If you're having people over to your place for Thanksgiving, you're going to have more to worry about than cooking. Sure I'm putting turkey recipes up every day, but if you're green as Gumby in the kitchen, the stress of prepping a turkey, along with organizing everything else, can put you over the top.

Jennie O sent me one of their ready-made, seasoned, frozen turkey that goes right from your freezer to the oven. No thawing. No cleaning. Which keeps you hassle-free and able to drink and mingle.

It doesn't matter if you've never cooked anything before, let alone a turkey for you entire family. It's pretty much foolproof. The 11-13 pound birds come in their own cooking bag. You preheat the oven, cut some slits in the bag to let it vent, and put it in a roasting pan. The pop-up timer tells you when it's done. No basting. No constant checking. No chance of overcooking. (Unless you get involved in the game and ignore the pop-up.) And the taste is good enough to fool most of your guests into thinking you did it all yourself. (Mom will probably know you didn't. You can't fool mom.)

Jennie O offers a Homestyle Whole Turkey, a Butter, Garlic & Herb Whole Turkey , and for smaller get-togethers, both of those are available as half turkeys. (What, no leftovers?) They also have bone-in and boneless, skinless turkey breasts in case you want to skip the traditional "carving of the turkey" and just get down to eating.

The whole turkeys run about $2 per pound, so figure about $22-$26 for a hassle-free main course. Not bad if you consider the time you'll save. Unfortunately you just lost the one excuse you had to ignore your annoying relatives and hide in the kitchen.

Available at supermarkets nationwide.
www.jennieo.com