Thanksgiving smartphone apps look to make dinner prep easier

Whether a first-time Thanksgiving cook or the family's expert chef, smartphone and tablet apps can make dinner preps easier or just more fun!

For those tasked with hosting a Thanksgiving meal, some apps can make cooking a little easier. 

The Thanksgiving Menu Maker app from Fine Cooking for iPad does just what it implies. Recipes range from starters to desserts. Users can create a shopping list of ingredients and then make a schedule of what to buy and what to cook when.

There's even a Thanksgiving 911 feature with the most common Turkey Day troubles and how to fix them.

Cooks tackling turkey for the first time can try the Chow Thanksgiving Dinner Coach. The app has step-by-step instructions for the most popular Thanksgiving dishes -- from buying items in the supermarket to stuffing them in the oven.

The Thanksgiving Recipes app for Android also includes instructions for the main dish and many traditional sides. 

The Turkey titan Butterball takes its Thanksgiving Day hotline high-tech, with the Butterball  Cookbook Plus app. In addition to answering common turkey questions, there are how-to instructional videos and recipes. The app even responds to voice commands so chefs can avoid smudges on their screens.