Stretching Thanksgiving Dinner

It's hard to believe it's

a: Wednesday again (time for Works for Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer)

and

b: just a WEEK before Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. I love all the planning and cooking and setting a beautiful table. It's fun to really go all out for the big day. Use the china! Use the good flatware. Use real glasses. No sense in saving the "nice things" for a special occasion. The family all around the table together? That IS a special occasion! There's no group of people I'd rather host, and no better reason to gather than to give thanks to the Lord for His enumerable blessings in our lives.

My mom and my grandmothers and great-grandmother always put together wonderful Thanksgiving feasts over the years. A lot of work? Indeed, but a labor of love always. Along the way, some shortcuts were discovered. (That is why you came here, isn't it?) Here are two of my favorites.

It should be known that my dad LOVES Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, dressing, the trimmings. He not only loves it on Thanksgiving Day, but long afterward. But instead of eating turkey dinner every meal for three or four days, my mom figured out how to keep us from getting tired of it AND make her life easier in the busy days that follow Thanksgiving.

Our family tradition for the dressing is a yummy bread and celery variety that my dad's grandmother made. Mom learned how to make it, and it has been a favorite part of the meal for as long as I can remember. Because of its consistency, it is easy to form into patties about the size of a hamburger patty. Instead of a large pan for cooking, the patties are put on cookie sheets and baked. Because they are smaller this way, they cook more evenly. And the best part? They FREEZE easily! Mom will stack two or four patties together, put them in an empty bread bag or container, and freeze them. Then on a busy day when dinner time is looming, she only has to take out as many as are needed for one meal and reheat them.

The second idea is along those same lines. Ya know that amazing gravy made from the giblets? Mom freezes it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, she pops them out of the trays and stores them in Ziploc bags. Then when she needs them, she simply gets out a few frozen "gravy cubes" and thaws them in the microwave. One cube is usually enough for one person, but certainly more can be used if desired.

Turkey meat doesn't freeze well, so a small, fresh (and maybe already cooked) turkey breast from the grocer's deli section will be just the right amount to put with the dressing. Toss a salad or add a vegetable or two, and voila! A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner - again - without all the prep and clean up! This way ALL the food prepared for the big family meal gets eaten, and none is thrown away. It also prevents the I-am-so-sick-of-turkey-and-dressing-I-can't-see-straight feeling that inevitably comes with standing at the refrigerator for the three days following Thanksgiving.

I hope your Thanksgiving is full of love and joy and blessings.

Works for Me Wednesday: Miracle in a Tube

I love Wednesdays. Well, not really. Wednesdays are hard days in our office, so I don't TOTALLY love Wednesdays. But I do love me some "Works-for-Me Wednesday" ideas over at Rocks in My Dryer.

There are few things I can't live without, but here is one:

Aquaphor is THE best invention EVA'! It has the look and feel of Vaseline, but it is way better. I use it for everything. I never leave home without it!

I put it on my lips every night before I go to bed or on those rare "no make-up" Saturdays. I use it as lotion when my hands are really dry. I use it as a "night cream" by putting a little dab under each eye at bedtime. It helps keep that fragile skin supple and less-wrinkly. Concealer goes on better, too. It's great on skin abrasions and helps them heal more quickly. I even used it in place of Preparation H once! Aquaphor is also used in treatment of skin following laser resurfacing.

It is inexpensive, lasts forever, and comes in small purse-sized tubes or big ole tubs. There is a "baby formula" made for diaper rash and chafed skin, but as far as I can tell, the ingredients are the same.

Simply put, Aquaphor is a miracle in a tube, and it works for me!

Works For Me Wednesday - Guest's Hospitality Basket

It's that time again... Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer.

All of my husband's family lives out-of-town. When they come to visit, they usually remember to bring all the little things they'll need, but every now and again, something gets left behind.

For just such an occasion, I keep a little basket in the guest bath loaded with various things they may need: toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, dental floss, deodorant, shampoo, shower cap, shower gel or soap, lotion, baby powder, shaving cream, disposable razors, etc. These are all things I pick up during a hotel stay, a visit to my dentist, or in the trial size section at the drug store. My cost is very minimal, but the pay-off is huge! My guests are so appreciative, and there is rarely a need for a trip to the store for that forgotten item.

Additional hint: Since I am a migraine patient and sensitive to many scents and fragrances, I go for unscented items when possible. That helps me, of course, but I find my guests are pleased when a product they've "borrowed" from my basket doesn't compete with his/her perfume or cologne.

Great Online Bible Study Tool

It's hump day, and that means it's time for Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Lotsa folks use BibleGateway.com for online Bible study assistance. It is a great program that has cool features including some versions in audio format.

However, my FAVORITE online Bible study spot is Crosswalk.com. What makes this site unique is how it incorporates the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance references INTO several of the versions, and it is FREE! Other web sites charge for downloadable versions that include Strong's.

If you've ever done a Precept Upon Precept Bible study by Kay Arthur, you'll know she always teaches from the New American Standard version. Now when I need to do a word study in the original language (Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic), I go to Crosswalk.com, then to Resources (towards the bottom left), and then Bible Study Tools. Under the Classic Bible Study Tools, the second option is Online Study Bible, and various options are available. I usually choose "NAS with Strong's Numbers," and then I have all of my study materials right there on the screen. No more big books to clutter my desk or table top!

Crosswalk.com also has great commentaries, dictionaries, maps, concordances, parallel Bibles, encyclopedias, and lexicons. It is simply "one stop shopping" for all your Bible study needs!

Here's a link to the online Bible study page.

Works For Me Wednesday - Greatest Hangers EVER!

After a little summer vacation for WFMW, Shannon over at RocksInMyDryer is back at it with the new school year's first Works For Me Wednesday. Yay! I always love seeing the neat tips and ideas other bloggers post, some of which I've adopted immediately.

So without further ado (okay, well, maybe just a LITTLE ado), here's my WFMW tip.

About six months ago I stumbled upon the niftiest hangers I've ever seen. They're called Smart Dry Sweater and Pant Hangers and are made by Tide, the laundry detergent folks, so I was intrigued. 'Cuz who knows laundry better than Tide? They come in pairs and are packaged like this:

What's so great about them, you ask?

I have lots of sweaters and tops that require handwashsing and then being laid flat to dry. Sometimes I run out of room to spread things out, so I've cheated a time or two and hung a few pieces up. We all know what happens when you use a regular hanger to dry something that has been handwashed or even washed on the gentle cycle of the washing machine. The garment ends up with those funny little pooches where the fabric stretched over the hanger. These hangers keep your clothes crease and pooch free. I promise!

The design of the hanger includes extra wide shoulder "bars" to prevent your sweaters and shirts from puckering and loosing their shape. They also dry your clothes quicker because the hanger is perforated to allow more airflow through the garment. The center section works great for pants and leaves them crease free every time. I've tried them with polo shirts, golf shirt, sweaters, jeans, khackis, and even T-shirts with iron-on transfers that will melt in the dryer. They work so well, I went back and bought several more. Especially during the summer time, I'll use the plant hooks on my patio to suspend the hangers. Clothes dry REALLY fast outside in the Texas heat!

Here are a few pictures that show the detail. There's a quarter next to it for scale.

You can see how wide the ends of the hanger are, and they're gently curved so they won't leave pooches in the sleeves of the garment.


See how wide that center bar is? The sides of the pant section are also gently rounded, so no more creases!

LOVE these! They run around $3.99 for two hangers and can be found at Target or Walmart on the laundry accessories aisle, not the detergent aisle.

Get some!! They work for me!

Medical Information at Your Fingertips

It's "hump day," so that means it's Works-For-Me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer.

Years ago, my mom called me and asked me to meet her in the emergency room where my dad was being taken. At the intake desk, many questions were asked of her about my dad's medications, allergies, surgical history, etc. She was understandably shaken by the very fact she was IN the ER with her beloved, and those details needed by the medical staff did not come easily to her memory.

After that, I decided to make a medical history form for every member of the family. I made it up in Microsoft Word so it could be easily updated as necessary. The form includes the demographic info (name, address, phone, date of birth, etc.), current insurance information, name and phone number of the individuals' various doctors, all medications AND dosages being taken, allergies (SO important for health care providers to know), surgical history and even some pertinant family history. Several copies of each person's history were printed.

Then I went to the office supply and bought red file folders and marked them "MEDICAL HISTORY" on the front. The medical histories were put inside the folders. The red folders (one per household) were placed near the telephone that is used most frequently. That way it is handy if a 9-1-1 call is necessary or to grab on the way out the door in case of emergency. (When I was seeing a doctor for the first time recently, I included one of these with my new patient paperwork. The doctor commented that he "wished all of his patients were that prepared!" He's referred to that page several times on subsequent visits.)

Now ALL of the important information is in one place, and no one has to face an emotionally charged situation while counting on his/her memory to relay potentially life-saving info to caregivers. Every time I change the batteries in the smoke detectors ("spring forward" and "fall back" daylight savings times), I also review the files for any needed updates.

Here's a sample form:

Slicing Pretty Strawberries

Over at Rocks In My Dryer, it's Works For Me
Wednesday! I always love finding great new ideas and ways of making life simpler. It's also fun to check out other blogs through the links. Learn sumthin' new ever' day!








Ever notice how restaurants always have those beautiful thinly and evenly sliced strawberries? They look so much prettier as garnishes on desserts or just on a buffet than the chunky, uneven slices I end up with when using my knife. I finally learned how to get pretty and EASY strawberry slices at home.

Once the berries have been washed and the stem and leaves removed, they are ready to go. Using an egg slicer, place a strawberry in the slicer, and close the "lid." Voila! Perfectly sliced strawberries every.single.time. (Do make sure the egg slicer is the heavier duty type; some of the inexpensive plastic ones will break doing this.)

I've wowed guests with my "professional looking" slices. So quick! So easy!

P.S. "Foot locker" post below. Keep readin'!