Make-Ahead Holiday

today I cooked the majority of my food for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast. I am pretty excited about this as I have never attempted turkey dinner before. I am thankful that my table will be just for two (Deputy Handsome is working all day, so we'll have a turkey date night meal when he gets home), which takes some of the pressure off, but I really wanted to be able to enjoy the day with Little Miss and Mister Man while their daddy is at work and not be stressed out in the kitchen all day. So, here's what I cooked and/or prepped today:

• Caramel Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole
• covered in foil and ready to stick in the oven tomorrow
• croutons made and set aside 
• Maple Cornbread
• I think I cooked this a few minutes too long. Hopefully the butter/syrup topping helps moisten it up a little for tomorrow. I'll reheat a few squares quickly after taking the potatoes out of the oven just before we sit down.

ready to brush the top with melted butter and pure maple syrup

• Apple Almond Cranberry Relish
• smells so good. I could have sat down and ate the whole batch during naptime. 
• almonds toasted and set aside for tossing in just before serving to retain crunch
• Maple Flan
• not sure how this will be received by Deputy Handsome, but it was a fun challenge for me to make and I think it will taste great. Might make this apple crumble if I have time tomorrow, just in case.  

cranberries in the back, bread croutons
for the sweet potato casserole in the front

So for dinner tomorrow, all I need to do besides reheating, is put the turkey in the crockpot (I bought a seven-pound breast!) and also prep some green beans.