{"id":14058,"date":"2020-11-14T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T17:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homanathome.com\/?p=14058"},"modified":"2024-02-13T17:18:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T00:18:23","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-cooking-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homanathome.com\/2020\/11\/a-beginners-guide-to-cooking-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner’s Guide to Cooking Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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2015 was my first time cooking Thanksgiving all by myself. We’d just moved to Logan, Utah, far from my family in Alaska. Dustin’s family was far away as well, and so it was up to me to take on the task of figuring out how to make a bunch of dishes I’d only helped with in the past, including the dreaded turkey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another issue we had that year was that we were poor college students. My weekly food\/household budget was $50.00 for our family of 3. We were lucky enough to get WIC, which helped, but buying all the necessary food was something I had to get strategic about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ended up sitting down with my husband and figuring out exactly what we needed to have on the table for it to count as a “real” Thanksgiving. We decided on turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, deviled eggs, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, olives, and pie. From that, I made a list and a plan. For the next 4 weeks, I bought 1 or 2 items each week in order to spread out the cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My last issue was my kitchen. I had literally about 2 feet of counter space. I had one oven, a small table, and my washer and dryer (located in the kitchen) to use for prep space. In order to have everything out, ready, and hot at the same time, I created a schedule for myself. I wrote it down in a notebook and then used it for the next four years. It hasn’t failed me yet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My first turkey ever. I was kind of freaked out to cook it, but it was surprisingly easy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last year, I got a reprieve. My parents moved down from Alaska, and we had Thanksgiving at their house. I was only in charge of a few dishes, and it was a major relief. This year, though, the Homan family solo Thanksgiving is back. Our family has decided that the corona risk is too much, so we’re doing things alone instead of risking Grandma and Grandpa’s health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t know how many of you out there are making similar decisions, but I know it can be hard. Thanksgiving is all about family, and missing them for this holiday seems counterintuitive, even if you made the choice to keep them safe. It also leaves you with another choice — forgo the traditional meal, or make it entirely yourself. I know from experience that cooking Thanksgiving alone for the first time can be a daunting task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gotta love my mismatched dishes\/pots!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here you’ll find my list and the schedule that I use. This utilizes the dishes that Dustin and I decided were important years ago, but you can modify it to fit in any must-haves that your family loves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This plan will feed a family of 4 for about 3 days. That’s perfect for us — we get tired of the same meal for lunch and dinner after that time. This also costs me less than $50.00 each year. There’s no law that says Thanksgiving has to break the bank!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One other disclaimer — in order to take some of the pressure off, I use a lot of boxed or prepared foods, like canned cranberry jelly, Rhodes rolls, and frozen pie. We love it, and I love that I can cross those items off my list with a minimum of effort!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shopping List<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is my basic shopping list. I have two options — split by recipe and split by department. This is so that you can just cross off any recipes you don’t like and substitute in your own dishes with the version split by recipe. Or, you can have everything in one place, mapped roughly to store departments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recipe Shopping List<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Department Shopping List<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recipes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve linked all the recipes I use here. I’ve added some notes on modifications I make for our family. Thanks to all the wonderful bloggers whose recipes were literal lifesavers that first year! <\/p>\n\n\n\n