Thanksgiving plans

crewahl

This is the first Thanksgiving that both my wife and I will be “the oldest generation” of our respective families. We'd been taking our mothers to restaurants, given they had mobility issues, but that’s by the boards now. We’re planning a meal for just the two of us and my wife’s best friend, who was widowed this year (and didn’t want to join her son for dinner at his in-laws.)

So instead of going out (her friend is still very cautious about Covid exposure), we'll be making dinner here. Today I’m test-driving a turkey recipe for ease of use at the holiday. It’s a SkinnyTaste recipe that cooks a five pound turkey breast in a slow cooker with other things. If it comes out well for dinner tonight, it will be our approach to the holiday bird, and we’ll have a fair amount of turkey leftovers as well today.

https://www.skinnytaste.com/wprm_print/48290

Stay tuned . . . .

crewahl

This just in . . . .

Nope. No thanks. Glad I tried it before Thanksgiving.

There’s nothing horrendously wrong about this. However, the ten minutes of prep it cites takes fifty minutes; I spent an hour because it was new. The process of making gravy as they described didn’t work, and adding flour (and points) didn’t thicken it up; we ended with thin, opaque stew. The carrots, cooked with the broth, were fine but very soft, and they had to be isolated from the other ingredients carrot slice by carrot slice. The turkey was moist, but no more so than a stuffed and cooked bird. At least I accounted for all the bay leaves that went into this.

In essence, it was more work for something that wasn’t any better than the usual process. Live and learn . . . .

imastar2

We're headed to a State Lodge that has a beautiful buffet for 7 seniors all family. I won't even pretend to elaborate about making the better choice that day. It's usually a one meal day. Not the best approach but an hours drive each way will help to settle the tummy.

steve0mania

I have always viewed Thanksgiving as the only true "food holiday," and as such, I've been willing to eat without compromise. I figure that is the one meal a year that is worth stuffing myself silly (pun intended).

Glad you tested your recipe. Honestly, part of the "event" of Thanksgiving is the prep time, but I do understand the interest to simplify.

88olds

I think just for the heck of it on the Sunday before Thanksgiving I’m going get a paper plate and a pen and draw a diagram of what I’m planning to eat.

I don’t really like mashed potatoes. That’s a big help. I do like white meat turkey with a bit of gravy. I like veggies. A dab of dressing. Then I’m probably having 2 pieces of pumpkin pie.