Thanksgiving Menu Planner

There are only about two weeks left until my husband's favorite day of the year:  Thanksgiving! Born and raised in Louisville, my Midwestern Hubs is a meat-and-potatoes man to the core.  He loves all the comfort food favorites of a holiday dedicated to stuffing yourself!  Of course, for the last six years, we've been either deployed or with family for Turkey Day.  The first year we were dating, and the first year we were married, Hubs was alone on the big day and prepared the meal himself.

I, on the other hand, have never been in charge of Thanksgiving.  If I wasn't deployed, or a guest at someone else's house, I was always Mama's sous chef.  The most responsibility I ever had was in 2009, when I was in charge of the sweet potatoes, and in 2010 when I brought corn to our neighbor's Thanksgiving celebration.  This year, I'm all on my own.

The commissary here has had the traditional "Thanksgiving foods" on display for a couple of weeks already, and I just know things will soon be picked over and disappear if I don't buy them now.  So, I did what I always do, and called Mama for the how-to's!  She emailed me our traditional dishes and recipes for each.  I even called my mother-in-law to see if Hubs's side of the family had any particular favorites.  I made a shopping list, categorized by each dish and what can be purchased now (I was surprised by how much I can prep in advance, and honestly how easy each dish is...a major plus when making such a huge meal!).  Today I'll buy what I can, saving the rest of the fresh ingredients for the week before...

Would you like to know what we'll be whipping up in my kitchen this year?  I'm so glad you asked!

Lemon, Sage, and Garlic Turkey Breast 

we only like white meat, and there will only be two of us

Herb-Seasoned Stuffing with Mushrooms, Onions, and Celery

Garlic-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Sweet Potatoes with Orange Slices and Marshmallows

Mamaw's Fresh Country Green Beans

Fried Corn

Fresh Sugared Cranberries

Apricot Jello Salad

Apple Pie

no, I'm not making pumpkin pie, since I don't like it and two people don't need two pies