Thanksgiving Countdown 3: Menu Planning
Alright folks since we are down to exactly 2 WEEKS (!) it is time for a huge part of the planning to commence: the MENU! I would not say that menu planning is the most important part of Thanksgiving because really the most important part of Thanksgiving is being around family and friends while being thankful for them, but it’s up there.
Being thankful is always a very important message, all year round, not just during the holidays. Now, even though the menu is not the absolute most important part of Thanksgiving, it is still a HUGE part of it so we need to start planning now. I recommend doing some internet searches through Google and Pinterest to get a general idea of what you want to do. I like to start with what kind of turkey I want to cook (or if you are like my family- turkey AND ham lol). This is the main course of the meal and needs to have a good recipe for people to ooh and ahh over it for years.
We ended up having just a small gathering last year because poor Winter was sick so this is a turkey breast we ended up roasting instead of the big bird.
Last year, we decided to do a turkey breast instead of the big bird and it was delicious! This one is a Pomegranate and herb roasted turkey and stayed super moist with a delicious flavor. (I will post this recipe with my all about turkey blog next week but the ingredients were super simple: 8 oz pomegranate juice-do NOT bother trying to get fresh-save yourself the time with bottled-trust me!, 1 stick or 1/2 cup of softened butter, fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage), a cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. What I did was cook 1/2 the pomegranate juice and butter together with about half the herbs (minced!) and cinnamon stick. Let the mixture simmer on the stove for about 1 hour to let the flavors really come together and then remove the cinnamon stick and put in the fridge overnight or a couple of days until you need. Then, without letting the butter come to room temperature )because it would start to separate) push it under the turkey breast skin, directly on the breast (more about this technique in the all about turkey blog still to come), and then add a small amount to the cavity with some onion, garlic, and fresh herbs before adding a light layer on the skin- follow with generous salt and pepper all over.) A super simple and delicious recipe that I will definitely repeat some day. If you are having a smaller celebration and really don’t want to go to all the trouble of a full turkey just doing a turkey breast or turkey roulade (boneless, skinless turkey breast stuffed with stuffing and baked) is a great idea and will take much less time and prep and you and your guests still get a delicious main entree.
Now, remember that you still have two weeks until Thanksgiving day so just start looking for recipes and start your planning. Write down some ideas and go over the idea with your guests and see what they think about them, maybe let them vote on the recipe. That could be a fun idea for them and takes a little guesswork out for you! I recommend looking into Pioneer Woman’s Orange and Herby Turkey-it is moist and delicious and I have made it for years. Also, I just want to say that a turkey recipe does not need a giant amount of ingredients to be flavorful and tasty. After deciding the turkey recipe, it is time to start thinking about sides. The classics are Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes of some kind, Sweet Potatoes, stuffing, appetizers like Delicious, easy meatballs or even something simple like veggies and dip or chips, and some kind of roll (Psst…Pillsbury Crescent rolls taste Delicious and are a super easy hack and time savor).
You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg just to make this meal-even just some seasoning salt and butter on a turkey with pepper is delicious. Christmas is just around the corner (48 DAYS!) and you will need money for the season as well so don’t break the bank here.
You can use something like this as a template for creating the grocery list to ensure that you don’t forget anything. (don’t forget the essentials like Paper towels, dish soap, and Toilet Paper!)
The next part of menu planning for the big day is to create the grocery list you will need (DON’T GO SHOPPING YET-everything perishable would spoil because we still have two weeks!) This will help to ensure that you don’t forget anything and can still add to it when you need to. You can shop for small things like toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, shampoo/conditioner, and other items you need for guests while they are here. I also like to split my grocery list up into sections like the one above with titles of the categories- if you have a few people shopping with you, you could even separate them into different pages and send people off to do that part of the shopping (when it is time.) Remember to de-stress and take some time for yourself-this is why we are planning now so that the week of Thanksgiving isn’t a HUGE rush to get everything done. We have two weeks and have the time.
