Have you heard? Thanksgiving is coming!!!

I know, it’s really really easy to miss, what with Christmas stuff going up before Halloween.

But it is coming and it happens to be next week, and that’s probably really really intimidating, right? I mean, the idea of making enough classic side dishes that people get very excited about (seriously, you can’t mess up the stuffing or there will be a mutiny), cooking a very large bird that both tastes good AND won’t kill anyone (or relegate your guests to spend the rest of their holiday weekend in the bathroom) is a HUGE task.

Well, Knott’s is making life easier by putting together a “Take Home Thanksgiving Dinner,” and I had the opportunity to try it out before Thanksgiving!!

Now first off, it includes:

• Complete 12-14 lb. Turkey or Ham (I tried the Turkey)
• 1 Quart of Country Apple Stuffing
• 2 Quarts of Mashed Potatoes
• 1 Quart of Candied Yams
• 8 oz. of Cranberry Sauce
• 8 oz. of Bread and Butter Pickles
• 1 Quart of Whole Kernel Corn
• 1 Dozen Farm Baked Rolls
• Butter and Boysenberry Preserves
• Choice of Boysenberry Pie or Pumpkin Pie (I tried the Pumpkin Pie)

My Review

The prep-time is just about an hour (basically, you just have to put the turkey or ham in the oven for an hour and microwave the side dishes), which is a HUGE win for families with tiny humans running around, and the instructions are included in the package, too.

The Highlights
So if you’ve ever been to Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant, their stuffing is the business. Seriously. The chunks of apple make it, as far as I’m concerned, because I’m a huge fan of mixing sweet with savory.

On top of that, the cranberry sauce wasn’t a mysterious gelatinous substance, but was actually the real deal with fresh cranberry and ohhhhhh yeah. Cranberry sauce is important, people, and this did not disappoint.

The Not-So-Highlights
Now I promised honesty, though, so I will admit that the mashed potatoes were rather disappointing. The texture was kind of… odd, and the flavor was a little flat.

Overall
However, that was my only complaint, because the rest was FANTASTIC. I mean, the turkey itself was perfect. In fact, I’ve been eating it for days. Seriously, when they said it serves 6-8, they probably meant 6-8 olympic athletes because HOLY CRAP was that a lot of food. Personally, I’d add more veggies (maybe some roasted brussels sprouts or wilted spinach, a salad, etc), but all in all, I really enjoyed it and my guests did, too.

P.S. I’d advise picking up whipped cream for the pumpkin pie, because I almost had a revolt on my hands when I didn’t.

The Details

Now when I picked up my “Thanksgiving” dinner (I say “Thanksgiving” because I got to try this out a week ago, so it was a dinner fit for Thanksgiving but it wasn’t actually on Thanksgiving day so it doesn’t count as Thanksgiving dinner for real), the manager was kind enough to walk it out to my car for me and explain that there are instructions in the box. He also explained that on Thanksgiving day, anyone who orders the Take Home Thanksgiving Dinner won’t have to park, go in, pick up, and head back out, but will instead be directed to a drive-through pickup. NO KIDDING. They really have this convenience thing down, I tell you what.

Shout-out to Andrew for being so awesome, by the way! Also, thanks for not judging my toddlerized car. I would have been horrified by the cracker massacre in the front seat.

Anyway, the price of the Take Home Thanksgiving Dinner is $99.95 and it can be ordered at www.knotts.com or by calling 714-220-5055.

Like I said, the dinner is supposed to feed 6-8 people (who can eat 2 lbs of turkey PLUS 2 servings of side dishes each), so order accordingly, but order soon!

Disclosure: I was invited by Knott’s Berry Farm to review the Take Home Thanksgiving Dinner, and I received the dinner for free. All thoughts, opinions, and experiences are honest, completely mine, and were not compensated.