Thanksgiving is a busy time of the year, especially if you are hosting family and friends at your house. And to make things more difficult this year we have a few more challenges with which to deal.

Recently from NBC News: "Fewer turkeys in U.S. warehouses in September will likely mean slightly higher prices this Thanksgiving after a bird flu outbreak wiped out more than 9 million turkeys, experts said after the government monthly cold storage report on Thursday."

And what's this about a pumpkin pie filling shortage this year?  Libby's, the largest U.S. producer, said record summer rains damaged this year's pumpkin crop. Yields in Illinois, the center of American production, are down about 50 percent from 2014, according to Nestle SA, Libby's parent company.

Then there are the higher egg prices. The Boston Globe reports, "The price of eggs has doubled in just a few short weeks as an outbreak of bird flu in the Midwest has led to the euthanization of some 35 million egg-laying chickens, about 10 percent of laying hens nationally, and sharp drops in production at some of the nation's biggest poultry farms."

WOW! What is a cook to do?

But there is some good news on the horizon as Ocean Spray says it will have a strong and high quality crop for the 2015 cranberry season.  Did you know that of the 400 million pounds, or 4 million barrels, of cranberries consumed annually by Americans, 20 percent, or 80 million pounds, will be consumed Thanksgiving week? Ocean Spray sells more cranberries the Wednesday before Thanksgiving than any other day of the year.

Now if the workers who want malls to stay shut on Thanksgiving get their way, more people can actually stay home and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families this year.

So with some advance shopping and planning you can have another bountiful Thanksgiving table.  Enjoy it to the fullest!