During the second week make the mashed potatoes. Put the mashed potatoes in a big round dish. Freeze.

Mashed Potatoes

Makes 12 servings.

5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freeze-dried chives
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and generously salt water. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Mash potatoes together with cream cheese, sour cream, chives, salt, and pepper. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Place in a storage container with the lid off and chill in refrigerator. When potatoes are cold, cover tightly with a lid.

2. When ready to reheat potatoes, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking dish and spoon desired amount of potatoes into dish. Sprinkle with paprika and dot with butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Use within 10 days.

Check to make sure any silver you will be using during the holiday is tarnish free. If necessary, polish at this time.

The Saturday before the holiday make the deserts. Make a pumpkin cheese cake. While it is baking, prepare an apple pie. When the cheese cake is done, take it out of the oven and put in the apple pie. Put them both in the refrigerator when they are done baking.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
2 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 ounces or 9 inches)
1. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended and then stir in pumpkin and pumpkin pie seasoning.
2. Pour pumpkin batter into crust.
3. Bake at 3500F for 40 minutes or until center is almost set
Cool and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with Whipped Topping and gumdrop cutouts
Makes 8 servings.
Can be garnished after chilled and cut into serving pieces, with candied pecan halves. For candied pecans: Melt the sugar and cook until temperature reaches 310 degrees F. Stir in nuts until completely coated. Pour onto buttered baking pan. Try to keep the nuts in individual pieces or pulse in food processor for praline effect.
Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS:

2 prepared 8 inch pastry shells
6 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place sliced apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Stir well and pour mixture over apples. Cut half of butter or margarine into small pieces and add to apples. Toss apples until thoroughly coated.

3. Pour apples into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot apples with the rest of butter or margarine. Place second pastry on top. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Also take the frozen dishes out of the freezer and put them into the refrigerator. Take one turkey out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator.

The Sunday before the holiday, make the Cranberry Port sauce. Put the sauce in a pretty dish for later serving. Wrap the top in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the sauce.
Cranberry Port Sauce

Makes: about 2 cups.

1 (12 oz.) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and any soft or decaying fruit discarded
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
¾ cup orange juice
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup Port

In a 3- to 4- quart pan over medium-high heat, stir together cranberries, orange peel, orange juice, and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, until the berries have broken open and released their juices, 8 to 10 minutes. Add Port and cook 2 minutes longer. Let cool completely and store airtight up to 2 weeks.

The day before the holiday meal make the devilled eggs and put into devilled egg serving dish. I put the top to a plastic cake safe over the dish to keep from smashing the eggs. Then I wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap before putting into the refrigerator.

Put the black and green olives and gherkins into a relish tray, put the marinated mushrooms into another relish tray and put both trays wrapped in plastic wrap into the refrigerator.

On the holiday clean and prepare your turkey for roasting. Slice the frozen roll of herbed butter into coins. Place half of the herbed butter coins under the skin on each turkey breast. Shape a piece of foil over the turkey and then remove the shaped foil for later use. Then roast the turkey. I roast mine at 425 degrees F. As soon as the turkey is in the oven you can set the dining room table. Do not baste the turkey. Occasionally check to make sure there is enough water in the roasting pan. Occasionally check to see when your turkey has become as brown as you prefer. When it is as brown as you prefer, then take your pre-shaped foil and put it over the turkey to prevent further browning.

When about forty-five minutes remain until the turkey is done, get the chilled dishes out of the refrigerator and put them on the kitchen counter. Get out your gravy boat and meat platter and put them on the counter. While you are waiting, you can measure and cut the ribbons you will need for the white serving dishes at this time, since the dishes are sitting on the counter coming to room temperature.

When the turkey is done put the turkey on the meat platter on the kitchen counter. Lower the temperature on the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the lids and plastic wrap off of the side dishes and put these dishes containing dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole into the oven. They will need to bake for a total of one hour.

One-half hour before the serving dishes are done baking, wrap the dinner rolls in a foil packet and put it in the oven, too. While the side dishes finish baking, heat the turkey gravy on the stove. I usually heat two of the four jars for the meal. The other two jars are for later use with leftovers.
Open the wine and let it breathe.

Cut the turkey and put the turkey pieces on a serving platter. I remove the legs, then the wings. Then I trim of as much of one turkey breast in one big piece as I can. I lay it on a meat cutting board and cut across the grain into one-inch slices. Then I add the one-inch slices to the meat platter.

Now is a good time to review your menu. Put hot pads where you will be serving the hot dishes when they come out of the oven. Put out the serving spoons and the fork and meat knife for serving the turkey. Get out a basket for the dinner rolls and line it with a napkin. Put a butter knife by the basket. Put a gravy ladle near the gravy boat.

When a few minutes remain before taking out the baked dishes, go ahead and put the two relish trays, the Cranberry Port sauce, devilled eggs, pitcher of ice water and bottle(s) of wine where you will be serving them.

When the dishes in the oven are done, take them out and put them on the hot pads you have already placed where you will be serving the meal. If you are putting ribbons on them, now is the time. Go ahead and put the serving spoons into the dishes. Take out the rolls and put them into the basket. Put butter with the rolls and butter knife. Last, pour the heated gravy into a gravy boat and put the gravy ladle into the gravy boat.

Check your menu to make sure everything is out to be served.

Serve dinner. You will note that you do not have a big mess in your kitchen. You will only have a small pan that you heated the gravy in and the roasting pan. The rest of your kitchen is clean.

After the meal, trim all of the meat from the turkey and put the meat into two resealable plastic bags. Refrigerate the bag that contains what you expect to eat right away and freeze the other plastic bag for later use. Wrap the turkey carcass in a small trash bag and freeze. This way the carcass doesn’t smell up your trash until trash day.

Wrap each white serving dish in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Wrap the relish trays and Cranberry Port sauce in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Put the leftover dinner rolls in a plastic resealable bag and refrigerate.

Note that when it is time to wash the dishes, you will only have the dinner dishes, glasses, silverware, small pan you heated the gravy in and the roasting pan to wash. All the other dishes are in the refrigerator. No other pots and pans are left to wash.

On trash pick-up day pull the turkey carcass out of the freezer and throw it in the garbage to go out with the rest of the trash.

Wow thanks alot for all this impossible! I make pretty much about the same things that you do and I also do everything that I can ahead of time and/or freeze (cranberries--chop onions celery etc) except that I do make my own pie crusts and pies that morning along with the bread (usually apple and pumpkin) and I make my own turkey gravy from the turkey drippings when the bird is done---and I make sure I make my homeade white bread the same day so that it is super fresh--I usually always do have alot of help from all the in-laws if we have it at my place so that is a real plus

You are much more organized than I am that is for sure!--I have to opt for a mass flurry of activity on the actual day and of course everything always matters on how many people are gonna be here and how many dishes will be brought to pass--the actual making of the last minute stuff is fun with all the in-laws helping and talking and having a ball LOL

and the clean-up is no problem with all these people helping~~~

This year we ARE having turkeyday here and usually always do! cause we have the biggest living area for all these people to gather in our home lol--so I am still working on the menu--I am pretty much just in charge of the turkey (lol) dressing (that time too stuffed) and mashed taters which I make whoever gets here first do it lol and the bread is done which I will do in the morning and the pies too so everything is all homeade and fresh---The sweet tater dish and green bean and other various lick-dobs will be all brought by guests as they straggle in~~

I think my menu will be;

roast turkey with dressing (gravy made with the drippings)
mashed taters (that day)
homeade bread (that day)
homeade pies (that day) apple and pumpkin
sweet tater dish (in-law)
green bean dish (in law)
cranberry relish (made a couple days before)
potatoes au'gratin (in-law)
pumpkin dessert (in-law)
?????? who knows what other in-laws will bring? It is always a very pleasant mystery!)
lots of lick-dobs ~~~~~ smoked oyster pate (I make this during that week sometime --it holds really well)---liver pate--same here)--crab dip--shrimp dip---spinach dip-(I do all these that week and they all hold well)
cheese veggie tray (mushrooms veggies etc) all with ranch dip and really good crackers and little rye breads to go with it all

To me--the fun of our get-together is all of us together and loving each other and having drinks and being together working on the actual meal--This year there will probably be about 20 adults and who knows how many rug-rats? LOLOL

This is a great thread! thanks! gets me right in the spirit

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Here's my recipes --as close as I can get them anyway! LOL

TURKEY PAN GRAVY

3/4 cup turkey drippings
3/4 cup flour
6 cups milk
Finely chopped cooked giblets, if desired
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Pour drippings from pan in which turkey was roasted. Put 3/4 cup drippings in a skillet, Add flour, mix well, and brown slightly.
Put 2 cups milk in roasting pan and cook up browned bits. Gradually add milk plus remaining 4 cups of milk to mixture in skillet, stirring constantly to make smooth gravy. Add giblets, salt, pepper, and other seasonings, if desired. Bring gravy to a boil. Stir and cook 5 to 10 minutes.

6 cups.--if more then just double~~~
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HOMEMADE PIE CRUST

Makes 8 or 9-inch double crust.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 c. Crisco shortening
1 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. cold water


Cut Crisco into flour using pastry blender or 2 knives to form pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle water over flour one tablespoon at a time.
Toss lightly with fork until dough forms a ball. Divide ball in half.

Press to form 2 (5-6 inch) "pancakes". Flour each side. Slide one between sheets of waxed paper or wrap in plastic wrap.

Place on a clean work surface which has been lightly dusted with flour.

With a flour-dusted or silicone rolling pin, roll dough into a circle, picking the circle up and turning it often, to keep it from sticking to the surface. It is helpful to roll pie crusts out on a silicone baking sheet or on wax paper. Sprinkle flour on pastry if it sticks, but the less flour used, the better.

Roll crust out from the center in all directions until you have a circle which is 1 inch larger than the upside down pie plate. Repeat for top crust.

Flip crust into pie plate. Peel off paper. Press loosely into pie plate. Trim edge evenly with pie plate.

Add filling and moisten edge. Cover with top crust and trim 1-inch larger than pie plate. Fold under and flute. Folding the edge under creates a double thickness of crust which is less likely to burn than a thin edged crust.

Cut a venting hole in the center to allow steam to escape, or decorative slits in a pattern over the top.

Bake according to recipe.
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I make this by hand I HATE bread machines--I will double or triple this acording to how many I have

BARBS HOMEMADE BREAD

5 to 6 c. flour
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 pkg. dry yeast
2 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil

In large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Blend well. In small saucepan, heat water and oil until very lukewarm (120 to 130 degrees). Add warm liquid to flour mixture. Blend until moistened, then beat with beater 3 minutes. Stir in 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour until dough pulls cleanly away from side of bowl.
Knead 10 minutes, adding a little flour at a time, if dough feels sticky. Grease lump of dough. Put in bowl to rise and cover with towel. Let rise until double, then punch down. Divide dough into 2 parts and shape into balls. Let rise on counter covered with inverted bowl for 15 minutes.

Shape into loaves and place in 2 greased pans. Let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until it has risen about 1 inch above pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow. Remove from pans and brush top with butter. Makes 2 loaves.
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Barbs Cranberry Relish

4 cups whole raw cranberries, washed

1 small onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons horseradish

Grind the raw berries and onion together

Add everything else and mix.

Put in a plastic container and freeze.

Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")

The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. It's also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef---I usually triple this according to how many I have! and people will be raving over this!
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Stuffing/Dressing
This recipe is for a 12 pound turkey.

12 cups of bread cubes (cut up after toasting) (I use my own homeade white bread but y'all can use commercial of course)
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sage
poultry seasoning to taste
small amount of hot water

Toast bread and chop. When bread cubes are ready, melt butter. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 of the bread crumbs and heat, stirring to prevent excessive browning. Place in a large bowl. Mix in lightly the rest of the bread cubes and seasoning. Add a small amount of water to the hot skillet. Heat slightly. Then add this liquid to the bread mixture to desired consistency. Stuff in turkey!

but of course if I do a much larger turkey I would have to double this recipe!

impossible you live in Monroe Washington am I right? I am trying to remember one of our conversations back awhile ago~~

Perhaps we can find a big family to adopt us.

oh YES Perhaps you can!

love your siggy!

LOLOO sorry if I am getting too personal! LOL