What you need for thanksgiving dinner in a pan:
Turkey- I used about 5 cups or 1.5lbs worth I'd guess. It's what I froze.
Potatoes- for making mashed potatoes
Green Beans- one frozen bag or 2 cups worth
Stuffing- use your own homemade or pre-made box
Gravy
Shredded cheese
First peel and dice your potatoes, I used 5 medium/large potatoes. Put them in a pot of water on the stove to boil. Many of you have made mashed potatoes for years, but there are a few cooks out there learning, I'll walk you though how I make mine.
In a 2 cup measuring cup place 3/4 cups of water and 1/4 cup flour and mix well. Pour that into your boiling broth very carefully.
Stir constantly with a whisk until thickened. If it's too thick, don't worry just add a bit more water until you get gravy consistency. Oh and don't forget to add some salt & pepper to it too! About 1/4 tsp of each is what I add.
Now that the gravy is ready to go, it's time to mash the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and place them back in the kettle.
I add in about 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream depending on what I have on hand, 2-3 tbsp butter and 1/4 tsp salt. Mash them up with a potato masher or mixer. It's that easy!
Now it time to assemble our dinner. In a 9x13 greased pan, place your stuffing. I used a box mix I had on hand. I also added the 2 cups of water the box called for.
Now take your turkey and lay it on top of the stuffing. I cut mine into smaller pieces before laying it on top. If you don't have leftover turkey, no problem. Cooked chicken works for this as well, use about 1-1.5lbs of chicken for the recipe.
Next layer is green beans. I tossed mine on frozen. Then pour your gravy over the beans.
Last step is take the mashed potatoes and spread them over the top of it all. I tossed a handful of shredded cheese on top too because everything is better with a little cheese right?!
Now its time for the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour. It's that easy. This would also be a great way to use up those thanksgiving leftover when you have them too. You could even prepare this ahead of time in a freezer safe pan and place heavy duty tin foil over it and toss it into the freezer for another day. That's great for when you are just sick of eating leftovers from turkey day but don't want to waste them!
After it's hour in the oven it's ready for the table! Only thing missing from this Thanksgiving in January is the biscuits, cranberry sauce and extended family members!