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Sparkling Cranberry Punch Ice Ring

This is Day 2 of The Organized Cook’s survival guide to cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for a large group.  My Sparkling Cranberry Punch is delicious and so easy to make; not to mention, it’s absolutely gorgeous!  You will need a large punch bowl and will want to freeze your cranberry ice ring ahead of time; and today is the perfect day to do it.  To make the ring, I use a plastic chip-and-dip server because it has the hole in the middle, like a bundt-cake pan.

Ice Ring for Sparkling Cranberry Punch

Ingredients:Pour juice directly into mold then add fresh cranberries to float on top before freezing

  1. Frozen cranberry juice cocktail- 1 canister, thawed (you can also use bottled cranberry juice)
  2. Cranberries- 1 cup
  3. Water

Directions:

  1. Pour thawed juice into mold; add water to about an inch below top; mix well
  2. Add cranberries to float on top
  3. Freeze

Sparkling Cranberry Punch

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Survival Guide to Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for A Large Group

Are you cooking for a large group this Thanksgiving?  Tradition has made my home the gathering spot each year and I love it.  I typically cook for about 20-35 people each Thanksgiving and everyone says, “that must be a lot of work”.  And you know what, they’re right.  Over the years I’ve created a system of planning, shopping and preparation to help ease the workload for the big day.  Not only that, it also frees me up to spend more time with the people I care about.Thanksgiving Menu and display welcome guests as they arrive

Here’s my planning guide to help free up more of my time on Thanksgiving Day.  By doing just one or two things each day for a week leading up to the big day, Thanksgiving dinner is a piece of (pumpkin) pie.

Thanksgiving Planning Menu and Shopping List

I love cooking with herbs and this menu is packed full of them.  This year’s theme is also cranberry…and lot’s of them!  Spilsbury Thanksgiving Menu and Grocery Shopping List; save time by eliminating those last-minute trips to the grocery store for forgotten items!  You may notice that dessert is missing from my list.  I didn’t forget it; rather, whenever a guest asks me, “what can I bring?”, I always answer, “pie”.  Now, it’s gotten to where it’s a contest to see who will bring the most unusual pie.

Spilsbury Thanksgiving Menu

Prepare Ahead

Here are just a few things you can do ahead of time to prepare for Thanksgiving Dinner:

  1. Freeze cranberry ice ring for Sparkling Cranberry Punch
  2. Cook Perfect Cranberry Sauce (this can made a few days and stored for Thanksgiving)
  3. Prepare Mushroom White Wine Sauce and store to pour over steamed fresh green beans
  4. Prepare Herbed Sweet Potato Casserole; this too can be made ahead of time so you will only need to bake it on the big day
  5. Arrange tables and chairs; if your house allows, you will save so much time by planning your seating a day or two in advance
  6. Chop onions, celery and cranberries for stuffing a day or two in advance; store in air-tight container
  7. Decorating your table just a day in advance it will free up a big chunk of time on Thanksgiving
  8. Set out and arrange each serving dish the way you want it to be on Thanksgiving Day; use sticky notes or place cards to label what goes in each dish

Let’s Talk Turkey

Here is a link to a great one-page article that will tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about selecting, thawing and preparing your Thanksgiving Turkey: Sara Moulton’s Turkey Tips

The Organized Cook

Boost your confidence, ease dinner preparation stress and have more time to enjoy your family on Thanksgiving Day through organization and preparation.

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Escape dinner re-runs and runaway grocery bills

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Take back the family dinner.

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The Organized Cook is a Weekly Meal Plan that comes to your email inbox and  takes the headache out of planning, shopping and preparing weekly diners—so you can save big money, eat great and spend more time at the table with your family. Once you discover this system it can effectively save you 30%, 40% even 50% on your grocery bill starting with the first week you use it.

All you’re missing is a simple, organized tool that does the all planning and cost saving for you.

When it comes to spending quality time around the dinner table, you want to prepare a meal as efficiently as possible that’s delicious and healthy. You want to make it simple, make it quick and spend less time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.

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Fact: Children and parents spend only 3.5 minutes a week in meaningful conversation

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Did you know that daily trips to the grocery store increase your exposure to impulse buying by 60%! With The Organized Cook™, you’re saving money by only grocery shopping once a week. And the daily cooking and food storage directions are so simple. The Organized Cook™ gives easy-to-follow directions on preparing the entire meal at once. With recent changes in our economy, many moms are looking for ways to reduce their overall spending. By using The Organized Cook™, you’re not only eating out less and eliminating those costly last-minute trips to the grocery store; you’re also maximizing the use of groceries that you do buy. By following The Organized Cook™, you can feed a family of four to five dinner for about $100 a week, and as low as $67 a week! That’s about what it costs to take your family out to dinner one night!

Simply Better, Healthier Meals

The recipes in The Organized Cook™ are my versions of delicious classic and contemporary recipes, specifically designed to fit into my meal plan, and give you the perfect balance of proteins, grains and vegetables. Each week you’ll find a fusion of American, Asian, Italian and Mexican foods as well as healthy portions of beef, chicken, fish and pasta. Here’s just a sampling of the easy-to-make recipes you can enjoy:

Week 1 (just $97 in groceries!)

Day 1:  Lemon Pepper Pork Chops with Rice Pilaf & Vegetable Sauté

Day 2:  Swedish Meatballs, Spinach Pasta with Tomatoes & Buttery Garlic Rolls

Day 3:  Pork Fried Rice with Thai Shrimp Pizza & Crisp Asian Cucumber Salad

Day 4:  Hot Meatball Sub Sandwiches & Green Onion Garlic Chips

Day 5:  Shrimp with Penne Pasta & Garlicky Garlic Bread

Week 2 (only $89 in groceries!)

Day 1:  Italian Sausage & Peppers with Mushroom Cheese Farfalle

Day 2:  Ratatouille Pan-Simmered Steak with Steamed Brown Rice

Day 3:  Balsamic Chicken & Walnut Gorgonzola Salad

Day 4:  French Dip Sandwiches & Creamy Tomato Soup

Day 5:  Tortellini Soup & Spinach Chicken Pizza

My menus are organized to reuse key ingredients throughout the week. For example: you may use half of a chopped onion on Day 1, and store the remaining onion to use in a casserole on Day 4. You may sauté more chicken breasts than you need to use for Chicken Madeira on Day 2, and store the remaining sautéed chicken breast to use in a Chicken Curry on Day 5. You’re not just maximizing ingredients – you’re actually reducing time. Think about it … you’ve already reduced the time it takes for those two preparation items by half. You’ve also reduced the number of knives, cutting boards and sauté pans to clean by half. Now apply that method throughout the entire week, and the savings just keeps adding up. By planning weekly family dinners, and giving you all of the tools to bring those healthy dinners to the table including your grocery shopping lists and easy-to-follow directions, The Organized Cook™ makes it easier for you to keep your family eating healthier so you eliminate the pressure and eliminate the guilt.

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I look forward to hearing from you! Toni

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2 Ways to Balance Dinner (and a Hectic Family Schedule)

If you’re like me, family time during dinner is important, and as busy parents, we have hectic family schedules. All moms are working moms, whether we work at home or at the office, and we’re all playing that balancing game to “do it all.” Outside of work, we want more time to do things like get to the gym (or actually finish reading a book), and spend more quality time with our families.

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