Thanksgiving Dinner: Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Meal

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is no easy feat. There's the turkey, of course (or some other largely important main course, if yours is a family that dislikes turkey), which takes up a great deal of time. But the main dish really isn't what takes up most of the cook's time in the kitchen; preparing side dishes and desserts is what keeps Thanksgiving cooks laboring away for hours and hours. Is there anything that can be done about this situation?

There are dozens of tips and tricks out there for simplifying your Thanksgiving meal. For instance, there's the idea of asking various family members to bring side dishes and/or desserts to have more of a potluck-style Thanksgiving. This can work - if you have other people who can cook coming to your get-together. Another idea I have seen is to buy prepared foods to serve to your family, either online or locally. That is a good idea, if your family doesn't rebel against the idea and if you can afford it; buying Thanksgiving dinner can be quite expensive.

I have another tip that you may not have considered. What is my idea? Let the kids cook! Now, before you start shaking your head at the very thought, let me explain. I'm not suggesting that you allow young children to hang out in the kitchen while the head cook is working on the turkey or a complicated side dish. What I propose is that you find a simple recipe or two that one adult can lead the children in making - recipes that can be a part of the Thanksgiving dinner.

Why is this a great idea? Two reasons. First of all, it will get the kids out of everyone's way, keeping them engaged in a meaningful (but fun) activity. The kids will get a sense of pride out of being able to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal in such a big way. Usually, kids are relegated to making crafts or going off to play out of the way while the adults work on the dinner. By getting the kids to help out with the dinner, you are showing them that they are valuable members of your family. So, what is the second reason? It's simple - if you allow the kids to help out in making a dish or two for the Thanksgiving meal, that means that the adult cook has less work to do! This is a win-win situation here!

Perhaps you are wondering what kinds of recipes would be easy enough for kids to cook that would be suitable for a Thanksgiving dinner. There are actually quite a lot of delicious recipes you can find on the Internet that would serve this purpose quite well. You will want to choose recipes that do not have a lot of adult-only preparation (such as slicing and dicing). Look for dishes that have a good deal of activities that kids can do, such as mixing, pouring, adding ingredients and blending. Try searching for suitable recipes on Easy Kids Recipes, Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious and AllRecipes.com.

In case you don't want to search, though, here are a few of my favorites that kids can make that would make great additions to any Thanksgiving dinner. Here's one, adapted from a recipe on Easy Kids Recipes:

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled by an adult
½ stick butter
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Boil the sweet potatoes until soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Have kids mash them in a bowl. Let kids add remaining ingredients, one at a time, mixing well. Serve warm.

Here's a great side dish that is prepared in the slow cooker. I adapted this from a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com.

Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
1 16-oz package frozen corn kernels
1 8-oz package cream cheese
½-cup butter
½-cup milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Let kids use a dull knife to cut the cream cheese into squares. Have the kids add the corn to the slow cooker; then have them add the cream cheese, butter, milk and sugar. Allow the kids to stir lightly. Cook on high for two to four hours or low for four to six hours.

You can even have the kids prepare a tasty dessert for the family! I adapted the recipe below from one I found on Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious.

Frozen Pumpkin Pie

3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
½-cup packed brown sugar
¼-teaspoon salt
½-teaspoon cinnamon
¼-teaspoon ginger
¼-teaspoon nutmeg
1 9-inch graham cracker crust

Have kids put the softened ice cream into a large mixing bowl. Then let kids add the remaining ingredients, one at a time, mixing well. It doesn't matter if the ice cream gets really soft at this point; the dessert needs to be mixed well. Help the kids pour the ice cream mixture into the graham cracker crust. Freeze for four hours or until firm.

There are a lot of other recipes that you can adapt to allow the kids at your Thanksgiving gathering to make. And just think, the more you let the kids make, the less the adults have to prepare, right? Plus, fixing Thanksgiving dinner this way really is more fun for everyone. Give it a try this year - I'm sure you will agree.