Thanksgiving Meal Tips

Thanksgiving is family time and in today's hectic world it can be a bit stressful since
few of us plan or cook meals for large families very often. If you are preparing to cook Thanksgiving dinner, here are a few helpful tips and suggestions to make your meal a big hit with your family.

Checkout our comprehensive collection of Thanksgiving Recipes for your celebration.

#1 Plan your meal well in advance. Make sure you have a guest list so you can plan on having the proper amount of food. This seems like common sense but too much food can be a big waste of money and too little will have your guests scraping the plates. Also it is a good idea to find out if anyone has dietary needs or restrictions.

#2 Make sure you have your recipes collected and ready well in advance so they are all together and ready to use when meal planning and shopping lists are being assembled. It is a good idea to use tried and true recipes for most of your meal. If you want to make something new try making it once in advance as a test to make sure it will come out right on Turkey day.

#3 Don't be a martyr, ask for help. If the task seems to be overwhelming, ask some of your guests to bring 1 item each to help you save time and work. Eliminating a few side dishes can save a large amount of time. Our family always asked our grandmother to make coleslaw and to bring powdered dinner rolls from the bakery that we all loved and grew up eating near her home.

#4 Shop for non perishable foods well in advance to get them out of the way. Split your shopping list up and take care of canned goods and a frozen turkey up to 2 weeks in advance and this will make last minute shopping much easier.

#5 Make things that can be stored for a day or two in advance like cranberry sauce and soup. This will free up time on meal day. Make sure you defrost your Turkey at least 2 days in advance in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. If you need to speed up thawing you can put the frozen bird into a large pot and drip water slowly over it for a few hours in the sink. If you are making casseroles, assemble them and put them in the refrigerator the day before.

Game Day:

Plan out your oven space and figure out what items can cook with the bird and which need to cook separately. Make sure Turkey is timed to come out at least 45 minutes before you carve and serve so the bird will be allowed to rest and the juices don't run out when you carve. Pies that require a different temperature can cook after the turkey is removed and should be done before people are sitting down to dinner.