Kitchen

[Fribwl]

I also use my food processor, KA and Vitamix.

I am a list maker.  So I have to agree with those that said being ORGANIZED is where it is at for me.  I make two lists.  Ingredients to buy and days to make or prepare or make and freeze.  On a day like Thanksgiving, I also make a list of times to start the side dishes  this is the only way I keep my sanity. LOL

[Tigriss]

Divide and Conquer...Our family decides who is going to be at Thanksgiving that year, and do a menu and assign various dishes. Granny had the turkey, which I suggested she smoke. (She always does the turkey in her Nesco roaster, but she cooks it till the little popper thing pops, which is too long, so a dry bird. One of my co-workers said he smokes his and you can't mess it up. Then I remembered granny has a smoker that she loves to use, so why not smoke the bird. It was AMAZING this year.) My aunt always does the dressing because her husband is picky about it, so she does that, mac and cheese, corn, and some other veggies. The rest of us do veggies and we each do a dessert or two. My nephew has a wheat allergy, so we do some desserts he can eat. There are about 20 of us on any given year, so we divide it up and cook enough for dinner and supper. We stay all day. This year we had great weather and we went on a four hour four wheeler ride through the woods and dirt roads, plus we let the kids put change on the railroad tracks to flatten it. They kids love watching what the train does the the change plus just finding it is like an egg hunt!

We are country, so we just cover dinner with the lids and an old, clean bed sheet and dinner is ready for supper when the time comes. Tonight we are cooking cane syrup and doing chili and soups with biscuits from the wood stove while the syrup cooks down. It is an all day process to grind the cane and cook the syrup. When it is done, we clean the boiler with water and steam oysters, plus whatever venison sausage (we hunt our own deer and make our own sausage/process the meat) or roast hog (again fresh killed) we have going in the smoker/grill.

We will do it all again at Christmas for the whole weekend and all.

[Zhills]

Oh, Tigress!  How I wish I could buy a bottle of that syrup!  I've done that and it is the best!  Have a piece of sugar cane for me!

[Zhills]

I have a Ninja, but I also like to so my own chopping and prepping.  I make cole slaw in the Ninja and sorbet!  I like to chop because I like uniform pieces so my food looks good as well as tastes good.  

My best time saver is a set of sharp knives.