Is there a way to get yourself invited to Thanksgiving dinner? Lol.

[SamanthaCarter]

I am overwhelmed. My tasks are snowballing, I have no help, my husband has not felt right for months and he is working a second job from home to keep us financially sound. I had thought that  mil and I would split the task of thanksgiving, but she had spinal surgery late October, out of town, and won’t be back until two days before, still in no shape to help. So they’ll be over here for dinner. We can’t really afford to go out. Blah. 

Im whining. 

[AnneBlessedx4]

? I'm sorry.  That sounds rough.

[Miss Tick]

Can you use that as an excuse to simplify the dinner? Usually grocery stores will sell a premade holiday dinner - more $ than making it yourself, but less $ than going it to eat.

Or, if everyone is game, go with pizza and bagged salad and hunker in front of a movie-thon?

The holidays are like curriculum, they should work for you, not the other way round. 

[unsinkable]

20 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I am overwhelmed. My tasks are snowballing, I have no help, my husband has not felt right for months and he is working a second job from home to keep us financially sound. I had thought that  mil and I would split the task of thanksgiving, but she had spinal surgery late October, out of town, and won’t be back until two days before, still in no shape to help. So they’ll be over here for dinner. We can’t really afford to go out. Blah. 

Im whining. 

Oh, wow. That is tough.

In your place, I'd make a big pot of soup or chili, buy some great bread and make some cobblers (instead of pie). Maybe get olives, pepperoni and cheese for an app.

[catz]

Yes, get the pre-made one from a decent grocery store.  Tell your guests you are overwhelmed and ask if they'll pitch in financially or bring in some side dishes.  It's about the get together not the exact cooking.    

[Junie]

We simplified Thanksgiving dinner.

Our menu:

rotisserie chickens from the grocery store

Stove top

instant mashed potatoes (which my kids prefer over homemade anyway) and jarred gravy

steam fresh veggies and/or canned sweet potatoes w/ brown sugar and butter

canned cranberry sauce

store-bought pie

[mmasc]

4 minutes ago, unsinkable said:

Oh, wow. That is tough.

In your place, I'd make a big pot of soup or chili, buy some great bread and make some cobblers (instead of pie). Maybe get olives, pepperoni and cheese for an app.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Forget traditional, cook all day food and do a pot of something and a ready-made dessert. 

[JustEm]

make it a simple as possible. turkey, two sides, one kind of dessert

[vonfirmath]

My husband is having surgery the tuesday before THanksgiving so we are simplifying Thanksgiving this year

Ham

Rolls (From the frozen packages)

Green Bean Casserole

Maybe Corn Casserole (I'd like to make it)

And a purchased pie

 

We will do turkey at Christmas instead, and stuffing, and the family rolls.  When my husband is up to helping.

Edited November 14, 2018 by vonfirmath

[unsinkable]

Dump Came Recipes 

Pumpkin:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/26060/pumpkin-dump-cake/

 

Apple

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8343/apple-spice-dump-cake/?internalSource=hub recipe&referringContentType=Search

[mumto2]

I am another one who votes to keep it really simple.  We will be having a Turkey Breast,  mashed potatoes,  green beans,  stuffing mix,  Hawaiian rolls, cranberry sauce from a can, and a yet to be determined dessert.

If a get really fancy I will make green bean casserole which I adore and everyone else hates.

Here is a slightly different pumpkin dump cake using yellow cake mix which I normally already have.  This is the one I use......... My son’s favorite .......https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/great-pumpkin-dessert/

[regentrude]

There is no reason Thanksgiving dinner has to be fancy. I would either order a prepared thanksgiving dinner from the grocery store, or cook something simple.

Edited November 14, 2018 by regentrude

[J-rap]

I'm sorry.  Definitely get the pre-made stuff.  You can make the table look nice and serve pre-made food.  You can even get cute paper plates to throw away.  Some years are like that.  (And that's fine.  And, they're just as memorable as the other more elaborate ones!)

[MysteryJen]

One year with everything piling down on me and extended family being difficult, I instituted "Mom's perfect Thanksgiving." Pizza and beer and football.

We have done it 3 times since then. It is a huge favorite- we get take and bake pizzas, so we can eat all day long.

 

[AK_Mom4]

Pizza

Pie from the Grocery Store

Enjoy your family

[school17777]

A church has put on a Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving that anyone is welcome to partake.  I haven’t seen it advertised this year though.  Is there anything like that in your area?

[shawthorne44]

My Dad and I have fond memories of waiting in line at the Luby's Cafeteria on Thanksgiving Day.   Mom was in the hospital at the moment, but was close to being released so no worries there.  We got to the front of the line to learn that to-go orders (like us) could skip the line.  We had to laugh.  But, we had a nice conversation.  

Years ago my mother and I were discussing how much we weren't looking forward to Turkey.  Neither of us are fans.  I pointed out that turkey wasn't the centerpiece of The thanksgiving feast.   Turkey became traditional because about now is when you would want to kill off excess poultry because they can't fend for themselves over winter.  Without a refrigerator, you'd want a big gathering of people to finish off the turkey.  So, Thanksgivings equal turkeys.  

Since that conversation, we have our traditional Thanksgiving Lasagna.  No, there is no Italian ancestry.  Lasagna is the best holiday food!    You make it a day or two ahead.  Clean the kitchen.   Then pop it in the oven the day off.  Expected sides are minimal, maybe a salad and garlic bread.  I've been dreaming of Dad's lasagna.  

Lasagna can get expensive.   But, maybe think outside the box.  Make it a traditional holiday taco bar, or something.  

 

[KungFuPanda]

You can do a hybrid too. Make the one or two things that need to taste “right” and get the rest pre-made from a grocery store. If you have a Boston Market, their Thanksgiving meal is so easy and you don’t have to order the whole thing. Just buying the Turkey, potatoes, and pies will save lots of effort. 

Of course, the cheapest thing is to make it all, but you can streamline that too. Rachel Ray has 60 minute Thanksgiving menus. I did her first one years ago and the pumpkin soup and roasted turkey breasts became year-round favorites. 

Look into spatchcocking your turkey. It makes everything faster, easier, and even tastier because it doesn’t dry out from too much time in the oven. Just buy the desserts, or do pumpkin pies in premade crusts. Use the roll-out kind of you don’t want to get caught. 

[fairfarmhand]

Will the world end of you have chili for thanksgiving? Nope.

i say make what’s easy. And anyone who complains is permitted to do all the cooking and clean up. 

There. Done.

(we have relatives who insist on the big traditional meal and expect to show up with A few 2 liters of sodas as Their contribution.)

[lynn]

The turkey is easy enougb, I keep it simple box everything and store bought pies no one complains. And they better not or I'll head out to waffle house next year BY MYSELF!  Anyone who wants to join me come along.  Seriously see if friends are staying home without company coming i n, they may be up for a pot luck.  Then you just have to do 1 dish

[HomeAgain]

7 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Another idea... what we are going to do... we are just scrapping the traditional meal. Dad said it's too much hassle (nearest Fresh Market is 45 min. from him and I offered to drive and help heat up the food) so we're doing something like Chinese. 

We did this for many years.  It was too much trouble to get a traditional meal on the table based on our location, so we did other things.

[SamanthaCarter]

We do have a Fresh Market. We also have a church down the street doing Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll talk to dh about these options. ?

[Garga]

My MIL likes to host Tgiving, but also likes to keep it simple:

Turkey pieces (not a whole bird)

Gravy from the turkey pieces mixed with some cans of gravy

Ham, precooked (not a lot—for the picky eaters who hate turkey)

Bob Evans mashed potatoes in the microwave

Stovetop stuffing

Rolls from a package—pre cooked.  She just opens the plastic.

Lemon meringue pies from the freezer section of the store (no baking)

Bag of frozen veggies

I go fancy and bring the cranberry sauce dish (involves jello and apples), and the green bean casserole.  Maybe it helps to know that almost everything can come from a package and people are still ok with it?  

When my MIL and FIL are gone, it’ll be even simpler.  

Edited November 14, 2018 by Garga

[sweet2ndchance]

We don't even do thanksgiving any more here. Grandma is taking our youngest to a friend of hers house for thanksgiving dinner. Our ds is like her friend's surrogate grandson and she wanted to at least have him over if we didn't feel up to having thanksgiving dinner. So we agreed he could go. Dh and I will probably have some kind of microwave or toaster oven dinner.

I made turkey breast for dinner just a week or two ago because it sounded good. We had mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and rolls with it. I really see no reason a Thanksgiving meal needs to be any more complicated than that. I make potatoes from scratch just because I don't care for instant potatoes but there is no reason you can't do instant if you like them. The gravy was from a packet (boil water and add powder, done), green beans from a can and I had some rolls that I had frozen the last time I made bread dough but I would have used brown and serve if we didn't have that. Turkey breast was the kind that is preseasoned and bakes in a bag. It didn't take me any longer to prepare this meal than it did to make dinner on any other night. Add a pumpkin and/or pecan pie from the bakery at the grocery store or buy a frozen one and bake it the day before or morning of thanksgiving. 

However, I also wouldn't be opposed to doing any of the non-traditional suggestions others have made like pizza, chili... taco bar is another idea, if we had a group coming to our house on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is just another day on the calendar. There is no reason to stress out over it. Since divorcing my ex-husband, I haven't had a Thanksgiving day with my kids from my first marriage. Since my second oldest son loves turkey (and they don't make turkey at his father's house for thanksgiving, they make prime rib...) I always made a big turkey dinner for him the first weekend in December when they were kids. The turkey didn't taste any different on that day than it would have on Thanksgiving day ;-)

[HS Mom in NC]

How we simplified TG when we were having one of those years:

Meal
thawed large Turkey breast in the crockpot with sliced onions and dried herbs
Steam-in-the-bag microwaveable veggies (greenbeans, corn)
Instant mashed potatoes and jarred gravy or gravy packet where you add water and whisk in a saucepan on the stove
Stove Top stuffing
purchased pie
purchased cookies
sparkling apple juice

Settings/decor
TG themed plates, cups, napkins, paper tablecloths
our silverware (easier to cut turkey) or purchased sturdy silverware
large trashbags (everyone helps throw away all the disposables after everyone helps clear the table)
2-3 of bunches of the most inexpensive cut flowers from the grocery store (usually alstroemerias $4 per bunch) in drinking glasses
$1-$3 inexpensive ribbon for flower bunches so they stay together and stand straighter in drinking glasses

Kids can help with all of those tasks, so you can delegate.




 

[rebcoola]

I understand we are going out this year thanks to my parents. Its just to much DH is working until 1am Wed, I am 7months pregnant and it falls on my parents anniversary.  Other years we have had to simplify have been boxed mashed potatoes, turkey breast, salad and store bought pies. 

[DawnM]

I am actually relieved NOT to go anywhere for Thanksgiving this year.  Turkey is pretty easy, casseroles I make take all of 10 min. to put together.  I buy pre-made rolls, open a can of corn (or use frozen).  The only thing that really takes time is the mashed potatoes.  DH does that, or I would be buying those premade Bob Evans tubs at the supermarket!  Seriously!

[iamonlyone]

2 hours ago, SamanthaCarter said:

We do have a Fresh Market. We also have a church down the street doing Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll talk to dh about these options. ?

We went to a church Thanksgiving meal three years in a row: one after my dad had a stroke and couldn't navigate stairs well, the next when my mom wanted to host but wasn't feeling well, and last Thanksgiving when she had just passed away and we were at her house all Thanksgiving week boxing and moving to be out for buyers Dec. 1.

We enjoyed ourselves, there was really good, home-cooked traditional turkey dinner, and it was such a blessing and relief in our circumstances! The church asked that those who could would take a side dish, so I made extras so we had leftovers for that evening.

[May]

Others have offered great suggestions? It’s ok to do something different. Last Christmas dinner, I made French onion soup, brought I loaf of some bread and called it a day. I might have made dessert but can’t remember?Blessings on your celebration, no matter what you decide to cook??

[KungFuPanda]

Ooooh, what if you got creative? Turkey-vegetable soup, stuffing muffins, and baked sweet potatoes. You can hit all the flavors with very little effort. Maybe have some pumpkin bread with cranberries for dessert? You could make most of it ahead of time. 

Or a turkey pot pie!

you could get away with just a turkey breast with those menus. 

Or THIS menu that makes Thanksgiving Dinner on two sheet pans!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/thanksgiving-on-2-sheet-pans-3561576

ok, I think I’m done now. ?

Edited November 14, 2018 by KungFuPanda

[HS Mom in NC]

You could always make turkey sandwiches with sweet potato fries and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.