Normally, meal planning is a strategy to make life easier, save money and choose healthier food.
Love it or hate it, there are a handful of meals a year that even the most resistant will plan ahead, Thanksgiving being one. Though let’s be honest, since March of this year, planning for just about anything has been an exercise in futility. Which leads me to believe you’re a bit hesitant (and simultaneously relieved or distraught) about how to plan for the holidays.
While you grapple with the moral dilemma of sticking to traditions or honoring pandemic restrictions, I’ll offer a few suggestions to manage the uncertainty of meal planning, in an unpredictable year.
First, make dishes that freeze well, for you may end up with more leftovers than usual. Here’s what doesn’t freeze well:
Vegetables with high water content such as cabbage and celery. They will become limp and oxidized once thawed, but as a small portion of a recipe, you won’t notice. Milk-based sauces tend to curdle or separate upon thawing.Fried foods will become soggy. Second, and perhaps this should be first, make it simple. Let’s not discredit the possibility of turkey chowder taking the main stage on the big day. Add a vegetable and pumpkin/apple pie, and there you have it. All your favorite ingredients, in one to three comforting dishes.
Agreed, it’s not the norm, and it’s not what you’ve been looking forward to since you gobbled up the last bit of roasted (or fried) turkey from 2019. But, there are advantages to facing uncertainty with few expectations, namely, less disappointment. Did I mention soup freezes well? Pie probably freezes well, but I’ve never had leftovers, so I can’t say for sure.
For an easy Thanksgiving meal try this:
Simple Southwest Turkey Chowder: This recipe takes about 45 minutes to prepare and is available on the Family & Consumer Science page at www.laplataextension.org. Simple Apple Pie: Canned apples (or make sauteed spiced apples from scratch), put on vanilla ice cream or yogurt, top with crunchy granola. Delish!Something green. Rinse and scrub under clean water (maybe roast?) and enjoy. A simple meal may not look like the November cover of Bon Appetit, but what you lose in fancy aesthetics, you gain in free time. Time that may be better spent on the most valuable holiday component – being with the people we love, even if “being with” is redefined through a phone or video call.
Best part of a small, simple Thanksgiving? It makes sense to purchase turkey breasts or ground turkey, in small packages. In a normal year, we have to play the frustrating game of turkey Tetris. You know, the one where you’re trying to fit a whole 30-pound, frozen turkey into a fridge that barely has room for a lemon? There are many things to miss about a normal holiday, this will not be one.
If you decide to roast/fry the whole bird, remember it will take two to three days to thaw it in the fridge, which is best practice. No part of the bird should be in the temperature danger zone while thawing, that’s 41 to 135 degrees.
Whatever becomes of the holidays this year, know it’s perfectly acceptable to mourn the loss of experience and connection. Embrace a moment of sadness, but know this may be your chance to try something new and to add to your repertoire of traditions by making the most of what you have. This is, after all, the holiday for giving thanks.
Nicole Clark is the family and consumer science agent for the La Plata County Extension Office. Reach her at nicole.clark@colostate.edu or 382-6461.
Nicole Clark
