An Easy Meal Planner to Prevent Cooking Burnout

2 WEEKS BEFORE

• Money Saver! Write down your menu and read recipes carefully: Prepare a shopping list. Making a list ahead of time will save you from spending wastefully on ingredients you don’t need, or purchasing too little and needing to run out again.
• Money Saver! Bargain hunt or borrow: Don’t waste money purchasing an item you can borrow but if you need to, planning ahead will help you bargain hunt. Keep an eye out for deals at supermarkets and cooking-supply stores.

1 WEEK BEFORE

• Cook ahead: Soup can be made up to a week ahead and frozen if you follow a few guidelines. Add pasta, rice, and other grains just before serving to avoid sogginess. Don’t stir in milk or cream until dinnertime: if you freeze, they’ll separate and curdle.
• Money Saver! Get prepping: Toast your own croutons for stuffing and salads instead of spending on them in the store. When they’ve cooled completely, freeze in an airtight plastic bag until ready to use. Firm cheeses like cheddar and Parmesan also freeze nicely, so grate them now and save time later.

3 DAYS BEFORE

• Money Saver! Shop for perishables, like fresh produce and dairy products: Trying to make room for incoming groceries may tempt you to throw out space hogs like bottles of juice, soda, beer and wine—but you shouldn’t have to buy them again. Put beverages in a cooler to save them for later use.
• Start brining your bird: If you bought a fresh turkey or ham, submerge the meat in a brine solution and refrigerate for 24 hours. Drain, pat dry, and return the turkey to the fridge until roasting time.

1 DAY BEFORE

• Boil the potatoes: Dice potatoes speed cooking time; when they’re cooked, keep them covered in cold water to prevent discoloration.
• Get organized: Prepare cocktail garnishes. Squeeze lemon juice, peel garlic, and wash herbs. Organize and label serving dishes; transfer them to a tagging area for easy plating at mealtime.

THE BIG DAY

• Bake fresh: For prime freshness, bake biscuits, rolls, and par-baked bread today; their textures can change even overnight.
• Roast veggies: Roasted vegetables like brussels sprouts, potatoes, and parsnips lose their crispness once they’re refrigerated. Cook them today.

About ShopSmart magazine:

Launched in Fall 2006 by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, ShopSmart draws upon Consumer Reports’ celebrated tradition of accepting no advertisements and providing unbiased product reviews. The magazine features product reviews, shopping tips on how to get the most out of products and “best of the best” lists. ShopSmart is ideal for busy shoppers who place a premium on time. ShopSmart has a newsstand price of $4.99 and is available nationwide at major retailers including Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Borders, Kroger, Safeway and Publix. ShopSmart is available by subscription at www.ShopSmartmag.org.

The holidays can be stressful and often leave us feeling like there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. I have to think about what food to prepare, what gifts to get each person, which house we are going to gather at, etc. There is just so much to worry about!

I don’t know about you but by the time Thanksgiving or Christmas rolls around, I just want to rest. I am always exhausted from all of the preparation that went into getting ready for the “big” day.

Sam’s Club just introduced Holidays Made Simple. This informative site will take the guesswork out of holiday preparations and certainly lessen the stress. At Holidays Made Simple, you will some great features such as:

Deal of the Day – Check in daily to see what Sam’s has to offer. You can even have the deal sent to your email or mobile phone so you don’t miss a thing. Today’s Deal of the Day?

The Food and Entertaining section has a fabulous guide titled More Feast Less Mess that you can view. This guide offers some great holiday suggestions.

Looking for the perfect gift? The More Joy for Your Jingle guide in the Gifts Galore section was made especially to help out during the holidays. You will find a variety of gifts in every price range.

Finally, the Sam’s Club Holiday Helper section offers recipe’s, videos and articles giving you much more time to spread the holiday cheer this season.

Watch for another article in the next few days that will share some holiday entertaining tips and much more. But for now, the fabulous folks at Sam’s want to give one reader of The Divine Miss Mommy a $25 Sam’s Club gift card. This can start you off on shopping for holidays gifts.

WIN IT HERE!

Please visit the Sam’s Holidays Made Simple site and share one thing that you would love to have for Christmas. Must be from the Sam’s site and MUST include their item number which starts with ” # ” Winning entry will be verified.

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Subscribe by email or RSS reader. Add the Divine Miss Mommy to your blogroll – 2 entries each

2. Blog about this giveaway – 5 entries

3. Follow me @StacieinAtlanta on Twitter. Tweet the sentence out below (can do this once each day for extra entries but you MUST have more than 100 followers). Leave Twitter name and/or link to tweet in the comments in the comments. – 1 entry for each

“Sam’s makes it easy to shop this holiday season with Gifts Galore! Win a $25 gift certificate. Enter here: http://bit.ly/2WbSHU Ends 11/22”

4. Add a relevant comment to any non-giveaway posts on my blog or enter any of my other giveaways  – 1 entry for each

5. Fave me onTechnorati and/or Vote for me on Divine Caroline. Leave your Divine Caroline name and the number vote that your vote was. Check the current number of votes before voting and yours is the next number. – 2 entries

GIVEAWAY ENDS November 22, 2009 at 11:59 pm EST

***Please leave a separate comment for each entry & Leave a link for easy verification (if I cannot verify your entry, you cannot win)***

One (1) winner will be chosen from Random.org from all valid entries for each prize. The winner will then be emailed once and must claim their prize within 48hrs by providing all necessary information or a new winner will be chosen.