Be thankful for slow cookers and crescent roll dough.
Christine ByrnePublished on November 20, 2014
1. Coat your turkey with butter before you cook it instead of brining or marinating. Macey Foronda / BuzzFeed
No brining means no need to clear out your entire fridge for two days before Thanksgiving in order to fit a five-gallon cooler in there. The butter will keep your meat moist and add flavor. Just remember to thaw your turkey a few days in advance.
Recipe: Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey and Gravy
2. Use crescent roll dough to make tiny apple pies. 3. Cook mashed potatoes in a slow cooker... 4. ...then use an electric mixer to mash them! Macey Foronda / BuzzFeed
Because mashing takes a lot of time and a lot of forearm strength.
Recipe: Easy Whipped Potatoes
5. If you make a root vegetable mash instead of mashed potatoes, you can puree it in a blender. 6. Or, if you're willing to break from tradition, roasted potatoes are way easier than mashed. 7. Cook baby carrots instead of whole carrots so that you don't have to peel or cut them. 8. Bake a soft cheese in its wooden box for an easy appetizer that looks fancy. 10. Use frozen hash browns to make your potato casserole . 11. Cook sweet potatoes in the microwave, then peel and mash them. 12. Swap the green bean casserole for easy stovetop green beans. 13. Bake a semi-homemade pie with premade pie dough and homemade filling. Macey Foronda / BuzzFeed
Using store-bought crust means all you have to do is unroll it into a pie dish, then mix your filling ingredients together and pour them in. No waiting for the dough to "come together," no flour-coated countertops!
Recipe: Easy Pumpkin Pie
14. Add cheese and nuts to a simple green salad for lots of added flavor and minimal added prep. julieblanner.com
"Easy salad" doesn't have to by synonymous with "lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers in a bowl with bottles of store-bought dressing on the side." Easy salad can actually taste like something (preferably nuts and cheese).
Recipe: Irresistably Easy Salad
15. Make a quick, sweet appetizer with cream cheese, caramel sauce, and toffee pieces. 16. Cook squash with the skin on so that you don't have to waste time peeling it. jellytoastblog.com
The skin will add color, and lots of people like to eat it. Leave the squash in big pieces too. This will save you time, but it'll also make it easier for skin-averse guests to peel it off.
Recipe: Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
17. If you're cooking for fewer than 5 people, don't bother with a whole bird. butterwithasideofbread.com
Just the breast will be enough. Cooking it in a slow cooker will keep it moist and save you valuable oven space. Recipe here .
18. Dress up frozen dinner rolls with garlic and cheese to make them more special. 19. Use prepackaged bread cubes for stuffing instead of slicing your own.
20. Make a 3-ingredient green bean casserole with canned soup, canned green beans, and boxed fried onions. 21. Ditch pie and make a pumpkin icebox cake instead. Still worried about cooking for Thanksgiving? Click here for step-by-step instructions on exactly how to cook a simple Thanksgiving dinner. buzzfeed.com
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Pick the menu early. Don't leave menu planning and shopping to the last minute. ... Brine your bird. ... Start prep work a few days before Thanksgiving. ... Serve batched co*cktails. ... Create simple centerpieces.
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What are the top 10 Thanksgiving dishes? ›
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What are American's favorite Thanksgiving food? ›
What is the most common Thanksgiving food that Americans will eat on Thanksgiving? Turkey, followed by mashed potatoes, corn, yams, cranberry, peas, pumpkin pie . Other dishes can be included but these are the most common. Also stuffing is common with turkey.
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Most Traditional Thanksgiving Foods. A traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of roast turkey and many sides including stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and cranberry sauce, with pumpkin pie as dessert.
What is a true Thanksgiving dinner? ›
Senior Editor. November 21, 2011. Traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes but the First Thanksgiving likely included wildfowl, corn, porridge and venison. Bettmann / Corbis.
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