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Having a big family Thanksgiving is not as hard as you might think. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work, but I love doing it.
Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving at our house and have between 10 and 14 people over. We usually eat at 1:00 PM. Other than a
little prep work the night before, I do all the cooking the morning of and it’s always hot and ready when everyone starts showing
up around half past noon. Everyone eats their fill and there’s usually leftovers for everyone to take home with them.
What follows is an overview of what I do for Thanksgiving every year. I’ve included the menu, recipes and a convenient shopping
list.
Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
Complete Thanksgiving Shopping List
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I’ve been doing this for years, so I have it down to a science. You want to get an early start. I usually get up at 7:00 AM, that
gives me 5 to 6 hours to get everything ready. Start with the turkey. You will have brined it overnight. Once you put it in the oven
to start browning, start peeling your russet potatoes and get them into the pot of salted water. You can also get your sweet potatoes
into the microwave to get them cooked.
It should now be time to cover the turkey and get it cooking at the lower temperature. While the turkey is cooking, start boiling your
potatoes and assembling all of your casseroles so they’re ready to go in the oven when the turkey is done.
The casseroles all require slightly different cooking times, so I line them up in the order they go into the oven so that by the end,
they’re all ready to come out of the oven at about the same time.
While the casseroles cook, make your fluff and stuffing. Both of those only take about 5 minutes to complete. Using the turkey drippings,
make your gravy. Then put your rolls on a cookie sheet and when the last casserole is done, pop the rolls into the oven for 5 minutes to
heat them.
Voila! Thanksgiving dinner is ready, your guests are about to arrive, so go change and get ready to eat!
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