Cooking times will differ depending on whether your bird was purchased fresh or frozen. Plan on 20 minutes per pound in a 350 degree oven for a defrosted turkey and 10 to 15 minutes per pound for fresh.

When purchasing your spices for the holiday, remember “pumpkin pie spice” is made up of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Save yourself some money and purchase only one spice instead of four when doing your Thanksgiving baking.

When carving your pumpkin save the stringy pulp for your compost; remember to remove the seeds so you don’t have a pumpkin patch next year!