No Fail Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

No Fail Thanksgiving Menu Ideas When it comes to Thanksgiving, you can't help but get sentimental and remember holidays when you were a child. It makes you feel warm, loved and comfortable. So why not strive for that feeling at your dinner table this Thanksgiving. It's time for an old fashioned Thanksgiving. I don't mean to dress up in pilgrim clothing, but fix a dinner like you remember as a child. In my family, we always had the traditional meal: Turkey, mash potatoes, green beans, corn, macaroni salad, rolls and dessert. My mom would work all day long just for a fifteen minute dinner.

To see the joy on our faces was her satisfaction. Since I started my own family, 14 years ago, I wanted to make sure my children had a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner every year. I now have five children so I will be cooking for quite some time. To keep my Thanksgiving dinner from getting old year after year, I change one thing a year. For instance, instead of mash potatoes, I might have scalloped potatoes. I might change the dessert menu a little. But basically I use the same recipes. If your going to do a lot of entertaining this Thanksgiving, let's talk about some ways you can get ready before everyone arrives so that you can enjoy your holiday season too. If you think you don't need any suggestions and tips, take a minute and think about how hectic things were last year right before guest arrived.

The first thing to do is decorate if you really want to set the mood. Drag out your old traditional decor or go out and update. It really doesn't cost a lot to update and there is even some time saving and money saving crafts that you can do at home to personalize your decor. So, decorations are up, now what? It's time to plan your menu. What are you going to serve this year? Are you going to go traditional or are you going to try something new? My advice is to do both. Don't change the dishes you were complimented on last year.

Change the ones no one picked out and spoke of in particular. Next, decide what you are going to serve to early arrivers, those that show up about a half an hour before you told them to because they thought you might need some help. Maybe have a cheese log and crackers on hand. Cheese logs are very simple to make. Next, decide what drinks you are going to serve such as tea, coffee, pop, juice, punch, alcohol, etc. Even these details need considered. Finally, what is on your dessert menu? This is the highlight of the event, the big finale. When do you start preparing for this wonderful event? Start getting things together one week ahead of time.

You can have desserts and salads made the day before. You can also do slicing, cutting, dicing, chopping and put it in containers and set it in the fridge. Then when you start to put everything together, your time is cut in half. Everyone tries to clean house while dinner is cooking. This is Way too much. Just like preparing your meals, you need to start your housecleaning a week in advance. Do one room a day starting with the room least used. The day before, just take a few minutes to dust and straighten and you are done. The thing is, we work so hard to make Thanksgiving special. Don't forget that you're the reason it turns out so good.

Go traditional. You can't fail. Some of my traditional recipes are below. Scalloped Potatoes: You will need: 6 medium potatoes sliced 1 Cup Milk 1 medium Onion 5-7 slices of cheese 4 tsp. butter Slice potatoes thin and place in greased casserole dish. Slice onions on top of potatoes. Add butter. Pour in milk then top with cheese. Bake covered in 450 degree oven until potatoes are done. Macaroni and Cheese Bake You will need: 1 Cup Elbow Macaroni Dash each of Salt and Pepper 1/4 Cup chopped Onion 11/4 Cup Milk 1 Tbsp. Butter 2 Cups American Cheese 1 Tbsp. Flour Cook macaroni. Meanwhile you need to make your cheese sauce. First in your saucepan melt butter and onions. Cook onions in butter until tender. Don't let them turn brown. Add milk and stir until slightly thick and starting to bubble. Add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add drained macaroni to cheese sauce.

Next, put mixture into your casserole dish. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing You will need: 1 Cup Finely Chopped Celery 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion 1/2 Cup Butter 1 tsp. sage, crushed 8 Cups Dry Bread Cubes 1 Cup Water Salt and Pepper to taste In a saucepan, cook celery and onion in butter until tender. Remove from heat and add to a greased casserole dish. Stir in sage, salt and pepper and bread crumbs. Pour water and toss gently. Bake at 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.