Michelle Duggar Talks Turkey — What Thanksgiving With 19 Kids Looks Like

For the Duggar family, it’s been a year full of blessings and matriarch Michelle Duggar has plenty to feel thankful about this Thanksgiving.

She also has a lot of turkey and dressing to prepare.

Even with a total of 19 kids to feed, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar still take a “the more, the merrier” outlook when it comes to holidays, according to the International Business Times. This year, the Duggars expect plenty of visitors for Thanksgiving this year, including her sisters, some close friends, and other family members. This could bring the total number of guests expecting turkey to somewhere between 30 to 40.

And it could be even more, since TMZ reports that the Duggars have invited the Vanderhoffs over for dinner — and they have a total of 23 members in their immediate family.

However, not all of the Duggar children will be there. Michelle says that oldest son, Josh, along with his wife Anna and their three children, will be spending Thanksgiving with Anna’s family this year. And recently-wed daughter Jessa will be spending her first Thanksgiving as a Seewald with the Seewald crew instead of the Duggars. The other newlywed daughter Jill and husband Derick Dillard, who are expecting her first child this spring, will split the holiday between his family and hers.

Even with a few key Duggar members missing, there will still be a ton of hungry mouths to feed, and Michelle clued IBT in on just what the traditional Duggar Thanksgiving menu looks like — and how many turkeys it takes to feed a brood that size.

As for the number of turkeys, it’s pretty modest — just two “giant” birds, as well as an additional four individual turkey breasts. One of the turkeys will be cooked in water with an onion placed inside, while the other turkey will be smoked, according to Michelle.

But the Duggar family menu consists of more than just turkey, and putting that amount of food on the table takes the whole family. Joy will be making her traditional green bean casserole, while the Duggar boys plan on making the stuffing. The smallest Duggars will be helping by peeling the mountain of potatoes it takes to make mashed potatoes for 30 to 40 people. Corn and cranberry sauce will also be on the table, as well as a traditional family dish of noodles made with turkey broth and gravy, started by Michelle’s own mom.

And, of course, the dinner wouldn’t be complete without some pie, including 15 of Jim Bob Duggar’s favorite — pumpkin, a Thanksgiving staple.

And will the Duggars soon to have even more to be thankful about? Click here to find out.

[Image via the Daily Beast]