@TwoMisfits I am so sorry about the health woes you are dealing with. I hope that things are going pretty well for you and that you can really enjoy the holidays with your family.
I use chicken stock and earth's balance dairy and soy free butter substitute (red lid) plus the normal salt and pepper in my dairy free mashed potatoes. I made the mistake of using soy milk one time and it was like glue.I can't have dairy, either...but you can make killer mashed potatoes with rice milk, vegan butter, olive oil (use 1/2 vegan butter, 1/2 olive oil at your normal mashed potato amount), and salt...my family love them, and it's one food they really can't tell the difference in dairy/non-dairy...if you have no need for rice milk, send the rest of the container with your parents to thin out the potatoes if they becomes leftovers...
I'm the cook in the family. I usually host the big Thanksgiving Lunch and we watch the Dallas Cowboy game, snack and play games the rest of the day. However, I cancelled lunch because we had a Covid scare that we might of been exposed. However, found out after we canceled the lunch and after I grocery shopped that we were not exposed. So I'm just cooking for the DH and I and whoever shows up at the front door. I just texted my sisters that I'm cooking and if they want to come by and get a plate we'll be home. So we will see. It's going to be really hard making 1/4 of what I usually make but I'm going to try and cook like a regular meal size for just the two of us - 4 dinner portions and 2 lunch portions. It sounds much easier typed than done.
Menu
Spiral ham (My DH purchased a huge ham. WHY!?!?!? I'm sure I'll freeze 2/3 of it. Leave some meat on the bone and make split pea soup. And the crazy thing is he doesn't care for leftovers. We'll eat on this Thanksgiving day, Friday and maybe Saturday. By Sunday he is going to be finished with it and all the trimmings. LOL! I grew up poor so we ate everything until it was gone. I even remember my mom making turkey salad for sandwiches. We didn't waste anything. LOL!)
Sliced smoked turkey breast from our local BBQ joint (We decided on this after Greenberg Smoked Turkey facility caught on fire. We were so sad. And now I think I might do this every year. LOL! Easy Peasy!)
Greens (my dad has a fall garden and picked me a mess of greens. I sure hope they are good or I'm going to be upset.)
Cornbread dressing
Sweet potatoes (dad purchased a box of sweet potatoes from somewhere and gave me a few. He kept saying these are the good yams. You haven't had anything like these before. OK dad. I just hope they're good enough for my sweet potato pies. LOL!!
Mac n cheese (I usually do a 7 cheese M&C but since it's just the two of us I'm doing a 2 cheese M&C)
Cranberry sauce (Someone up thread mentioned putting fruit in hers, I put orange juice, peel and cinnamon sticks in mine as it's simmering down. We were a jelly can family to the core until 3 years ago when I made homemade cranberry sauce. Now we are hooked. If anyone mentions the jelly cranberry sauce it's a fight. LOL!!)
Gravy
Brownies
Sweet potato pies