REDUCING YOUR HOLIDAY STRESS FOR A PLEASANT TIME FOR EVERYONE

Let’s face it, when it comes to Holidays, we all encounter stress. Stress can come in several ways, but I’m about to help you reduce your Holiday stress and allow it to become an enjoyable time for everyone. For me, most of my stress centers around gifts and food. I want to pick out the perfect gift, and I want to see everyone enjoying the meal that I’ve put together.

There is something about food that is comforting, and it tells those you prepare the food for that you care. I guess that’s how the phrase, “made with love” can apply. Because we eat our Holiday meals later in the afternoon, I like to have a late breakfast or brunch so that everyone will be hungry once the Holiday meal is served. Preparing things ahead of time and buying premade items is a way that you can whip together a delicious brunch in no time and reduce your Holiday stress level.

I try to include lots of healthy options as well as sugary sweets that the kids will love. Fruit is a treat for all ages, and it looks beautiful and enticing when plated and set out for all to see. Children will even pick cut watermelon over a doughnut some of the time. Having the kids eat fruit instead of doughnuts will keep them from a sugar high, and that might help to reduce your Holiday stress.

I think the presentation is HUGE when it comes to the Holidays. I’ve been drawn to turquoise lately for my kitchen appliances, and I found several things at Walmart that had to go home with me. This Blooming Bouquet 9-inch pie plate and the Mazie 3-piece mixing bowl set were just a few of my new purchases.

Did you spy my new KitchenAid Professional 5 Qt. mixer? I can’t wait to put this baby in action, and I see some yeast rolls in Joe’s future for Thanksgiving.

These stoneware mixing bowls are heavy-duty, and I love the pour spout, making it easy to transfer your liquids to a pan. I’ll be using this to mix up cornbread this winter to serve with homemade vegetable beef soup. If you prefer your mixing bowls without the spout so that you can also use them as serving bowls, then you’ll like the set below.

The colors of this Cornucopia mixing bowl set are beautiful and perfect for your Holiday table.

I overlooked this set of serving dishes when I placed my order, but I love the print, so they are going in my cart right now. I especially love how each bowl has a sweet sentiment written inside. Have Fun, Enjoy, and Laugh A Lot are the sentiments, and I think these will be gorgeous on my table this spring.

I’ve had metal and ceramic measuring cups and spoons before, but I prefer plastic ones instead. The metal ones always seem to corrode, probably from using vinegar or something like that, and I end up dropping a ceramic one and being short one measurement. You can tell that I am a clutz in the kitchen. Lol!

These measuring cups come in a 25 PC. Gadget set. I like that I can take off the ring that holds the set together, but I usually leave them attached so that they don’t scatter in my utensil drawer.

Remember, I want to reduce my Holiday stress as much as possible, so I bought two 9″ deep dish pastry pie shells from the Walmart frozen food section. After my Quiche Lorraine is made, I’ll set it inside my Blooming Bouquet 9-inch pie plate for that “homemade” look.

I used a basting brush to coat the bottom of the crust with beaten egg yokes. This helps to seal the crust and keep the bottom from getting soggy. After I bake the crust for about 10 minutes, I can then add the ingredients. While the pie crust is baking, I’ll make the quiche.

I love cooked onions but only when used sparingly. So, anytime someone gives me a recipe, I constantly alter the amount of onions I include. I’m not sure where I got this quiche recipe, but I modified the onions, the salt, and the cheese. Lol! Making a recipe your own is fun and intimidating at the same time. The recipe I received called for 1 whole onion, but I only added about 1/4 cup, and that was plenty.

The Sweet Romance stainless steel knife set made cutting up the onions easy. I didn’t shed one tear cutting up these onions. The knife blades have a different design on each one, and they are adorable, but they also work great. I am all for adorable, but I also want my knives to be sharp, and these work great. Each knife comes with a protective sleeve that cuts down on any accidental cuts when reaching in a drawer.

I like these flexible plastic cutting mats that are extra thick to cut my meats and veggies on. They come in a set of four, and I use one color for meats and another for my veggies to avoid contaminating anything. Plus, I don’t have a lot of counter space to sit out a wooden cutting board, and these fit in a drawer.

I mixed my eggs, heavy whipping cream, and spices before pouring it over my bacon, onions, and cheese mixture. The original recipe called for cooking the onions, but I didn’t bother, and it turned out fine. To make my life easier, I also bought pre-cooked bacon crumbles. I love bacon, but the smell lingers too long in my house, so pre-cooked crumbles work better for me. I like buying a 5lb bag of real crumbled bacon, and I put it in my freezer and just take out what I need.

Even though this mixing bowl has a spout, I didn’t pour in my mixture. I forgot what I was doing, and I added the cubed cheese to my cream mixture, so I used the measuring cup to ensure that everything was distributed evenly. Then, I popped the whole thing in the oven for about 35 minutes. I had to bake it longer than the 25 minutes that the recipe called for, but that might have been because I put it in the heavy pie plate, or it could be my oven.

While the quiche was cooking, and boy, did it smell good, I had time to assemble the rest of the food. I bought pre-cut watermelon and cantaloupe, so that didn’t take me but just a minute to put it in this acrylic multi-function 5-n-1 cake dome. I love versatility when it comes to my fashions, and this multi-function tray is so versatile. It is a divided serving tray, cake stand, chip & dip server, punch bowl, and footed serving bowl. WOW!

Even though this brunch tray looks like it took a lot of time to make, it was pretty easy. Everything, including the fruit, was done before the quiche came out of the oven. The acacia wooden serving tray with gold handles is the perfect size for a small brunch. It is 20″ x 13″ x 1,” and it holds a lot of food!

Since reducing my Holiday stress level is important, almost everything was premade or required minimal effort from me. I had to pop the waffles into the toaster, but even I couldn’t mess that up. Lol! I also fried up the sausage links and popped the pre-cooked bacon into the microwave. I think that was the total amount of “cooking” that I had to do for this brunch tray.

Walmart’s deli has DELICIOUS muffins, cakes, and pies, so I added several mini muffins and a variety of creme cake loaves to the tray, along with powdered donuts. Just to make this tray appear a tiny bit healthy, I added green and red grapes. If you’ve never tried the creme cakes from Walmart’s deli, do yourself a favor and try them. They are so moist and flavorful; just don’t blame me if you eat the whole tray.

When the quiche was ready to come out of the oven, I added a few more bacon bits for good measure. If a small amount of bacon is good, then a lot of bacon is better. Lol!

I set the quiche on this wooden acacia cake stand to cool. It only needs to set for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving, and that was long enough for me to get out the plates and forks. To save yourself even more time the day of your Holiday meal, I might make the quiche mixture the night before and put it into the refrigerator until time to pour it in the pie crust.

My mouth is watering just looking at this spread! Did you notice the little hammered copper cups that I used to hold syrup? These cups are so everyone can have their own individual syrup container. Plus, these look adorable, and presentation matters. These are shot glasses, but that will be our little secret.

I’ve ordered these black and white Thyme & Table stoneware dishes, and they are even prettier in person than on the website. I love this medallion pattern, but there are several other patterns to choose from if this pattern is too bold. A mix and match set would be cute, and adding solid black pieces would look striking.

I had to sample a little of everything; that is the perk of being the cook. Lol!

Oh, my word, this was so good, and pouring the syrup from the little copper cups was so fun. I know the grandchildren will love doing that.

You caught me; I have two plates. One is for the fruit and waffles, and the other is for a piece of the quiche once it cools. I am saving room because it smells divine!

Finally, it is time to cut the quiche, and I can’t wait for Joe to get home to sample it. I will be nice and leave him a piece, but he better hurry home.

Joe must have a sixth sense because he got here just in time to get a slice of quiche. He declared it EXCELLENT and continued to eat another piece or two, but who is counting?

I’m starting to look forward to Thanksgiving morning. Walmart has lots of shortcuts to reduce your Holiday stress and save time in the kitchen, plus, everything is so good. Food is what we look forward to on Thanksgiving, but time spent with the family is precious. If Walmart can give me more time with my family, then I am all in for that.

Walmart makes it very convenient for its customers to shop, especially since most people have a store within 10 miles of their homes. Walmart has an extraordinary policy of free 2-day shipping and returns for purchases over $35! You can also sign up for Walmart Plus, where you get Free Shipping and no order minimums.

This post is sponsored by Walmart, and I will receive compensation, but the opinions expressed are my own.

50 Is Not Old partners with affiliate platforms where commission may be earned based on clicks and or purchases, and I would love it if you decided to use the links above! Affiliate links help bloggers like me to fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.