My Favorite Thanksgiving Hacks

Thanksgiving is coming, and whether you will have 4 people or a dozen, it is always good to have some ideas in your back pocket that will help make getting all that food done a possibility. Here are my 10 favorites, but I would love to hear about yours too!

1. Poke 2 small holes in a paper plate and slide them over the top of the beaters on your hand mixer before attaching them to the mixer. The plate will keep your potatoes from flying all over when you are mixing them.
2. Sharpen your knives now so you know you are ready to go on the big day.
3. Grab some inexpensive soup containers (you know the ones Chinese restaurants often use) so sending leftovers home is easier.
4. Need extra refrigerator space? Grab one of your coolers, dump some ice in there, and then put your condiments and other items you don’t need that day in it. They stay cold, and you have space for that day’s food.
5. Are you a baking a pie and don’t have pie weights? Use dry beans. Line your pie crust with parchment paper and then drop them in.
6. Use aluminum foil to create a roasting rack if you don’t have one. Just bunch them up to create a big oval that is about an inch high.
7. Put your slow cooker to good use. Use it to keep things like mashed potatoes warm while you finish up the other food.
8. Making peeling potatoes easier by poking the skin in several places, boiling them until they are soft, and then shock them by dropping them in ice water. Give them a few minutes to cool to the touch, and then they should peel easily.
9. Do you have a lot of kids joining you? Get a roll of butcher paper (near me it is available at Dollar Tree, Walmart, Michaels, and Home Depot), then roll it out on their table and put cups of crayons in the middle. Then the kids can get extra entertainment by drawing on the “table”.
   PLUS, as long as they still look good, you can cut out your kids’ drawings and frame them for Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas.
10. A cooler can also be used to keep things warm. Fill the cooler with warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Dump it out and dry it. Then, line it with foil. Wrap your food in foil and towels and it will help keep it warm.

Got some more great ideas for making Thanksgiving go more smoothly? Feel free to email them to me at denise.hudak@gmail.com.