Twas the morning before Thanksgiving and all through the house, not a creature was stirring …….but you were stressing out because of all the tasks that needed to be done! The Holidays are a time when family is supposed to get together. For some, these family members may live far away so you only see them 2-3 times a year. And when you can finally see them again, you’re gonna want to enjoy that time and not be stressing out. The Holidays are supposed to be fun, so let’s bring the fun back in and alleviate your stress with these 12 simple life hacks. Ice chest as a fridge Drinks take up so much room in the fridge, room which you need for food. Instead of cramming everything in there, use a cooler as your second fridge for the drinks. No beans… use pennies Dried beans are traditionally used to weigh down pre-baking pie crusts in the oven, but say you don’t feel like buying them. Instead, use pennies, we all have them laying around. Just make sure to put a layer of tinfoil down in between the pennies and crust. Keep food warm in the slow cooker Don’t serve cold food or use the oven as a warming agent went you can easily use your slow cooker. Place cooked food in the slow cooker on low for a bit to keep it warm so it will be ready to serve when you are ready. Hang recipes up on the cabinets Don’t flip through cookbooks or use counter space by laying your recipes out. Instead, tape them onto your cabinets to be more organized and save space. Dry turkey… no problem Is your turkey dry? Revive it by drizzling some turkey broth or chicken broth over the slices to bring back the moisture. Store-bought is the way to go While making your own pies, stuffing, or crusts…… from scratch is a nice idea, it can add to your stress. So, instead of making everything from scratch- Store-bought pie crust Store-bought pies Store-bought stuffing mix Or other store-bought items will make your list of ‘need to cook recipes’ shorter. Sometimes store-bought foods get a bad rep but they do taste just as good and will help you a lot in your cooking. Add a pop of green Sometimes Thanksgiving tables are filled with beige bland colors. The orange from pumpkin pie, beige turkey, white mashed potatoes, brown gravy. By adding a pop of green, whether it be by making roasted brussels sprouts, a hearty salad,or roasted veggies. Not only will these dishes brighten up your table but they will also help you get your healthy greens in. Get organized Take your dishes out the night before and place labels on them so you have everything organized for when the cooking starts. Label your pie dishes with tags for which pies will go where, the pan you’re using for veggies, the turkey, cornbread….. This way when it’s time to start cooking you’re organized and won’t be scrambling to find the pans. Use tinfoil as a roasting rack Roll tinfoil up into a coil and use it as a roasting rack. No need to buy one anymore. Prep veggies the day before Take care of chopping your veggies the night before and store in airtight plastic bags. This way it’s one less thing for you to prepare. Extra fluffy mashed potatoes Add 1 tsp of baking soda to your mashed potatoes to make them extra fluffy. It won’t affect the taste and will make them as fluffy as Santa’s beard. Boil potatoes with the skin on Don’t peel potatoes before boiling. Boil them with the skins on an immediately after place them in a cold pot of water to shock them. Wait a few minutes until they are semi-cooled and all you need is to rub your hands over them and the skin will fall right off. Thanks for reading today’s post and checking out my blog. Next blog post → Thursday! 𝐻𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝒶𝓎! How ya feeling today?! +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 Please follow and like us: