Thanksgiving for 2... what would you have?

dbelden1

dbelden1

Cathlete
It is just the two of us, DH and I, for Thanksgiving this year, so we are trying to determine what we will have for dinner... No need to cook even a small turkey, as we won't eat it all and I can only handle so many left overs... DH is a former chef, so he's asking me to come up with something, but I have no ideas at the moment...

What would you have if it was just the two of you?
 
My husband is a chef,too, and we would definitely go out for dinner! Or call out for Chinese! We are very non traditional!
Ellen
 
dh cooks at a college(not a grand title but good benefits,used to be a chef on the restaurant circuit)we did steak and shrimp one thanksgiving after the college had to get rid of all their food when the walk in boxes failed. many of employees were having the happiest of holidays LOL. thats when i first pulled off buffalo shrimp ever since then he always wants me to make buffalo sauce for chicken(or shrimp when we have it). even my daughter ate some, it was just the 3 of us that year.

kassia
 
Dani-THis year, it's just going to be me, my boys and my SO. We were talking about it last night and we've decided to grill something for T-Day. lol We grill all year round, so we're thinking of grilled turkey burgers, baked potatoes (and sweet) on the grill, and grilled Vidalia sweet onions (DS's fave). Nice and simple, and not a TON of leftovers for a week!

Gayle
 
Hey there...it's always just the two of us for thanksgiving (our families live in other states). I've cooked semi-traditional meal (small turkey breast, sw. pot. casserole, veges, etc.) and I've cooked non-traditional meal (spaghetti) and I've picked up stuff from Honeybaked ham.

All were good and fun and easy... My husband is gone a lot through out the week, so we eat at home. We're often invited to friend's homes...but we've found we just like hanging out here. Quiet, easy and very nice...

I think this year I will cook here - I've been eating clean most all year and wouild like to make this a clean t-day with a few treats thrown in...will do the small boneless turkey breast, vege's. potatoes and maybe make a special dessert. It's so easy and relaxed and fun to experiment some too. And you can freeze the extras for later healthy meals.
 
banslug said:
Dani-THis year, it's just going to be me, my boys and my SO. We were talking about it last night and we've decided to grill something for T-Day. lol We grill all year round, so we're thinking of grilled turkey burgers, baked potatoes (and sweet) on the grill, and grilled Vidalia sweet onions (DS's fave). Nice and simple, and not a TON of leftovers for a week!

Gayle
Click to expand...

and you'll be coming over when? LOL. love sweet onions!

kassia
 
dbelden1 said:
It is just the two of us, DH and I, for Thanksgiving this year, so we are trying to determine what we will have for dinner... No need to cook even a small turkey, as we won't eat it all and I can only handle so many left overs... DH is a former chef, so he's asking me to come up with something, but I have no ideas at the moment...

What would you have if it was just the two of you?
Click to expand...

Dani - DH and I always do our own Thanksgiving dinner (in addition to going to the folks) and honestly, we make it just as big as they do! ;) We get the biggest turkey we can find, make the full pan of sweet potato casserole, stuffing, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, etc.... We love leftovers. :) I always make enough to where we do not have to cook for a week and we have enough variety to not get totally sick of everything. That's just us though. ;)
 
I made beef stew last year. It's my DH's favorite and it was the day after my parents left our house after staying with us for 6 weeks (my dad had a stroke and they couldn't be on their own until he recovered some). We told my parents we were going to the in-laws so we could stay home by ourselves. It was so nice! I just did it in the crock pot and froze the leftovers in individual servings.

If we were staying home alone this year I would probably make chicken chorizo chili. It's a Rachael Ray recipe and one of my favorite meals. It makes enough for two meals, so some leftovers, but not a ton. It's delicious! The recipe is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chunky-chicken-and-chorizo-chili-recipe/index.html

I don't make the polenta and I use chicken stock instead of beer. It's super easy, it just takes time to chop up the veggies.

Enjoy your holiday!

anne
 
I think going out to dinner would be nice and festive. I'll bet the restaurants do a great job on Thanksgiving. I'm curious, as I've never been to a restaurant on Thanksgiving. I think it would be fun!
 
It's pretty much always been just the two of us on Thanksgiving. Usually I swear I won't be making turkey since even a small one is way too much and neither of us like it that much. I usually cave at the last minute and wind up spending the whole day in the kitchen while dh watches football. To stop that from happening this year we made reservations here:

http://tinyurl.com/6589kr

Then on Friday we are going to Bisbee for the weekend.
 
It's just my parents and me this year; they are watching their cholesterol and I'm watching my calories. I have decided to have grilled salmon, baked yams and collared greens. This should be a tasty treat and nothing to feel guilty about this next day.
 
Anything you please

I grew up in a very non-traditional family and it was always only the three of us for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Our "tradition" was to be as non-traditional as possible. We would make pizza from scratch, have greek, chinese or whatever we craved. We always did it up right and one time even made egg rolls from scratch. It was grand fun and I loved the tradition.

This year it is only DH and I and Thanksgiving means much more to him than to me. He also likes to cook so I don't have to worry about it. So we are having turkey (his choice as to a whole turkey or turkey breast) and only the sides we love. We are having stuffing, some sweet potato thing, chunky relish and pecan pie. Those are the things he needs to have for it to be Thanksgiving for him, and the only time of the year I get to have those foods. So the bottom line for me, do whatever makes you and your family most happy.

Shayne
 
Thanks all for the wonderful ideas! We will definately have lots to think about in the week to come! We were also throwing around the idea of cornish game hens (garlic/lemon style) beercan on the grill! still on the lines of "fowl" but just not so many leftovers... I'm not really a left over kind of girl... especially poultry (it tastes funny to me the day after) so will see what we come up with!

I guess we would consider ourselves pretty non-traditional, DH moreso than I, as I was brought up on the whole "traditional" family get togethers... but the longer I am away from all that, the more crazy it all sounds to me... My family doesn't get it, but then again, they don't have to! :p and I'm too far away for them to just drop by!

Liann: I can't believe you guys do the WHOLE meal for yourselves and THEN go to T-day dinner with the folks?! LOL!

Anne: Beef stew actually sounds GRAND! we will have to try that soon too! We did a crock pot roast a few weeks back and I miss that kind of down-home cooking! DH and I have extremely different tastes but manage to merge them at times... this is one! :) Thanks for the suggestion! and I better not mention the chorizo chili... DH is a HUGE fan of that stuff!

Wake Up Eager: I am also one for staying home rather than going to friends... We did one year, and to tell you the truth all I thought about is how much more comfy I would be in sweats and no screamin' kids!

Nancy: We might hold off going out for Black Friday! but others have suggested going out too! Never done that on a Holiday... but hey... I'm all for letting others do all the work!
 
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just the fun parts

Candied yams, pie, stuffing just baked in the oven. How about just a turkey breast or some dark meat. Brine it then roast in the oven. Cover in a buttered cheese cloth like Martha does it? Ask your so, he may know what I mean. Put root vegies on the bottom of the pan-skipping the rack. Cooks faster and less leftovers. And probably less expensive too. I personally love dessert (you would know if you could see me lol!)

I am not even doing a bird this year. I'm just going to make a chocolate tart. I may roast some dark meat and make turkey chili soup. I love that.
 
Game Hens with a nice wild rice stuffing, is something I have done before when cooking for two for Thanksgiving. come to think of it, I haven't had game hens in a long time , think its time to cook some up!
 
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