I LOVE this time of year- I love Thanksgiving and I REALLY LOVE Christmas! We also have all three of our girls b-days (end of November, January and February)- so between now and February we are a) party animals and b) really poor!!
As you might know, I am a planner- so yes I have already purchased most of my Thanksgiving essentials and yes I have started Christmas/birthday shopping. Stay tuned...I am about to whip the Christmas music playlist and decorations out because I just cant wait! Anyway, in case you are curious about our favorite Thanksgiving "shortcuts"..which are DELIGHTFUL, here they are.

My favorite Thanksgiving Cheaters: (buy early, they sell out!)

{1. Trader Joes Cornbread Stuffing (no chopping, no baking required- always trying to save oven space)} {2. Williams-Sonoma Gravy} {3. Williams-Sonoma Cranberry Relish} 4. Williams-Sonoma Dry Brine {5. Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Bread and Butter} {6. Williams-Sonoma Pecan Pie In a Jar} {7. Trader Joes has an awesome frozen pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin ice cream- get them early they sell out- SO YUMMY!} In addition to the shortcuts above- I do like the traditional recipes:
(if you click on the dish- it will take you to the recipe I am using)
-Green Bean Casserole
-Sweet Potatoes (I like actual sweet potatoes- not canned- I do not love super sweet SP)
-Mashed Potatoes (mom makes these, I am a bad mashed p maker!),
-Corn (Dave requires this, I am going to try this recipe this year: LINK I can not verify if this is good)
- I am trying this Stuffing this year
- of course rolls- but I dont have anything special to share on those
- I also do a chocolate sheet cake if we have a lot of people HERE is the recipe
- Pumpkin Pie- lots of times we grab this from Costco- yummy, easy and cheap! :) and of course the Pumpkin Cheesecake mentioned above.

And...this year..(drum roll) I am taking on the gigantic task of making my grandmothers homemade noodles- growing up this was the #1 favorite dish for the ENTIRE family and no one has really done it since she passed away. I want my kids and my brother's kids to know about "THE NOODLES"! So I am taking the plunge- I will have an entire post about them if they turn out because I will be so stinkin' proud of myself!! :)

Let me know if you have any favorites-
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