Our Thanksgiving Menu

I've never cooked a turkey.  Never.  In all of my adult years, I never had to.  Mom always cooked the turkey.  A side dish or dessert was always my contribution to dinner. 

Last year, we started a new tradition of staying home for Thanksgiving.  Just the three of us.  That may sound ordinary to many of you, but with Joe's crazy work schedule, we don't get many family meals together. 

Even on our first Thanksgiving at home, I didn't cook the turkey...Joe did.  That'll be the plan for this year, too!  I'll take care of the rest, as long as Joe cooks the turkey! 

I'm sitting here, trying to plan our Thanksgiving dinner and make a shopping list.  I thought it would be fun to share my menu with you.  I'd love for you to share your Thanksgiving menu and/or traditions with us in the comments! 

~ Our Thanksgiving Menu ~

~Turkey~

Depending on the weather, Joe will either deep fry the turkey outside

or cook it in the portable roaster in the garage. 

That will free up my small oven for anything else that needs to bake.
Last year, Joe used the roaster, since we woke up to snow on Thanksgiving. 

~ Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower ~

This is our new favorite recipe for mashed potatoes! 

I plan on making a big batch of these so we'll have plenty of leftovers so I can make

Loaded Mashed Potato Pie and Mashed Potato and Cauliflower Soup. 

Mmmmmmm! 

~ Green Bean Casserole ~

I've made this for Thanksgiving as long as I can remember.  

I was still living at home when I started making this dish. 

Joe picked up a can of those crunchy onions that go into this, 

so I'm guessing the tradition will continue! 

(Note:  we don't only make it for Thanksgiving)

~ Sweet Potatoes with Apples & Raisins ~

We made this for Thanksgiving last year and we really enjoyed it. 

It tasted like dessert!  So yummy! 

I forgot to write down the few changes we made to the recipe,

so we'll just wing it this year. 

~ Coleslaw ~

My parents make THE BEST coleslaw!

My Mom always made coleslaw to go along with our turkey dinner. 

Over the years, the task of making the it was passed on to my Dad. 

Since I've never managed to get their recipe to turn out the same in my kitchen,

I'll be following this recipe instead.

~ Cornbread Casserole ~

I make this dish throughout the year.

Joe requested we add it to last year's Thanksgiving Menu. 

This replaced the corn I planned to serve as a side dish. 

I also skipped the canned biscuits. 

~ Stuffing ~

We keep this simple and just use boxed stuffing.
Like my Mom, I prepare the stuffing according to the box,
then pour into a greased casserole dish or pie plate
and bake in the oven until crisp.


~ Vegetables ~

Grace likes her peas and corn. 
As much as I try to get her to try new foods,
we haven't had much luck. 
I'll prepare a small bowl of each of her favorites
for her to enjoy with her turkey! 


~ Gravy ~

Last year, we attempted homemade gravy.
I'm not sure where we went wrong,
but we didn't care for it. 
We'll stick to the jarred stuff this year! 


~ Cranberry Sauce ~

Years ago, Joe and I made homemade cranberry sauce,
for a big family dinner. 
With all the other food we're preparing,
we'll just use canned cranberry sauce this year. 

~ Dessert ~

Since I have a lot of over-ripe bananas in the freezer,
I'll make a Chocolate Covered Banana Cake.
For the pies, (I'm thinking pumpkin and apple),
I'll rely on the great bakery department at our local market.

It probably sounds crazy to make so much food for just the three of us.  But remember, I LOVE leftovers!  We'll eat the leftovers from this meal throughout the weekend and what we don't finish will be frozen or re-created into something new!   

I'm linking this post to the following blog carnivals and linky parties: 

• What's On Your Plate?  (Thanksgiving Menu Ideas)
• Thanksgiving Recipes 2011 @ It's a Blog Party
• Menu Plan Monday
• Homemaker Monday
• Your Recipe, My Kitchen