November 17, 2005
as seen in "The Dinner Diva" syndicated column
by Leanne Ely

Getting ready for the holidays for some people is like getting ready for a root canal: Even the anticipation is painful.

It totally does not have to be that way. If you will baby-step your way through the holidays and bring your expectations (and those of your family) down a few notches, you can get through them and do it with style and not sweat! Doing things in baby steps always, always, ALWAYS works!

Anyone who has blessed their homes (got them cleaned up) 15 minutes at a time understands exactly what I am saying. As FlyLady says, you hit a lick at a snake.

Why shouldn't dinner time during the holidays be equally as simple? And even though our routines usually get stretched and pulled during this time, we still have the ability to get dinner on the table and get everyone fed. I'm not talking drive-through, either!

Let me challenge you by starting to think of your freezer as your own personal "food bank," where you throw an extra casserole in the freezer for a rainy day, or you double a meatloaf or main course soup recipe so you're never without a back up plan OR you have the ability to bless someone else (like when a neighbor has a baby, etc.). This little "food bank" of yours will pay off big time once we're under the holiday gun.

Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their freezer. Let's get that thing stocked! It's really easy — if you're going to go to the trouble of making a favorite casserole, why not make two and freeze one? Making two or even three meat loaves isn't any more work than making one.

Lasagna freezes beautifully, as does one of my favorite recipes from the original "Saving Dinner" book, "Saving Dinner" (Ballantine), Mexican Torta (recipe included below).

So get cooking! Get that freezer stocked. If you do just ONE casserole or main dish a few times this week, you can have four to six extra meals on hand. Keep this kind of double-thinking in place, and you can be completely covered during the holidays and beyond. Isn't that great?

Think "doubly" hard about your dinners these next few weeks (get it?) and keep dinner happening at your house during the hectic holidays.

Mexican Torta