I'm not really sure how we managed this year to get out of any and all holiday dinner cooking but, we did! However, in case you have not completely figured it out, Saving Dinner (my favorite menu place) has some pre-planned menus for the holidays that include the shopping lists.
Also, they are featuring some left over tips and menus so if you are struggling to figure out exactly what to do, check them out.
I have not been focused on the upcoming holidays so when I received an email from Saving Dinner that has a Thanksgiving menu that you can make ahead and freeze, I did a double take. Then after processing how close Thanksgiving actually is, I thought, "Now isn't that a smart idea?" This menu provides the instructions to make everything well before the holiday bustle begins and then on the day before Thanks giving you can pull all your dinner items from the freezer which will free you up for more holiday fun.
If I were cooking at home for Thanksgiving this year I think I would invest in this menu that provides the shopping list and the recipes. Cooking is not a favorite past time for me and I find it stressful to put on an entire Thanksgiving spread. A menu that I can make ahead, freeze, then bake is exactly my speed. How did they know?
I mentioned that I was home for a few days and one of the things that I really enjoyed while I was home was deciding on preparing dinner for my family. Since I was not working for those few days I had the luxury of scoping out the fridge to see what was in there and then plugging the ingredients into Epicurious to see what popped up. I had several successful meals, successful in the sense that the children and my husband all enjoyed the dinner. I have to admit that the best part for me was all sitting down together and chatting and eating which is something that I usually do not get to do since my working hours are quite long.
Even though I normally do not get to sit and eat with the rest of my family because I am a working mom working long hours, I have been in the habit of making meals that my husband can heat up or, better yet, I put something in the crock pot that is ready when they are ready to eat. I found this great website, Saving Dinner, where you can purchase menus for a week or a season or you can purchase one of their books but, I prefer the weekly version because, whether or not it's true, I feel like it offers a wider variety of selections. They offer weekly menus and not only give you the recipe for the main dish, it suggests all the sides to go with the main dish and provides a weekly shopping list. If you visit Saving Dinner you can print a sample menu for any of their many categories that include vegetarian menus, low carb menus, frugal menus, heart healthy menus, time saving menus (however I found that just receiving the menu and the shopping list was time saving in and of itself), my favorite, crock pot menus, and many others.
Happy and healthy eating.
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