It’s Friday! Woo hoo!
I’ve been looking forward to this low key weekend for the past two weeks. The last two weekends have been pretty busy for both Cody and me, so I’m excited for some quality time with one another, no commitments, and some down time.
On to some Thanksgiving talk! Can you believe it’s only a little less than four weeks away?! As I mentioned yesterday, my family is coming into town and I couldn’t be more excited. I haven’t seen them since April, which is a long time for this family lovin’ girl. Initially we weren’t planning Thanksgiving with any family which I was feeling pretty bummed about as it would be my first Thanksgiving away from family. When my parents made the last minute decision to come up here, I literally jumped for joy!
![182372_3400079513625_255875950_n[1]](http://www.myfoodnfitnessdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/182372_3400079513625_255875950_n1.jpg "182372_3400079513625_255875950_n[1]")
I know we still have a few weeks, but I immediately began thinking of our Thanksgiving Day menu as soon as I found out my family was coming. My stepdad is an incredible cook, so I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with him in the kitchen preparing our Thanksgiving meal. I love cooking and preparing food, not to mention eating it, so occasions like this make me super excited!
[My plate from last Thanksgiving!]
After brainstorming ideas, here is my list so far:
- turkey (obviously)
- homemade gravy
- homemade cranberry sauce
- homemade mashed potatoes
- homemade stuffing
- sweet potato casserole (We love Famous Dave’s recipe)
- roasted brussels sprouts
- green salad
- Texas Roadhouse rolls (We pick them up unbaked! They are heavenly!)
We’ll finalize dessert after talking with my family, but I know pecan pie will be involved (my favorite)! I’m sure we’ll either have the traditional pumpkin and/or apple pie too.
(I linked up my favorite recipes that I’ve used in the past to give you some ideas if you’re looking for recipes!)
Questions:
- Where will you be having Thanksgiving this year?
- What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes/foods? (Feel free to link up any of your favorite recipes!)
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Omg since April!? That is a loooong time! The longest I ever went was all of spring semester at school! And I LOVE Thanksgiving, it sounds like you’ll have a great one!
Yes! It’s been wayyyy too long!
Eeeeek! This got me sooooo excited for Thanksgiving! You know the warm feeling you get inside when you think of certain days? Thanksgiving THROUGH Christmas gives me that feeling. I’m so excited to spend time with family, with or without food!
PS – Although food (and sometimes wine) makes it more manageable!
YES! Love that feeling! I’m so excited too.
I’m hosting this year again too, and I am beyond pumped! I know what my family eats, so I’ll be serving our usual fare. However, I’m hosting the in-laws for the first time. I need to figure out a couple of their stapes so that everyone gets their favorite.
How fun! Good luck!
TExas roadhouse!! oh how i miss that gluten filled goodness! they are gonna love it!
Haha their rolls are the best!
my mom’s favorite holiday is thanksgiving and she totally rocks it! we always have like 30+ people and a spread big enough to feed an army. my mom makes all the traditional thanksgiving food and her spinach casserole is SO good!!
Wowee! How fun!
That is so exciting that your family is coming to town, especially since you haven’t seen them since APRIL!! I’m sure you will have a wonderful holiday
And thank you again for reminding me that it’s coming soon – I need the Thanksgiving break!
That’s lovely that your family are coming down! Holidays aren’t the same without them.
I literally love everything food-wise you mentioned hehe. We don’t have thanks giving in the UK so I’m verrrry jealous.
You should make one up!
I am so stoked for Thanksgiving! What a perfect holiday.
I usually make some kind of new dish or salad every year because everyone else always takes care of the classics. Last year I made a butternut squash panzenlla salad that was outstanding! Hmm, wonder what I’ll come up with this year. 
Oh wow, that salad sounds amazing. Can’t wait to hear what you come up with
mmm… is thanksgiving almost here?! ahhh I can’t wait. it looks like you have a great menu planned!
Your menu sounds great girl. I’m just so excited for you & your family to be able to celebrate this holiday together <3.
Hubby has to work Thanksgiving, so I'll be myself until he gets home around 5:40 & than our Thanksgiving meal will begin.
I also excited for you to get to spend thanksgiving with your family! We have it every year at both my parent’s house and Tim’s patents, (they live right down the road from each other so we are blessed)! My favorite thanksgiving eats are pumpkin pie, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes!
That’s so nice they live so close! The foods you listed are some of my favorites too!
We already had Thanksgiving (woot Canadian!) But I remember there being turkey, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, roasted veggies, maple-glazed carrots, deviled eggs, cooked cabbage and roast beef, with two kinds of chocolate cake, a carrot/walnut cake and cupcakes for dessert (clearly, we are a dessert-loving family)
Haha dessert is one of my favorite parts!
We are having it at our house again this year.. I made the turkey every year
I brine it.. it is AMMMMMMMAZING
It’s crazy that Canadian Thanksgiving was so long ago. I honestly thought we had a much smaller gap between ours and yours! I never used to like pumpkin pie when I was younger, but did when I was older. Yes, I’m one of those weird people!! Tyler and I baked an apple pie from scratch for our Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I’d totally do it again!
I saw that about your apple pie on your blog! Great job!
This is the first time in my life I won’t be home for Thanksgiving, and I’m a little nervous. I don’t even have anyone to spend the day with except for Roo! But I might just make us a nice little party of one style Thanksgiving dinner, and spend the day watching parades and football. It will be different, but I have a lot to be thankful for, so I’m gearing up to focus on that rather than the fact that I’ll be by myself.
Good for you girl! I love your perspective!
That is great that you get to spend Thanksgiving with your family!!! YOur menu sounds amazing, too.
My favorite dishes are cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. How can you NOT celebrate Thanksgiving without pecan pie?!
I agree about the pecan pie! Love it!
I haven’t seen mine since June, but I am STILL dying to see ‘em all in Nov!! That menu sounds awesome.
I always MUST have fresh, homebaked rolls, a green salad with candied nuts, and turkey. Then I am complete.
Oh and dessert with lots of ice cream.
My favorite dish is definitely sweet potato casserole! Leave those plain ‘ol regular mashed potatoes alone. SPC is where it’s at!
Haha I LOVE sweet potato casserole!
oh man I want to be at your thanksgiving. brussel sprouts are the best this time of year
Thanksgiving overs for us already, so nothing for this year. My favorites are always the turkey, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts (since I’m odd).
Those are some of my favorites too!
I LOVE Thanksgiving, can’t wait for it this year! My favorite thanksgiving dishes are stuffing, cranberry sauce, and squash. And dessert.
I’m not really sure of the exact plans for Thanksgiving this year! We’ll probably split the time between my parents’ house and his parents’ house, I’m just not sure of the order yet! I can’t believe that it’s only 4 weeks away. I better get our plans figured out
.
I love Thanksgiving! I iwll be at my aunts hose, we go there every year! My favorite dishes are obviously the Turkey! And brussel sprouts and sweet potato mash with marshmellows
Thanksgiving is one of my favorites! I am going up north to visit my family this Thanksgiving! Last year I had to stay down at school and went to a community Thanksgiving dinner that was nice, but it’s just never the same without your family!
That is so fun your family is coming to visit you! That will be so fun to plan the dinner! Can’t wait to see what concoctions you come up with! ha
Agreed – it’s not the same without family!
Texas Roadhouse rolls are THE BEST!! Ahhh, the honey butter kills me every time – love them!
They sure are! And yes, you can’t have them without the honey butter!
We don’t have Thanks Giving in Ireland but I love a good pumpkin pie or pecan pie is even better – chocolate pecan and pear pie is amazing! Also love sweet potato gratin, layered up with maple syrup and pecans….(I was American in a former life!) Green beans with almonds are amazing as a side as are roasted sweet carrots! You must be so excited to see your family! I lived away from mine when I was in University and went no longer than 2 months without seeing them! So hard!
I love the idea of chocolate pecan pie! It sounds so decadent!
So exciting that your family is coming to you this year! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I like to host it at my house since I love cooking all of the food.
I love sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie is a must!
I love the rolls from Texas Roadhouse. I didn’t know you could buy them! Definitely need to do that!
Sweet potato casserole is one of my favorites too! We just discovered we could buy the rolls last year… So good!
Only 4 weeks til Thanksgiving? eeeek! We haven’t decided what we’re doing yet but we won’t be hosting. I like a little of everything on my plate because I can’t choose just one favorite.
You and me both!
What a great idea to use Texas Roadhouse rolls…they are to die for! Now if only I had a restaurant near me!
So fun planning for Thanksgiving! This is the last one my husband and I will have together – with out the expeced baby
. So, it will have to be a little special!
BTW, we made your recipe for Squash and Black Bean burritos for dinner last week…….SO good!!! TY, good luck with Thanksgiving
It will be our last just the two of us too! Enjoy it!
And the squash and black bean burritos can be credited to Angela from Oh She Glows. I’m glad you loved them! They’re one of my favorites!
OH man… I haven’t even thought of this!! I need to start planning! We have 3 Thanksgiving meals. One I cook and the other 2 I have to take sides for. It’s a whole lotta cooking!
Wowee! That’s a lotta cooking!
I have had Thanksgiving on my mind all day after reading this post at breakfast today. Isn’t it great when family can join? Right now my MIL and I are working on where Thanksgiving will be this year. Due to declines in grandparent health it might be closer to FL than SC.
We have about the same things for THanksgiving, except my husband loves CANNED oceanspray cranberry sauce and I love homemade. We end up with both! Same goes for sweet potatoes. He likes mini marshmallows on top of cut sweet potatoes, I like the casserole that is whipped with crunchy sweet pecan topping. I usually make a homemade green bean casserole, foccacia stuffing, and homemade clover leaf rolls. Dessert always includes: pumpkin, pecan, and apple pie. Ah, so hungry now!
Sounds like your Thanksgiving spread will be amazing!
We’ll be up in Ohio with Brandon’s family for Thanksgiving. Which means that I’ll miss out on my all-time favorite Thanksgiving dish: my great-grandmother’s homemade noodles. Here’s a link to the recipe: http://notsodomesticated.com/what-i-ate-for-thanksgiving-our-familys-noodle-recipe/
So unbelievably good. I could just eat the noodles by themselves for Thanksgiving and be a very happy camper!
That’s so awesome that your family is coming to visit!
Also this post is making me jealous that we already had our Thanksgiving here in Canada.
My favourite dish is definitely pumpkin pie! But I love my dad’s stuffing as well. It’s full of butter and sausage, which is why it’s so good haha.
Mmmm I’m sure the butter and sausage make it amazing!