Last Minute Shopping for Thanksgiving Dinner

Plans fell through and now you're stuck fixing Thanksgiving dinner. That wouldn't normally be a problem. After all, you're an excellent cook. There's only one tiny, little problem. It's the night before Thanksgiving. Chances are many ingredients are sold out, including turkeys. How are you going to prepare a delicious Thanksgiving dinner on such a short notice? Easy. You follow these tips and do some last minute Thanksgiving dinner shopping.

Turkey Substitutes

There's a good chance that most stores will be sold out of turkeys, and even turkey breasts, the night before Thanksgiving. You may get lucky and find turkey tenderloins, but don't count on it. This isn't a problem though. Cornish game hens are a wonderful substitute. Not only are they rich, but they work well with other Thanksgiving side dishes. You could also purchase duck or, in the worst case scenario, chicken. Either way, this is the least of your worries.

Gravy

If you rely on jarred gravy for Thanksgiving, you're probably going to be disappointed when you head down the grocery aisle. Many people rely on this quick solution. You can always get a dried gravy mix, but you're really better off purchasing some butter, chicken stock and flour to mix with the drippings from your meat. Not only is homemade gravy less expensive, but it tastes better as well.

Potatoes

Grocery stores usually have potatoes on sale for Thanksgiving. The only downside is that everyone is basically cooking the same meal that week and you'd be lucky to find raw sweet potatoes to prepare, let alone russet potatoes. Don't worry. You have several options. You can always use red skinned potatoes for mashing, but you could also use this dilemma to create a more gourmet option, such as roasted fingerling potatoes. If you have your heart set on regular mashed potatoes though, do not buy instant. Instead, go to the refrigerated section and purchase a tub of pre-made mashed potatoes. They might not taste homemade, but they'll be a lot closer than instant.

Dessert

Don't even bother heading down the freezer aisle for your favorite brand of pumpkin pie. Those are long gone. The store's bakery is probably sold out too. You probably won't even find pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin puree and you certainly don't have time to roast a pumpkin. That's okay. Pumpkin pie may be the favorite pie of Thanksgiving, but it's not the only flavor worthy of the dinner table. Pecan, apple and apple cranberry are a few good options and sweet potato is certainly a close second to pumpkin. You may even want to try something new.