I know a lot of people who are stressing out about all they need to do before Christmas arrives. I have never been one to get too worked up about things. I plan ahead, but admittedly am a last minute doer. Still, I try not to let things like hosting big dinner parties or having the family Christmas celebration at my house stress me out. Maybe that is because I know that the people I invite will love me no matter what. There is no need to get all worked up worrying about everything being “just right”.
A lot of people won’t even host get togethers at their house because the thought of having people over, judging their hosting abilities, stresses them to pieces. I hate hearing that because I know that I get so much joy out of sharing my home with others. I am happiest when we have a house full of people, a big meal to share, and lots of wine to drink 
When I host parties, which I do quite often, I normally get all of the guests involved. That really helps to take 100% of the pressure off of me. I let people know what is going to be on the menu and ask them to bring sides or desserts or appetizers that will complement the menu. Many times, the people I invite are thrilled to be asked to contribute and are happy to help out.
Another thing I do when hosting parties is to make sure I have a good mix of shortcut options available. If my kitchen is going to be full and a lot of things will be going on, I try not to do too many complicated things at once. Use your crock pot, have on hand some Boxed Chicken Stock… just think of things that might make your day go by a bit easier. One huge lifesaver when I am hosting parties are Pillsbury ready made crusts. I’ve mentioned before that I have a love/hate relationship with pie crusts, so why would I add what I consider to be a stressful task onto my plate when Pillsbury pie crusts make the job simple.
Remember, when you are starting to stress out this holiday season that the people you are hosting are not judging you, your food, or your home. If they are truly your friends, their focus will be on spending the holiday’s with you and building special memories. Make your life a little easier by remembering that not everything has to be done the hard way. Give yourself the permission to sleep in a little longer and use some of the handy shortcuts that are available to us on the market today!
The lovely team at Pillsbury recently sent me a basket full of goodies… 2 glass pie plates, an adorable Crate and Barrel tin of pie crust shape cut out tools, an Oneida pie server and a CD full of photos and recipes to use with their ready made Pie Crusts. Being the generous people they are, the team decided that one of my readers deserved a basket too – so I’m giving one away! To sweeten the deal, I am throwing in a copy of Cooking Light’s Essential Recipe Collection of Desserts cookbook. To enter the giveaway, in the comment section of this post simply tell me one shortcut that you use in the kitchen that helps you to stay sane. All comments must be made by midnight on Wednesday, December 24th. The winner will be chosen through the Random Number Generator and will be announced sometime after Christmas day!
PS – having overnight guests? Try this wonderful quiche recipe… easy, versitile and sure to help your guests wake up happy!
Basic Quiche (from Recipezaar)
1 hour | 10 min prep
SERVES 2 -4 , 1 quiche
- 5 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 Pillsbury refrigerated 9-inch pie crust
- 2 cups shredded cheese or chopped drained cooked vegetables or diced deli meat, any type (or chop up leftover slices) or any other cooked diced meat or ground beef or seafood or poultry
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Add filling and milk and mix well.
- Pour mixture into frozen pie crust.
- Place quiche on cookie sheet and bake on the middle oven rack for 45-50 minutes, or until top is browned and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
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I use frozen chopped onions whenever possible – it saves so much time and mess from cutting fresh. Unless onions are the hero of the recipe, I find the chopped ones work just as well!
mariss last blog post..The Hundred
It really helps to make lots of cookie dough ahead of time! Thanks for the fun give-away.
Oh gosh, let’s see. I think my kitchen shortcut would be not so much a shortcut, but a sort of built-in advanced planning shortcut. I am veeeery careful about how many dishes a recipe requires. I hate doing loads of dishes, so I look for recipes that have few dishes and if I can, I’ll wash a dish quickly in the middle of a recipe and use it for another step instead of pulling out an extra. And how funny – I actually have a couple of Pillsbury crusts in the freezer waiting to be pie-ed.
Judiths last blog post..Well You’re Just Plum Crazy!
DEFINITELY agree with the ready-made pie crusts when I’m baking a bunch of pies. I’m not usually one to use convenience items when I bake (cooking is another story!!), but I will use the pie crusts.
give_me_a_latte at yahoo
My favorite kitchen short cut is that a couple of days before holidays (or at the beginning of the week, if I’ll be cooking a lot) I cut up all my veggies, like onions, garlic, bell peppers and celery and put them in individual ziplock bags. It makes the prep work on the day of a lot faster.
Great giveaway! I used to have a major problem making pie crusts, but luckily have mastered that problem. My shortcut is to buy pre washed salad greens.
Being a semi-homemade-ish kind of gal, I use a lot of shortcuts. Then again, since it’s just the two of us, I really don’t have the desire (or the kitchen space) to go all out and make it from scratch. So I use it all…canned beans, frozen roasted corn, soup stock in a box, cake mix doctored up, frozen pie crust and breads, you name it.
Many have said this already, but I wash/rinse everything as I am cooking and when I finish and as I am serving. That leaves me with just a quick wash and put stuff away.
I make my cookies ahead of time all year round…I “flash freeze” them on a cookie sheet then toss them in a food storage bag in the freezer. When I’m ready to make them I can just lay them back on the sheet. This works especially well with Christmas cookies!
Thanks for the contest!!
Jenns last blog post..Fitness Friday!!
I freeze or prepare all my perishables when I get home from the store! Like I use a bananas every morning in my smoothie – so I freeze them when I get home. And I wash my vegetables, etc. before I store them for the week. Great giveaway; thanks!
My main shortcut is having my husband do the cooking and I clean the kitchen as he goes.
Wow, I want everything in that basket!!
Pillsbury is my definate go to for shortcuts. I prefer to make homemade biscuits, pizza dough, pie crust, etc but I always have a can of biscuit on cand for a last minute biscuits and gravy craving.
Hilary
Hilarys last blog post..Cool Measuring Cup & Pecan Pie
I pipe everything out of plastic bags: frosting, filling, dough, batter; if it’s semi-liquid and I can squeeze it out, it goes into a plastic bag with the corner cut off for easy control.
Hey! I NEED that pie plate. And the bonus is that if I win, I promise to make a pie that we can eat together. No pressure or anything…
The time saving technique I have is that I bought some of those body scrubbing gloves and I use them to clean my potatoes and root vegetables. Easy and very helpful!
Shalees last blog post..The Answer Is Blowing In The Vicks
I haven’t made a quiche in a while but they are so good! I had one during a residency interview dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope that y’all have a wonderful Christmas!
claires last blog post..Cranberry Cream Cheese Oatmeal Cookies
I do a lot of prep as well, when i have the time. i will toast and grind my spices a couple times a month (lately I have been on a major indian food kick, so I have been using a lot of cumin, fennel, mustard, and fenugreek seed in my mixes)
I always skin my chicken (i usually buy leg quarters or thighs) and render the fat off the skin before freezing the meat in small quantities or refrigerating in marinades.
I always remove roots and shorter parts and then store my fresh herbs in a glass of water in the fridge, covered in a produce bag, as soon as I get them home from the store
my fave shortcuts are….
my single serve coffee maker
stuffed frozen pastas from the wholesale club
blender quiche
“Gourmet Garden” tubed herbs
and Phil…because he always does the dishes for me!
Micheles last blog post..Celebrating My 75th Post with a Giveaway
I start cooking about 2 days ahead of time – making casseroles that I can then just bake that day. I also have my husband nearby to wash things for me as I need them and chop veggies if needed. I also stopped making things that cause me grief – like rolls or biscuits. I always end up forgetting them, burning them, or making them too early (so other food isn’t done yet and they are cold) or the other food has to wait for them to finish. Just not worth it!
While I don’t know if it is technically a shortcut, what keeps me sane in the kitchen is having a sink full of hot, sudsy water ready to go so that I can wash up as I cook.
My shortcut is to use Pillsbury pie crusts. That saves sooo much time.
I just gave you some publicity.
Michaels last blog post..The Core Team
I could so use this gift basket. I am not a baker. Cookies, Pies, Cakes they stress me out.
For Christmas I make the side items. Spread them out for a few days of making and have them all ready to go on Christmas.
My favorite shortcut is to have my husband do the dishes. He loves this job, me not so much.
Merry Christmas
I start my big baking weeks ahead and freeze everything….fudge, cookies, candy – they all freeze just fine and it makes my life MUCH easier!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Janelles last blog post..Win a great gift basket!!
One shortcut I use is to chop extra vegetables and put them in ziploc bags for meals that I am making the next couple of days. Saves me chopping and cleanup time later on!
One shortcut I use is dividing up bones from a roasted chicken/turkey into “stock” bags w/ leftover veggie bits and such so whenever i want to make my own stock, i just need to pull out one of these bags and am all good to go! Just add water.
and heat, of course!
Carmens last blog post..Tuesdays with Dorie – Real Butterscotch Pudding
One shortcut I use is to clean and chop vegetable once i get home from the store. Saves time when in a hurry
Prepare as much ahead as possible.
Having bags of vegetables in the freezer (from the garden or from the store) makes it a lot more likely that we’ll have a vegetable with dinner on busy nights. If we have a garden bounty, we chop and freeze. Always great to have corn, peas, carrots ready to throw into a casserole or serve as a side.
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