Thanksgiving Aftermath

istock photos

Thanksgiving dinner is over, my parents and aunt have gone home, all is well. We actually ended up eating with very little turkey as my turkey breast was quite on the pink side even though the meat thermometer said it was done. With all of the side dishes the lack of turkey wasn't missed.

Which means that I have a huge amount of leftover turkey. This isn't a problem that I'm used to dealing with and I'll be trolling the recipe sites for leftover turkey suggestions that go beyone sandwiches, tetrazini, and hash. Anyone out there have any great recipes?

The dessert was met with much enthusiasm. Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I decided that I would make her a strawberry bavarian cream cake. I saw one on $40 a Day with Rachael Ray and thought "I could make that" and the rest is culinary history. My son ate about half of it and everyone else raved. I'll share the recipe with you soon!

istock photo

I also served blueberry cobbler, which my dad took home, kentucky derby pie (super recipes for this are available all over the web; I left out the bourbon), and pumpkin pie (which didn't get eaten at all). It was nice to sit at the table with my parents and aunt chatting for hours, watching everyone enjoy my cooking. I really do enjoy hosting Thanksgiving, even though it is a lot of cooking.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and to all of you braving Black Friday, Good Luck and Godspeed!

Cookies, Muffins, and Pies, Oh My!

I have been incredibly busy this week, but am enjoying myself. You see, I have been a baking maniac, and if there's one thing I love to do, it's bake. The regular baking lady at the local Farmer's Market is having her knee replaced and my husband mentioned to her that I am a good baker. She told me all of her prices, what she usually bakes, and gave me her blessing.

Thus far, I have baked 5 varieties of cookies in quadruple batches. Do you know that I used to hate creaming butter and sugar? Now, it's calming, meditative. And using my great grandmother's pastry tool, which prepared many a pie crust (though I am told that they were as heavy as bricks) makes the act even more special. Today is muffin baking day, and try as I might, I could not find large muffin cups, so it's going to be regular sized muffins this week (apple streudel, blueberry, and banana nut, maybe chocolate chip). And then there's pies. She usually bakes 25 pies the day before, small, large, sugar free and high test, apple, peach, blueberry, cherry, etc. That intimidates me, but I CAN DO IT!

Unfortunately, this may all be for naught, as it's been raining all week and may rain all weekend. Thankfully we have a large freezer and baked goods freeze well. And I have a family with a sweet tooth. So I may not have to freeze a thing, as it will all be eaten up and my family will be found in a sugar coma by the neighbors!

I found the most Ah-Mazing Snickerdoodle recipe. Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles are absolutely, bar none, the best snickerdoodles I have ever eaten. They are like chewy Spritz cookies (German butter cookies) with cinnamon and sugar on them. I did learn that they have to be pressed down before baking or they will be very thick, but you might like them that way. Give them a try, but I'm going to warn you, it's hard to stop at just one. Smitten Kitchen's oatmeal cookie recipe is also divine, but unless you make minuscule cookies you will only get 1 dozen cookies from a batch. And that batch might not last long once you taste them!

7 Things I Love

Over on Bloom, there was a wonderful post about the 7 things that the author loves. It was such a wonderful post that I wanted to do one myself. I am then supposed to tag 7 people and ask them to write the same post.

If you are reading, consider yourself tagged.

Wildflowers



Especially ones that you don't expect, like these beautiful ones along the highway. In gorgeous swags of color that go on for miles. As a gardener, I've tried and tried to make my garden look natural, but I think God has the upper hand as a designer.

Children



Innocence and laughter and giggles over silly things that adults just don't understand. Delighted discovery of those things that are old hat to us old-folk. Seeing the world with new, unjaded eyes. Glee. Boundless energy. Huge hearts full of love.

Baby Feet



I don't know why, but I love little baby toes. This little piggy moments with Will are sublime. And even as he nears three, I still love eating those feeties. I figure someday when he is 16 and has huge stinky feet I'll wonder what I was doing, but for now, I love those little toes.

Cats



If I had lived in Puritan Salem, I'm pretty sure I would have been crushed by rocks or burned at the stake, because I am just a cat magnet. I love them and feel a kinship with them. How could you not love this guy, my puffy, snuggly Linus with freckles on his nose? Or kitty purrs and arched backs waiting to be scratched? Yep, they'd think I was a witch.

Country Churches



There's just something serene about them. Even old, abandoned churches. My heart leaps every time I come across one I haven't seen before.

Nuthatches



Nothing warms my heart more than the precocious little nuthatch jumping down the side of a tree looking for his next meal.

Pie



Apple, pumpkin, peanut butter, pecan, raspberry, peach; I love pie!

The Thanksgiving Menu, a.k.a., A Cornucopia of Recipes

I'll have 9 people to feed (and maybe more) this Thanksgiving. I serve a pretty traditional menu; we have no ethnic or regional specialties that go on the Thanksgiving buffet. I thought I'd share the menu with you.


michellepaints, photobucket

* Turkey - of course! The thing with turkey is figuring out how big of a turkey to buy. I read in a long forgotten magazine that you want 1-1/2 pounds of turkey per person. Seems like a lot, until you figure that they turkey has a carcass and you won't get all of the meat off of that carcass. So we have been gifted with a 15 pound turkey from the in-laws. The only way to bake a turkey is in a roaster bag at 325 F, and you can refer to this handy USDA chart for cooking times:

Unstuffed
4 to 8 pounds (breast) 1½ to 3¼ hours
8 to 12 pounds 2¾ to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds 3 to 3¾ hours
14 to 18 pounds 3¾ to 4¼ hours
18 to 20 pounds 4¼ to 4½ hours
20 to 24 pounds 4½ to 5 hours

Stuffed
4 to 6 pounds (breast) Not usually applicable
6 to 8 pounds (breast) 2½ to 3½ hours
8 to 12 pounds 3 to 3½ hours
12 to 14 pounds 3½ to 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds 4 to 4¼ hours
18 to 20 pounds 4¼ to 4¾ hours
20 to 24 pounds 4¾ to 5¼ hours



* Stuffing

I've always made stuffing the same way. Here's how I do it.

You'll need:
1 bag of cornbread stuffing mix.
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
enough chicken broth (we'll address this later)
2 eggs

Sautee the carrots, celery, and onion until the carrots start to get soft. Take off of the heat, add the stuffing mix. In a seperate bowl, add some chicken broth and the eggs, whisk. Add to the stuffing mix. Add more chicken broth until the stuffing is moist. Put in a greased baking dish and cook at 325 (see how that works - you can cook it with the turkey!) for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the stuffing is done in the middle.


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* Green Bean Casserole

I use Campbell's Classic Green Bean Casserole recipe. I think that's all I have to say about that.


HannahBear105, photobucket

* Sweet Potato Casserole

I have bought frozen sweet potato casserole from Honey Baked Ham and it's really, really good. But it's also not too difficult to make it on your own.
Kim's Sweet Potato Casserole recipe on Recipezaar.com is exactly like the recipe I've been using for years (except I don't use marshmellows. You can make up your own mind about this addition). It's the one thing that my mom requests.



* Glazed Carrots

Glazed Carrots are so easy to make. They are so yummy. Once you figure out how easy they are to make, you'll find yourself making them for everyday meals.

You need:
1 pound carrots
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Peel and cut the carrots into bite-sized coins. Boil for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain.

Melt butter in pan. Once melted, add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.

Add carrots and stir around to coat with glaze. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.


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* Potato Rolls

Save yourself some time, and buy them from the grocery store. Heat them in the microwave right before dinner for 10 seconds. Your guests will never know (as long as you hide the bag!).


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* Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

I'm not going to insult your intellegence here. I've been peeling and boiling and mashing potatoes for as long as I can remember. I think I'll do it this way, but I'm not sure. Of course, now there are many varieties of pre-made mashed potatoes that are just as great as home made. PLEASE don't used potato flakes! Oh, and I'm going to buy the gravy too.


lileuripop, photobucket

* PIE!!!

I'm thinking of baking my own this year, but I could just buy them, too. The menu calls for Pecan, Pumpkin, and Apple pie, lots of Redi-Whip, and Vanilla ice cream.

So are you loosening your belt just reading this? I hope you are.