colorful cartoon turkey

Thanksgiving Dinner Planner

November, 2020

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Dinner Planner. A resource that I created specifically for myself to enjoy and use as an easy reference when planning and preparing my Thanksgiving Dinner. Each year I modify my resources just a bit so that I can easily organize the ingredients and dishes and so that everything is accessible when they need to be. This time, I decided to take advantage of my new coding skills and make a nice website to dress it up. Maybe I can continue to use it in the future!

Activities

In addition to an amazing feast, two other important staples of my Thanksgiving are the song and hand turkeys. These were both crucial to my childhood memories of Thanksgiving, and the hand turkeys are a common experience for many kids across the States.

Song

This is just the chorus of the song:

Happy Thanksgiving,
Hooray!
Hooray!
Hooray!
Aren't you glad you're not a turkey,
On this Thanksgiving Day?
Hey!

Hand Turkeys

The hand turkey is a fun craft to demonstrate our gratitude for different things in life. Start with the hand and trace around it. Then decorate the turkey and add 4 things you are thankful for inside of each of the fingers!
hand turkey

Food

A list of the dishes, main ingredients, and a few select recipes.
Turkey Stuffing Mashed potatoes Cornbread and biscuits Green bean casserole Sweet potato casserole Pumpkin pie

Ingredient/Shopping List

Ingredient Quantity Dish
Turkey Smallest, 6-7kg Turkey, Gravy
Butter 4 sticks Turkey, Mashed potatoes, Sweet potato casserole, Biscuits, Carrots
Meat stock 2 cartons Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy
Potatoes 8 large Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes 7 large Sweet potato casserole
Milk 1 carton Mashed potatoes, Green bean casserole, Cornbread, Biscuits, Gravy
Corn 1 package of 3 cans Corn
Onion 3 Turkey, Stuffing
Carrots 1 bag Turkey, Stuffing, Carrots
Celery 1 stalk Turkey, Stuffing
Apple 1 Stuffing
Garlic 1 knob Turkey, Stuffing
Walnuts 2 cups (1 bag) Turkey, Stuffing
Green beans 1 package Green bean casserole
Cranberries 1 box Cranberry sauce
Mushroom soup 1 package Green bean casserole
Bread 1 small roll Stuffing
Crispy fried onions One package Green bean casserole
Marshmallows 2 bags Sweet potato casserole
Marshmallow fluff 1 jar Sweet potato casserole (halal)
Brown sugar 1 bag Sweet potato casserole
White Sugar 1 bag Sweet potato casserole, Pumpkin pie, Cranberry sauce
Flour 1 bag Gravy
Cornbread mix 1 box Cornbread
Biscuit mix 1 box Biscuits
Pumpkin puree 1 can Pumpkin pie
Condensed milk 1 can Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie crust 1 Pumpkin pie
Whipped cream 1 can Pumpkin pie

Stuffing

    Ingredients
  • 9x9 inch baking pan/casserole dish
  • Bread roll
  • Olive oil
  • Meat stock - 2 cups
  • Onion - 1
  • Carrots - 3
  • Celery - 2
  • Apple - 1
  • Walnuts - 1 cup
  • Garlic - 3 cloves
  • Salt, pepper, herbs to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Mince garlic, cube bread, and chop up vegetables/fruit
  3. Heat a giant pan on the oven with a medium-high flame
  4. Oil the pan and add the garlic and vegetables and seasoning. Sautee for a few minutes
  5. Add bread until all items are crispy on the outside
  6. Pour in meat stock and let simmer for a few more minutes
  7. Scoop 1-2 intoturkey and dump the rest into the baking pan/casserole dish
  8. Bake for about 30 minutes

Turkey

    Ingredients
  • Large turkey pan
  • Meat baster
  • Meat thermometer
  • Turkey
  • Butter - 1 stick
  • Garlic - 6 cloves
  • 1-2 cups of pre-madestuffing
  • Celery - 2 sticks
  • Carrots - 3
  • Onion - 1.5
  • Walnuts - 1 cup
  • Meat stock - 4 cups
  • Sage, pepper, salt to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
  2. Mince garlic and combine with softened butter, pepper, and salt
  3. Lather butter mixture underneath and over turkey skin and place in turkey pan
  4. Scoop about 1-2 cups of the pre-made stuffing into the turkey cavity
  5. Cut up additional celery, carrot, and onion and garnish the outside of the turkey. Add walnuts and sage.
  6. Pour 3-4 cups of meat stock around the turkey
  7. Place the turkey into the oven and bake for 30 minutes
  8. Remove and baste the turkey, cover the breast and legs with foil to prevent skin from burning, and rotate positioning when putting back in the oven. Lower the temperature to 178 degrees C.
  9. Continue to remove, baste, and change position every 30-45 minutes for the next 4-6 hours. Check the temperature when the meat begins to look cooked. Turkey is done when the deepest part (usually under the thigh) is 165 degrees F

Gravy

    Ingredients
  • Meat fat/grease/stock starter 4 Tbsp
  • Flour - 4 Tbsp
  • Milk/water/stock - 1 cup
  • Salt and/or pepper to taste
  1. Set aside fat and heat in pot/pan
  2. Add in flour and mix quickly with whisk over heat
  3. Add liquid and continue to whisk quickly to avoid the flour and fat from solidifying
  4. Add seasoning to taste

Sweet potato casserole

    Ingredients
  • 9x9 inch baking pan/casserole dish
  • Boiling pot
  • Sweet potatoes - 4
  • Marshmallows - 2 bags / Marshmallow fluff - 1 can (halal)
  • Butter - 1 1/2 sticks
  • Brown sugar - 1 1/4 cups
  • Ground cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Boil the sweet potatoes until fork tender
  3. Remove peels from the sweet potatoes
  4. In the boiling pot over low flame, melt butter and mix in half of the marshmallows/fluff, add the brown sugar, and seasonings until well combined.
  5. Then add the sweet potatoes and mash up loosely so that it is a mix of puree and small chunks
  6. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes
  7. Remove and top with the other half of marshmallows/fluff and bake for 5-10 minutes until marshmallow is poofy and slightly browned

Green bean casserole

    Ingredients
  • 9x9 inch baking pan/casserole dish
  • Green beans - 1 pack
  • Mushroom soup - 1 pack
  • Crispy fried onions - 1 pack
  • Milk - 1/2 cup
  • Soy sauce 1 tsp
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Wash and chop green beans
  3. Combine green beans in bowl with the mushroom soup, half of the crispy fried onions, the milk, soy sauce, and salt and pepper
  4. Pour mixture into casserole dish and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until bubbling
  5. Remove, stir, and top with the remaining crispy fried onions and bake for 5 more minutes, until golden brown

COMING SOON!

Mashed potatoes

    Ingredients
  • Boiling pot
  • Potatoes - 8
  • Butter - 1/2 stick
  • Milk - 1 cup
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Wash and peel potatoes. Chunk or cube for quicker cooking
  2. Boil in salted water until fork tender
  3. Dump water and mash with a fork
  4. Add butter until melted, then add milk, salt, and pepper to taste. Continue mashing with the fork in the pot until desired creamy consistency and flavor

Cranberry Sauce

    Ingredients
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Liquid - water/orange juice - 1 cup
  • Cranberries (fresh or frozen) - 4 cups (125 g = 1 cup)
  • Additional seasoning - Pecans, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
  1. Boil water and sugar on high heat in a saucepan and stir sugar until it dissolves and is sizzling
  2. Add the cranberries and cook until boiling, then reduce heat and let summer for 10 minutes - until most of the cranberries have burst
  3. If you want, add in the extra seasoning items.
  4. Let cool completely before putting in the refrigerator. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools

Pumpkin Pie

    Ingredients
  • Pie crust
  • Pumpkin puree - 1 can
  • Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can
  • 2 eggs
  • Pumpkin pie spice - 1 tsp
  1. Prepare pie crust and pre-bake, if necessary
  2. Preheat oven to 425-375°
  3. Mix and pour ingredients into crust
  4. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350° and continue baking until filling is set
  5. Total bake time will be 45-50 minutes - the outside should be set and the center still a bit jiggly. Will set as it cools

Carrots

    Ingredients
  • Carrots - 2 pounds
  • Water - 1/3 cup
  • Butter - 2 Tbsp
  • Salt, pepper, and herbs to taste
  1. Peel and cut the carrots in diagonal 1/4 slices
  2. Heat the carrots with the water and salt in a pot until boiling, and the lower heat and cook through until tender (7-8 minutes)
  3. Add the butter and saute for an additional minute until the water evaporates.
  4. Remove from heat and toss with additional seasoning and serve