Two Weeks Away!

The Gobbler Awaits!   (Wow, I need a better camera!)

If you are on the Thanksgiving countdown, it’s two weeks away.   I thought you might appreciate my method of  preventing madness for the Day of  Thanks.  You’ll be thankful if you start now and enjoy the process.  Here is what I am working on today:

1.     Get Your Recipes Together

I ask for faves and try a at least one new recipe each year which is usually a dessert.   This year will be a little different since I am not eating sugar or white foods.  I will be preparing them for my family but need to add something appealing to me with no carbs so I won’t be tempted.   I like this part.   Enjoying cookbooks, time-worn family recipes, magazines and input from my family is part of our tradition leading up to the holiday.

2.     Finalize the Menu

Deciding on a traditional Thanksgiving in The South consists of:  will I have just turkey or turkey and ham or both; stuffed bird or dressing; and, how many desserts?   The rest fits in nicely under side dishes.  Here is our traditional menu which includes everyone’s preferences and sometimes causes duplicates but in a different form; i.e.,  cranberry sauce:

Turkey    (one to serve and one to render broth and meat for the dressing)

Dressing  (the cornbread, sage, poultry seasoning kind that no one knows of a written recipe – you just make it like Mom)

Casseroles  (broccoli cheese, sweet potato and corn)

Cranberry Sauce  (homemade, whole and jelly)

Fruit Salad  (plain and sometimes with nuts or whipping cream but no bananas)

Bread (yeast rolls in our house with real butter)

Desserts (Pecan Tarts, Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie and that is it this year.  I can’t handle anymore with the diet thing.)

Low Carb (Turkey, green beans, special pumpkin pie and green salad should carry me without temptation for  leftovers.)

3.      Make the Grocery List

I divide everything into sections;  for example,

Produce

Celery, Onions, Lettuce, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Apples, Oranges, Pineapple, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Green Onions

Baking Needs With Spices

Cornbread Mix or Corn Meal, Yeast, Flour, Pecans, Pumpkin, Sugar

Nutmeg, Vanilla, Pumpkin Spice, Sage, Poultry Seasoning (Just a reminder, I have ample on hand year round)

Dairy

Butter, Eggs, Milk, Heavy Whipping Cream, Cheeses

Frozen

Broccoli, Corn, Rolls  (Just a suggestion, I like to use fresh when it really is fresh and rolls if I don’t have time but they still need time to rise if you buy the yeast rolls in the freezer case.)

Canned

Pumpkin, Corn, Sweet Potatoes (You decide:  fresh or canned.)

Relishes and Dressings

Green Olives, Black Olives, Pickles, Mayonnaise, Salad Dressing

Meat

Two Turkeys (one large for serving and one to make dressing. If you don’t have room wait until the week before and refrigerate.  Big note to self  – it takes days to thaw a turkey.  I missed that one year and had a late dinner with a tough turkey.)

Breads and Chips

Sandwich Bread, Croissants or whatever you like and Chips for Turkey Sandwiches on Black Friday!

Utensils

Basters, Measuring Cups, Aluminum Roasting Pans (You decide what you don’t have.)

Just add your recipes and ingredients to my plan and you should be well on your way to success.  I will be adding new recipes in the following days for the things I am preparing.