Make Your Thanksgiving Meal in 2 Hours

Even seasoned cooks can be daunted by the challenge of a holiday meal. There’s much to be done, guests are milling around the house (and your kitchen), and let’s be honest, there’s pressure on you to perform. Not to mention you may be working through the day before the meal, giving you little time to prep.

All of these stresses can make you want to put the kibosh on hosting holidays at your home, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve come up with a foolproof plan to get a Thanksgiving meal on the table in 2 hours. Yes, we said 2 hours, and no, we aren’t crazy.

It starts with a little planning, scaling down the number of sides, and most importantly, a turkey on the smaller side. We chose a 9 pounder but up to 10 pounds would work. We also limited the sides to gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, and sweet potatoes. You could throw in some store bought rolls or other pre-made items if you need more, but we felt satisfied and full after our meal.

Keep reading for our stress-free and quick Thanksgiving. And remember, it’s not really about the food, it’s about the people you’re sharing it with.

Thanksgiving Menu

Serves 6-8

Green beans with balsamic vinaigrette and pecans

Honey-glazed sweet potatoes

Turkey roasted with herb butter

Grandmama’s gravy

Cranberry-orange relish

Pumpkin panna cotta with Biscotti crumble

Planning

Any successful dinner party or holiday meal starts with planning. You should start your plan a few days before the meal so you can shop accordingly and aren’t panicked the day before.

3 days before Plan your menu and create your grocery list.

2 days before Grocery shop and make your meal game plan.

1 day before Set the table. Lay out all serving utensils and bowls; label accordingly.

Day of Get cooking!

Game Plan

Next, set a game plan. See below for ours:

10:00am Preheat oven and boil water for sweet potatoes.

10:05amPrep and place turkey in the oven. Set a timer for 1 hour.

10:15am Make panna cotta, set in freezer, and set timer for 30 minutes.

10:30am Start the gravy by sautéing turkey bits in butter. Prep vegetables in the meantime and add to pan.

10:45am Make the cranberry sauce. Check sweet potatoes for doneness; set aside to cool. Set panna cotta in the refrigerator.

11:00am Finish the gravy. Set aside on low heat.

11:05am Check turkey and turn halfway. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.

11:15am Make the sweet potato glaze. Set aside on low heat.

11:25am Peel and slice sweet potatoes. Place in serving dish.

11:35am Start water boiling for green beans. Make vinaigrette, boil beans, and dress with vinaigrette. Place in serving dish.

11:50am Remove turkey from the oven! Place gravy and cranberry sauce in serving dishes. Drizzle sweet potatoes with glaze.

12:00pm Carve turkey and eat!

Alright, it’s time to get cooking. See below for our recipes.

Turkey Roasted with Herb Butter

Ingredients:

– 1 8-10 pound turkey

– 1/2 onion, quartered,

– 6 small peeled and washed carrots

– 2 celery stalks, quartered

– 1 lemon, quartered

– 1 stick (8 tablespoons butter)

– 2 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped

– 2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped

– Kosher salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400°F. Remove neck, giblets, and other items from turkey cavity and replace with onion, carrots, celery, and lemon. Set neck, giblets, and other turkey bits to the side.

Place butter in a small bowl; mix in thyme and rosemary. Rub half of herbed butter all over and under turkey skin. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes (or until a thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees), rotating half way after 1 hour and brushing with remaining herbed butter. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before carving.

Honey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

– 4 medium-size sweet potatoes (about 3 1/2 pounds)

– 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

– 2 tablespoons cornstarch

– 1/2 cup honey

– 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

– 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

– 1/2 cup orange juice

– Sea salt

Fill a large pot with water and heat until boiling. Add sweet potatoes and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Set aside until cool enough to touch.

In a small saucepan, mix together brown sugar and cornstarch; add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Continue boiling until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Gently peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place in serving dish and drizzle glaze over sweet potatoes.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 cups 2% milk

– 1 1/2 packets unflavored gelatin

– 1 cup cream

– 1 cup pumpkin puree

– 1/2 cup sugar

– 1 teaspoon vanilla

– 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

– 6 Biscoff cookies

Pour 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over and let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Heat milk and gelatin mixture over low heat until gelatin dissolves; pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add remaining milk, cream, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, and spices; whisk to combine. Divide evenly between 6 cups and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Move panna cottas to the refrigerator and let chill until your meal is finished (about 2.5 hours). Place Biscoff cookies in a small plastic bag and smash until crumbled; sprinkle over top of panna cottas.

Grandmama’s Gravy

Ingredients:

– Turkey neck, liver, and giblets

– 6 tablespoons butter, divided

– 2 celery stalks, washed and finely chopped

– 6 small peeled and washed carrots, finely chopped

– 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

– 6 tablespoons flour

– 3 cups chicken broth

– 1 sprig thyme

– 1 sprig rosemary

– Salt and pepper

Place turkey neck, liver, giblets, and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until meat is browned, then add vegetables and cook until translucent and tender. Remove meat and vegetables and set aside.

Add 4 tablespoons butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add 6 tablespoons flour and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on medium low heat until bubbly and fragrant. Slowly add chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Add meat and vegetables and simmer until turkey is done. Remove meat and vegetables with a slotted spoon, or puree vegetables into gravy using an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

– 2 cups of fresh cranberries

– Grated zest of 1 large orange

– Segments from 1 large orange, roughly chopped

– ¼ cup of orange juice

– 1/2 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently until cranberries “pop” and are tender. Remove from heat and set aside to cool before serving.

Green Beans with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Pecans

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 pounds green beans

– 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

– 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

– 1/4 olive oil

– 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Cook beans in large pot of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes; drain and set aside. Whisk together balsamic vinegar, mustard, and oil. Toss green beans with dressing and place in a serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Now put everything on the table and eat!

What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes? Got any easy recipes we should try? Talk to us in the comments below.

No matter what kind of day you're having, Marissa Cooper's having a worse one. Mischa Barton's The O.C. character went through the ringer during the first three seasons of the teen drama (remember how she overdosed in Tijuana...and also saw her parents post-hookup after their divorce?).

And during her time on The O.C., Mischa Barton struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. She was arrested for a DUI in 2007 and eventually received involuntary psychiatric hospitalization in 2009 after allegedly threatening to end her own life. And in a new interview, Peter Gallagher (who played Sandy Cohen on the show) says he's "just so grateful" for "the fact that she’s still alive."

  • Mischa Barton starred alongside Peter Gallagher in The O.C. from 2003-2006.
  • The actress has revealed the "trauma" of being a star at that point in her life.
  • Peter recently opened up about how he's thankful "she’s still alive."


Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for FLC/John Lamparski/Getty Images

The O.C. follows Ryan Atwood, who moves in with the Cohens after getting kicked out of his mom's house, and starts a relationship with Marissa shortly after. While Peter Gallagher played Adam Brody's TV dad instead of Mischa's, Sandy was a definitely father figure for Marissa, and it seems like Peter felt that same responsibility off camera.

"I’ve always felt very protective of her," Peter told The Independent. "First fame is toxic. First fame can kill you. She was 16 years old when she started working with us, so just the fact that she’s still alive, I’m just so grateful."

“You can go to therapy every day for the rest of your life,” Mischa said in a 2023 interview with The Sunday Times. “There’s just a certain amount of trauma [from] all that I went through, particularly in my early twenties, that just doesn’t go away overnight.”

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage revealed that season 1 overdose not only served as a cliffhanger, but gave “network executives an escape hatch on a performer they had been wary about” (via People). But Mischa Barton got her big break, becoming "how people knew the show," and (thankfully) Marissa recovered — only to die after a car crash in season 3.

As hard as that season 3 ending is to watch, Mischa did have the opportunity to watch it with Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke for the first time on their rewatch podcast. "It needed to be a thing, after everything she's been through, but if it's here I'll watch it with you," Mischa says.

"I couldn't do it, Mischa, I couldn't do it," Rachel adds. "But I'm going to do it if you're going to do it."

Mischa says even though being written off the show "was a little bit of a bummer," it wasn't necessarily a surprise. "The character was just doing too much," she told Vanity Fairin 2023. "And I think they ran out of places for her to go. It was not the best thing in the world, [but] there wasn’t much you could do at that point. It was whether she could sail off into the sunset, or die. At that point, I guess it’s better to have the more dramatic ending.”
What did you think of The O.C. season 3 finale? Let us know on Facebook!

Former Disney Channel star Dylan Sprouse and model Barbara Palvin are certainly living the sweet life after tying the knot in Palvin's native Hungary. The couple, who have been together for nearly five years, have always been pretty low-key — except for the occasional and undeniably adorable Instagram post (and a stunning wedding!). We are simply ~obsessed~ with this celebrity couple, especially after they pulled out all the stops for their couple's Halloween costume. Keep scrolling to see some of their best moments :').

See Dylan Sprouse & Barbara Palvin's Halloween Couple's Costume!

For Halloween Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin stunned as the Phantom and Christine from Phantom of the Opera. Dylan wore a mask and a black cape, while Barbara wore a beautiful white dress. While the costume is obviously a nod to the musical, it also totally reminds us of their day as bride and groom.

"In Sleep He Sang to Me," Barbara said in a post, quoting the musical's titular number. "@dylansprouse my forever Phantom."

Who did Dylan Sprouse marry?

www.instagram.com

On the couple's wedding day (July 15, 2023), Barbara wore a Vivienne Westwood wedding gown to celebrate her Hungarian nuptials, bringing together their nearest and dearest for an intimate(-ish) celebration. Barbara and Dylan tied the knot on her parent's property, which conveniently doubles as an event venue, with plans to host an larger wedding in California in the fall.

"This past weekend was supposed to be an intimate event, but we ended up having 115 guests in the end because there are a lot of people we care about, and we wanted them all to be there," Barbara told Vogue.

When did Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin get engaged?

www.instagram.com

Barbara Palvin on Instagram: "♥️"

After months of speculation surrounding the couple's engagement, Dylan and Barbara confirmed their engagement in conversation with Sprouse's twin brother, actor Cole Sprouse, for V Magazine in June, sharing that they got engaged last September.

"We didn't necessarily feel the need to be fully transparent with the public about that aspect of our engagement," Dylan said. "What we wanted to do with Stephen [Gan, V editor-in-chief] and the V team is make something that was kind of tongue-in-cheek about the nature of private versus public. We're playing with the idea of perception."

Barbara noted that the lovebirds wanted to announce the news "on our time," adding, "When some people leaked the information that we got engaged, our PR team was like, 'Hey, so you guys should do maybe a post about it or talk to this magazine or talk to that magazine…' That really annoyed me because I knew we were building this story up. So, I'm very happy that we ended up doing it our way."

When did Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse start dating?

Sean Zanni / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment

See Dylan Sprouse & Barbara Palvin's Dreamy Halloween Costume: "My Forever"

According to People, the couple met back in 2017 after a party when the Suite Life On Deck star slid into the model’s DMs (and as they say, the rest is history). The duo made their relationship Instagram official back in 2018 with Barbara’s sweet birthday tribute for Dylan’s 26th birthday.

Let’s be real here for a second though, we all knew they were endgame the minute Dylan went above and beyond to support Barbara at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show that same year (remember this viral video?). Three days after the fashion show, the Hungarian model told Vogue Australia that she hadn’t had a boyfriend in six years, but had now found “the perfect guy” in Dylan (we aren’t crying, you are).

How old are Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse?

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Barbara Palvin was born on October 8, 1993, making her 31 years old. Dylan Sprouse was born on August 4, 1992, meaning he's 32 years old. So there's only a one-year age gap between them!

Stay up to date with all of Brit + Co's favorite celebrity relationships. Let us know your thoughts on Twitter!

This post has been updated.

2017's The Beguiled gave us one of the best groups of people of all time: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Sofia Coppola, and Kirsten Dunst just to name a few. And we're finally getting an Elle and Nicole reunion thanks to Apple TV+! "THRILLED to bring @rufithorpe genius hysterical heart-wrenching heartwarming book to your TV screens alongside a dream group of people!" Elle says on Instagram. Rather than having to test the success of its pilot, the series has already been ordered — even though the book it's based on isn't even out yet! Here's everything you need to know about the series.

  • Dakota and Elle Fanning will produce the upcoming Apple TV+ show Margo's Got Money Troubles.
  • The series follows Margo, who signs up for OnlyFans after learning she's pregnant.
  • The cast includes Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nick Offerman.

Who's in the Margo's Got Money Troubles cast?

Amy Sussman/Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Margo's Got Money Troubles Cast

We couldn't contain our excitement when we learned Margo's Got Money Troubles will star Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, but knowing Michelle Pfeiffer is also joining the cast is too much to bear! This is the first time the actress will collaborate with her husband, TV creator David E. Kelley, so we can't wait to see the magic they'll create (via Deadline).

Nick Offerman from The Last of Us and Parks and Rec will also star.

When is Margo's Got Money Troubles coming out?

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Margo's Got Money Troubles Release Date

We don't have an official release date for Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman's TV show yet. I'm thinking if the TV show is in the early stages of planning, we could see it in 2025! Check out all of this year's best New TV Shows to hold you over until then.

What is Margo's Got Money Troubles about?

Amazon

Margo's Got Money Troubles Plot

Margo Millet is the daughter of a Hooter's waitress named Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and an ex-wrestler (via Deadline). She's always had to make it on her own, even though she's not sure how. When she enrolls in her local junior college, she's totally unprepared to get swept up into a torrid love affair with her English professor — or to get pregnant.

Now at 20 years old, Margo needs an income and fast. She decides to experiment with OnlyFans and ends up taking some of her estranged father's advice from the world of wrestling to create a character users will fall in love with. You can order the book now!

What is Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman's new TV show?

Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels

Margo's Got Money Troubles is coming soon to Apple TV+ thanks to a bunch of different producers. A24 is backing the film, as well as Elle and Dakota Fanning’s production company Lewellen Pictures and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, to name a few.

What else has Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman starred in?

Focus Features

Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman starred in 2017's The Beguiled. The movie follows John McBurney, an injured Union soldier, who winds up at a female Southern boarding school after deserting the Civil War. But soon, as the women help him, tensions turn to rivalries and friends turn to enemies.

Are you excited for Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman's TV reunion? Let us know what other New TV Shows you're watching in the comments.

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This post has been updated.