Thanksgiving 2017: We Host Yet Again

I have a binder that I use every Thanksgiving. It contains the menu from past Thanksgivings so that we can modify and see the scope of the entire set-up. This year, I made a change. Instead of an entire turkey going into the oven, I wanted to make "just the breast meat." That involved research and some convincing. Of all the Thanksgivings I have been a guest or preparer of, the entire turkey was cooked and served. This year was going to be different. We checked several markets to see what was available and decided how much meat was needed to feed a group of eight. A day before Thanksgiving, the group became nine. But we were set. We had purchased 2 turkey breasts. Each one was 5 pounds and together 10 pounds would feed nine guests. A pound of meat each. (We buy a pound of turkey a week for sandwiches! Could an adult eat this much in one sitting? Obviously not as we had leftover turkey for 3 meals. Those 3 meals were mine after Thanksgiving as someone wanted beef.)

Back to the binder. The vegetables change every year but the staples remain. The mashed potatoes are Johnny's specialty each year. He buys a five pound bag, peels them, cooks them and mashes them. I do the same with sweet potatoes, although this year I mashed them. Over the years, I have made them cut up in pieces, from frozen varieties to canned. Now that I love to eat sweet potatoes, I boil them and mash them. There's always a salad served. This year the salad included only green peppers and we did not have the right dressing for our nephew. He skipped the salad, so there was one serving for me after the holiday. We always have carrots as they cook in the oven along with the turkey and onions. We had an issue with the green beans this year. Johnny bought two frozen bags. I cringed as fresh is best but there was no time to make a change. Instead of boiling them on the stovetop, that was not an option as Johnny was carving the breasts there. We had to use the microwave. Huge bowl of frozen green beans took quite a long time to heat up in the microwave. But we got it done as the buns were put in the oven and the butter put on the table. The cranberry was from cans as was the gravy. I know, canned gravy is awful but it's something his family is used to. We never make gravy from the drippings of meat.

We kept it simple this year. I wish the green beans were different. Guess who had them for left overs.
Next year, fresh green beans. Eating fresh food is best and ought to be on the menu every day. The pies, pumpkin and apple were store bought and topped with whipped cream from a can. No tea, no coffee. Pie and go. I wish everyone had stayed longer but Johnny's parents are getting older. His sister, brother-in-law and kids stayed longer. We watched more football and talked. Since his aunt was with us this year, I brought out an album that she would like. Old family pictures that we had of John's family. That provided lots of talk and a walk down memory lane. Perhaps I ought to make pie next year but I need to plan ahead for that and practice. It is quite easy and I have the Pyrex pie pans to boot. Why not use them. Hope you enjoyed reading about my Thanksgiving binder. Please post comments and reactions below.