Thanksgiving Dinner in an Instant is on the priority list for Roadschool Moms in Episode #155. The replay is a live recording by the Roadschool Moms team from the road. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, broadcasts from on the road in Mobile, Alabama. Across the country, Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher calls in from west central Indiana. The OTR duo are together for the 1st of 6 shows in their annual holiday mini-series. Hit the replay to hear more about planning an easy yet delicious holiday dinner using the Instant Pot and a few other essential RV kitchen must haves.

5 Easy Steps to an Instant Pot Thanksgiving

Space is limited for creating a holiday dinner in the RV kitchen but the menu doesn’t have to be.The only way to serve holiday dinner for a crowd, or even your family, with no stress is to put together the plan as if it were a puzzle. With planning and the right tools, a delicious Thanksgiving menu will come together in 5 easy steps using the Instant Pot and a few other must have items.

• Plan the menu and organize pre-dinner tasks
• Prepare any side dishes or desserts in the days before the holiday
• Ready any ingredients possible ahead of time
• Set early morning cooking on auto pilot
• Make the last preparations and serve

Holiday Dinner in an Instant

 The first assessment to a successful holiday dinner includes the number of people to serve and the dinner menu at hand. Write the final menu on anything from a Post-it note to an Excel spreadsheet. Think of this as the four corners to the holiday dinner puzzle.

Next, put together all the background pieces of the puzzle a/k/a the Thanksgiving Feast. Gather together any common ingredients that must be used for recipes. For example, if you need diced celery for the dressing and the apple salad, do that a few days prior to the holiday and place the proper amount for each recipe in separate zip lock bags. Look for any side dishes on the menu that can be prepared ahead of time such as the deviled eggs or sweet potato pudding. Insert Instant Pot Thanksgiving shortcut here:  Pressure cook eggs for 5 minutes, quick release and a cold water bath equals perfect hard-boiled eggs. Likewise, dishes such as green bean casserole can be prepared in advance, baked until almost done, and finished (the last 15 minutes) right before dinner is served. Prepare desserts such as pies and cakes in the days ahead of the meal.

The star of the Thanksgiving table is usually a roasted turkey. Think of this as the final centerpiece to the puzzle of the big picture.  Instant Pot turkey will come out moist and delicious. The best part? Pressure cook the turkey in the early morning hours of the holiday before the day is hectic. Holiday ham Instant Pot style is another win for the main event to the table.

Holiday Dinner in an Insant

Tried and true recipes are the best foundation to building a holiday dinner in an Instant. Further, new recipes must take a test run before the final dinner. Grandma always said “Thanksgiving is not the time to try out the neighbor’s favorite recipe.” In addition, the best menu items from our Instant Pot recipe box include

Turkey Breast

Savory Turkey Dressing

Creamy Pressure Cooked Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Pudding

Other tools of the trade in the RV kitchen for a quick and easy family feast include a sheet pan and a convection oven/microwave. These extra items can cut meal preparation to a minimum when utilizing the Instant Pot for most of the holiday dinner. For more tips on an Instant Pot Thanksgiving, hit the replay on the Roadschool Moms interview with pressure cooking expert Laura Pazzaglia.

More about Roadschool Moms

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 150 podcast replays.

Homeschool enrollment is on the rise. As a result, more and more families are moving into a home on wheels. Further, the Roadschool Moms record this broadcast to present resources that meet the challenges of today’s roadschooler. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, and Mary Beth Goff, the creator of Road Trip Teacher, team up every week to offer listeners a fresh take on homeschooling while traveling full time across America’s backyard.

Roadschool Moms:  Season 11

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