Post your Thanksgiving Menu!

[4grandbabies]

We also had a wonderful -tho small -thanksgiving! Years back, it was his folks, my folks, my brother and his family of 7,his brothers and their families, and neighbor that did not have a place, what a gang of people, and like every ones else, kids move away, have other inlaw families, so this year it was daughter and hubby and 2 kids , all together too much food, including favorites from relatives now gone.
Yesterday,Our daughter and I prepared salads, pies, side dishes ready to pop in oven today. We had smoked turkey and all the traditional (whats traditional is what every one wants)..so today we cuddled with the grandkiddies, watched the parade, and this afternoon , kiddies played and adults watched the games.
No one was over tired, it was overall a very good day.just happy to have someone to share it with and hoping that our son and family can be in on it next year.
Blessings to all the Easy Garden Gang..you are all a fun and interesting part of my like now.

 

[hikerchick]

Hmm- daughter went to see dad, so..

sesame pita chips with horseradish hummus

Microwave kettle corn

 

[digitS']

Well, I did just about my best . . . there weren't too many lumps in the gravy!

It was just the locals. My brother's wife likes to travel a few hundred miles for holidays with her aging parents. No one could blame her. Niece is 400 miles away with her growing family. Son is 800 miles away having dinner with a large group of church brothers . . . and his sweet potatoes with pineapple.

It's the first Thanksgiving without Dad in probably 35 years but he's got a "new wife" and she has her kids. Dad's 91 and "new wife" is mid-70's. Her kids are nearly as old as I am and some don't get around all that well .

So, it was daughter and her boyfriend and another friend. It was nice to have a young lady visitor whose family is more than 1,000 miles away. I hope that we made her comfortable here.

BF just had a birthday and it was fun to tease him about losing his hair and stuff . The traditions are all for the Kid and she has pretty clear ideas about 'em . Mom and Dad did their best, as I say. So, it's the silly jelled cranberries because she doesn't like the other. I made my (apparently) "famous" onion/celery stuffing. I've tried a number of times to use different recipes but I'd probably be kicked to the curb if I tried again :/.

The turkey was great. OUR potatoes were fluffy and still have a better taste than store-bought. Rolls, just like Grandma used to make, were perfect.

MY apple pie was probably the best in several years (the apples are from the little orchard down the road). OUR Buttercup Squash pie was exquisite! I so hope that we can do as well at Christmas again this year!

That darn ubiquitous green bean casserole . . . everybody has their favorite, it's not mine. I identified the bean variety as I passed it around but kept my mouth shut about campbell's mushroom soup :/!

Dear Daughter is becoming more sophisticated by the year but it doesn't show up too much at "traditional" meals. I told her that we've got important expectations for her - that maybe she can vary the menu just a bit as the time comes when she has to run everything thru a blender for Mom & Dad. Of course, it was good to have her home.

Steve

 

[rockytopsis]

Both daughters went to inlaws so DH and I had a free day.

We went to Chattanooga to eat at Smokey Bones and !!!!!they were closed!!!! OH well, so was every other restaurant that surrounded the mall. There was a place open called the Country Place so we went back there. The food was OK, way over priced but OK. The best part was since I did not have to cook, I did not have to clean a kitchen.

We came home rested and went to the bowling alley and watched folks there. We went to bed early cause I had to get DH up at 3 to go hunting, which is why I am setting here wide awake. LOL All in all we had a good day and hope you all did as well.

Nancy

 

[vfem]

I am all teary eyed just thinking about all this food and family, we had a fabulous time even though my sister's kids were sick so they didn't make it! :/

I'm still full....

I had pumpkin pie for breakfast, I mean really... what other time of year can you do that!??!

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

I know this is a bit belated, but I am still gorging on leftovers so I guess it is still within the window of posting.

My turkey was 16 pounds and only cost me $6. Wow, now if they would price them like that more often I would eat turkey more often.

This is the first year I did not stuff the bird. My mom has always stuffed her bird with cornbread stuffing, and I guess I thought it was a law that you had to. I found that the bird kept more of its flavorings and more of the juices, as well I was able to make the most incredible gravy imaginable with all the drippings (minus the fat since I do separate!)

I put an entire head of garlic with the tops cut into the bird cavity along with a whole onion quartered. Under the breast skin I packed a 1/4 cup of butter (softened) with fresh thyme! Then the entire outside of the bird top to bottom was slathered in oil and then in a mix of garlic powder/paprika/pepper No salt was used on the bird at all! In the bottom of the pan I placed chopped carrots and a onion in quarters (this was discarded later and was only used for flavoring the gravy--I tried to eat one of the carrots but it was so extremely sweet like a sweet potato).

I really was impressed with the results! The bird was cooked on a High setting of 450 for the first 30 minutes (I was warned about the smoke..and man did it smoke), then it was lowered to 325 for another 3 hours. The dark meat cooked perfectly and the white meat held onto the juices.

My dishes were Scottish Dressing (this is oatmeal, onions, salt, pepper and broth), cornbread stuffing/baked (I did Martha's recipe with pecans and a dry white wine!!! Wow on Ms. Stewart), greenbeans, carrots, and a dinner roll I kneaded myself (too sweet but the chickens loved it)

Here is Martha's Stuffing Recipe. I thought of Heidi and her wild mushrooms, but I had to just use store-bought. Cornbread, Wild Mushroom, and Pecan Stuffing

I have been munching on turkey ever minute until just an hour ago and I still have too much! On Thursday I went ahead and removed the thigh and leg portions and froze them for the future, and today I am going to take the remainder of any dark meat and make a dish I call Sopa Seca (Dry Soup) LOL It sounds terrible but it is just to die for, a Mexican casserole with green chilies and cream of Mushroom soup layered high with corn tortillas and Colby Cheese. YUMMMM!

Roll me downhill! LOL

Ron

 

[journey11]

Ol' Martha sure does know how to do a turkey up right! My first year that I was responsible for cooking the Thanksgiving turkey, I followed her recipe for the turkey and giblet gravy and it was ~perfect~.

I used to mock her when I was young, but now I really see that she has unbelievable talent. I think it's cool that she raises chickens too.

 

[4grandbabies]

We are still working on and froze some left overs also!! I like to use left over turkey for turkey tettrazeni, turkey salad sandwiches, and tortilla rollups.. turkey, lettuce, green onion, seasoning sour crean etc..as imagination calls for
we had a bread stuffing, some cornbread,as well as dried bread cubes, lots of sage, onion, butter, mushrooms etc; mashed potatoes and gravy , moms traditional salad of cubed pineapple, cubes cheddar cheese, marshmellows, pecans, and covered with a cooked pineapple dressing...to die for..cramberry salad ,that has strawberry jello as its base, plus more, green bean casserole, sweetpotatoes, apples and raisins with brown sugar cinnamon and cream till cooked bubbly then top w, marshmellows that are browned, relish tray, pumpkin pie. cherry pie and pecan pie.

 

[GPN]

I still live at home with Momma & Daddy at the age of 28, so we had the family here this year, My sis, BIL, 2 nieces, nephew then BILIL, SILIL niece and nephew.

12 people:
turkey
ham (cockpot over night with pinapple)
chicken fingers
dressing
canned cranberry sauce
rolls
mac and chesse
sweet potatoes- baked
brossil sprouts
greens
green beans

then pumpkin bread
pecan cake
cupcakes without frosting
tub of frosting
pecan goodies ( not burnt)
splenda oreo bonbons
pecan pie

Did not have time to do peanut butter cookies:

2 egg whites to soft pecks
1 cup sugar (or 1 cup splenda) 1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp almond extract

Combine in bowl, then spoon into balls and crisscross with fork. Bake @ 350 til golden brown or til you can just smell them. NO FLOUR NEEDED.

Pecan Goodies:
1 egg white frothy
1/2 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
Dash of Cream of tartar
1 lb of pecan halves

Beat egg til frothy, add sugar and tartar and mix, then add pecans and coat. Spread on Cookie sheet start oven 250 -300 when you put the cookie sheet in, stir about 15 minutes in, stir again at 30 minutes and turn off oven, leave in warm oven for 30 more minutes stirring about 15 mins. and then when you take them out!.

HOT OVEN WILL Burn Pecans!! THEY STINK!!


Merry Christmas!!
GPN

 

[vfem]

Ok... going to go nuke leftovers for lunch now! LOL