Ten Things to Help with Thanksgiving
DLTK has a whole page here of Thanksgiving-themed activities for kids (I like the printable bookmarks.)
In addition to their annual Turkey Talk-Line® (1-800-288-8372; call weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Standard Time) Butterball.com has short videos on how to choose, thaw, stuff, roast and carve a turkey.
Melissa Clark has an excellent article here on what cooking and prep you can do before Thanksgiving Day to make your dinner easier to handle.
Cooking Light's Holiday celebration page includes links to a gluten-free menu and vegetarian recipes.
Food Network has their annual Thanksgiving page here, including a recipe for the World's Simplest Thanksgiving Turkey.
Give back: share the bounty with those having tough times by donating non-perishable foods to your local churches, food banks or via food purchase donations at your local grocery store.
Hostess Gifts: if you're having dinner elsewhere this year, the nicest thing you can do is offer to bring something to contribute to the meal. With the turkey taking up the oven most of the day, warm homemade rolls or bread are a nice treat (and can be used with leftovers for turkey sandwiches.) Kids don't always love pumpkin pie, so a batch of Toll House cookies may make you their hero. If you don't cook consider giving your hostess a neat cooking tool, pan or other kitchen helper. A gift card for a meal at your hosts' favorite restaurant is also a lovely way to reciprocate. One year a visiting friend gave us a new set of reusable food containers, which I am still using.
How to Make Edible Fruit Centerpieces
My No Brainer Fudge Recipe (#5 on the list here.) It's the richest and easiest fudge you'll ever make; no candy thermometer required.
For a special dessert I love apple strudel, as it makes a nice, light change from traditional pie. Here's a good recipe from Pepperidge Farm using their frozen puff pastry.
Got any great links for Thanksgiving helps or hints? Share them in comments.
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One of my favorite T-day desserts is cranberry-apple crisp, a healthy alternative to pie crust.
ReplyDeleteThe local groc. store makes it easy to donate to the food bank, and it's also the time of year when giving trees pop up around town to help out families in need.
And in simplifying the holidays, last year I cooked all day and then found out the cafeteria at Fort Worden served Thanksgiving dinner and said, "WHY didn't we do that? Next year!" Seriously, eating out can be a great way to keep your holiday eating from carrying over for days and free up your time to enjoy your family.