Thanksgiving -- Menu Plan

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I am not Martha Stewart nor do I pretend to be.  There...I said it.  Brace yourself for this post.

I enjoy making a nice meal for Thanksgiving Day but I'm not going to break my back on a meal that will not last longer than half time.  *wink*  So I make it easy on me and everyone else.  My little helpers and I decide the day before who's going to help me make each item.  I'd rather spend our time in the kitchen  making easy dishes so we can enjoy the day watching the parade, watching the Lions get beat play, playing our annual fumbleball football game (weather permitting),  playing board games, and just being thankful! 

The turkey...I buy a cheap turkey.  Last year W*lmart had some for under 40 cents a pound.  For real!  Hubby snagged a couple for me.  You know what?  They were delicious!  I'm hoping to snag a couple again this year.  Some years I'll roast it Thanksgiving morning some days I'll roast it the day before and then on Thanksgiving I'll place slices of meat in a crock pot with gravy over it.  It's so moist and tender.  I think I'll do that again this year.  (I'll have to put some slices in a small crock pot with broth since my mom is on a gluten free diet.) 

In the morning we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Sometimes I buy Pillsbury.  I like to make it easy.  I'm telling you..it's the best way!  I have an itch to make homemade this year.  We'll see.

After breakfast I get out the mixed nuts in the shell.  I put them in the nut dish that my mom has put nuts in since I can remember.  I'll put in a few nut crackers and the crowd will go wild.  They love to shell nuts.  I love it when they clean up after themselves.  *wink*

After the nut dish has been ransacked I'll pull out some cheese and crackers, also some olives and pickles.  We really like SECHLER'S PICKLES.  They are sooo yummy.  We especially like their apple cinnamon and the orange.  They are delicious!! 

So...on to the menu...

Roasted Turkey in gravy.  Nope, not home made gravy.  I love McCormick's gravy mixes or Campbell's canned gravy.  I don't do gravy well and I hate when it gels up...so unappetizing the next day.

We'll also have Smashed Potatoes, Baked Carrots, Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese, stuffing (I use Pepperidge Farm and follow the directions on the bag and put it in a crock pot).  I'll steam some green beans from our garden.  I may do green beans and bacon this year.  My mom also loves baked yams.  I'll post the recipe soon.  Thanksgiving isn't complete without Cherry Cinnamon Applesauce or cranberry sauce. 

We also have dinner rolls.  Nope, not home made, either.  Hubby really likes the brown and serve packaged.  I figure why waste the time making home made when he enjoys the easy stuff? 

Now...on to dessert.  Pies...lots of them.  This is where we go all out!  I have a few kiddos that love to help me make the pies the day before.  My pie crust recipe is HERE.  We'll make all homemade from scratch; cherry, blueberry, apple, and peach pies.  My pie filling recipe is HERE.  The Creamy Peach Pie recipe is HERE.  I also make Pumpkin Pie Squares HERE.  I'll also make a pan of brownies for the little ones who have an aversion to pie.  Why they do, I have no idea.  Pie is wonderful!  All those pies will last us for all that weekend and we'll be rolling into Monday in our elasticized waist pants. *wink*

There you have it.  That's our menu for this season in our lives.  We'll enjoy food the kiddos will eat and easy dishes to make so that we can enjoy each other's company.  I figure I'll have all the time in the world to spend time making dishes that Martha would approve of when they are grown up.  Then again...I'll have all sorts of grandbabies (Lord willing) that will want to help me make the meal so we may get even simpler by then!