Thanksgiving is upon us! I spent the better part of Saturday making our Thanksgiving menu and organizing the grocery list to reduce the frenzy potential at the store. I like to organize the list by aisle- super time-saver. I put all of the recipes we are going to make in a single document, adjusting the quantities based on how many servings we need. This makes list-making easier AND there is no guesswork when divvying up the recipes to relative who want to help cook. Yay for a family of cooks!
So what is on our menu? I am lucky that my family is open to trying new things each year. There are certain ingredient must-haves, but most anything goes within those boundaries. For example, there is always turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cranberries, some sort of pumpkin dessert, plus way too many other desserts that we decide on at the last minute. My Mom also loves to make Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing and break out a can of super smooth jellied cranberry sauce to make it totally American.
My Mom is in charge of our turkey- she is an expert at the whole brining thing- and the gravy, so I will find out what she has in store come Thanksgiving day. Mashed potatoes are getting the slow cooker treatment for the first time, green beans will be mixed with my Miso Mushrooms (minus the white beans), Brussels sprouts will roast with pears, cranberries will simmer with some citrus and bay leaves, carrots will get a maple and cumin glaze, and pumpkin pie will merge with coconut pie for the dessert we have so far. There is also going to be a fall salad in there somewhere, you know, just as an appetizer to our vegetable-filled feast.
What are you making for Thanksgiving? Any family favorites?
As much as I love planning Thanksgiving, the days leading up to it can be hectic. Work, travel, grocery shopping, etc. This is where this soup comes in. It is a perfect pre-Thanksgiving soup- simple to make, nourishing, not too heavy, but comforting enough for this cooler weather. Because around these parts, the temperature just plummeted.
This recipe was featured over at Be Well Philly with two other sweet potato recipes from the awesome Lindsey Kane and talented Grace Dickinson. You can check all three recipes out here.
