Thanksgiving Menu

It's November and that means Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away! I don't know about you all, but I plan ahead like a mad women during this time of year to give myself time to ensure I have all of my supplies and to alleviate some stress off of myself since I host and cook Thanksgiving dinner. 

To begin, here are my top tips for a successful and minimally stressful Thanksgiving! 

• Maintain your guest list and track the number of people attending. This is essential because this directly affects the amount of food and supplies such as plates and silverware that are needed. 
• The next tip is related to the previous and is to make plenty of food. By this, essentially I mean to make enough for the guest list but make sure you have extras for those who don't RSVP or were unsure if they'd show up. Remember, it's better to have leftovers than to not have enough food. 
• Use throw-away utensils and paper plates. This is important when hosting because hosting and cooking is enough, so you don't want to have to worry about washing everyone's dish on top of washing the dishes you may already have from the entrée, sides, or desserts.
• Keep take home containers out and ready. This is another important tip because this will allow those who want anything to take it off of your hands. Again, hosting and cooking alone can be a lot, but then to have to worry about where you're going to store all the leftovers can be overwhelming. Plus, most people love holiday leftovers anyways! 
• Have options. I think this is important for anyone, but maybe more-so important for those who have family members who can be or tend to be picky. I like to make multiple sides and desserts to ensure there is enough options for everyone to choose from, especially if someone doesn't like one or two options. 
• My last tip is to utilize your resources. By this, I mean if you have a few things you make from scratch or use a family recipe, use something store bought products for another side or dessert. This will save you time and energy, and will also allow you more time to focus on the rest of the food and preparation. 

The Menu

At every holiday event, I always have some staples my guests love and can expect. For Thanksgiving, my homemade mac & cheese, as well as homemade pies are always loved. 

This years Thanksgiving menu is as follows:

Drinks

I like to include both alcoholic and non-alcoholic because personally, I enjoy, and I know others enjoy having a drink with my Thanksgiving dinner and relaxing with family. This year, I will have a variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic that includes holiday favorites such as apple cider, eggnog, an apple cocktail (on theme with Thanksgiving), and the typical choices such as red or white wine, water, and soda. 

Appetizers

This is a category that I usually don't get too crazy with. I will put out the typical items such as a salad, veggie tray, deviled eggs, and a cheese board.

Dinner

I always include the typical Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and corn. This is where I use some store bought, premade items to my advantage. I use Bob Evans Mashed Potates, Stove Top Stuffing Mix , and Heinz Gravy. Making these replacements allows me to focus on the homemade recipes more. 

This years menu includes:

• Turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• Gravy 
• Corn
• Squash
• Stuffing 
• Rolls
• Mac & Cheese
• Candied Yams

To make candied yams, I mix both store bought items (canned sweet potatoes) and homemade ideas creating the "candied" part of the recipe. In a small baking pan, I spread the canned yams across the bottom of the pan, top this with a mixture that includes brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla extract then I top with marshmallows. Then I throw this in the oven and cook until the marshmallows are browned. 

The last item under the dinner portion is my homemade mac & cheese. Every year, this is a hit. Below I'm including my recipe! (For reference, this is what the Velveeta cheese I use looks like). 

In the recipe, I included the cheese topping process.. I would recommend only splitting this if you have someone that doesn't like too much cheese. Otherwise, this makes the Mac & Cheese so much better! :)

Desserts

A staple for my Thanksgiving is peanut butter pie along with some other miscellaneous desserts. This year I will be serving the usual Peanut Butter Pie (I'll include my recipe!), Pumpkin Pie, and an Apple Pie! For the pumpkin and apple pies, I used the basic Pillsbury recipes linked here: 

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

As far as the Peanut Butter Pie, this is my recipe:

For the crust, I will buy chocolate graham cracker crust (if it's in stock), or the usual graham if not!

What you need:

1 pie crust

8 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup powered sugar 

(Separately) 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

Directions: 

1. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl, add in the 3/4 cup powered sugar and peanut butter gradually until the mixture is fluffy

2. Separately, whisk the heavy whipping cream and once thick, add in the remaining 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix 

3. Mix together the heavy whipping cream with the peanut butter mixture 

4. Pour into the pie crust and store in the fridge for at least 6 hours 

*You can also drizzle melted peanut butter, chocolate, and add whipped cream to the top as well! :)

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone has a great holiday season! Xoxo

Follow me on Instagram: @shelbykirkmann for more recipes!