Cooking on Thanksgiving is often hours of work. From preparing the turkey itself to a number of side-dishes, it can become an exhausting day. To help cut back on some of that preparation, you can rely on a local restaurant. By purchasing some appetizers and side dishes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, you can have a memorable meal without so much preparation. The following four side dishes can be found at a variety of restaurants and can make a delicious addition to your Thanksgiving dinner.

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Avoid the peeling, boiling, and hassle of dealing with pounds of potatoes. When you order mashed potatoes from a restaurant, they are ready to eat and can often come loaded with all types of toppings.

A side dish of loaded mashed potatoes can include toppings like melted cheese, bacon bits, and a buttery sauce. When you receive the potatoes, you should transfer them to an aluminum pan, cover them, and leave them refrigerated until they need to be heated. Once they are taken out, uncover the potatoes and heat them up in a toaster oven for 5 to 10 minutes. A toaster oven provides a better texture when reheating foods likes potatoes. This will give the top a nice crispy taste while leaving the middle of the potatoes warm and fluffy. No mashing required.

Fresh Vegetables

One of the easiest tasks on Thanksgiving is opening a can of vegetables and heating them up to serve. Often, these vegetables can become a bland and pointless part of a meal. This is where a restaurant can come in. Inside of serving vegetables straight from a can, Italian restaurants, like Italian restaurants in Fort McMurray, prepare them in butter, spices, and other ingredients to really make the flavors pop. Sides like green beans, broccoli, and peas are all enhanced when purchased directly from a restaurant.

Once you bring the vegetables home, store them in a glass bowl. Heat the glass bowl in a microwave just before serving dinner. The microwave process will help keep the moisture and texture of the vegetables as they were originally served at the restaurant.

Rolls & Breads

There's something special about getting that basket of bread rolls each time you sit down at a restaurant. While those bowls are usually complimentary, you can easily get a bulk order to serve on Thanksgiving. Not only will this help save time and space in the oven, but the bread is perfectly cooked and can come will small butter or margarine packets.

Keep the bread completely covered so that it remains soft until dinner is served. You do not need to refrigerate the bread, but you can if you plan on reheating it. For a softer bread, cover a plate of rolls in the microwave and set it for 30 seconds. For a hot and crispy bread, evenly place the rolls on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes at 350 degrees. This will keep it at the perfect temperature.

Restaurant Sauces

Add some kick and flavor to your Thanksgiving meal by requesting a variety of sauces from a restaurant. These sauces can enhance all the elements of your meal, especially the turkey. For example, you can request a quart of teriyaki sauce from a restaurant. This can be used a dipping side dish or to directly marinate the turkey.

Additional sauces include ranch, cheese, or buffalo sauces. All of these sauces can be used to kick up side dishes like casseroles, meats, or vegetables. Request a list of the sauces that the restaurant has available. Check specialty restaurants for a variety of sauces as well. For example, Italian restaurants may have a variety of tomato-based sauces that they sell to customers. Keep the sauce in its original container and then reheat in the microwave before serving.

If you're planning a large dinner, it's a good idea to call the restaurant a few days ahead of time so that everything can be properly prepared.