QUICK AND EASY TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY RECIPES
I remember the first year I had to cook my own Thanksgiving turkey — I had no idea what to expect.
Back then, Pinterest was everywhere, so I decided to hop on there and find the first EASY recipe I could find. And let me tell you — it turned out great! I honestly shocked myself! I may have had a little help from my dad during the day, butttttt it still turned out great!
That being said, I’ve hosted my fair share of Thanksgiving’s since then, including a couple of Friendsgiving’s, so I feel like I’ve gotten things down now! Here are my FAVORITE and EASY recipes I use on Thanksgiving Day 👇🏼
FIRST, THE TURKEY:
Ingredients:
10-20 LB Turkey
1 Stick of Butter or 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 White Onion, Chopped
1 Green Apple, Chopped
2 Carrots, Chopped or Handful of Baby Carrots
Dash of Poultry Seasoning
Instructions:
Remove the turkey giblets (duh!) and pat the turkey dry. Set it aside in a large disposable pan or roasting pan and preheat the oven to 350°.
Chop the onion, green apple and carrots into 1 inch size pieces and mix together in a separate bowl with melted butter (or olive oil) and poultry seasoning. Stuff the inside of the turkey with the mixture.
Next take the rest of the stick of butter and slice it into 1/4 inch pieces and place the butter inside the skin of the turkey. (You can also rub the turkey with olive oil if desired!) Make sure you sprinkle some poultry seasoning on top of the turkey and rub into the bird.
Place it in the oven for 2.5 to 5 hours depending on the size of your turkey. Make sure you baste the turkey every 45 minutes to keep it moist!!!
SECOND, THE MASHED POTATOES:
Ingredients:
2 LB Bag of Russet Potatoes
1/2-1 Stick of Butter (Based on Preference)
1/2 Cup Water
2 TSP Minced Garlic (Optional)
Salt and Pepper to Taste (Optional)
Instructions:
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Place the cut potatoes in the crockpot.
Add half a stick of butter cut into small pieces and 1/2 cup of water to the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the potatoes are very tender.
Start mashing the potatoes right in the crockpot. (This is where you can also add in 1 cup of milk or 1 cup of broth to make it more creamy, but I prefer more butter 😂)
Keep warm until serving to your guests!
THIRD, THE STUFFING (WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE):
Before you judge… know that your girl LOVES easy recipes!
Ingredients:
2 Bags of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing
1 Package of Turkey Sausage
1 White Onion, Chopped
1/2 Stalk of Celery, Chopped
1/2 Stick of Butter
2 Cups of Turkey Broth
Instructions:
Start by chopping the onions and celery and add to a heated pan. Add in the turkey sausage and cook everything together until thoroughly cooked and the celery and onions are translucent. Once done cooking, set aside and pat dry.
Add the bags of the classic stuffing, sausage and onions and celery to a large mixing bowl. You can then transport this mixture to the 9x13 (or larger) dish.
This is where you can choose to stick in the fridge overnight with some tinfoil OR you can add in slices of butter on top and pour the 2 cups of turkey broth over top of the stuffing right away.
The oven should be preheated to 350 and will cook for 35-40 minutes or until the stuffing is nice and crispy!
FOURTH, THE CRANBERRY SAUCE:
Nothing makes me cringe more than canned cranberry sauce — yuck! A few years ago I made it a goal to find a homemade cranberry sauce recipe and it turned out great!
Ingredients:
Fresh or Frozen Cranberries (12 OZ)
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 TSP Ground Cinnamon
Instructions:
Add sugar, water and orange juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Then add the cranberries and cinnamon and bring that to simmer. Stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. You can refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
***LOVE, HEATHER LOUISE TIP***
Outsource guests to make the Green Bean Casserole, Macaroni and Cheese, Gravy, Rolls and Desserts since those are the easiest to make ☺️
