I’m swamped in Thanksgiving preparations right now. I wanted to take a minute (or 20 lol) and share what I am doing.
I do know that we are having at least 12 people. I do not know how many extras will show up. That’s ok, everyone is welcome. I just need to make sure I have enough food!
Here’s my Thanksgiving Menu:
turkey (L)
ham (g)
mashed potatoes (d)
stuffing (L)
mac & cheese (g)
creamed onions (L)
green beans (a)
corn (a)
cranberry sauce (a)
homemade gravy (L)
homemade dinner rolls (h)
cornbread (k)
chocolate pie (z)
apple pie (m)
pumpkin pie (h crust) (L filling)
cherry pie (h)
homemade whipped cream (h)
Grape Juice (home canned using our own grapes)
Apple Cider
Sprite
Water
As you can tell by the letters after each dish, I am not doing this alone. I am doing the dishes marked with L. I put my husband in charge of the mashed potatoes. My mother, who everyone calls Granny is bringing the ham and macaroni & cheese. My married daughter is bringing the apple pie.
My daughter Abby is doing the vegetables and cranberry sauce. My daughter Hannah is making the homemade dinner rolls, cherry pie, the crust for the pumpkin and the homemade whipped cream. My oldest son is making cornbread. My 15 year old son, Zach, is making the chocolate pie.
My mother in law always made chocolate pie and the kids loved it. So we are making it the way she did. Store bought crust and boxed pudding mix. So it will be easy for Zach to make with just a little guidance from me. Hannah and I like to make it with a homemade crust and homemade pudding. Zach’s not ready for that, though!
We are eating at 6, so I have some snacks planned for earlier in the afternoon.
carrots
celery
green pepper slices
ranch dip (store bought)
4 different cheeses and 2 kinds of crackers – I picked up a tray of already sliced cheese in the deli to make it easier.
I am assigning Abby to get all of this ready, and plated.
I will be serving dinner buffet style. I will make sure to have all the food ready early, and put it in slow cookers to stay warm.
By far, the most important part of our Thanksgiving meal this year is…..
And you know what? I don’t feel the least bit guilty for using disposable products this year. For one, I don’t have enough real plates for a large crowd. And since I don’t know for sure the final guest count, disposable will work best. It’s a toss up whether we will be using disposable utensils or real forks. I’m actually leaning towards real. My husband can only take so much change. A plastic fork might just put him over the edge. lol
You’ll notice that we will have a complete meal, even if the guests aren’t able to make it with their contributions. I planned it this way on purpose. I learned my lesson after hosting numerous holiday meals where guests either don’t bring what they said or drop canned foods off in the kitchen right before it’s time to eat. In the case of one memorable Easter meal, someone delivered a bag of potatoes to me in the kitchen right before it was time to eat, instead of prepared mashed potatoes. I learned the hard way to make sure I had a complete meal to serve regardless of what anyone else brought, or didn’t bring. It’s more work for me, but it is also so much less stressful for me!
The menu is planned, food prep will begin tonight. All that is left is to clean the house. The worst part about hosting! lol
[…] the drinks. They didn’t fit on the counter! You can see everything that was on the menu in my Getting Ready for Thanksgiving […]