Actually, I usually have some soup or chili in the freezer for the "night before", or we have something in the crockpot like sloppy joes or pulled pork and people just make sandwiches while I'm doing whatever I'm doing.

Breakfast on Thanksgiving morning is usually pretty minimal because we eat in the early afternoon, usually about 1 pm. I always have homemade granola on hand, fresh fruit, bread for toast with homemade jam, some yogurt. Muffins would freeze well too, as well as quick sweet breads like pumpkin or banana.

Breakfast the day after can also come from the freezer, I've found that Ann T's cream cheese danish freezes wonderfully and I can fill it with whatever of my homemade jams I have on hand so I don't even have to make the fruit filling. I know someone here said that scone dough freezes unbaked very well, so fruit or ham and cheese scones would be good, along with scrambled eggs or one of those "breakfast casserole" things. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you could make potato cakes, although I don't because I just don't like them, LOL.

I've made hash for breakfast out of leftover turkey or ham too, and Ashley even put cranberry jezebel in a breakfast burrito one year and swore it was delicious, along with eggs and canadian bacon. (grin)

Have fun, I love Thanksgiving. I don't have to do one darned thing except eat and be thankful!

Annie

I agree! I love to cook so that's not "work" to me.
Family, food, relax. Perfect!
And........it's a 4 day holiday for me!

Thanks for all the ideas. I like the simple soup/bread idea for the night before. Kind of a guilt free meal before the big splurge! :-)

Deanna

I have a houseful every Thanksgiving weekend and I always make the same things for the extra meals. The night before we have sausage soup, rolls, marinated veggies and cookies. People can eat as they arrive from out of town and we always invite a few extra families. Thanksgiving morning I put out pumpkin cranberry bread and fruit for breakfast. The Friday breakfast is always "After Thanksgiving Egg Casserole" with pepper jack cheese and green chilis, fruit and muffins. I've tried to change a few of these dishes over the years and had a mutiny on my hands.

For breakfast, boiled eggs are always easy too-- you could make some hard boiled or soft boiled, and they wouldn't take up too much space in the fridge. Muffins really do reheat well, and if you ended up with extra anything (cranberries, apples, whatever) you could make some jam as Annie also suggested. You could even bake a loaf a day or two ahead, if so inclined. (You can leave that out on the counter!)

This is all completely hypothetical, of course. For me, there can be no breakfast but the all-holy day-after Thanksgiving Sandwich.

Cooked ahead hard boiled eggs (colored for Thanksgiving or with Turkey stickers for kids)...sound good to pair with the Pumpkin Scones. I made the scones into two-bite sized triangles. Frosted with cinnamon drizzle, then frozen to be taken out for guests to snack on Thanksgiving morning.

I usually make a big pot of spaghetti sauce for the night before. I do it in advance and just warm, along with some rolls and a simple salad it makes a perfect, easy, fast meal that can be served at whatever time.

Thanksgiving morning I serve fresh fruit, quick breads and muffins. There is no lunch just lots of nibbles leading up to the meal.

Next day is a cinch, fruit and muffins for brakfast again, turkey and stuffing sandwiches for a late lunch and you are on your own for leftovers if you are still around at dinner time!

I just find that there is so much food over Thanksgiving that you really don't need much on either side.

I like the Pumpkin Scone idea! (Recipe????) And Pumpkin Cranberry bread (boy, that sounds good right now).

Maybe some grapes, oranges sections, etc. that can be prepped late Thurs. or early AM Friday (I'm always the first one up). On the counter until then!
I won't have as many as years past this time, but still....ya gotta eat!

The "nibbles" seem to work better here than an actual meal.
Some are breakfast eaters, some are not. Most will eat a bite or two at least...especially if it's sitting there.

I am ready. I want to cook. I'm not fighting Fall anymore.
Headed into the holiday season with joy!

Deanna

Was thinking of adding fruit (maybe cut up) to my breakfast menu also. Mainly because not much fruit is on our T-day menu.

Deanna, Check out this link. The same recipe is posted more than once. I use the first one, and add cinnamon to my glaze.
Almost always lately make a double batch when making the scones as they freeze very well. I am now addicted to these scones, they are so good! Could eat one every day :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pumpking Scones

Thanks Trudy! I forgot about that thread!
Printed and ready.

Deanna

I do so much cooking the day before Thanksgiving -- all the desserts and lots of prep for the next day -- and our dc love pizza so much, dh began ordering in pizza on those Wednesday evenings, a few years ago.

I really think it was mainly out of self-defense to ward off starvation, since he couldn't even see the kitchen table or counters when he would come in from work, because every space was always completely covered, LOL. (The dc have always helped me all day on Wednesday, as they have no school, so the kitchen gets quite messy -- but we have great fun working together.)

Anyway, he came up with that idea, and we all love it. The dc especially enjoy it if Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is on TV that night (none of us have ever outgrown Peanuts!). For me, it's one less thing I have to think about in all the hubbub.

I actually start working on Thanksgiving prep the weekend before, as there is so much to be done. Tomorrow I'll finish buying the groceries. I spent this morning decluttering (mainly for the purpose of finding my favorite cookbook, which had somehow 'walked' out of the kitchen), and I spent much of this afternoon making my menu from past years' menus/notes (I learned from FlyLady to have a notebook just for the holidays), and compiling a grocery list.

When the dc were all home, I usually cooked a simple meal for Wednesday dinner -- their favorite was hot dogs, a pot of chili, and mac 'n cheese. Then I prepared breakfast casseroles on Wednesday night and put them in the fridge to cook the next morning. I usually made one with bacon and one with sausage to satisfy all the family members who only liked one or the other.

Now, Thanksgiving Day breakfast is usually a piece of fruit for me, along with a boiled egg, as I'm up at the crack of dawn working. The dc act like the teens they are; they tend to sleep as long as possible, and rarely want breakfast. Dh grabs whatever is handy; he's always a big help to me on Thanksgiving mornings -- usually double-checking everything outside to be sure there's plenty of parking space, the yard looks nice, the driveway and walks are swept, etc.

Breakfast on Friday mornings is iffy -- that depends on how many of us are out for Black Friday. Those who are here have been known to eat a slice of pumpkin pie for breakfast. We all love the leftovers. ;-)