Thanksgiving Plan

T-minus 4 days until Thanksgiving! This year is our year to spend Thanksgiving Day with my family in Cary, NC. We're looking forward to good food and a great time. My Mom is a master in the kitchen but she and I like to work together to get the menu planned out, and I like to add a couple new additions each year. Gotta keep it fresh! Since our Thanksgiving gathering is including lots of family friends this year, and each sibling usually brings one or two things, I decided to make a little layout of who was bringing what, plus the schedule for the kitchen at my parent's house.

I'm in charge of homemade green bean casserole, some kind of fun non-alcoholic cocktail, and wine. I'll be using this recipe for the casserole: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/11/green-bean-casserole-with-crispy-onions/.

And I'll be purchasing some three-buck-chuck cabernet sauvignon from Trader Joe's. I'm not ashamed. As far as the cocktail, I'm planning on making Pear and Rosemary Mocktails:

- Pear Juice (from Trader Joes)

- Rosemary Simple Syrup

- Club Soda

- Rosemary Sprigs (for garnish)

*Served over ice

I'll also be helping my sister in law who just had a baby last week with her responsibility (more veggies)! I think we'll do some curried roasted veggies - cauliflower, brussels, and carrots.

 

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving filled with gratefulness and full bellies.

Menu Planning (Food Planning Post #2)

Happy Veteran's Day! I'm enjoying the day off, thankful for all the service men and women in our country, including my very favorite Marine and brother, Joel.

For those of you not on the bandwagon, this post is part of a small series on food planning (hence the name). I'm big on planning ahead when it comes to meals. If you plan ahead, and get in a regular routine, you can save a lot of time, money, and stress. 

I started cooking meals for my family when I was 12 years old. I loved being able to plan meals out, shop for them with my Mom, and tackle the new recipes that I found in cookbooks. It was almost as fun to plan the meals as it was to cook them! Once I left the house for college, my Mom would call me and say "Rachel, tell me what to cook for dinner!". I like being prepared and I like the entire process of cooking (even the cleaning up part). Menu planning is just one of those steps in my mind.

When I start planning a menu, I usually plan 5 days out. Planning more than that is hard, since I don't like to buy produce and/or meat that has to sit in the fridge for a week before I use it. I write out the days, then I think through the days listed. If we're going to be out of town, have a planned dinner out, or one of us has to work late, I make sure to note that. Not point in planning a meal for a day when we won't be home (obviously).

Once I think about the days, I move on to inventory. I take inventory of what's in the fridge and what's in the cabinets. Then, using the items we already have, I plan out the days. Since we usually have a good stock of grains and legumes on hand, our grocery list usually consists of produce, dairy, and proteins.

Sometimes we'll already have a mostly-prepared entree item on hand, like fancy ravioli or a take-and-bake pizza. Those items make meal planning very easy. Just whip up a salad to go along side, and viola!

Other meals take a little more creativity to plan. We like a lot of the same staple meals (beans and rice, tofu stir fry, tempeh tacos, chicken stews), but we like to switch it up at least once per week with a meal that isn't on the usual rotation.

I always try to keep a mental inventory of what's living in our freezer. Sometimes we'll keep tilapia filets in there, or we'll have some chicken that needs to be cooked.

And of course there are the rare occasions when we just go crazy and cook pork chops.

All in all, a meal on the table and a good glass of wine are more enjoyable when the whole experience has been enjoyable. If you take a little time to plan ahead, you won't be stressed and running around like a chicken when you get home from a busy day and have no dinner game plan. Planning your meals can save you time, money, and sanity!