Thanksgiving Planner and Timeline

I had such a nice and easy time this year preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. I took my time, made ahead a little each day. Scheduled time to relax with my family each day. One day we went out to a buffet, one day we went to the movies and enjoyed Thanksgiving themed crafts. Each night we all cuddled on the couch and it was just lovely. The timeline worked so nicely, I decided to blog about it for next year.

A week or two ahead:

Plan menu

Review all recipe and cross check with your pantry

Make shopping list

Purchase all necessary ingredients

Buy frozen turkey and place in refrigerator to thaw (takes a week)

Made Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes and placed them in the deep freezer

Monday:

Make Fresh Loaves of Bread

Make Fresh Pie crusts

Peel, Slice Bake/Boil Sweet Potatoes

Take Potatoes out of Deep Freezer an put in refrigerator

Tuesday:

Turn Fresh loaf of bread into Croutons

Make Carrot Souffle

Make Cranberry Sauce

Wednesday:

Make Pies (cheesecake, mousse pie, pumpkin)

Make cream soup

Make French Fried Onions (leave out on cookie sheet or they will get soft)

Chop Veggies for Stuffing

Make Brine for Turkey

Wednesday Night:

Place thawed turkey in brine overnight

Vacuum and Mop

Thanksgiving Day:

AM:

Make fresh loaves of bread for Breakfast/Dinner

Add onions to oven to re-crisp if necessary

Cook Onions and Celery for Stuffing & Make Stuffing (allow to cool)

Place Carrot Souffle in Crock Pot

Clean up and wash all dishes (put away)

Mid Morning:

Set Table

(If using linens that need ironing, do so a few days before)

11 am:

Make Sweet Tea

Prep and set out small snacks and finger sandwiches

2 PM:

Whip fresh cream for pies

Brew Coffee if serving

3PM:

Take Turkey out and Tent

Place sides in oven

Make Turkey Gravy

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Chocolate Mousse Pie with Pecan Crust

Crust:
2 cup chopped toasted pecans
5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter (cut into small pieces)

Filling:

6 oz bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon Orange Liquor (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
shaved chocolate for garnish (optional)

Mix the pecans, butter, and sugar in food processor until butter and pecans are finely chopped and everything mixes evenly together. Press pecan mixture into pie pan bottom and up the sides.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly

In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, vanilla, orange liquor, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Whisk in until smooth and pale yellow.

Place egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and orange liquor over double boiler and continue to whisk over simmering water until thickened.

Remove from heat and continue to whisk until cooled, but not cold.

*CAUTION: Must be cool before you add chocolate or chocolate will overcook*

Add chocolate to sugar mixture and stir until combined

Whip 1 cup of whipping cream to soft peaks and fold into chocolate mixture.

Pour the chocolate mousse into the prepared pie shell and chill for at least 1 hour.

Add 1/4 cup sugar to the rest of the cream (1 1/2 cups) and whip. Top the pie. Garnish with shaved chocolate, if desired.

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Amazing Chocolate Pecan Pie

1 pre made pie crust (gluten-free if necessary)
Bake chilled pie crust at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Let cool.

Filling:
10 oz premium dark chocolate, minimum 60%
cocoa solids, chopped
2 oz butter, melted and cooled
8 oz (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar
9 oz heavy cream
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
12 oz pecan halves, roughly chopped in half again

Melt chocolate over a double boiler of barely simmering water. Mix together brown sugar, heavy cream, eggs, butter and vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate. Add pecans. Pour into the par baked pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Check pie crust at 30 minutes and cover with foil if browning too much.

Recipe courtesy of Deerfields

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The Best New York Style Cheesecake Recipe Ever

1 cup Graham Cracker or Cookie Crumbs
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter, Room Temperature
1/2 cup Finely Chopped Nuts (optional)

5 (8 ounce) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
3 tablespoons Flour blend
5 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon, rind of (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan with foil (parchment can also be used) and spray with oil.

For Crust:

• Combine the crackers/cookies and butter, mix well. Stir in the nuts. 
• Press the mixture into the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 8 minutes.  
• Set aside to cool.  
• Spray cooled inside of pan with oil.

For Cake:

Lower oven temperature to 500 degrees.

• Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer.
• Beat with an electric mixer on lowest speed until fluffy.
• Add flour and eggs / egg yolks one at a time, beating on low speed until just combined.
• Stir in sour cream and lemon rind (optional).
• Pour into pan.
• Place pan in a slightly larger shallow baking pan.
• Fill baking pan with enough hot water until half way up the sides of the pan.
• Bake for 12 minutes.
• Reduce Oven Temperature to 325 degree F oven about 1-1/2 hours or until center appears nearly set when shaken.
• Cool 15 minutes.
• Loosen crust from sides of pan by running a knife around the edges.  Leave sides still on.
• Cool 30 minutes more.
• Remove sides of pan and cool completely in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours before serving.

Notes:

1. To make these into Cupcakes, eliminate the 500 degrees for 12 minutes step.  
2. Place 1 tablespoon of crumbs in each cupcake liner, spray with oil and bake as instructed.
3. Place about 3 to 4  tablespoons of batter into each cupcake cup.
4. Put a separate pan of water in the oven when making this into cupcakes instead of the water bath.
5. Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes.
6. Turn oven off and open door.  Leave cupcakes to cool for about an hour.  This step prevents the middles from sinking.
7. It is important to not over mix this cake.  Over mixing will result in sinkage and cracking.

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Crisp Crusted Pork or Chicken

I just loved the coating on this recipe.

1 frying chicken (3 to 3 1/4 lb.)
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 c. instant potato flakes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. butte

Wash chicken and pat dry. Beat egg and milk in bowl. Another bowl, mix potato flakes, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese. Roll chicken in egg mix, then potato flakes mixture.

Melt butter in shallow baking pan. Roll coated chicken pieces in the butter and place skin side up in pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until juices from thighs run clear when pierced with fork. Garnish.

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Menu Plan Monday: Week of November 23rd, 2009

Monday:

Pork Cutlets breaded with potato flakes

Tuesday:

Fried Chicken and Fries

Wednesday:

Smashed Peas, sausage over Pasta (long wide rice pasta)

Thursday:

Thanksgiving Dinner

Friday:

Turkey Rice Soup

Saturday:

Shepherds Pie

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Thanksgiving Dinner

This post is the grand finale of all my planned thanksgiving recipes. The complete list. This year everything is made from scratch with whole foods. No preservatives, nothing artificial. Oh, and no Gluten either. This would not be the first time I attempted this made from scratch dinner, but the first time that I'm a stay at home mom and have the time to do it right.

I expect a visit from my mother right after Thanksgiving so I've been making extras of things to serve when she was here (see potato week post). Make ahead mashed potatoes, Gnocchi, twice baked sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, cream soup to use for cooking. This goes along with all my usual make ahead things (meatloaf, meatballs, hamburgers, chicken pieces (2 cup portions), ground beef base.

So here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for. The complete list of recipes:

• Thanksgiving Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Carrot Souffle
• Candied Yams
• Green Bean Casserole
• Buttered Corn
• Cranberry Sauce
• Turkey Gravy
• Pumpkin Bread

Dessert:

• Chocolate Mousse Pie with Pecan Crust
• Amazing Chocolate Pecan Pie
• New York Style Cheesecake

All of my recipes this year are budget friendly. Turkey we secured for free though hubby's work. Stuffing I'm making from scratch so the cost of the flour ($3 for my specialty flour). Potatoes were $2.99 for 20 lb bag last week. I got about 10 make ahead dishes out of those 20 pounds. so thats $.60 cents for two trays for Thanksgiving dinner. Carrots were $.99 cents for a 2 lb bag on manager special. Yams were 4 x $.25. each. The green beans and corn I secured for $.50 a bag at the big veggie event at Kroger. Making my own French fried onions. Cranberries were super duper expensive ~ lol ~ $2.50 a bag. Can of DOLE pineapple was free from Kroger event. Turkey gravy free from drippings and can of pumpkin with coupon, about $.50 cents. I had coupons for Domino sugar ($1 off 2) and Kroger also had them $10 for 10 so even this ingredient was cheap. Including other various inredients (milk, butter, sour cream, sugars, etc) I spent about 15 dollars this year.

I don't think I have ever managed to do Thanksgiving for such little money. We used to budget $300 dollars for Thanksgiving food. Maybe next year I still should and donate the rest to shelters (turkeys). Because in my opinion, if you have turkey you have thanksgiving dinner.

Being Gluten Free I dont use canned gravy. I like having home made fresh gravy in my freezer stash anyway. So when my sister makes the two turkeys in her oven she typically throws the bones away. I'm going over her house after to take the bones off her hands and make myself more stock.

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