The busy girl’s guide to Thanksgiving

If you’re like us, the holiday season has totally snuck up on you. Now, you might be realizing how quickly turkey day is approaching and starting to plan a menu. But between entertaining visiting friends and family and keeping up with work, cooking an elaborate meal can be stressful. Don’t worry! We’ve done your homework for you- below are tons of quick, easy and delicious recipes sure to please even the toughest crowd.

• Roast turkey with paprika and thyme–We all know the turkey is the star of the show, but preparing a proper turkey can be intense and timely. This recipe only requires 15 minutes of hands-on work and the unique spices will kick your bird up a notch. Everyone will be wondering what your secret recipe may be.
• Sage stuffing– Another key component of anyone’s Thanksgiving meal is stuffing or dressing, but some of these recipes can be pretty complex and require lots of ingredients. Martha Stewart takes it back to basics in this simple sage-stuffing recipe, in which you can do the bulk of the prep work up to a week before. Once the stuffing is ready, it can also be stored in the fridge as long as necessary before you bake it in the oven, which makes this dish easy to prepare ahead of time.
• Creamed spinach– Veggies are a great way to add balance to a Thanksgiving meal, and this side only takes five minutes to prepare! This recipe saves time by swapping fresh spinach for frozen. Also, by adding Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg, this goes from a simple side to a standout.
• Slow-cooker sweet potatoes with bacon-Slow cookers make entertaining guests easy. This dish can be prepped in the morning in half an hour, and won’t need to be touched all day, giving you plenty of time to interact with friends and family. Also, this more unique approach to a sweet potato dish at your table will definitely impress even your pickiest guest.
• Warm chocolate cakes with apricot-cognac sauce– These molten chocolate cakes will make it look like you slaved all day in the kitchen, but they really only take four easy steps. Plus, you’ll get bonus points for creativity by not using pumpkin.

So, don’t panic if Thanksgiving snuck up on you! These recipes are sure to make your dinner party a standout. And, worst case, take out is always an option too.