The holiday season can sneak up on you. With life getting so busy, you may not be fully prepared for the holidays.
This time is spent with family and loved ones as you indulge in delicious food. But what happens if you’re short on time and can’t properly prepare the meals? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
With some tricks up your sleeve, you don’t have to worry about being unprepared. Here are some easy dishes to bring to your holiday dinner and safety tips while in the kitchen.
1. Baking: Cornbread and Biscuits
You need to get ready but also need to make a dish? Bake something. You can bake a traditional cornbread or some biscuits – you may even have most of the ingredients already at home!
Mix all the ingredients and put it in the oven to bake while you are getting ready. Just be sure to keep an eye on it. These dishes only take about 30 minutes. Baking a simple but effective way to contribute to the party while maximizing your time.
2. General Kitchen Safety
The holidays can put us a bit out of our element, and the shuffle can lead to some unfortunate accidents and a trip to the emergency room. Caution is a must while operating ovens, stoves, and certain pieces of kitchen equipment. You don’t want to rush, even when in a time crunch.
Make sure to keep burners and cooktops clear of anything flammable and your oven clean. Any type of grease or leftover food can catch on fire.
3. Make a Salad
A dish that does not include cooking or baking is making a salad. A bacon and brussel sprouts salad is unique and delicious. This will take less than 10 minutes to whip up. With this salad, you can include a citrus-based dressing to help compliment all the flavors.
4. Knife Safety
When using knives to cut your ingredients, such as for your salad, make sure your knives are sharpened. A dull knife will not work like a sharp one. The extra pressure and force duller knives require can cause slipping; also remember to cut away from yourself. Keep your cutting board as dry as possible to prevent extra movement. And a bonus tip: a well-dampened paper towel or dish towel placed under a cutting board will help prevent the board from moving while on the counter.
5. The Air-Apparent
If you are in a true time crunch, you can easily make a perfect side dish in an airfryer. Vegetables provide a ton of options. Potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and many other veggies can be a hit with the right seasonings. And the best part is it that many only take 10 to 15 minutes to cook.
6. Preventing Kitchen Fires
The holiday season causes more than 50% of residential fires. Make sure not to overload outlets or power strips when using machines like air fryers. Double check to see that your appliance and extension cords are not damaged before using it. Ensure your other kitchen appliances are in good working order before use.
Additionally, keep your wits when preparing foods. Grease can cause severe fires and panicked reactions can only make them worse (remember: never throw water on a grease or oil fire). Practice common food preparation and safety rules too.
If something does happen, stay calm, try to find a safe solution or call the authorities while evacuating.
Most Important: Stay Safe and Enjoy!
Staying safe during the holiday season is important, and the added rush can push us into making costly errors. If you’re cooking a big feast or just bringing a side dish, use the knowledge we listed out (and plus some) to make sure everything goes safely, and smoothly. But, most importantly, enjoy spending time with your loved ones!
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