Skip to main content

Reheated With Love

I discovered a special freedom yesterday like I've never known!!!  Due to work schedules I just didn't know how we were going to pull the Thanksgiving holiday off.... it was suggested that I have it catered!   So slightly begrudgingly, my husband agreed that having it catered would be something worth looking into.  After pricing the different store's holiday offerings, I decided on Fry Marketplace to cater my Thanksgiving meal.

BRILLANT!!!  So two things:
  1. I chose Fry's solely on price and locale.
  2. There was going to be no way of knowing how brilliant the idea was until yesterday's Thanksgiving meal.
So three express meals and one gluten free meal at Fry's cost me $149.  With my $5 off digital coupon that brought my meal to $144 that was then quickly back up to $149 with the cans of black olives I had to buy.  Then the hubs brought home 2 Village Inn pies (something we do EVERY year) for $19, the whipped cream for $4.72 and rolls for another $5 bringing the total for the meal to $177.72.

I'm not gonna lie here... I have done Thanksgiving for less than that and I have done Thanksgiving for considerably more than that, but EVERY Thanksgiving comes with the same amount of preparation spending the hours the night before to prep and then trying to rearrange the refrigerator (always throwing stuff that you'd like to keep) to find room to store everything until you can put it together the next day, the same amount of mess that you inevitably clean up over and over because you have to clean up after prep, clean up after you cook and then clean up all the serving dishes after the meal, and the same amount of time away from your family.  No literally!  Every Thanksgiving, I am so tunnel-visioned to complete the meal on time that I feel like I lose 2 days of my life every year!  This year my preparations consisted of putting the meal in the oven.  I did doctor some of the dishes a bit.... I added butter and milk to the mashed potatoes, pepper and thyme to the stuffing, butter and herbs to the outside of the turkey, but this meal had NONE of the pressure I usually feel in preparing such a huge meal and I got to spend the entire morning with the hubs actually ENJOYING OURSELVES!!!! And when we ate this meal.....

IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!  The turkey was moist and succulent the stuffing was flavorful with that wonder crust on the top that we all love... everything was WONDERFUL!!!  The best part!  Dishes were done and food was put away an hour after the meal was done.  Instead of spending two days on Thanksgiving, I spent 2 hours!!! 

For those who would argue that my meal didn't contain the "love" of a home cooked meal... I contend that with the lack of stress and the abundance of time I got to enjoy my family this holiday, this one was reheated with love and I will DEFINITELY be doing it again!

P.S.  It was also decided when the hubs and I picked up our meal boxes, that for $45 for an express meal box containing all the fixins, it was worth buying an additional meal box to donate next year. We wished we would have done it this year!   Really, I just cannot tell you how positive this holiday experience was.  Thank you Fry's Marketplace!!!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Past 7 Days....

Maple Syrup vs. Honey

I did a post a while back about the nutritious sweetener for the lemonade on the Master Cleanse: maple syrup ! In fact, for quite some time now it has been my only sweetner (well, that and agave nectar... YUM!). But why maple syrup... isn't honey the magical sweetener? First, let's consider where both come from. One comes from a tree and the other comes from flowers, but is predigested and then regurgitated by a bee. Can you guess which is which??? hahahaha ! Really though, just the idea that an insect's already digested nectar from a flower lends to the idea that the nectar is already devoid of nutrients when it's vomited back up. Isn't that the whole point of digestion? To pull the nutrients from whatever it is you have ingested. So is it safe to say that honey is a bi product ? Or even a waste material? I would certainly call MY vomit a waste material... what about you? But beyond the gross visual I now have in my head of honey, I also have a real concern about ...
13 comments
Read more

Quite A Long Hiatus... But I'm Back!!!

What Happened????  I've been out of commission for a LONG time!  Well... there's a story!  Isn't there always???  Let me see if I can catch you all up quickly.  So once upon a time..... the real estate market crashed, this girl lost her career and started a blog to help focus on the better times that she knew HAD to be coming.  This blog helped distract, helped to focus and was an outlet for getting and doing things that money truly couldn't buy because she didn't have any to spend.  During this time I learned that I was strong, I was resourceful and, most importantly, I was capable.  But in looking back at this blog and the HUGE gap from my last post to today, I realized that I was grateful that I documented my journey and now wish I had never stopped.  So, back to the first question... what has been happening? 1.  I got my career back and actually landed my dream job. I have the UNBELIEVABLE honor of helping folks make their dre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Owl Punch Extravaganza

I am BEYOND excited!!!!  Today is July 1st and kicks off my hostess month for my monthly Stampin Up Card Club:  The Queen's House of Cards. Of course I intend to celebrate and YOU can join in on the fun!!! Each day for 20 days I will post a new card featuring Stampin Up's Owl Punch... you won't believe all the things you can make with this baby!!!!  Then, on July 29th when I close my party, the person who placed the largest order using my hostess code will receive ALL 20 CARDS!!!  Here's the fun: YOU CAN PARTICIPATE FROM RIGHT AT HOME!!!!  ALL YOU NEED IS TO PLACE AN ORDER USING MY HOSTESS CODE:  UCUFWPDU Simply go to StampinUp.com and click on "store" at the top.  Place the items you'd like to order in the shopping cart and input the hostess code where provided to get full credit for your purchase. THE BEST PART:  You won't have to wait to receive your order.   Your order will ship to you within two business days!!!...
1 comment
Read more