Dh and I are hosting my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year at our new house. We originally thought this was a good idea b/c we have to do SO much traveling that week/end, and having my family come to see us (something we don't think they do enough anyway) seemed to be easier than making two back-to-back family Thanksgiving trips this year (we will have to go see dh's Tgiving weekend). Now I'm getting nervous!

If everybody shows up, there will be 8 adults and 3 children, counting us. They will be staying roughly from Friday night to Sunday afternoon/evening. One of the meals (and probably two, considering how we usually eat ourselves sick on turkey and stuffing and then graze on leftovers the rest of the day) will be Tgiving dinner, of course. Any advice on that would be much appreciated, since I do not often cook a complete meal for that many people.

I'm planning to ask for a little help with Tgiving dinner, since it won't be hard for someone to bring the green bean casserole fixin's, or rolls, etc. But now I'm racking my brain to come up with crowd-pleasing recipes that feed a lot of people, and are at the same time inexpensive and easy, for the other breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. So far, I've thought of chili and beer bread. That'll feed a lot, is good, cheap, and really easy. We have a LOT of pork sausage, so biscuits and gravy will be a winner, too.

Also, I would also appreciate a heads-up on any unforseen problems that often arise in situations like these from you veteran dinner hostesses, since I'm not used to all this yet! TIA!

you can make up a huge pot of chicken noodle soup for one day and a huge pot of hamburger soup for another in advance and freeze them, then just reheat and make sandwiches, quick and easy. Oh and unless you want to be doing a ton of dishes use paper goods for the non formal meals!

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Soups and sandwiches are a great idea. As for breakfast, there is an egg bake you can make with cheese, bread cubes, diced peppers or whatever fresh veggies and sausage. You simply brown the breakfast sausage, cube up some bread, add a mixture of eggs, milk cheese and veggies and pour it over the sausage and bread in a casserole dish. Make it the night before, refrigerate and bake in the oven (about 45 minutes) until eggs are cooked. Serve this with a fresh fruit salad. Very filling and everyone always loves it.

What about something like bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. We've started doing that, because my IL's get up way too early in the morning for me to want to get up and cook.

I would say bagels and cream cheese, muffins or danishes, Cereal, you could do an egg casserole, sausage biscuits and gravy, french toast or pancakes for your breakfast ideas, you could also have fruit

for meals, soups, goulash, chili, chicken and biscuits, ham and scalloped potatoes,


along with the stuffing that goes in the bird, we have also been known to make an extra batch in the crockpot (we like stuffing)

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~Jill~

Make muffins ahead of time and toss in the freezer for breakfasts.Oatmeal and when it is almost done take a can of drained peaches and dice them up small and add in to heat.Also use some of the juice for the water part of the water.Oh so so good and cheap!

A lunch things we do to make things stretch is take the rest of the turkey shred it and add some instant rice to make it stretched.The rice already cooked and add bbq sauce to mix good and have on buns.No one knows the rice is in it .You don't add tons just enough to make it stretch.

Deviled eggs are cheap or egg salad sandwiches and have on bread or tortilla with only lettuce.

Take a box of pasta cook it,drain add in bacon bits,ranch dressing and diced seeded tomatoe if you want.You can dice on tomato up really small it would be fine for the whole batch.

if you want a dessert for later you can make a cake,let cool poke holes in it and pour any flavor jello over it,put in the fridge to set,when set add cool whip on top.

Scrambled eggs,english muffins drizzled with honey is a nice breakfast.Don't need meat with it.Myabe some sliced strawberries and banana's mixed up with it?The kids are going to be so busy they aren't going to be eating much breakfast.

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Wife to Rick for 14 Years
Mom to 2 boys Dakota 13 & Ryan 9
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January Grocery Budget~$330.00

Spaghetti
pancakes
pasta salad
banana bread
burritos
tacos
breakfast tacos
enchilada casserole

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To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. -Elbert Hubbard