pressure.

Here are some tips that you can use to help make things faster and easier in the kitchen, so you will have more time to spend with family and friends.

1. Tell your husband to take the kids and get out of the house a night or two before the holiday so you can make things ahead of time!
Hey, you have a holiday dinner to make, tell your husband to take the kids for a few hours a few nights before the dinner and do something with them that does not require you to stop cooking every six minutes to attend to their needs! Making a healthy holiday dinner requires time and attention. While they are gone you can precook a lot of foods and prepare yourself for the "DAY OF."

Think about the different recipes you are making. Can you pre-make and freeze anything? Can you reheat a certain dish the day of the party? You can do this with twice baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, appetizers, meat balls, lasagna, and many different dishes. It’s a great time saver. Make sure to label the items in your freezer so you know what’s what!

2. All your shopping done in one trip!
Make the list, check it twice, check it again. When you have no time to waste nothing is more frustrating than missing that one key ingredient. Do not leave the house until you are satisfied everything you will need is on your list, including cleaning supplies especially - dishwashing liquid/soap and paper towels (you can never have enough paper towels during the holidays!).

3. Accept all volunteers for help!
Usually a close relative or neighbor will be invited to your holiday feast, usually they will volunteer to offer assistance. Don't be bashful, get them involved, if for nothing else you can send them to get the things you forgot despite all the warnings from item #2!

4. Set your dining room table ahead of time.
To make your table special, you need some time to “arrange” things. Why not do it here and there when you have the time. This is especially easy if you are setting the dining room table that you don’t use every day. It might be more difficult if you need to use the table for every day eating. But even so, you can take your plate of food and have a picnic somewhere else in the kitchen. And while we are at it, step 5.

5. When the husband and kids come home, make them clean the house!

6. Cooking around work
If you are working during the day, this may be a great time to invest in multiple crock-pots, go online or have someone go online for you, find the crock pots for sale at a local retailer, print the page and send some one out to buy one or two for you! What better way to save time than cooking while you are at work!

7. Plan simple meals for the family during pre-holiday week. That crock pot can come in handy tonight, Wednesday and Thursday if you are making dinner for the family.While you are preparing for the big holiday meal, you still have to get food on the table for the family. Make some easy crock pot meals or have sandwiches or breakfast food for dinner. Make sure to include fresh veggies and fruits to keep you healthy. Don’t resort to fast food restaurants. Consuming those foods will only wear down your immune system and increase your chances of getting the cold/flu that is going around.

8. People want to bring something, suggest a Hauser Diet recipe from this website!
There are many, healthy, nutrition filled recipes on this site for just about any diet. You have friends or relatives on High-Protein diets? Send them to The Hauser Lion Diet, some one on low-fat, send them to the Giraffe Diet. Better yet send them to Caring Medical to make sure those are the right diets for them to be on!


More quick tips Mom may have forgotten to tell you!

1. Have several cutting boards and knives ready. Now is a good time to expand your inventory if you don't have them, they last for years and you will buy them one day anyway!

2. Use kitchen scissors for cutting chicken, herbs, lettuce leaves, green onion. You’ll be amazed at how fast you can get things done that way!

3. Buy kitchen utensils to help you save time, such as a garlic crusher, vegetable peeler, food processor, or an apple slicer. If you don't have a food processor, get one, even the "mini" ones are huge time savers!


Secret speed cooking secrets

1. Make water boil faster
Cover the pot with a lid when boiling water and add a little salt - the water will boil faster.

2. Peel garlic quicker
Roll garlic cloves for 10 seconds with the palm of your hand and the white skin will slip right off OR buy the gadget they now have that does this for you if you want to avoid smelling like garlic!

3. Make potatoes cook faster
Soak potatoes in hot salty water for 5 minutes and then they will bake faster.

4. When it's okay to use frozen veggies
Fresh is best, but if you need to save time, buy precut vegetables or frozen precut vegetables. Otherwise you could cut up your fresh veggies yourself a few days in advance. Store them in Ziploc bags.