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2024 Thanksgiving Menu and Meal Prep Timeline

* image These past few months have been busy for our family, especially since our oldest joined a local swim team. Between juggling our work schedules and balancing school with practices... we're all pretty wiped out. Although it's a lot of work, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. Preparing the holiday meal for our family fills my heart with joy, and I can't wait to get started. To make things easier for me, I don't deviate much from  our first Thanksgiving  as a family. The dishes I make are familiar ones, and the recipes for them live at my fingertips. Keeping the same menu year after year means I don't have to spend time researching recipes or planning a new one. Here are my tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes, as well as my prep timeline for the big day!
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Guest Post: Tomato Basil Pesto Soup

Tomato Basil Pesto Soup - Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy
Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy

It's a rainy day here in Knoxville. Rainy days provide the perfect reason to stay inside, all cozy and warm, and cook up a batch of homemade soup. Today's guest blogger, Serena Norr from Seriously Soupy shares her recipe for Tomato Basil Pesto Soup. Timely, right?

Thanks so much for writing, Serena!


Tomatoes - Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy
Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy

I saw a flower bud today and it got me thinking about spring. Not only is it a time to shed some layers and enjoy more daylight, but spring is also a great time to enjoy delicious and fresh seasonal and local food. I particularly love the fresh and colorful varieties of fruits and vegetables for soup-making. In thinking about spring and the exciting soup-making season, I made this Tomato Basil Pesto Soup using a blend of colorful heirloom tomatoes that was mixed with a peppery/sweet basil pesto, creating a rich and flavorful light soup that will, hopefully, inspire you to get cooking in the warmer days ahead.

Chopped Heirloom Tomatoes - Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy
Photo Courtesy of Seriously Soupy

Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Pesto Soup

For the Soup

4 cups water
4 tomatoes, mixed blend
Bunch fresh basil
Bunch fresh sage
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

For the Basil Pesto

1/4 cup pine nuts
Bunch fresh basil (approximately a handful)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Start by boiling the water in a medium-sized pot. Dice tomatoes and place them in the boiling water, along with the fresh basil, sage, and salt. Cover the pot and start making the pesto.

Mash the pine nuts with a rolling pin and then grind them in a blender. Chop up the basil (very fine) and place it in a bowl, along with the pine nuts, olive oil, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the pesto mixture into a blender until the mash is semi-liquefied. (The grind setting does this nicely!) There will be some chunks, so if that bothers you, continue to blend.

Add the pesto to soup and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes, tasting the soup along the way. Add more water to thin to preferred consistency, if necessary. Turn off the flame and enjoy!

To read more of Serena's recipes and her adventures with soup-making, please visit Seriously Soupy.

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