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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!

A Month of Dinners: Menu Plan for November {and Some Honesty about Blogging}

In an attempt to make my life a little easier, I'm planning all of our dinners for November at once.


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Seeing as this is only the third post I've written in October, I think it's safe to say that this was a rather slow month for me on the blog. I had grand plans of maintaining the momentum I had gained back in September, back when I managed to churn out nine blog posts with an infant in the house, but it just wasn't meant to be.

I expected to get more and more annoyed at myself for not making time to sit down and write, but I never did. Every time I realized I wouldn't have time to write at the end of the day, I simply shrugged my shoulders and accepted the fact that we, as a family, were super busy this month.

With a trip to Cleveland (where Caroline crawled for the first time [!] and got to meet one of my closest friends from grad school), visits with all six of the grandparents (and one great-grandparent), and an afternoon of fall fun at the orchard, life offline took precedence, and I allowed myself to just enjoy it.

Do you want to know a secret?

Disconnecting felt GREAT.

I know that's a risky thing for a blogger to admit, but I truly benefited from the time away. I didn't overload my schedule, so the time I spent doing other things was more meaningful because it was more focused.

I hope to blog more frequently in November and have set some small writing goals for myself. I'll be pleased as punch if I manage to accomplish them all, but if I only get around to one or two, then so be it. :)

For now, though, how about we focus on our menu plan for the coming month?

Menu Plan for November

Week 1: November 1 - November 7

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Breasts with Corn Brulee (from Lehigh Valley Style) and Wilted Spinach with Garlic and Olive Oil
Monday: Healthier Eggplant Parmesan
Tuesday: Cream-Style Corn Chowder
Wednesday: Stephen's Choice
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Saturday: Take-Out

Week 2: November 8 - November 14

Sunday: Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Skillet (from Lollipopsicle)
Monday: Cauliflower Fried Rice (from The Kitchn)
Tuesday: Crockpot Braised Beef Ragu with Polenta (from Pinch of Yum)
Wednesday: Stephen's Choice
Thursday: Gnocchi Skillet with Chicken Sausage and Tomatoes (from The Kitchn)
Friday: Traveling
Saturday: Leftovers

Week 3: November 15 - November 21

Sunday: Skillet Chicken and Mozzarella Bake (from Cooking Light)
Monday: Panko-Crusted Salmon with Rice Pilaf and Wilted Spinach with Garlic and Olive Oil
Tuesday: Brussels Sprouts Carbonara (from Skinnytaste)
Wednesday: Spaghetti with Basic Baked Meatballs and Marinara Sauce
Thursday: Stephen's Choice
Friday: Roasted Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza (from Cooking Light)
Saturday: Leftovers / Take-Out

Week 4: November 22 - November 28

Sunday: Dinner Out
Monday: Mexican Stuffed Peppers (from Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook)
Tuesday: Bulgogi Beef (from Bon Appetit) with Steamed Rice and Broccoli
Wednesday: Stephen's Choice
Thursday: T H A N K S G I V I N G (I'm still working on my menu for the holiday because we're staying home this year!)
Friday: Pizza with Spinach, Caramelized Onions, and Ricotta
Saturday: Spicy Sesame Noodles

Week 5: November 29 - November 30

Sunday: Skillet Chicken Fajitas (from PureWow)
MondayGnocchi with Pomodoro Sauce (from FoodieCrush)

Do you plan your meals? What's on your Menu Plan for this week/month? Let me know in the comments!

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One year agoSlow Cooker Chicken with Tomatoes and Artichokes
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Three years agoMarble Lane - New York, NY
Four years agoA Taste of Los Cabos: Eat What You Catch
Five years agoFeatured Friday, Volume 1.11
Six years agoGuest Post: Post-Workout Veggie Burgers
Seven years agoCountry Bob's Cookbook

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