With just days to go before the big day, I’ve been thinking about what I want to make for the holiday meal. Of course, we’ll have turkey. For us, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving with anything else. We’ll have our jellied cranberry sauce, too, served in my grandmother’s dish. But, everything else is subject to consideration. I’ll link each original recipe post so you can get the pdf downloads on any you are interested in having.

What dressing will I make this year? I do it a bit differently every year. Some years is bacon and leeks, some years have Italian sausage and mushrooms. Sometimes I add wild rice, sometimes I leave it out. I think this year will be onions, leeks and mushrooms with fresh sage. I hate celery, so I use leeks instead. I save bread ends for a couple of months in the freezer so I have the base for the dressing. I like a mix of whole grains and sourdough best. I’m not a fan of cornbread dressing. See my Thanksgiving Dinner post from 2021 for the recipe with variations.

Now the vegetable. We stopped having mashed potatoes with the meal some years ago because it was just too much of a carb load. Dressing/stuffing is enough. So, I’d like the vegetable to be something green, but not green beans (I can’t stand those either). Most years I will make simple steamed broccoli, and sometimes I make my Baked Spinach, recipe and step-by-step tutorial on that post.

Last year it was Charred Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apple. This is a Milk Street recipe, and so good!! I added a drizzle of balsamic glaze to balance the sweetness of the apples.

This year, a salad sounds fresh and tasty, especially with a bit of holiday flair and served on the turkey plates. The salad will be a nicely composed one with mixed greens, feta cheese and dried cranberries, topped off with a bit of fried onions. A drizzle of ranch salad dressing and a bit of balsamic glaze will finish it. I made one last week so I could test it out.

Now, the question becomes, what to eat on Thanksgiving eve? It needs to be something reasonably easy, that won’t result in a lot of leftovers! I like something lighter that meal as well, knowing what is coming the next day. One thing My Sweet Babboo likes is Butternut Squash Lasagne. You can make it a day ahead and bake when you are ready. The best part is after you’ve served dinner, wrap the leftovers and put them in the freezer. You’ll have dinner made for sometime later when you get tired of turkey or ham leftovers.

My Cheesy Baked Acorn Squash could also be a meatless main, or serve it alongside a small pork chop. No leftovers with this meal.

Fall flavor comes alive in my Butternut Squash Soup. Served with a fresh salad and some crusty bread, it is another lighter meal for a cold autumn day.

Shrimp and Grits serves 2 with virtually no leftovers. I make them just a bit differently now than on that post. Instead of putting the shrimp in the grits to cook, I saute them separately in a skillet to get a bit of browning, then serve them on top of the grits. My Sweet Babboo says this ensures all the shrimp gets eaten, and keeps the leftover grits (if there are any) from tasting fishy the next day so he can have them with his breakfast.

While I am making my shopping list for this week, I make sure I have several items in the refrigerator or pantry for creative leftovers. I need a tin of biscuits for turkey and dumplings. I have barbecue sauce to mix with the leftover cranberry sauce for Sloppy Toms. Some corn tortillas, a can of tomatoes with green chilies, my own Taco Seasoning Mix and a can of cheddar cheese soup means I can make enchiladas or quesadillas. Various types of pasta noodles with frozen peas can finish turkey soup, or make a casserole. See my post Holiday Leftovers for more ideas, and recipes, like this Baked Turkey Mornay. I love this dish!

Thanks to Laura, for posting such a nice comment on my Pumpkin Orange Bread on the last Sunday Chat. She pointed out that I haven’t mentioned it in a while. This is certainly the perfect time to bake a couple of loaves! That wonderful aroma fills the house and it becomes impossible to resist a warm slice. Yum! Put an orange on your shopping list, along with a can of pumpkin.

The last decision for the shopping list is the holiday morning breakfast. I usually make my favorite make-ahead egg casserole – Holiday Breakfast Egg Casserole (pdf download recipe). I love that it goes together the night before, then just pop in the oven while the coffee perks. By the time I’ve had my first morning cup, breakfast is ready to eat.

Maybe you’d like something sweet like these Easy Blueberry Turnovers. These are easy and quick, using prepared puff pastry, blueberry pie filling and a simple powdered sugar glaze.

Another idea is my original recipe for Cinnamon Egg Nog French Toast, with a crispy outside and fluffy inside. My Sweet Babboo loves cinnamon so this is one of his favorites. I soften the butter and warm the syrup sometimes, too. A nice thick artisan bread makes the best toast, so I need to add that to the list. Not to mention that a lovely crusty bread goes with leftover turkey sandwiches nicely as well.

I like a nicely cooked egg on top of a slice of ham, maybe this year I’ll do that with some of the artisan bread and garnish with a bit of hollandaise. Yum! I make these using Egg Rings from Amazon. Spray the rings with cooking spray, and place in a pan over medium high heat. Break the eggs into the rings. Add a quarter cup of water to the pan, then cover and cook the eggs for 2 minutes and 45 seconds to get this doneness. The whites are fully cooked, while the yolk is just a bit runny but mostly done.

OK, a long list for the store, but this is the fun part, planning and imagining what we can do for a special day. Have you started planning your holiday meal? What are you making for the holiday breakfast and the big meal?

****************

If you are in the mood to start some holiday shopping, here are the early Black Friday deals this weekend for my affiliate vendors. I really appreciate it when you can use these links to begin your holiday shopping, as they help pay the costs of the blog, keeping obnoxious ads off my posts, and funding the costs of server space, domain, photo storage, shipping prizes, materials for new designs and giveaways. I try to only put these in a post when there is a sale or a deal that might interest you.

Fat Quarter Shop is sew thankful for you all year long, and this season gives us the perfect moment to express it a little louder! To show our appreciation, we’re offering you a FREE Strawberry Garden Book by Fig Tree Quilts with orders $40 and over! Add to your cart, then use promo code: THANKS25. November specials include 20% off the Basic of the Month Shades by Riley Blake, 30% Off the Notions of the Month Guetermann Threads, 30% off featured Patterns of the Month and book of the month from Primitive Gatherings. Then, check out Today’s Flash Sale and see the Precuts of the Week.

Sulky Threads and Stabilizers begins its Black Friday sale early – Get 35% off your entire order with code BLACK35! Also, get free shipping on any order over $60. Then, check out the New Year’s Eve Sew Along from 12pm – 4pm ET, a live streaming event to make a new style of bag, the Lamont. Sew a sling-style bag, complete with clip-on accessories made in the hoop of your embroidery machine. All digital files needed for in-the-hoop sewing are included with the class. Sign up for the class, and get your kit separately in four colorways everything you need to complete the project – fabric, thread, hardware, and stabilizer.

Electric Quilt is offering a 25% discount now with code BlackFriday, including the software, books, block encyclopedia and add-ons for fabric and more blocks. Sale ends November 30.

Milk Street is having a great Black Friday Sneak Peek 30% Off! with code SNEAKPEEK30. Click on the store, and check out the Milk Street Holiday Catalog.