Turkey Day Shortcuts
Until the last minute, I wasn't sure where we'd be spending the Thanksgiving holiday. Turned out we spent it on our own, at home. Nothing like a last minute scramble at the supermarket the day before a major holiday. Lucky for me, John did the shopping. Poor guy. He told me he was ready to start cracking heads by the time he finally reached the register.
So what does a happy homemaker do when she has a newborn and a planned trip to the hospital during a morning that would ordinarily be filled with major food prep? Shortcuts, baby!
So...we substituted my famous broccoli/cauliflower/cheese casserole for frozen cauliflower with cheese sauce, sub'd freshly mashed sweet potatoes for the fridge to microwave variety, sub'd my famous sage stuffing for a box of Stove Top, sub'd my fabulous gravy for Campbells instant, sub'd cranberry sauce made from scratch with Ocean Spray's delish canned version, apple pie straight from the store bakery, and finally we had a little 10 lb freshly roasted (but unstuffed) turkey. That last item I did make myself. The little fella only took 3 hours - it cooks faster without stuffing.
The verdict? Good! I was pleased with everything except the stuffing. Stove Top just didn't cut it, in my opinion.
Now that I know we can have a nice meal like this on short notice, I just might do it more often! How was your holiday?
So what does a happy homemaker do when she has a newborn and a planned trip to the hospital during a morning that would ordinarily be filled with major food prep? Shortcuts, baby!
So...we substituted my famous broccoli/cauliflower/cheese casserole for frozen cauliflower with cheese sauce, sub'd freshly mashed sweet potatoes for the fridge to microwave variety, sub'd my famous sage stuffing for a box of Stove Top, sub'd my fabulous gravy for Campbells instant, sub'd cranberry sauce made from scratch with Ocean Spray's delish canned version, apple pie straight from the store bakery, and finally we had a little 10 lb freshly roasted (but unstuffed) turkey. That last item I did make myself. The little fella only took 3 hours - it cooks faster without stuffing.
The verdict? Good! I was pleased with everything except the stuffing. Stove Top just didn't cut it, in my opinion.
Now that I know we can have a nice meal like this on short notice, I just might do it more often! How was your holiday?
Comments
Happy *late Thanksgiving ,
(and thanks for my birthday wishes too.)((hugs))
Monica
http://journals.aol.com/sonensmilinmon/Pollyannascorner/
The few occasions that I have made stuffing, I used Stove Top as my base and doctored it up with fresh garlic, onion, sage, sausage, and nuts. It's pretty darn good that way.
Oh, Lord, these kids are just babies having babies...they break up almost every day and then get back together again..the parents do not know yet...she stops by for dinner and a vitamin every day...I am so glad that there are adoptive families out there for the babies that are born to kids brave enough to make an adoption plan...
lots of love and kisses,
Kas