Thanksgiving Menu, or should I say Feast?

I have cooked a big Thanksgiving dinner by myself only once. Our family has always gone to my parents' or my inlaws for Thanksgiving, so I never actually had to host the dinner myself. The one time I did cook the whole meal, I loved every minute of the planning, organizing, cooking and serving. I thought I'd share the menu. It is mostly traditional, except for the lasagne. I cooked that, in addition to the turkey, at the special request of my husband!

Thanksgiving Menu:

Lasagne
Turkey Breast with Italian Herbs
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Stuffing in a Crock Pot
Homemade Yeast Rolls with Butter
Sweet Potato Casserole
Homemade Noodles
Corn Casserole
Sweet Tea
Lemonade
Pumpkin Pie
Buttery Cranberry Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Egg Nog

Looking at this list I am amazed that I actually cooked all that food! But, organization was key, and because I had a step-by-step plan and did a lot of preparation in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I truly was not stressed on the big day.

I wrote out a day-by-day schedule of things to do, starting on the week before Thanksgiving. I assembled and froze the lasagne ahead of time. I also made and froze the uncooked noodles, cooked the sweet potatoes for the sweet potato casserole, chopped vegetables for the stuffing, and put together parts of recipes that could be quickly thrown together on Thanksgiving day. I made out an hourly schedule of what needed to be done on Thanksgiving day, planning ahead of time what dishes could bake in the oven together and when each dish needed to be assembled and cooked. Because I was well organized, we were able to have a huge, completely home cooked meal that did not chain me for hours to the kitchen!

I want to share with you the Sweet Potato Casserole I adapted from the internet. Instead of using a nut topping, I substituted Vanilla Wafers in the topping recipe for a sweet, crunchy, absolutely delicious dish!

Sweet Potato Casserole

4 c baked sweet potatoes, mashed (bake medium sized potatoes 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees)

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t salt

4 T butter, softened

1/2 c milk

1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Pour into a greased 9x13" baking dish. Top with crumb topping(recipe below).

Crumb Topping:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 T butter, softened

1/2 c vanilla wafers, coarsely chopped

Mix together sugar and flour. Cut in butter. Stir in vanilla wafers. Sprinkle over top of sweet potato mixture in baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Whether you are cooking up a feast, or keeping things simple, remember to keep your priorities in sight. A table full of food is not worth the effort if the cook is overburdened, upset and exhausted from cooking all day! Stressing over the food is never worth ruining a day in which we have so much to be thankful!