Thanksgiving Menu (Part 1)

So since my in-laws have accepted the invite to join us for dinner my wonderful husband and I have decided what to serve.  The recipes for these items will follow as I narrow down how I'm planning on preparing the items.

We obviously will have a turkey, how big, I'm not sure yet since I'm not 100% on how many are coming to dinner.  My mom will decide at some point this week as to if she will or will not host her usual Thanksgiving meal.  Will I brine the turkey?  That's a good question, I'm not sure yet, I need to look around for inspiration and ideas.  How will I cook the turkey, I'm not sure because out of everything I have for cooking, the one of a few things that I could use, a roasting pan is not in my kitchen.  Which to buy, an electric roaster or a roasting pan that goes in the oven?  I need to talk to hubby to decide which one to get.

Now I am planning on making stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer and crab ragoons too.  I find that you may say your Precious Butterfly is allergic to dairy, how is that safe for her.  Well for her she will have either her graham crackers or some applesauce.  The crab ragoons recipe comes from a Pinterest recipe that I found, but I've changed it a little bit to suit my hubby's tastes.  More on that coming soon :)

SO...for side dishes we've chosen:

• Green bean Casserole, a staple at my family dinners.  I make it with canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, salt, pepper, milk, and French's Fried Onions.  I follow the instructions on the French's container.  I know this isn't safe for Precious Butterfly, but I have something else for her...see the next item!
• Steamed frozen green beans, these are just your typical frozen green beans, however, I steam them and add Earth Balance Buttery Spread to them (that buttery spread is 100% safe for Precious Butterfly)
• Steamed Sweet Yellow Corn, just like the frozen green beans and I add the same buttery spread.
• Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, they are 100% safe for Precious Butterfly, she loves to eat them, and super yummy for us all!
• Mashed Potatoes or Whipped Potatoes, whichever way you think of them, I will whip them with my hand mixer add butter and milk to make them very creamy.  Yes these are not safe for Precious Butterfly, so she won't get to enjoy them this year, maybe in a few years.
• Cranberry Sauce, this is always present and she seems to like it when I've served it to her during our roasted chicken dinners.  I buy the canned stuffed and it's the jelly, not the one with the actual chunks of cranberries.
• Now as for gravy, Precious Butterfly cannot have both Chicken Gravy and Turkey Gravy, they both contain milk, so we've opted for Pork Gravy.  It is very yummy with chicken, I bet it will be yummy with the turkey too!  I probably will have regular turkey gravy too for those that want it.
• Now as for stuffing, I am making Stove Top Turkey Stuffing, it's safe for precious Butterfly since I use the Earth Balance Buttery Spread in it and I am going to make it then, toss it in a baking dish and place it in the oven to crisp it up! I don't like to stuff my turkey, it usually takes longer to cook besides I like my stuffing crunchy and so does my hubby. 

That ends the side dishes for Thanksgiving, however, this menu is not set in stone and could change if I need to.  I am planning on offering drinks of the following: soda, milk, water, juice, and wine.   What kind of wine might you ask?  I haven't decided yet.  And I'm sure my in-laws will probably bring their own stuff to drink since we don't have diet soda nor beer in our home.

I'm planning on having dinner ready for 6pm that day!  I'm hoping that all goes well, I'll be posting part 2, with recipes in the coming days and announcing my plan for Thanksgiving Day.