Arrgh!! Someone bailed and left you with the entire Thanksgiving dinner preparation two days before showtime! You could get drunk and cancel the holiday, or glitter bomb their car (yeah, definitely do that one) but the best plan is to use this last-minute holiday planner to pull off a Turkey Day extraordinaire. You'll find the Thanksgiving grocery shopping list, but budget tips to keep cost low, on my blog Shop Chat (grab paper plates, napkins, cups and plastic cutlery if desired).Here's the timetable you need to follow to pull this off. You will seen ITMT in recipes. That indicates "in the mean time", meaning do this while the previous stage of cooking is happening). Preparing Thanksgiving dinner is all about multitasking.Oh and if anyone asks if they can bring something, LET THEM! And don't feel badly if you need to ask people to chip in. The entire dinner can cost $40-$50.
On T-day minus 2 (two days before Thanksgiving):
Thaw turkey in refrigerator.
Use up leftovers.
Clean out refrigerator.
Grocery shop--Aldi, Walmart, Dollar Tree and Save-a-Lot have best prices.
Use large blunt bread knife to cube loaf of bread for stuffing. Spread bread cubes in a single layer and cover loosely with towel. (Protect from pets and kids who for some reason love bread cubes.)
T-day minus 1 (one day ahead)
Bake frozen pies (Save boxes to store baked pie. They will keep for one day.)
ITMT start mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Set two large kettles, filled about two inches with water, to boil. You will add more water later but they will boil faster with less water. Wash white potatoes and sweet potatoes. Add sweet and white potatoes, jackets on, to each pan. Add about two more inches of water. Cover. Cook till tender: white potatoes cook about 20-30 minutes and sweet potatoes cook about 45 minutes.
ITMT rinse cranberries. Place in sauce pan with one cup of water and 1/2 to one cup of sugar (brown or white). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes. Berries will begin to pop and whistle as they soften.
ITMT prepare Thanksgiving turkey giblets. Remove turkey from refrigerator and packaging from turkey. From chart on wrapping, calculate cooking time based on size of bird and when you plan to eat. Remove giblets bag from neck cavity and tail from tail cavity. Discard neck and liver and rinse giblets for stuffing. Simmer until tender.
ITMT prep Thanksgiving turkey. Rinse entire bird, including cavities to get any ice out. Pat turkey dry and spray with non-stick cooking spray or use butter if it's not basted already. Place bird in foil pan with lift out handles. Cover loosely with foil and return to refrigerator
ITMT start stuffing. In a large frying pan, melt 2 sticks of butter on low. Season with one teaspoon of sage, poultry seasoning, garlic, 1/2 black pepper and marjoram if you have it. Watch it as butter burns easily. ITMT pare and chop onion. Add to melted butter to saute. ITMT, wash, pare and chop celery. Add to onion and butter. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
ITMT drain and cool potatoes in cold water until you can handle them without getting burned. ITMT, start sweet potatoes sauce recipe. Melt 3 sticks of margarine and add one pound of brown sugar and one can orange juice. Blend and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thickened.
ITMT continue Thanksgiving stuffing placing dried bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Pour butter, onion and celery sauce over bread. Add chicken broth.Blend until butter and broth have soaked into bread. Place stuffing in baking dish and refrigerate overnight. Stuffing is best if it marinates. After you stuff the bird, you will have extra. Bake this separately in baking dish. Don't stuff bird till T-day.
ITMT remove skins from sweet potatoes. Arrange in disposable baking dish and set aside. Remove skins from white potatoes and place taties in large bowl and blend or mash until smooth. Return to cooking pan along with two sticks of butter, garlic, one cup of milk, salt and pepper. Optional: add sour cream, Parmesan and cheese if desires. Heat on low and blend all ingredients, stirring constantly. Pour into another disposable baking dish. Cool, cover and refrigerate.
ITMT pour orange brown sugar sauce over sweet potatoes. Cover and place in refrigerator on top of white potatoes. Pour cranberry sauce into baking dish. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Put feet up and have a glass of wine!
On Thanksgiving Day:
Chill beverages. Preheat oven 325. Remove turkey from pan and stuff neck and tail cavities. Replace in pan, cover loosely with foil and place in oven. Bake leftover stuffing separately in baking dish.
ITMT assemble green bean casserole. Rinse and drain green beans and place in baking dish. Add mushroom soup, stir and season with pepper. Top with French fried onions and bake about 30 minutes with turkey. Bake rolls or biscuits. Bake cold mashed white potatoes if you have room in oven, about one hour.
ITMT tidy kitchen, set table and in the last 30 minutes of baking turkey, remove foil and increase heat to 400 to brown. Remove other dishes, add sweet potatoes and bake for 30 minutes. Remove turkey from oven when timer pops up. Let turkey sit for 15 minutes before you cut. Open wine to breathe. Serve on good paper plates and use plastic tableware and cups to make Thanksgiving cleanup easier on you. Enjoy your labors and your family. Happy Thanksgiving!
