This year we are doing Thanksgiving at my place and I am a little nervous because our kitchen is small so I am trying to make as much stuff ahead of time as possible. On the Scott Common Sense Community blog there is a recipe for spinach balls which can be frozen - they sound really good and I will probably try them out. Anyone else have any great recipes that can be made and then defrosted before Thanksgiving?

Yes. I make a pumpkin bread with condensed mincemeat added. It's important not to use the type in the jar, but the boxed type made by Bordens and perhaps other companies.

This recipe can easily be doubled and I usually do that as I then add a full box of mincemeat and a whole can of pumpkin puree. You can use fresh pumpkin too, but I honestly can't tell the difference.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Stay healthy,

Nancy Welker
BellaOnline Yoga Editor

I wish I had seen this post prior to the holiday. I know it is a little late for Thanksgiving but maybe some of my ideas will help for Christmas.

I made Martha Stewart's totally homemade greenbean casserole this year and fried the shallots the day before and sauteed the veggies the day before. It made assembly very easy. I also made the sweet potato casserole and warmed fruit compote the day before. When ready to cook the next day I just sat them on the counter for 30 minutes and then put them in the oven according to the recipe. I also have a recipe for refrigerator yeast rolls which is super easy. I make the dough the day before and place it in the frig. The next day, when ready to bake, I put them in the pan about 2 hours before baking, let them rise, and then bake as usual. The great part about these rolls is that you don't have to bake them all at once so we have freshly baked rolls with all of our leftovers for the next few days. I also baked my breadcrumbs for the stuffing the day before.

Hope this helps. Would love to hear everyone else's tips and ideas.

Nancy, the spiced pumpkin recipe sounds great. I ended up making too much pumpkin bread this year so I put it in the freezer yesterday. I think some sort of pumpkin bread pudding would be great. I found a recipe online and will try it but if anyone else has any other ideas for leftover pumpkin bread I would love to hear them. Thanks.