Recipe: Easy Turkey and Stuffing Tips - and a suggestion for turkey rolls.

When my husband and I first got married, it was my instinct to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner. We had way too many leftovers for two people, even though we had leftovers for all three meals. This year, I am making Turkey Rolls, rolled around stuffing and covered in gravy. Then, you can work yourself to death making the side dishes. This freezes better, and is a much easier cleanup. Don't forget that when you have your entire family over, you get a lot of help cleaning up, so it isn't too bad after you've stood over a stove all day.

If you still want to do it all, the secret to a good turkey is in the stuffing and making sure you coat the turkey in butter, don't pierce the skin because it keeps the turkey moist, and take the cover off for the last hour to brown the turkey skin. You can season the skin if you want to. Baste turkey at least every hour to keep it moist, making sure not to pierce skin (or burn yourself! Turkey basters do their own thing!) Make sure you rinse out the inside of the turkey first and take the giblets out. It is also much easier to prepare a thawed turkey. Pick the smallest turkey you can if cooking for two, in fact some companies make stuffable breasts.

Stuffing should be simple. Rip up bread the night before and leave it out so it gets stale. Breadcrumbs are tricky when trying to get the right consistency. Boil giblets, onions and celery to make broth. First, add 4 eggs to hold stuffing together and your spices (Try Bell's seasoning- it mixes the spices for you). Add celery and onions. Add just enough of the broth to make stuffing pasty, a little at a time. You can use remaining broth for gravy base. Some people cut up the giblets and add them, but a lot of people don't like them. Some people like mushrooms in there, but I personally don't.

Most of all, don't get caught up in the cooking and forget that this is your first holiday together. Enjoy your day together. Lots of people have a story about dinner gone wrong, but the important thing is that you spend your holiday with someone you love. My mother dropped her first turkey on the ground and was totally upset! My father loves to tell this story (as she cringes) and talk about how macaroni and cheese was their only backup, and he loved every bit of it. Hope this helps. Fran.