Welcome to Working Mommy Wednesday! This week's prompts are:Let’s talk about toys! What toys are you excited to purchase for your little ones for Christmas?
Are you excited about Thanksgiving? What plans do you have?
ThanksgivingFive years ago (pre kids), my husband and I went to Texas for Thanksgiving and made dinner for the entire family! I think it was our last with family because we've been stuck in Florida ever since due to his job not allowing off time for Oct - Dec. This has not tempered my enthusiasm for preparing an entire Thanksgiving meal for 2 adults - well not too much.
Last year I hit my limit with turkey. I've struggled to find the smallest bird and wrestle it through all the pre-day preparations - brine soaks, etc. I've spent the entire morning of Thanksgiving tending the bird every 30 minutes and timing all other meals around this one object taking up my entire small oven. I've grown downright resentful of the turkey! The mess to clean up after dinner, family not wanting the leftovers after three days.
Last year, we got so hungry at noon we went to Whole Foods for lunch! We found they have turkey and the entire trimmings in the buffet bar! An idea formed. What if I prepare all my specialty dishes - and just buy prepared turkey from the buffet bar? Sure I'll miss the pretty bird sitting in the center of the table but with two small ones underfoot I'd rather just enjoy the day with as little stress as possible!
My Thanksgiving Menu
Breakfast:
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Chorizo Egg and cheese burritos
- Cold Fettuccine with red peppers and chicken (can be pre-made)
- Cornbread Sausage Stuffing - my only regret is not being able to stuff it, however, with a crock pot, I might be able to replicate the results. I make the cornbread at least one day before Thanksgiving.
- Cranberry Sauce - from a CAN! That's for husband and only special because he loves it!
- Plain Mashed Potatoes
- Canned Green Beans Organic (from Whole Foods)
- Turkey and Gravy (from Whole Foods)
- Homemade Pumpkin pie with pumpkin puree that I've made from fresh sugar pumpkins - totally worth the effort and the puree can be made weeks in advance.
I'm looking forward to your stories! Link up below and I'll be sure and visit your blog later this week.
12 comments:
I'm with you... less stress the better! We are getting the pre-made dinner. The kids will never know :-) Your menu looks great and the whole day is planned. Hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving!
What a great idea! The more kids I acquire, the less stress I want!!!
I absolutely agree!! Go for the stress-free option and enjoy the day with your family! It looks like you still put a lot of time and effort into the celebrations so son't feel guilty for a second!! I wish Thanksgiving was a holiday in the UK! It sounds a lot of fun! (Especially if you're not stressing over a big turkey dinner!!)
Hope you and your family have a wonderful time next week!!...
:)
Ok, Rachel, we're looking for some solid "family traditions" to start, now that we are indeed an intact little family. Will you write a blog post about traditions sometime? Ones you recommend, ones you'd like to try? Holiday-themed perhaps?
Grateful for you,
Liz
Sorry, I was having problems with link tools and I linked up 3X!!!! UGH! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving.
I LOVE the idea of pre-bought dinner!!! It may allow for less stess at my house!!! Miss Candy www.candymgraham.blogspot.com
Whatever makes it easier to just focus on the fun of a holiday is good in my book! I liked the part about taking lunch to a park. It's such a foreign concept to me — we already have snow! I love reading what people are doing in other parts of the country, and how different the little things can be. :)
Hi Emily, yes we do forget how "good" we have it to visit a park on Thanksgiving Day!!! I guess snow would change my perspective a bit. I remember TD being a big movie day when I grew up in Maryland. Hope you have a wonderful holiday next week and thanks for stopping by!!
Hi there Miss Candy, I didn't realize this was such a popular concept. God bless my mom for being able to cook every dish every year but the modern women just can't (doesn't want) to keep up that pressure! Especially as a full time working mom. So I'm loving this concept more and more each day. Best of luck to you on your preparations next week and thanks for stopping by!!
No problem Susan!! I'm just happy to hear from you. I hope you have a fabulous day next week. Oh and I got your book!!! I'm so excited to read it and I promise to review it for you when I'm done.
Hi Liz, you have the sweetest way of writing that just make folks feel all warm and fuzzy inside (referring to your salutation). I would be thrilled to write about our family traditions, thanks for the idea!! So glad you stopped by and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week!!!
Hi Annette - lovely to hear from you. I've heard from ex-pats in the UK that it's actually quite difficult to do Thanksgiving there from a lack of ingredients! Who knew it was so specialized over here!!
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