Thanksgiving Planning

Less than a week to Thanksgiving, and I’m planning what to cook, so we can shop later today. It’s only my husband and myself for Thanksgiving, which makes our celebration a bit different from most people’s. Of course we’ll emphasize an abundance of healthy foods, and I still plan to cook quite a lot so we can enjoy leftovers afterwards. So what’s on the tentative menu? Rather than a whole bird, we’ll just make a breast, since we both like that part the best. It cooks faster too, and is lower in fat. Gravy is likely going to be store bought, its a much healthier alternative to most homemade recipes, plus we both only use a spoon or two, so why put in all the work?

Val is a potato-lover, so mashed potatoes are a must. Me being the veggie lover, I want to have roasted vegetables: beets, parsnips, and carrots tossed with olive oil and rosemary. I also want to make some Brussels sprouts, but haven’t settled on a recipe yet. (I’m leaning toward roasting them too, just tossed in some olive oil, with maybe some bits of ham or carmelized onions….) I also had a great butternut squash side dish at a restaurant in Princeton, and am thinking of making something like that. It was cubed squash, cooked until quite soft, and probably had loads of butter and sugar because it was rich and sweet. I’ll see what I can do with some more diet-friendly ingredients.

I’m in charge of the turkey, Val is chief of mashed potatoes and gets to pick dessert, but so far hasn’t made up his mind. (He has been forgoing desserts lately, so I said I’ll make whatever he wants.) He doesn’t like pumpkin or squash, no so pumpkin pies here.

So our grocery list for today is quite long! I’ll post photos as the feast comes together

I hope your holiday planning is going just as well!

Post Shopping update** Well it turns out that just buying a turkey breast costs MORE than buying a huge turkey, since turkeys are 88 cents a pound and the breast is 2.69 a pound! So I have a whole bird, I’m sure we’ll use it up. Stay tuned for leftover recipes!