THANKSGIVING QUICK TIPS – Video

THANKSGIVING QUICK TIPS

As seen on 3TV/Good Morning Arizona – Monday, November 16, 2020 – 8:44am

Watch the broadcast video at the bottom of this post

Quick Tips To Keep It Easy

• Make sure you have disposable cooking pans on hand. Warehouse stores sell Steam Pans that equal a 9 x 13 pan very inexpensively. Save the messy clean up by using these and tossing after your dinner. Doing a buffet? Cook and serve in the same pan. Great for sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and many other foods.
• Make what you can ahead. Do your mashed potatoes and on serving day put a crockpot liner in your crockpot, set them on low and let them warm, stirring occasionally. Toss the liner when you’re done.
• Prepare your gravy earlier in the day and put in a thermos to keep it hot and ready to serve. You’ll have one less pan on the stove.
• Prevent oven spills by placing a baking sheet under your dishes if they may overflow or bubble over.
• If you have a cooking pan with stuck on food, fill with hot water and add a teaspoon of automatic dishwasher detergent or drop in a fabric softener sheet. Both will soften the grip of the food and allow you to dump the mess and wash easily.
• Prepare for a smoking oven. Things run over, it starts to smoke and smell. Stop it instantly by pouring a heavy coat of table salt over the mess. Smoking and smell stops instantly and later, when the oven is cool, you can lift the mess off with a spatula.
• Have several large bottles of club soda on hand. It is the OOPS – I can’t believe I spilled that spotter. Pour it on the spills and the carbonation will bubble up spills so you can blot them up and the salts will keep things from staining. Red wine spill….pour white wine on it and blot, blot, blot.

SPECIAL COVID TIPS

This year you may be dropping off food for family. Here’s how to keep it simple.

Buy disposable storage dishes at the $$$ Store. Label each item. Put preparation instructions on the top in marker. Try not to tape directions to the food. They can easily fall off.

Buy disposable appropriately sized foil pans for turkey, dressing, potatoes etc. Attach cooking/heating directions.

Don’t take any pans that the recipient will have to return.

Take allergies into consideration. I label if a dish contains nuts, fish, soy etc.