First ever entry

Well, welcome one and all! As of right now, this is my first post ever, with hopefully many more to come. Round of applause... Thank you , thank you. I finally joined the rest of the blogging world, and I am so excited! Patience would be greatly appreciated while we work out all the details and possible glitches.


I had hoped to have my first post up by my birthday but things just didn't work out that way. Then along came Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was great! I think everyone had a good time. We had lots of food as I love to cook and try to get the kids involved as much as possible. Cooking seems to be a lost art. It amazes me how many people don't know how to cook unless it comes out of a box. Not anything against box food, I have eaten some really good box items. It's just not the same though. My family spends a lot of time in the kitchen and Thanksgiving being the ultimate in kitchen multi-tasking is the perfect opportunity to get a little help while exposing them to more complex cooking processes. My seven year old made bread, and my 13 year old son, his own whipped cream. I start a few days early so it can be a relaxing process as opposed to a frantic "how do I get all of this done!" nightmare.
A few tips for those holiday or large meals for the small kitchen or just one cook situations.
1.Look through all your recipes and make note of marinades, cooking times, and temperatures. I make a list of items that can be done ahead of time and items that must be finished day of. Nothing is more frustrating than at the last minute realizing you were supposed to have something marinading for an hour and now you don't have the time.
2.Most meats require a resting time. Turkey is half an hour to an hour. Take advantage of that hour to pop a few items in the oven. I save that hour for most of my side dishes.
3.Prep up as many of your dishes as you can so all you need to do is throw them in the oven. Cut up your vegetables and have everything already in it's pan.
4.Have too many entree dishes but no warming cabinet? Because let's face it we don't all have a professional kitchen at our disposal. I cheat and use coolers. Drag out that cooler from storage! Not only will it keep your drinks cold but if you line it with foil it will keep your ham or roast beef hot for the 5 hours you need for your turkey. Lining it isn't necessary but makes clean up much easier!
5. Make use of your crock pot! A lot of the models have a wonderful keep warm setting. This is great for soups, warm dips, pulled meat, or even hot cocoa. Watch the temperature on them though especially if you are trying to keep anything cream based in it. If it is too hot it will separate.
6. The refrigerator dilemma! I only have one refrigerator. We used to have one in the garage but it bit the dust and I haven't replaced it. So you come home with all your grocery items for a fantastic meal only to realize there is noway that it will all fit in your frig. First there are items that need to be at room temperature to use in baking usually eggs, butter, and cream cheese. So if you are buying these items a few days before just put them in a safe spot on the counter. Margarine does not obey this rule, it will separate and look nasty so leave it in the refrigerator. Most fruits and vegetables also don't need to be put in the frig. Save the space if you need to and leave them out. Once you start cooking, your cakes and pies can be left out as well. I often stack my dishes in the refrigerator by using an extra cutting board between things.
7. Recruit help! Kids can be trying even more so if you are pressed for time but usually they want to help and take part, especially if they get to lick the spoon. So when they seem to be in the way I give them a choice, take control of this mixer and wash that bowl or get out of the kitchen. 8 out of 10 times they'll take the mixer and I can start my next project. This works on spouses as well...much lower ratio on taking the mixer but it gets them to make their own sandwich and get out of the way.

Do you have any special tricks to ease the holiday stress? Leave a comment and share yours!
Well I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! This concludes my very first post ever and I look forward to many more. Happy Holidays to everyone!
~Ms. Fe