Thanksgiving Recipe: A Shortcut to Use

I’ve finally reached an age where I have my own traditional contribution to the Thanksgiving meal. My sister makes a delicious cheesy potatoe side dish and a delectable carrot souffle’ while my mom makes wonderful turkey and dressing as well as great southern style green beans (bacon grease is the key).

My Thanksgiving contribution? Pecan pie. It is my absolute favorite. Over the years, I have had to make adjustments and include a shortcut or two in order to achieve holiday menu success.

Lower your expectations.

Naively, for my first Thanksgiving meal as a married woman, I thought I would bring a homemade with handmade crust pecan pie. I can now laugh at my expectations. This may be a feat accomplished by others but I have learned that for myself, I need to dial down the idea of perfection.

Memories of purchasing Kentucky bourbon to add to my Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie along with large chunks of flour rising up through the middle of the pie come to mind. Oh boy! Since that time, I have discovered the beauty of a ready-made Pilsbury pie crust and the value of leaving the bourbon in a glass and not a pie.

Keep It Simple

Use ready-made ingredients such as the pie crust where you can. Keeping your recipe simple will allow for more time to complete it and less mistakes to take place. Also, following the basic pecan pie recipe included on the back of the light Karo syrup is a win all the way around.

If you are in charge of more than a pie this year, you can see my recommendations for making the day a smooth process, here. I recently found some cute tablecloths for Thanksgiving. You can view them here.

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A post shared by Ashley Helms• Family | DIYs | Home Decor (@thehelmshouse_)

Make it a Tradition

Once you have a found the one item you are good at making, make that your tradition. You do not have to reinvent the wheel year after year. Stick to what you know. For me? The OG pecan pie is what I am going to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.

The beauty of traditions is that the only requirement is that you do it on repeat. Want to start a new tradition? Great, just do it year after year. Think you might not have any traditions? Stop and consider what it is that your family does year after year. That is your traditon.

Now, what are you bringing to Thanksgiving Dinner?