Welcome to November! I always start to really focus on my holiday plans at the beginning of November. Several years ago, as our young family was growing my husband and I decided that we would change up our Thanksgiving tradition of dinners with extended family for a simpler plan of a meal at home with just us and the kids. With Christmas around the corner and all of the excitement and busyness that comes with that time of year, it always felt good to have that one day at home to decompress, have a nice meal together, and just truly be thankful for everything, as we have really always been pretty blessed. But I will say that making that important holiday meal was a lot of stress! I looked up all of the fancy recipes, and techniques, and spent hours researching the perfect combinations of side dishes to go with our turkey, do we do everything from scratch or do we “cheat a little”. I am telling you, putting together a holiday celebration no matter how big or how small is a lot of work, and if you’re newly married, just getting out on your own, living in a new area, or just changing up your traditions it can be a particularly daunting task. With that in mind I thought I would put together a few posts to help take the meal time stress out of a traditional Thanksgiving meal by offering a complete guide with easy to prepare recipes that still have that WOW factor for your holiday celebration!
The first step, and probably the toughest is creating the menu. So I’ll be sharing the menu that I have used now for the past several years. This menu is diverse in it’s selection without being overwhelmingly complicated in it’s execution. I’ll also discuss with each item the timing for preparing things and identifying items that can be made in advance! Here is our Thanksgiving Day menu!
- Roasted Turkey
- Glazed Ham
- Bread Stuffing (aka Dressing)
- Deviled Eggs
- Green Bean Casserole
- Corn Casserole
- Candied Yams
- Parker House Rolls
- Cranberry Relish
- Mashed Potatoes
- Turkey Gravy
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Charcuterie Board
- Orange Cranberry Quick Bread
- and of course dessert Cherry Pie, and Banana Pudding!
This menu is in no particular order and I can’t wait to share with you the meal that I have prepared over and over again for the enjoyment of my family. Hopefully this series is helpful as you begin to build your own traditions. I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments and answering any questions that you may have. Follow my page for post updates and let’s all have a very happy holiday season!
Barnwood and Baked Goods 