Thanksgiving is, by far, one of my very favorite holidays.  As much as possible, I try to be thankful every day for the life that I have.  But, like most people, I get caught up in the day to day stuff more often than I’d like to admit.  Thanksgiving ensures that we take at least one meal to be truly thank-full. 

With the Christmas season starting before Halloween and ending after New Year’s, Thanksgiving seems to be a tiny blip on the holiday radar.  It’s what I like about it.  Not because it’s just a tiny blip, but because it hasn’t become a massive commercial holiday like Christmas or Halloween.  Sure, retailers make money selling turkeys, wine, serving pieces, and tablecloths, but it’s not crazy like other holidays.  It’s a holiday, not a whole season — one or two meals enjoyed with family or friends. 

I understand that Thanksgiving is anxiety-producing for some people who aren’t as comfortable in the kitchen as I am.  These days, there are many ways to avoid Thanksgiving anxiety.  You can go out to one of the restaurants that are serving on Thanksgiving or carry out a complete dinner from one of many restaurants and stores offering meal packages.

As a dinner, I don’t think that Thanksgiving dinner requires great culinary skill to execute.  It’s just that most of us want variety in the meal either because it’s a favorite or a tradition.   Far from the one-pot meals of a Monday night, it does require some serious planning and organization.

I would venture to guess that I’ve cooked most of my Thanksgiving dinner for the past fifteen or sixteen years.  It started with my traveling out of state to spend the holiday with friends.  We planned the menu for months, shopped when I arrived, and cooked for two days together.  As life changed, I stopped traveling to see them, but I didn’t stop cooking Thanksgiving dinner. 

2019 will be the first year making Thanksgiving dinner in our motorhome.  With only a small microwave/convection and two propane burners, I’ve been thinking about how this will work for the past couple of months.  This past week, I researched alternative ways of cooking turkey, reviewed favorite recipes from past Thanksgivings, wrote my menu, made a grocery list, and created a plan.  Want to see what’s on our Thanksgiving 2019 menu?  Want to use my step by step plan, and grocery/equipment list for your own Thanksgiving dinner? Wondering what wine you should serve with dinner?

 I will be cutting some recipes down for us.  For instance, I know that four pounds of potatoes for the two of us are WAY too much, even if we eat leftovers a few times.  And I want plenty of leftovers!  First, as turkey sandwiches (hot or cold) and then as turkey pot pie (a great use of the extra pie crust, turkey & gravy or turkey enchiladas.   I appreciate these leftovers more than other leftovers, especially after spending a couple of days in the kitchen and a few weeks in the planning.  I’m ready for Thanksgiving and the challenge of cooking in a small kitchen.   

Brian & I have celebrated Thanksgiving for the last five or six years quietly either with a couple of friends or on our own.  That part won’t be any different this year.  What will be different this year?  The table at which we enjoy our dinner, a few recipes adapted for our current kitchen, and the additional thanks we give for living out our dream of being on the road.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay