Thanksgiving Tips Part 1 – The Details of Menu Planning

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Holidays, Meal, organization, planning, Thanksgiving

Last year I posted a series of Thanksgiving related posts discussing everything from planning to recipes. Since most of you started following my blog after that time, I thought I would re-blog some of these entries. I really enjoy the Thanksgiving meal and would love to help others learn to make a delicious meal while keeping stress to a minimum. If you haven’t already, follow my blog to see my Thanksgiving series.

Inside Kel's Kitchen

It’s probably no surprise that November is this foodie girl’s favorite month to cook. In addition to it being the beginning of soup and slow cooker season, it also means Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner!!! I love cooking it and I love eating it! Because I have cooked Thanksgiving dinner numerous times over the years for groups both big and small, I think I have really developed my large meal preparation skills. Over the next few weeks, I would like to write a few blog entries highlighting recipes, strategies and techniques that you all might find helpful in preparing your own Thanksgiving meal.

My goal for the Thanksgiving meal is to serve delicious food, while trying to keep it healthy and not killing myself with the stress. This is where careful planning comes into play. My Thanksgiving days are usually pretty relaxing as I get…

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Thanksgiving Tips Part 2 – Making That Grocery List and Shopping

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Cooking, Food, groceries, grocery, holiday, Holidays, list, menu, planning, Thanksgiving, Tips

  

Here are my Thanksging tips continued from yesterday’s post…

1. Decide what to make and what to buy. I’m not a great baker and my husband LOVES the sweet rolls from our WinCo grocery store, so I buy the rolls. I also haven’t been blown away by homemade cranberry sauce, so I use the canned stuff and maybe just add some orange zest to it. That’s just me! You might have some awesome recipes for these items, but if you can shave time off for yourself where it makes sense, it’s helpful.

3. Make your grocery list

a. It’s a big dinner, so attention to detail on this step is important. You don’t want to have to run to the store at the last minute, so plan your grocery list carefully.

b. Go dish by dish and carefully write down every ingredient you’ll need for each dish, including any toppings, seasonings, or sides. Of course, don’t buy stuff you already have, so pay close attention and even if you already have it, make sure you have enough.

c. Consider the number of guests you’ll have and if you’re doubling/tripling recipes and take this in to account as you plan the ingredients you’ll need and make your list

4. Shop! 

This can be done a few days in advance, especially if you’re buying a frozen turkey as those take a few days to defrost. I always try to buy a fresh turkey though. You don’t want to shop too far in advance though and have produce go bad.