Thanksgiving at Home

We’re staying home this Thanksgiving, having guests over. I think travel in general has slowed somewhat, for the past two or three years, for everyone. It’s great that the gas prices are down a bit ($2.15 here in Central New York), but I prefer to stay home for the holidays. I intedn on cooking up a nice meal! Thanksgiving is our biggest holiday of the year, so we try to make it very relaxing and enjoyable.

I found some really great tips at a new blog I found, Things I Did Not Know Before. These tips come just in time for all the home-y stuff we’re all doing right now! Here are some tips I found to be very helpful:

• Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each quart of water when cooking rice, this will keep rice fluffy.
• First rinse raisins, dates and figs in very cold water before putting them through the food chopper. They will not form such a gummy mass.
• For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.
• You can substitute crumbled cornflakes for bread crumbs when making meatloaf.
• Cook vegetables with one or more bouillon cubes instead of salt–improves flavor. Tossing in a few garlic cloves when boiling vegetables makes things tastier too.
• Salt added to flour used for thickening gravies, etc., will help to prevent lumping.
• Lemon juice or vinegar in water where cauliflower is cooked makes it keep its white color.
• When making popcorn balls, slip plastic bags on your hands when shaping them, won’t stick or burn your hands.
• Rinse measuring cup in hot water before using syrup, oil, etc. Will pour out clean and not stick to cup.
• Add one teaspoon baking powder to mashed potatoes to make them fluffy.

Here are a few tips I’ve discovered along the way:

• Before roasting your turkey, lay some aluminum foil or an oven roasting bag inside the roaster pan. This will make cleanup a little easier.
• In the bathroom, keep a small apray bottle with pine sol and water solution. This can be used for quick cleanups when necessary, especially if you have small children visiting.
• If your gravy is too thin, add a small amount of boxed potato flakes.
• Refrigerate candles before using, they’ll drip less.
• For perfect hard-boiled eggs, cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit on the burner for 10-15 minutes.
• Line the vegetable bin in your refrigerator with newspaper. The newspaper will absorb the moisture, and your vegetables will stay fresher longer.
• Sour cream upsets my stomach, and it’s very fattening. Plain yogurt or cottage cheese run through the blender are good substitutes.
• Add horseradish to cooked carrots for better flavor and a little kick.
• I’ve found liquid dishwashing detergent (like Cascade) to be a great cleanser for very dirty dishes with dried on foods. I soak the dish in Cascade and water (Cascade does not made suds) for 10-15 minutes.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!