Recently my husband and I were craving something different. We’ve played out all of our go-to favorite meals lately and were really in the mood to indulge in something special. My first thought? Cook a Thanksgiving menu!
First things first: I made a list of what we would eat and laid out the corresponding cookware for each dish. I decided to skip the fancy serveware since it would just be us and I didn’t want to do more dishes than absolutely necessary.
Our menu consisted of:
Herb roasted turkey breast with gravy
Garlic butter and rolls
Corn
Broccoli
Buttermilk mashed potatoes
Roasted brussel sprouts
Roasted acorn squash with cumin yogurt dressing
Roasted carrots
Peanut butter chocolate pretzel pie
This menu was great because it provided us with warm meals and leftovers for days, which I love. There’s something so special about the flavors of Thanksgiving- I never get tired of them!
To streamline this process, I cut a few corners that I would recommend you do, too:
Start the turkey FIRST and allow it to rest once it’s cooked through- check the internal temperature with a thermometer. If you buy a frozen breast (like I did), be sure to thaw it in the fridge a few days before you plan to cook it.
Skip homemade rolls and instead opt for homemade garlic butter!
I heated up frozen corn (no one was the wiser)
Roasting vegetables is a low impact activity- you simply stick them in the oven and enjoy them when they’re golden brown!
I made the pie the day before so it had time to chill in the fridge and really set up (it’s also one less thing to do the day of)
Dips and dressings can really amp up your side dishes. The dressing for the acorn squash was simply greek yogurt, cumin, garlic powder, chili flakes, lime, salt and pepper. You can pre-mix this the day before- just give it a good stir before serving.
This was a super fun and festive weekend full of cooking and eating and all the wonderful parts of the holidays...the only things missing were the family and friends we love to share this meal with!
If you find yourself having to socially distance or change your holiday plans altogether this year, know that you CAN cook a delicious meal in your own kitchen. Oh, and wine always helps ;)
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