Thanksgiving Planning

Plan your Thanksgiving meal with Thanksgiving recipe ideas from Simply Recipes

 

Roast Turkey

We roast our turkey breast-side down to help the turkey cook more evenly for the best, most succulent turkey.

Turkey Gravy

After roasting your turkey you should have some lovely pan drippings with which to make turkey gravy! It’s easy to make it while the turkey rests.

Turkey Stuffing

There is only one stuffing our family will have for Thanksgiving, and this turkey stuffing is it. It’s made with French bread croutons that have toasted in butter, walnuts, onion, celery, apple, and green olives.

Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

My father takes charge of the mashed potatoes, and his secret? Use creamy, buttery Yukon Golds. This, with plenty of butter, is how you make perfect mashed potatoes (and the best volcanos for turkey gravy!)

Cranberry Sauce

What is a turkey dinner without cranberry sauce? Not a proper turkey dinner if you ask my father. He loves the stuff so much he buys frozen cranberries in bulk to last him all year.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed with maple syrup, spices, and orange zest, then baked with a crumbly pecan topping, yum!

Brussels Sprouts

There are so many ways to enjoy Brussels sprouts. You can have them roasted, baked in a cheesy gratin, or boiled and served with toasted almonds.

Baked Acorn Squash

Here’s a classic! Score the inside of acorn squash, sprinkle with butter and brown sugar, and bake until browned and caramelized.

Green Beans

Everybody has their favorite green bean recipe and this simple buttery green beans with toasted almonds and thyme is mine. An unfussy side for the fussiest meal of the year.

The PIES

After the turkey, the potatoes and gravy and the sides, there is of course the PIES. Since there is no agreement among our family members as to which of the classic pies to make, we make all of them—apple, pumpkin, and pecan. That way everyone’s happy and we have plenty of pies for breakfast the next day!

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Finally, there’s turkey soup…

If you have roasted a turkey for Thanksgiving, you’ll have a lovely turkey carcass with which to make turkey soup. My mother’s favorite turkey soup is this classic with carrots, celery, onions, and plenty of egg noodles.

I’ve taken to making a Curried Turkey Soup, a sort of “mulligatawny” which is a fun spin on the classic with apples and curry.