Thanksgiving Meal Planning Help a Click Away

If there's one meal that can inspire a sense of dread before the planning and prep gets underway, it's a Thanksgiving feast. On their own, each and every one of the recipes for the meal may not be difficult. It's just that we tend to make so many main and side dishes that having the meal come off flawlessly—and warm—can be a Herculean effort.

Luckily, there's lots of help on the web to supplement family recipes and traditions. Here are some of my favorite bookmarked sites to help plan this year's Thanksgiving menu and prep. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments below, too, so we can help each other take the stress out of this food-rich holiday and, yes, even enjoy it.

Real Simple Thanksgiving Cheat Sheet - I always check in with Real Simple, because I know I'll find pared-down ideas and checklists that are easy to follow. This year's Less-Stress, Less-Mess Thanksgiving meal planner is no exception. If you want a less complicated approach to a complicated meal, you'll find lots of good recipes and tips here.

Yahoo! Food - Had to mention it, of course. With recipes and videos from Martha Stewart, Food & Wine, Allrecipes.com, to name a few, there is a trove of recipes and tips to put together a wonderful holiday meal. There's also a helpful Thanksgiving countdown from Martha.

Allrecipes.com - You'll find recipes for roasting, frying, grilling, glazing.....cooking turkeys every which way on this site. I like that it breaks down the many options into Easy Menus and Advanced Menus so that you know what you're getting into from the start.

Simply Recipes - One of my favorite food blogs, you'll find some of Elise Bauer's wonderful family recipes and links to other unique recipes on other food blogs. The Carmelized Nut Tart sounds yummy, and the Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme is a simple, quick, and delicious twist on a Thanksgiving side dish staple.

A Veggie Venture -- Food blogger Alanna Kellogg has some terrific recommendations to give Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes more than a supporting role in the feast. Her writing is such a joy to read as well. Check out her link to StephenCooks' Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic recipe; if that can't make brussel sprouts taste good, nothing can. This Mashed Potatoes with Vegetarian Apple Cider Ginger Sage Gravy is a nice fall twist on an old standby.

The ultimate planning tool - Lifehacker pointed to this foodieview blog post, "How to Stay Sane on Turkey Day," which includes lots of recipes, tips, and an Excel holiday meal timeline. Plug in how many dishes you are making along with the number of cooks, stoves, and burners at the ready and then go. A color-coded Excel spreadsheet pops up, ready for your holiday planning. Great for Excel-loving types, it could make some of us a little more crazy, but, hey it's worth a try.