Our Thanksgiving Menu

Well, this picture is the best I got last year but
I'm unimpressed!  Here's to hoping I won't forget
to take a better one next week!

My husband and I have cooked and hosted Thanksgiving Dinner every year since we married.  Our conversation at the dinner table last night confirmed, not at all surprisingly, that he agrees with me that we should continue to do this for as long as we possibly can.  One Thanksgiving I received a compliment that I'll never forget... it was that I seemed so calm and was never stressed out while preparing Thanksgiving dinner.  Honestly, I think I sometimes stress about normal daily mealtimes more than I do holiday meals.  We've gotten ourselves into a good groove... we know what to make, when to make it, how to share the space (although I still wish I had a double oven!), and how to enjoy every second in the kitchen.  Thanksgiving Dinner (and Christmas too, since it's identical because we love it so much) is absolutely, positively our favorite meal of the year, and since we find so much joy in it, we figured we should share it with you!

We've toyed around with different side dishes and recipes throughout the years but in the end, this is the final list, and I doubt it will ever change!  I will link to recipes if I have them typed up.  My husband says he will not share the recipe for the turkey but I'll continue to work on that.  I'm realizing that I have a few other recipes to add to the blog to complete the list so stay tuned!

Breakfast:

• Pumpkin Muffins and/or Pumpkin Pancakes 
• or Cinnamon Bites

Main Meal:

• Turkey (the bigger the better, 23.88 pounds this year, a little small for us but the largest they had in the store!)
• Crockpot Cornbread Dressing
• Green Bean Casserole (I follow the recipe on the can of fried onions but I use my own cream soup)
• Mashed Potatoes
• Fried Apples
• Cranberry Sauce
• Biscuits
• Gravy

Dessert:

• Apple Pie (or Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel Topping)
• Pumpkin Pie (with Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust)
• Pecan Pie Cheesecake
• Cookies (something fun for the 3 year old... thinking turkey hands this year or fall leaf colored sugar cookies)

Beverages:

• Apple Cider
• Apple Cider Sangria
• Egg Nog
• Whatever else people prefer

Don't let holiday meals get the best of you... don't let them stress you out!  Let them be filled with love, joy, deliciousness, and memory-making.  It sounds so sappy, but it's so true.  What's on your menu this year?