Canadian here so we've already had Thanksgiving, we had Turkey and Ham, with tons of fixings! It just wouldn't feel like Thnaksgiving if we didn't all eat way too much! lol such a nice time of year. Garden's come to an end, time to enjoy it!
Going to SIL's for a vegetarian TG and that evening to stepson's for a vegan TG. Taking wine and a homemade apple pie I bought in a United Way auction. I LOOOOVE being lazy.
I would normally be making a turkey, but I'm 9 months pregnant and waiting to go into labor any day now, so I informed my husband months ago I'm not cooking this year.
We have no family within 1000 miles, but we've been invited to a friends house for dinner.
I eat so much chicken & turkey year round that I sprout pinfeathers. Thinking I'm going for something I'm not allowed the rest of the year, maybe tater tots & rice.
We are roasting a duck and a chicken, both stuffed. I put celery, apple and mushrooms in my stuffing, along with the chicken broth and the other savory seasonings, so it's nice and moist. I usually do a side dish of extra stuffing, too. I used to do a big turkey when I had a dozen people over, but now we just do what we like. I still like to make all the traditional side dishes.
I only have one oven in this house and I don't have the strength or stamina I used to, so I spread the work out a little more. I bake bread and pies with a butter crust the day before. I cook the cranberry sauce with oranges ahead, too. I've gone to using the microwave for cooking the sweet potatoes before skinning them, white potatoes and corn. My husband is good about scooping the stuffing out of the birds and carving, while I'm making a big pot of gravy with the duck fat. Mmm...
Plus, I like some salad and veggie nibbles around. I just have to have a dish of black olive around, too. All in all, it does take a lot of hours to make all these foods. We look forward to the leftovers during the weekend, though. We eat chicken during the year, too, but I don't stuff one very often. Plus, we don't have this combination of side dishes with our chicken most of the year. The duck and the duck fat really do it for us, though.