Thanksgiving menu for tomorrow!

Today is the day before Thanksgiving!  I swear this holiday is my husband’s favorite.  He loves all the food and family.  There is no budget for Thanksgiving, but I think I will be changing that for next year. Not a budget per say, but getting a gift card and adding $5 every two weeks onto the card.  We discuss doing this every year, but Chris always says no to it.

Today is also the day I find out my score on the Tax Prep class.  I also have a call in shift at Bath and Body Works.  Cleaning, cooking desserts, and picking up an extra turkey are all on my menu today too!

I stay very true to my no processed foods for the most part with my Thanksgiving dinner.  I have bought cream of mushroom soup, velveeta, and have a can of jellied cranberry sauce left over from last year. Surprisingly still safe to eat!  Poor planning is why I even bought those foods.  I just didn’t plan on making the processed cheese and getting mushrooms for the cream of mushroom soup.  I guess I will need to make a note to self for next year.

I am not allowed to change much if anything from year to year.  Some one (Chris) gets really upset with the changes when I make them.   The only thing I can change is the desserts as long as pumpkin pie is the star.  Here goes the menu for tomorrow.

Turkey
stuffing*
mashed potatoes and gravy
broccoli casserole
green bean casserole
candied sweet potatoes**
Rice soup and noodles
peas
dinner rolls

pumpkin pie
apple pie
sex in a pan.

The turkey is so easy!  I just use a bag and a roaster pan.  I am going to season with rosemary and thyme then place in the bag and stuff it.  The roaster bag has been the secret to my success with turkey.  It makes the turkey very moist, which sounds kind of gross, but dry turkey is very gross!

The stuffing is going to need me to make some poultry seasoning up today.  The recipe comes from the Purdue 4H website.

Poultry Seasoning
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
3/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well.
2. Place in a storage container with a tight fitting lid. Seal well.
3. To use: Rub over poultry before cooking or grilling.

I add to taste with my stuffing.  I like sage, but it seems to be very strong so this makes the taste more palatable to my family.

The candied sweet potatoes are the bane of my dinner every year!  I never like how they come out.  The only thing I will say is a few years I switched from canned sweet potatoes to fresh and WOW! What a difference. I have two different recipes that I am going to choose from and use it this year.  

The other new item is cranberry sauce.  My husband likes the jellied stuff from a can and I did too.  Now I am wondering if that is something I should continue. Very few people eat it and I would rather make fresh considering how easy it it.  My understanding is 1 bag of cranberries to 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes and it is done!  Sounds pretty simply to me.

The rest of the meal is pretty simple.  The noodles with rice soup is exactly what it says. Egg noodles and a warmed up can of chicken and rice soup poured into the noodles.  Served warm.  Peas are for our granddaughter Kaylea as she does not like corn.  The dinner roll will just be out of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

The desserts will be 2 pumpkin pies, my grandma Julia Ganong’s recipe, 1 apple pie because my husband requested it.  Sex in a pan because you have to have one light and creamy dessert.  This is made with pudding and whipped cream.  The name sounds terribly funny, but the recipe looks great!  I normally make my awesome cheese cake, but like I said the only thing I can change up is the desserts!

The only thing on the menu that I won’t be making is the deviled eggs.  Our daughter in law Jenn does an amazing job with those!  They are a treat for the whole family.  

Please let share what you are doing for Thanksgiving this year.  Anything special you want to try or anything you can’t stand?  Please share!