Weekly Menu Plan For a Perfect Thanksgiving

What makes the holidays perfect for you? Have you ever had the perfect Thanksgiving? In our family, our holidays are largely centered around delicious food. I am a foodie after all. But what makes the holidays memorable and magical is spending time being present with my family, NOT slaving away in the kitchen. When they’re home, I want to relax with them and soak up all their silliness and cuteness.  

So my weekly Menu Plan is a little different this week as you might be able to gather from the pictures. These pictures are from a couple years ago when on Thanksgiving, I made a couple dishes ahead of time, put the turkey breast in the slow cooker and enjoyed gorgeous weather playing in the leaves and watching the boys play football. In my mind, this was the perfect Thanksgiving. 

What does your family enjoy for Thanksgiving? We like turkey but last couple years I’ve skipped the work of a big turkey and just made my easy Rotisserie Roast Chicken. Besides the fact that it so easy and incredibly juicy and delicious, it’s perfect for a small gathering. The Roast Chicken cooks faster and it looks like a big turkey so I actually had trouble convincing my little ones that it was chicken instead. Got a big crowd? Make a few of them instead of one enormous turkey.

Whatever meat we have the Sweet Potato Casserole is our must have dish (and why it’s the only food in that picture), well Superhubby and I must have it. It has dairy and I’m trying out being dairy free this month to see how it impacts my pain levels from Rheumatoid Arthritis. I can tell you now, it’s worth cheating on my diet and a little extra pain for this creamy, wonderful deliciousness.  

I’m not a Black Friday shopper but I do hit the sales on my computer! Last Black Friday, the only thing I bought Plan to Eat*. Have I told you yet how much I love this menu planning tool? Using Plan to Eat* has changed the way I menu plan and saves us so much money on eating good food at home. It’s a cinch to add recipes and create shopping lists. There are no ads and they are allowing new AND current subscribers to take advantage of the 50% off sale this Black Friday weekend too! How cool is that? Less than $20 for a whole year subscription. I highly recommend signing up for a free trial to see if it works for you and then buy it over Black Friday. I’ll be renewing my subscription for sure! I’m only an affiliate for products I truly believe are worth it and Plan to Eat* is one of them.

The only topic I like to chat about as much as books is food! If you have a menu plan or a delicious recipe you want to share, feel free to link it up with our Small Victories Sunday Linkup. I’m always looking for new recipes to try.

This Week’s Menu Plan:

Friday:

Homemade pizza 

 

Saturday:

Copycat Cracker Barrel Pancakes from Mirlanda’s Kitchen (yes, again, boys love these!) with fruit and sausage

Eat out between church and indoor soccer

 

Sunday:

Super Simple Cinnamon Roll Waffles from A Peek Into My Paradise and fruit

Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef from Creme de la Crumb with egg rolls and rice

 

Monday:

 

Baked Ziti with garlic bread and salad 

 

Tuesday:

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins from Eat Good 4 Life (they’re dairy free too)

Slow Cooker Caribbean Beef with Mango Salsa from Sweet Peas and Saffron with Tostones and Mojo Sauce (Fried Green Plantains with Cilantro-Garlic Sauce)

 

Wednesday:

leftovers so I can go ahead and make ahead the Sweet Potato Casserole 

 

Thursday:

My in-laws kindly ordered a premade Thanksgiving meal from a local grocery store so we can focus on being together. I’ll be making a few extras too:

Serrano ham with manchego cheese, olives and grapes 
Cheese and crackers 
Slow Cooker Ham (put layer of brown sugar on bottom of slow cooker, put spiral cut cooked ham on top, pour a little maple syrup or pineapple juice on top and coat with more brown sugar, cook on low 6-8 hours).
Sweet Potato Casserole
Broccoli Grape Salad
Vegetable Salad
Rolls
Fresh Market Pie

 

Friday

Pork Picadillo Empanadas from My Recipes.com (I’ll use leftover turkey or ham. I didn’t get to make these last week so they’re a perfect use of cooked meat)

My menu plan for the PERFECT #Thanksgiving. What makes the holidays perfect for you? Share on X

 

Menu Planning Tools

Like I said Plan to Eat* is having a 50% off Black Friday Sale from November 27-30, 2015. I bought it and have been loving the tool so much! To date I have 185 recipes in my account and planned 333 meals, that’s a whole lot of good eating! I highly recommend you try it out free for 30 days to see if you like it. We can share recipes there too if you’re a Plan to Eat member, just send me a friend request.

I created a couple simple but FREE weekly planner printables to incorporate my menu plans into my week. Check them out and download for free if it will help you with your weekly goal and menu planning.

Free Weekly Planner printable with menu planner based on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Free Weekly Planner Printable with Menu Plan, Daily Goals and Small Victories & Gratitude Tracker

All Linked Up

This post linked up with Menu Plan Monday.

All Linked Up

This post linked up with Mommy Monday Blog Hop .

What’s on your menu plan for this week?