Thanksgiving Plans

Wow, I'm so excited because I updated the editor setting on my Blogger account and now I have all of these wonderful new (to me) features! What could be better??


Anyways, the real reason behind my post today is not to brag on Blogger, as awesome at it may be, but to get my mind in gear for Thanksgiving. I have so much to do to prepare and it's only three days away. Yikes! As I said a couple of posts ago, we're hosting 18 people at my house (like we did last year) so I definitely have my work cut out for me.


I must confess, this year I'm a little anxious about how it's all going to work out. John has to work 11-7 the night before Thanksgiving and he also has to go in that night. John is incredible and extremely sacrificial when it comes to his sleep time and he said that he's going to get up around noon to help out. I don't want him to have to do that, though! The man needs his sleep for work that night. However, if he doesn't, I'll single-handedly be cooking for the masses AND caring for our two  young children! I like to pretend that I'm Super Mom sometimes (HA!) but I'm not THAT super, in reality!


So, here's what on the menu:

• Turkey (obviously)! This bird is 24 pounds so it's going to be a lot of effort to get it in the oven!
• Homemade stuffing with dried cranberries and apples. Yummy! It's kind of my signature Thanksgiving dish.
• Cranberry sauce.. I opted for canned because apparently that's what everyone likes best anyways.
• Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad - I hate to make this but everyone raves about it at every family gathering and I don't want to disappoint my guests!
• Candied yams
• Various veggies- Creamed cauliflower, broccoli, corn, and brussel sprouts (my favorite!!)
• Mashed potatoes with homemade gravy
• Yeast rolls (that taste pretty close to Texas Road House's, if I do say so myself). I'm also going to be making a whipped cinnamon sugar butter to pair with these. It just sounds festive to me.
• Homemade applesauce that I already made and froze. All I have to do it is thaw it, warm it up, and sprinkle some cinnamon on it.
• For dessert, my only responsibilties are to make coconut custard pies. I was going to make apple pies, cheesecakes, pumpkin pies,  and a chocolate pie but Patty (my mother-in-law) insisted on doing something. I didn't want to have to trouble anyone and I love making pies,  but as I said earlier, I have A LOT on my plate with John having to work.
• We are also having some light appetizers such a cheese, crackers, pepperoni and a nice veggie tray. Last year we went ALL out with tons of hot appetizers and stuff but we threw so much of it away. We opted to save the money and go light on starters this year.

Am I missing anything?? Getting that list out on paper made me feel so much better because I just realized that there really isn't all THAT much to do. It will all come together.. It always does! I just like to stress about it in the mean time:-)


Does anyone else have any exciting Thanksgiving plans?