Preparing for the Holidays

Okay, so it's only October. The holiday season has a way of sneaking up on us before we know it, but maybe there is some way to avoid the last-minute rush that plagues so many of us around those special times. Cooking ahead can be a part of your holiday preparations, just like getting out to the mall before that after-Thanksgiving rush begins. I don't think anyone would recommend getting your whole Christmas dinner in the freezer before Halloween, but there are definitely a few things that you could prepare ahead now to save time.

When you imagine Thanksgiving dinner, what tops off the meal better than homemade pie? The most time-consuming step to making a pie is making the crust. In the next few days, you could have frozen pie crust ready and waiting for the filling of your choice, which will definitely save some time during that hectic week before Thanksgiving. Here's a great recipe that makes six piecrusts at once (three double-crust pies.)

Pie Crust

5 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons salt
2 ½ cups Crisco shortening
1 egg and 1 teaspoon vinegar and enough water to make 1 cup

Mix flour, salt, and shortening with a pastry cutter until it is in fine crumbles. Beat egg in cup, add vinegar and water. Add to flour mixture.

Divide dough into six balls. You can place the dough balls into freezer bags and freeze, or you can go ahead and roll the dough out and place into pie pans, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe included in Blum's Farmer's and Planter's Almanac for the Year 1999 published in 1998 by Blum's Almanac Company.

Here is a delicious graham cracker crust that works for cheesecake or refrigerator pies. It's guaranteed to taste better than those pricey but bland crusts in the store!

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs or vanilla wafer crumbs
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Stir well to moisten all the crumbs. Press the mixture into a springform pan for cheesecake, or press into a 9-inch pie pan. Wrap well with plastic and freeze.

Homemade dinner rolls are so delicious! The smell of these rolls cooking in your oven will set anyone's mouth watering. Everyone will think you got up early that morning to slave over the dough. Only you will know the secret! I won't tell!

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