Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As the holidays approach I am putting together my cooking plans for the big festivities. Planning ahead always takes the stress out of holidays and lets me spend more time on the things that are more important such as spending time with family and friends. I plan for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Even if I am not hosting, it helps to have recipes made ahead for hostess gifts, potlucks, or small impromptu gatherings. 

This year I am in charge of desserts and breads for the big Thanksgiving Day feast. For dessert I will be making homemade pies, Pumpkin Cake Roll, Freezer Cheesecake and Pecan Pie Bars. For the breads I will be making Crescent Rolls and No Knead Bread. My kids like to cook so they will be helping me prepare these recipes. It is fun to work in the kitchen together.

I still bought a turkey even though I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year. I could not pass up the great deal. Turkeys here are .39 a pound. We will cook the turkey sometime between Christmas and the New Year. We will have it for one meal and then the rest of the leftover meat is used for freezer cooking. Some of my favorite recipes for left over turkey are:

• Cheesy Chicken and Noodles
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Chicken/Turkey Patties (from Members Only Section)
• Chicken Tetrazzini (from The Freezer Cooking Manual)
• Country Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie
• Freezer Quesadillas
• Turkey and Noodles

My kids are older but many of my nieces and nephews are 10 and under. We always try to plan some type of craft activity for the children. In the past we have helped the children make Holiday Jar Cookies or we have made and decorated Sugar Cookies together. One of their favorite activities is making ornaments for the Christmas tree. Last year we made foam snowmen and beaded wire ornaments. They were great fun! You can pick up kits at your local craft or fabric store. For other ideas, check out FamilyFun.com. They have lots of kid friendly craft ideas for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Check out the Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats for Thanksgiving or the Scented Ornaments for Christmas.

Do you need some recipe ideas for the holidays?  A great source for recipes is the 30 Day Gourmet web site! Click here to access our recipe database. Choose the kind of recipe you're looking for (Side and Salad, Bread and Breakfast, etc.) and scroll through the list to see what sounds good to you. There are hundreds of recipes to choose from. 

Do you need help planning your holiday meal or learning how to cook for a crowd?  Then our Holiday Freezer Cooking ebook is for you. There are lots of helpful tips and hints, tally sheets, a shopping list form, and a count down sheet that help you plan that perfect meal. 

BONUS RECIPES

Pumpkin Snack Cake

The is a very moist cake that tastes great warm with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It is also good sprinkled with powdered sugar or with your favorite cream cheese frosting. My boys say it tastes just like pumpkin pie.

Click here to view/print this recipe!

Snickerdoodles

If you have never had a Snickerdoodle you are missing out! They are basically a type of sugar cookie that are cover with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. This is one of our favorite cookie recipes. We usually make them for Christmas but lately I have been making them to send for lunch. There must be a million different recipes for Snickerdoodles. This is the one my family uses.

 CLOSING COMMENTS FROM CAROL

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Do you have any other topics that you would like to cover? Do you have any nagging questions that need to be answered? Email me at carol@30daygourmet.com. I enjoy hearing from you!

          Carol