Just because Thanksgiving is the most important family
meal of the year doesn't mean you have to spend hundreds of hours cooking and
cleaning. Here are some ways to keep the holiday hassle to a minimum.
Clear your fridge well in advance to make room for all the Thanksgiving
food.
Keep the Butterball Turkey hotline number (1-800-323-4848) on your fridge
door. Why go at it alone when there are trained professionals who can answer
any question you might have about storing, thawing, cooking or carving your
bird?
Better yet, purchase a roasted turkey from a local restaurant or gourmet
shop. This is the ultimate Thanksgiving luxury. No defrosting, no checking
and poking for hours. And best of all, a cool kitchen.
Cut back on the number of side dishes you serve. Nix the brussel sprouts
casserole nobody touched last year.
Leave some or all of the peel on your mashed or roasted potatoes. You'll
save precious prep time.
Bake just one kind of pie. (Pumpkin is less time-consuming than apple.)
Even better: order from your favorite restaurant or bakery.
Use disposable roasting pans or line your casserole pans with foil. The
less washing you have to do, the better.
Have your Tupperware containers and their matching lids lined up and ready
to accept the inevitable leftovers. You'll be thankful you did.