It seems like every year my family gets bigger and bigger, which is great news for me since I love to cook. Personally I am always trying out-do the previous year’s spread, adding more appetizers, desserts and side dishes. While this goes over great with my family and friends it usually ensures that I miss out on games, stories and conversations with people I only get to see once a year.

This is a common issue amongst us Foodies: always in the kitchen making sure the sauce doesn’t stick and the turkey gets basted. In the second edition of this two part series I am going to go over some more great ideas to help you prepare in advance for the bustling busy holidays so you can have more time to spend with your loved ones.

Last week’s tips for preparing quantities of items ahead in batches for use in many recipes directly coincides with something I call a “recipe pack.” When I am preparing a large variety of dishes in large quantities I like to pre-measure all of my ingredients, then label and store them in containers ahead of time. For instance when making my stuffing I will put all of my dry ingredients in a large zip-lock bag and mark it clearly “Stuffing Mix”. In a separate containers that I have clearly marked “For Stuffing” measure out the butter, white wine, stock and vegetables. This will make cooking process streamlined and organized.

This same method can be applied to any recipe you will be cooking over the course of the day and can be done a day or two in advance. Think of it like a snowball fight. The person with the biggest wall and most snowballs usually ends up the warmest.

Here are a some methods that will help you prepare your ingredients in advance:
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