Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays – the time when family gets together and the table is full of delicious food. Mostly, I am thankful there is a day we can all be thankful for something and share our appreciation of friends and family. Our easy Holiday Menu for 8 will make cooking a snap. Read below for all the recipes you need to make a perfect Thanksgiving dinner.

Here’s your perfect Thanksgiving Dinner Menu:

Roasted Turkey
Loaded Potato Salad
Sweet Potato Casserole
Roasted Veggies
Semi-Homemade Stuffing
Zesty Cranberry Sauce
Puffy Apple Pie

MAIN FEATURE: THE ORIGINAL BIRD

Ingredients:

15-lb turkey (1)
EV Olive oil (1/3 cup)
Montreal Chicken McCormick seasoning (2 tbsp)
Basil (1 tbsp)
Kosher salt and ground pepper
Paprika (1 tbsp)
Water (1 cup)

Directions:

1. Make sure you defrost the turkey for 24 hours. You can do it in the fridge (overnight) and put the turkey in cold water for a few hours if you need to defrost it more. Or, try ordering fresh turkey from a local grocer or farm (order a week or two in advance).
2. Rinse the turkey, remove anything from the cavity, pat dry.
3. Set the oven to 325 F
4. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan and place the turkey on the rack over the water.
5. Rub the bird with olive oil and then generously sprinkly Montreal Chicken seasoning, basil, paprika, salt and pepper. Make sure you rub under the skin a bit too.
6. I like to use the pop-up timer to easily know when the turkey is ready. Insert the pop-up timer into the meaty party of the turkey. Loosely cover with tinfoil and put in the heated oven at 325F for 5 hours.
7. Keep the tinfoil on for the first hour; then remove it and baste the turkey with the drippings on the bottom of the pan every few hours. Keep in the oven for the remaining 4 hours or until the pop-up timer pops. Cooking time typically depends on the size of the turkey. You need approximately 20 minutes per pound, or in the case of a 15-pounder, 5 hours.
8. Let it rest for 15 minutes and carve.
If you don’t feel like turkey this Thanksgiving, try our delicious Roast Chicken!

SIDE: LOADED POTATO SALAD

Boil, peel, chop and mix. Simple enough!

Ingredients:

Medium-size potatoes (4)
Large carrots (4)
Eggs (4)
Can of peas (not sweetened, whole)
Kosher dill pickles, salty (4)
Medium onion (1)
Green onions or chives (1 small bunch)
Small can of Mayo (or light mayo)

See Cooking Directions for the Potato Salad

Side: Sweet Potato Casserole

The pairing of the sweet vegetables, plums and honey is pure magic.

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes
4 large long carrots
3 medium plums
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika

See Cooking Directions for the Sweet Potato Casserole

You may also like the Spaghetti Squash Bake – similar flavor profile and rich fall color.

SIDE: ROASTED VEGGIE EXTRAVAGANZA

Easy dish with no major cooking skills required. All it takes is chopping, seasoning and putting in the oven.

Ingredients:

1 large onion
6 whole white mushrooms
6 medium potatoes
2 zucchini
2 bell pepper
4 medium carrots
3 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsp Parsley flakes
2 tbsp Sweet Paprika
2 tbsp Garlic powder
2 tbsp dry basil
half-cup olive oil

Directions

1. Wash and peal all the veggies
2. Cut in 1-inch pieces.
3. Generously sprinkly with the seasonings above and pour 1/2 cup olive oil.
4. Mix well (just use your hands). Place in the oven at 325F for 1 hour. You can just place the veggies in the oven with the turkey for the last hour of the bird’s cooking.
5. Mix veggies once mid-way (after 30 minutes).

SIDE: SEMI-HOMEMADE STUFFING

The beauty of this side is that it’s half from the box, yet has your personal touch which won’t make it taste like it is from the box.

Ingredients:

Any store brand stuffing
Mushrooms (4 medium white)
Onion (1 small)
Dill (a small bunch)
Chicken stock (any brand or homemade)

Directions

1. Brown onion and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil.
2. Cook stuffing as instructed on the box adding onion/mushroom mixture and substituting water with chicken stock.
3. Add chopped dill a few minutes before stuffing is ready.

CRANBERRY SAUCE MADE EASY

It’s amazing what a difference a little orange zest and lemon juice can make to a can of cranberry sauce. You will wake up your taste buds!

Ingredients:

Any store brand cranberry sauce
Lemon (1)
Orange (1)

Directions

1. Grate zest of 1 orange.
2. Add orange zest to cranberry sauce.
3. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the sauce, mix well.

SWEET FINISH: PUFFY APPLE PIE

This pie is perfect for the days when leaves are turning yellow and you feel like getting cozy with family and friends. Use tangy-tasting apples (green apples work best).