Thanksgiving...relax & enjoy!

Almond Brittle Topped Pumpkin Pie

Don't think ill of me for saying this, but two of our favorite Thanksgivings have been spent at our own home with just the two of us. We LOVE spending time with our families; maybe I should 1st explain why I say what I'm saying. Cory & I live in a different state from our families. We have 5 and 8 hour drives to get home. When you put the holidays of Thanskgiving & Christmas back-to-back for driving, it can be exhausting and we found ourselves not fully enjoying our time off. Three years ago, we decided to give ourselves a holiday from the driving and enjoy our time off at home.

It was truly some of the most relaxing and best time to enjoy as a couple. It also gave me a chance to cook my own Thanksgiving meal! We started our own Thanksgiving traditions of sleeping in, not getting dressed up (even no makeup for me!), watching the Macy's Day Parade then the Dog Show (my favorite group is the toy group) and then going on a hike before the big meal. That night, if there aren't any good football games on, we'll pick a favorite classic movie to watch, while curling up to snuggle and enjoy the fireplace!

What our Thanksgiving food prep timeline looks like:
The weekend before: go grocery shopping for our meal (going the week of is pure agony)  

2 days before: we start brining our turkey

1 day before: Cory makes the roll dough & I prepare any breakfast items or casserole items that refrigerate well and are easily heated the day of

The day of: Enjoy a yummy (but easy) breakfast ( our favorite is biscuits, bacon, eggs & mimosas) then work on the big meal. We usually eat around 2 or 3 pm

Last year, we brought out the china & crystal. So fun!

Our delicious menu, updated but traditional:

Shoe peg corn casserole (my family's tradition) 

Green bean casserole (my personal favorite) 

Jalapeno Cornbread Dressing

Truffled Pommes Anna (in place of mashed potatoes)

Parkerhouse Rolls 

Homemade cranberry sauce (it's actually really good!) 

2-day brined then oven-roasted Turkey

Spiral sliced & glazed Ham (we get the Sam's Choice brand at Walmart)

A look at the full spread from our 1st Thanksgiving at home. I love getting out my crystal glasses!

Desserts:

Almond brittle Pumpkin pie

Dark rum pecan pie 

Both finished with homemade whipped cream

Prep Tips:

The hardest part of Thanksgiving meal making for me is the timing: getting everything ready to be served at the same time, warm, with one oven can seem like an act of magic! My tips on making this work while cooking a huge bird in the oven at the same time:

• Geometry (shocker right)! It all comes down to the dish puzzle and predetermine get which dishes will fit best together in your oven will save you a lot of frustration. 
• You can prep and bake some dishes (like corn or potatoes) then place them in a crockpot to keep them warm, then transfer to a nice bowl for serving. 
• The rolls can be baked right before the meal, after most of the food can be taken out of the oven. 

Hosting tips:

• Breakfast the day of: do not put yourself through the ordeal (in, more dishes to clean! No thank you!) of making two big meals the same day. Instead, the day before prepare any of these items so that they can be popped into the oven easily for everyone to enjoy: 

Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast

Buttermilk Biscuits (make them ahead of time, freeze them unbaked, then make some bacon/scrambled eggs quickly while they bake in the oven) 

Monkey bread 

Or store bought seasonal-flavored muffins work great, I won't tell! ;) 

• The last 30 - 45 minutes before meal time can reveal a terrible Hangry-animal in all of us. Keep some light snacks on hand to take care of the hunger pangs: baby carrots & dip, roasted almonds, Greek yogurt. 

If you would like any of the recipes, let me know! One of my best places for recipe inspiration has been Cooking Light.

This year we are very excited to be enjoying Thanksgiving with our whole immediate family!

What is your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal?

More photos of our meal are below:

One year, we had pull-a-part bread for breakfast

Truffled Pommes Anna

Cory's amazing Parkerhouse rolls