traveling tUUsome

Cooking a Thanksgiving feast for two in an RV

Posted on November 26, 2012 Updated on April 17, 2016

Cooking a multi-course meal in a 2′ x 4′ kitchen can be a bit daunting, but this year our meal was a success.  With only two of us and a tiny oven, I wanted to make just the right serving sizes to have for our dinner and few leftovers.

My first plan was for the turkey.  I decided on crockpot cooking and a 3# Butterball turkey breast.  The breast comes in a plastic bag with the turkey wrapped in a string net along with a bag of gravy starter.

I started by taking the turkey out of the string net.  There were two large pieces and a few small chunks.  After cleaning the pieces, I set them aside and cut a red onion into 8 chunks and readied two garlic gloves.  I layered the ingredients in the crock pot as such: 1/3 stick butter, 1/2 of the onion chunks, 1 diced garlic clove,  1/2 the turkey, spices, 1/3 stick butter, 1/2 bag baby carrots, the second 1/2 of the onion, second clove of garlic, all topped with the second 1/2 of turkey, skin side up.  At the very top I added the last 1/3 stick butter and spices and 1/2 cup water.  I cooked this overnight (about 8 hours) on low, then changed the crockpot to the “warm” setting from morning until time to serve.

Next I went about making the side dishes.  With only two saucepans, I had to cook, clean, and cook and clean again.  I first made the cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries (the only way to have it!)  Easy to make for two in a small pan with 1/2 bag fresh cranberries and 1 cup sugar boiled with 1/2 cup water until the berries open and the sauce thickens just a bit.  I then put the sauce in a bowl in the refrigerator to cool and thicken, washed the pan and started on the gravy.

At first I tried the gravy that came with the turkey but my son and I both agreed that the gravy just did not meet up to our standards.  I then tasted the au jus and it was perfect as-is so we decided on using it.  The last two dishes to be made were the stuffing and mashed potatoes just before ready to serve.

And although in a tiny space, we had a delicious homestyle Thanksgiving dinner made just for two!