Entertaining Small – Thanksgiving Dinner For 2 to 4

A Traditional Thanksgiving Without Spending All Day In The Kitchen.

We don’t always entertain for a huge crowd.  Sometimes we are “Entertaining Small – Thanksgiving Dinner for 2 to 4”.  When we lived away from family, it wasn’t always easy for them to travel or for us to travel to share Thanksgiving.  On those times I came up with a way to make a Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for just the two of us or to share with a couple of friends that were away from family for the Holiday too.   Best of all I wanted to stay out of the kitchen and enjoy the day.   I wanted to be able to go see the Thanksgiving Parade and know that my dinner was cooking itself while I was gone.

 

I love making the Big Dinner with the huge turkey and all the fixings, but I also love to have the same meal on a smaller scale and without all the fuss and time spent in the kitchen.   For a trimmed down version, I use Chicken instead of Turkey and I make it in the Crock Pot instead of the Oven.  This looks just as good and tastes just like a turkey baked all day.

 

This is all you need for starters – – –

I start with two boxes of Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing (my favorite) and a can of Chicken Broth.   I empty the stuffing into the crockpot and add some diced onions and celery.  You can also add any other things that you usually put into your dressing such as raisins, cramberries, nuts or your favorite additives.  Then I pour in one can of Chicken Broth and 1 1/2 cans of water and stir to mix.

Next I add two really large Chicken Breast and dot freely with butter.  I have the butcher get me the largest breasts he has in the counter.  You could also use Thighs or a mix if you like dark and light meat.  You could also substitute and use a Turkey Breast.

 

Cover and turn on low.  Cook for approx. 5 to 6 hours until the chicken is practically falling apart.  (Check occasionally to make sure the dressing isn’t dry and add some water if needed).

Now you can get the rest of your sides ready.    I love to have Candied Yams and of course some Cranberry Sauce.  I like the jellied cranberry sauce, so I slice it up, cover with saran and it will be ready when dinner is ready.  Candied Yams are a huge favorite at our house too.   I drain half the liquid off a large can of Yams and add some brown sugar and molasses, then top with walnuts and mini marshmallows in a small casserole dish.  Put them in the oven 20 minutes before your rolls and you will have your favorite yams just like the ones you cooked all day.

You can stay out of the kitchen and add even more sides – Green Bean Casserole – Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes – Gravy.

1. Drain 2 cans of green beans, add a can of mushroom soup, mix and top with French Fried Onions.  Put in oven with Yams to cook.
2. Make Mashed Potatoes according to box directions, then add butter, sour cream and minced garlic to taste.
3. Heinz Home Style Gravy is fabulous in a pinch, just warm up a jar or two.

For Desert any of these pies would be wonderful. Check out my recipes here.

You might like my famous Pumpkin Bread too.

Set a pretty table for your guests to enjoy and you will have them wowed at how good your meal is and how easy it was to put together.

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