Thank You: Thanksgiving ideas

Of course a turkey to start off with and yummy gravey!

For Thanksgiving and Christmas I always like to make lots and lots of different kinds of veggies. We always have glazed carrots, brocolli & cauliflower in cheese sauce, beans - often in a casserol, turnip - sometimes cooked with the carrots to trick my hubby!, potatoes and sweet potoatoes or yams. Of course you can do peas, brussle sprouts, asparagus...whatever your garden or grocery store can supply. I think it is fun to try a few new veggie recipes to have along with the tried and true for variety. With all the cooked veggies, I rarely ever have a salade at these dinners.

I also have plenty of pickles - mostly homemade by me or a friend. We love pickled beets, mustard pickles, chow chow, bread & butter pickles, olives and gerkins too. Homemade cranberry sauce is a nice touch if your family like them. They are so easy to make from scratch...just follow the recipe on the bag you buy them in...all it is is the bag of berries, sugar and water.

Rolls are great to have at dinner and if you can make them homemade all the better, otherwise pick them up fresh at the bakery the day before, to save the day of hassles.

To me Thanksgiving desserts are pies...maybe because I rarely have pie any other time of the year. Apple & pumpkin are traditional in my family. Sometimes pecan, blueberry or lemon sneak in there too.

I hope these ideas help you out. My best tip is to plan ahead and do as much as you can before the guests arrive. Many of the preparing (peeling & chopping, pie crusts etc) can be done early that morning or the day before. Just store your preped veggies in water in the fride to keep their freshness. Delegate too, get the hubby & kids or a good friend in on the tasks of peeling, table setting, tidying up etc. Try not to do it all yourself or you'll never have time to enjoy the day.