At-home, small Thanksgiving meal plan (vegetarian too!)

Hello! How are you doing? Hanging in there? Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving? I know it will look very different for many people this year, myself included. I just finished putting together my menu and grocery list, and I wanted to give you an idea of what I'm making this year. If you're attending a Thanksgiving and looking for ideas of what to bring, check out this post with lots of good suggestions!

pondering my possible TG table decor (and getting ready to put it away for Christmas!)

For context, I will be cooking for just two people, and will be making a fully plant-based meal. I enjoy cooking, so I'm excited to make some of my family's favorites and maybe trying a few new dishes too. Especially since we aren't going to our usual Thanksgiving meals with family, I wanted to have a few fun food items and a few classic dishes to look forward to! I'll give you an idea for how I am portioning it too (I will be halving many of these recipes! So we don't have to eat the same thing for a 3 meals a day for a whole week haha). 

And, of course (!) you should make what you like to eat for Thanksgiving :) do what feels familiar, or exciting to you! If you hate cranberry sauce, skip it! If you love turkey lasagna, make two! If you would most enjoy ordering pizza, do it! It's a different kind of a year, so may as well make it extra enjoyable with all of your faves and none of the "obligatory" dishes if you don't like them. 

Here's what we're going to do: 

Appetizer

Brie and raspberry bites

Charcuterie board (hummus, fruits, nuts, cheese)

Main Meal

Mushroom Gravy (I'll add some white beans to this!)

Mashed potatoes

Cornbread Stuffing (I will halve this)

Cranberry sauce (this my family's favorite!!)

Parker house rolls (I would like to halve this...but it uses 3 eggs. We shall see!)

Green beans (I don't have a recipe for this but I usually do almonds, lemon juice, and garlic!)

Dessert

Pumpkin layer bars (I think I will halve this too)

Mini pumpkin cheesecakes (I might halve or will make the whole and freeze leftovers)

I just placed my grocery order today (like ten minutes ago!), so if you're still planning, don't feel like it's too late! There is still a whole week between now and next Thursday. And, especially if you are doing more of a low-key meal, I think that's plenty of time to make a plan and get ready. 

Here's my timeline: 

Sunday - pick up groceries. 

Tuesday - make cranberry sauce, cheesecakes, and cornbread. Prepare dips and toast nuts for charcuterie board. Pick up any fresh herbs and other forgotten ingredients. 

Wednesday - make dough for rolls. Peel potatoes. Chop up veggies for stuffing and mushroom gravy. Make pumpkin layer bars. 

Thursday AM - finish rolls. Put together appetizers. Put together stuffing.  

Thursday early PM - make mashed potatoes, green beans, and mushroom gravy. Bake stuffing. Make mushroom gravy. 

My goal is to spread out the work and prep so I'm not doing everything on Thursday. And I'm going to try to avoid the grocery store on Wednesday and Thursday :) I also will be working full days Monday-Wednesday, so all my prep will be happening in the evening! And I might switch around what I do on Tuesday vs. Wednesday, since I don't think that would make a difference for any of those tasks. 

My fruit bowl is turning into a squash bowl. I'm okay with it! 

The meal plan for next week will be otherwise very simple (watch for that post coming Sunday!). What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?