No-Fail Thanksgiving Menu Ideas - Easy and Delicious Recipes

While Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year to remember your blessings, enjoy great food, and spend time with your loved ones, it can also be very hectic and sometimes downright frustrating. But it doesn't have to be. Over the past few years I've collected and put together new strategies to make this holiday as easy as possible, without sacrificing the mouth-watering goodness.

One of these strategies is to make a menu that is as easy to put together as possible. When you have a lot of complicated recipes, you will find yourself not only spending all day in the kitchen, but rushing to get everything done at once. There aren't many people I know who actually enjoy that, and I'm sure not one of them. So here are some easy and relatively quick recipes that I have found helps make the holiday much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Appetizers

As far as these go, I personally have always loved keeping them basic. You don't need to go fancy to have delicious food. That is, unless you really want to spend much more time putting things together. But that's up to you. If you're like me and would rather not spend most of the day doing this, then you just might appreciate these quick and easy recipes - all of which you can make the night before.

Salami Pickle Rolls

- Package of salami (size depends on how many people you're entertaining)
- Jar of miniature sweet pickles
- 1 package cream cheese

1. Cut each pickle into quarters lengthwise.

2. Spread a fair amount of cream cheese on each salami slice.

3. Place a pickle piece on each slice, roll up, and hold together with a toothpick.

Easy Nachos

- Bag of circular tortilla chips
- 1 16 oz. can refried beans
- 1 4 oz. can chopped olives
- 1 CUP salsa
- 1 CUP shredded cheddar

1. On a plate (or two), spread out the tortilla chips in a single layer. Spread each chip with a fair amount of refried beans. Top with olives, salsa, and cheese.

2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready, heat in the microwave for about 40 seconds, or until cheese is fully melted.

Quick and Easy Spinach Dip

- 1 loaf Artisan bread
- 1 16 oz. container of sour cream
- 1 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach - thawed and well-drained
- 1 CUP Miracle Whip
- 1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix

1. Starting at the top of the bread loaf, cut a circle and remove the center. Make sure you leave behind at least a 1-inch-thick crust. Cut the bread you just removed into smaller pieces and place in a separate, resealable bag.

2. Combine all other ingredients and spoon into the bread shell. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours (or overnight). Serve with the extra bread pieces.

Main Dishes

Sweet Potato Casserole

- 1 large can sweet potatoes (or 4 CUPS fresh potatoes, peeled and cubed)
- 1 CUP sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 CUP margarine, melted
- 1 CUP evaporated milk
- 1 TSP nutmeg
- 1 TSP cinnamon
- 2 CUPS miniature marshmallows
- 1/2 CUP brown sugar
- 1 CUP pecans, chopped (optional)
- 3/4 CUP margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with margarine.

2. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Mix together with sugar, eggs, 3/4 CUP margarine, evaporated milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and marshmallows. Scoop the mixture into the baking dish.

3. Bake 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender.

4. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, pecans (if desired) and remaining 3/4 CUP margarine. Spread over the baked casserole. Return to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

- 2 10 oz. packages of frozen, cut broccoli
- 2 TBSP margarine
- 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 1 CUP milk
- 1 package of cream cheese
- 1/2 CUP shredded cheddar
- 1 CUP bread crumbs tossed with 3 TBSP melted margarine

1. Cook broccoli according to package; drain. Put broccoli in a 1 and a 1/2 QT. casserole dish.

2. In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the margarine. Slowly blend in the flour. Add the milk and mix well. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Reduce the heat to low and add the cream cheese - mix until very smooth.

3. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and mix. Top with the shredded cheese and sprinkle bread crumbs over the top. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes.

Basic Sides that Never Fail

To go along with the main dinner without having to prepare much more, I always make sure to include a few smaller sides.

- Green beans: Normally, to save time, I just get them canned. To add my own flair I usually cook some bacon in a frying pan and then add it to the cooking beans, juice and all. Once in awhile, for something even more different, I'll add a tiny bit of chopped garlic.

- Mashed potatoes: I've always looked at these, along with the turkey, as a must-have for Thanksgiving. Whether you make your own from scratch or pour it out of a box, it's something I've never been able to do without. What else are you going to pour that yummy turkey gravy on?

- Canned cranberries: Normally I buy them in both sauce form and whole form, to appeal to the tastes of everyone.

- Hawaiian bread rolls: Heated in the oven and lightly spread with butter, these sweet-tasting rolls are hard to beat.

So there you have it. A basic menu that I use myself just about every Thanksgiving, and still have plenty of time leftover to spend with my family.