I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving since Labor Day.

We’ve hosted Thanksgiving at our home since the year Joe and I got engaged. I love it.

After we clean our house (a big, stressful job), Thanksgiving preparations are relatively simple. Planning an easy Thanksgiving menu makes a big difference.

We cook a lot of different foods, but many of them are made ahead and reheated just before dinner. My only Thanksgiving day headache is trying to get everything hot at the same time. It can be tricky, and I have no magic trick to get it right.

In any case, the dishes are easy and most of them stay hot (or cold) long enough that it works itself out.

Without further ado, here’s what we’re serving for Thanksgiving.

Our Easy Thanksgiving Menu

• Sparkling cider (our favorite brand is Martinelli’s)
• A relish tray with black olives, salad olives (green ones stuffed with pimentos), dill pickles, and bread & butter pickles

• Roast turkey, prepared according to the directions on the frozen turkey’s wrapper (we get this free every year by spending a certain number of dollars in a given time period)
• Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes with gravy prepared by my mom using the turkey juice (is that called drippings?) and flour
• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole
• Carrot Souffle
• Homemade Orange Cranberry Sauce
• Grand’s really big flaky buttered biscuits served with real butter and homemade jam – I know they’re cheating, but my Dad loves them.

• Gourmet Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Topping served with whipped topping and vanilla ice cream
• My Favorite Pecan Pie
• The Easiest Cherry Pie Ever

I love how Joe and I split all of the duties of Thanksgiving. I think our division of labor is one of the main reasons that I love the holiday so much.

Neither of us is overwhelmed with work, and we clear the table right into the dishwasher. By the time we’re all eating dessert, the first load of dishes are clean, and they can be put away.

In this post, I’ll tell you when to plan ahead and prepare each dish for a minimum of hassle on Thanksgiving morning.

In the meantime, you can start to put your shopping list together.

Happily submitted to Simple Saturday, Mouthwatering Mondays, Homemaking Monday, Real Life, I am Blissfully Domestic, Do It Yourself Day,  Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tuesday Toot, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tackle It Tuesday, and What’s Cooking Wednesday

Photo courtesy of basykes on Flickr