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Colorado mountain condo...4 adults (2 "real" adults LOL and 2 20 yr old young men)
Since we won't be home, taking a few shortcuts.....
Turkey
Dressing
Mashed potatoes/gravy
Rolls (already made - bag from Costco)
Cranberry sauce - whole berry
Broccoli/cauliflower salad with peanuts and bacon. I usually make this from scratch but saw a close version of what I make as a premade (Joan's Broccoli Madness from Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes) at Costco and grabbed it.
Corn
Crudite plater
a pumpkin pie and a fruit pie of some sort.
Plan on working off the high carbs by walking ;snowshoeing and skiing/snowboarding over the course of the week. So no guilt
Starters: Mulled cider in the crockpot, olive/walnut/cream cheese dip with celery and crackers, spiced pecans
Main event:
Roasted turkey and gravy
Mashed potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes
Sausage, celery, and onion white bread "stuffing"
Cornbread dressing
Green beans with slivered almonds
Cranberry sauce
Rice salad
Berries
Pumpkin and pecan pie
I am splitting cooking duties with a friend. We are serving 7-9 and I look forward to lots of leftovers, which are the best part!
But just in case I get snowed in, I'll accept a doggie bag.
sure!! i do let guests take doggie bags
this may sound odd, but when my son, and nieces and nephews were younger, I always set an extra plate-no matter how many we had, that extra plate id call "the unknown guest" it was a symbol, that if anyone in our family knew someone that was hungry, or on rough times, they were always welcome, without judgement- and we would give thanks for them to be joining us - some years, it could be one of the kids' friends who's parents are going thru a tough divorce, or it could be someones elderly neighbor, that spouse just died,,it could be someone brand new to town, that had no friends or family.
"the unknown guest" kept us all in check on humility and understanding, especially, the kids, while some wanted to ask questions of a stranger amongst us, the adults would just encourage the kids- how it feels good to be generous, and supportive of someone in need. and dont ask a question, that you wouldnt want to answer yourself in front of people you dont know., if it was an adult guest, they would usually offer up a thank you that would hit the kids (and adults) pretty hard, and sometimes they wouldnt say much at all, just teary-eyed.
I started this- for mostly the kids,,,,that there will always be someone less fortunate, and to not look down on them-you could be them someday, be careful in casting judgements, it was humbling for all of us-
I was laughing with someone today about my Thanksgiving dinner menu. It will be myself and my 3 young adult sons at the meal. All 3 of the boys have very simple tastes. If I make some fancy cranberry salad, rice pilaf, sweet potato casserole, green beans with onion, they won't even take a bite. I will have a fridge full of leftovers no one will touch. I am making your basic simple NO FRILLS Thanksgiving. We are having turkey, stove-top stuffing, canned cranberries and bisquits from a container. They will love it though!
Yum! I want the recipe for those roasted sweet potatoes with red onions and balsamic vinegar! And your mashed turnips - if you please. Those both sound delish.
I also want the recipe for the creamed onions, whoever mentioned those!
This is the recipe that I've been using for several years now. It's a bit different than what I grew up with...but I think it tastes better, (my mother is probably turning in her grave).
this may sound odd, but when my son, and nieces and nephews were younger, I always set an extra plate-no matter how many we had, that extra plate id call "the unknown guest" it was a symbol, that if anyone in our family knew someone that was hungry, or on rough times, they were always welcome, without judgement- and we would give thanks for them to be joining us - some years, it could be one of the kids' friends who's parents are going thru a tough divorce, or it could be someones elderly neighbor, that spouse just died,,it could be someone brand new to town, that had no friends or family.
"the unknown guest" kept us all in check on humility and understanding, especially, the kids, while some wanted to ask questions of a stranger amongst us, the adults would just encourage the kids- how it feels good to be generous, and supportive of someone in need. and dont ask a question, that you wouldnt want to answer yourself in front of people you dont know., if it was an adult guest, they would usually offer up a thank you that would hit the kids (and adults) pretty hard, and sometimes they wouldnt say much at all, just teary-eyed.
I started this- for mostly the kids,,,,that there will always be someone less fortunate, and to not look down on them-you could be them someday, be careful in casting judgements, it was humbling for all of us-
I did this with my kids too and it's a great tradition that our family still continues. I mean, we don't set an empty plate, but we all make it a mission in the weeks leading up to TG and Christmas to be sure that everyone we know has a family to spend these days with, and we often "pick up strays." Being a military family, we've often had three or four soldiers in our homes for the holidays and they've always been such a blessing, and obviously loved being included as well.
Lest you think we're always on the giving end, I've actually been a stray myself a time or two due to our extremely mobile military family - once every few years everyone is scattered to the four winds, the weather is bad, and my husband is working out of state, so I have to either find a place to spend the holiday, volunteer somewhere, or be alone on that holiday (not an option in my book!).
What goes around comes around, I figure.
This year all my kids live out of the area - two in Guam, one in England, and one five hours away with plans of his own. My husband is working out of state and won't even have the day off. My parents live four hours away, are very independent and were prepared to spend the holiday alone - but we put our heads together and realized that even in our extended family we have some "loners" who may have nowhere to go. So we started making calls and came up with a list of cousins and other relatives who weren't attached to anyone, and now we're all getting together and we're all very excited!
It made me feel very good for several of my friends to immediately offer me TG dinner with their families when I told them that my husband was not going to be home. When we open our homes to others, it's such a blessing to their spirits. If this extended family thing hadn't come together, I would have gladly spent the holiday with a friend's family and been very grateful. It really means a lot to those who would otherwise be alone.
I was laughing with someone today about my Thanksgiving dinner menu. It will be myself and my 3 young adult sons at the meal. All 3 of the boys have very simple tastes. If I make some fancy cranberry salad, rice pilaf, sweet potato casserole, green beans with onion, they won't even take a bite. I will have a fridge full of leftovers no one will touch. I am making your basic simple NO FRILLS Thanksgiving. We are having turkey, stove-top stuffing, canned cranberries and bisquits from a container. They will love it though!
Hey, whatever works! The great thing is, you will all be together!
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