Thanksgiving – Tips, Tricks and Recipes for a Stress-Free Holiday

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Cooking, Dressing, Food, potatoes, recipe, recipes, salad, Sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving, Tips, Turkey

  
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it is not too soon to start your preparations. This is a reminder that I have been posting a series of posts that can help you have a stress-free holiday. Please look back over these posts starting November 4 that include tips on menu planning, dish planning and preparation and recipes for all the basic (and not so basic!) Thanksgiving dishes including…

1. Barbecuing and brining your turkey
2. Cornbread Chorizo Dressing – This stuff is the BOMB!!!
3. Sweet Potatoes and Apples – Always a crowd pleaser!!!
4. Curried Carrot Soup – A delicious, healthy first course
5. The Joy of Mashed Potatoes!
6. Green Bean Casserole – Made from scratch with all fresh ingredients! Delish!
7. Festive Green Salad – Pear, apples and a homemade poppyseed dressing make this a tasty different green salad
8. Cranberry Salad – This may not be the healthiest salad, but with cranberries, green apples and mini-marshmallows it is so pretty!
9. Hummus – A light, healthy dip to keep your appetizers light and leave plenty of room for the main meal!
10. Platte County Pie – Like pie? Like chocolate chip cookies? You’ll love this pie!

I even covered some ideas for your leftovers!

• Making your own stock from your turkey carcass
• Layered Thanksgiving Lasagna

It’s not to late to review these posts and get your Thanksgiving dinner planning underway! I wish all of you a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! Please feel free to send me comments with your questions. I’ll try and make time in all my cooking to get back to you ASAP. I am so thankful to all of you that take the time to read my blog!

Please let me know how your Thanksgiving dishes turn out!

Thanksgiving Tip #14 – Food Network To The Rescue!

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Cooking, Food, Food Network, inspiration, Pioneer Woman, recipes, Thanksgiving, Tips, TV, website

  
Looking for help or suggestions for your Thanksgiving dinner? The Food Network is showing numerous shows with a Thanksgiving theme that will inspire you with delicious recipes! The network has shows in a variety of formats from educational to competitive and almost all of them are showing Thanksgiving episodes.

Pretty much anytime I sit down to watch TV, I search through the network on my TV guide and set up the Thanksgiving shows to record.

One of the best shows I’ve watched so far is the Pioneer Woman’s Ultimate Thanksgiving. That girl does love her butter, but the recipes look fantastic and I know I’m going to be trying a few this year; Maple Whiskey Turkey and Very Berry Cranberry Sauce, just to name a few! Luckily, they are showing this show and some of Ree Drummond’s other Thanksgiving shows repeatedly, so you can search your TV guide on “Pioneer Woman” and still find showings.

Another great thing about this network is they have a very robust website. You can find many of the recipes shown in the episodes on the website. All of the recipes from the Pioneer Woman special are on there.

So check out the channel on TV or take a look at their website (foodnetwork.com) for some great Thanksgiving inspiration! I have AT&T U-verse and the Food Network is on channels 453 & 1453 (HD), but this might differ for you. They also have a great app available for your phone and tablets.

I hope you can find some additional Thanksgiving inspiration!

Thanksgiving Tip #8 – The Joy of Mashed Potatoes

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Cooking, Food, garlic, healthy, low-fat, Mashed potatoes, recipe, recipes, sour cream, Thanksgiving, Tips, vegetarian

  
What’s a Thanksgiving dinner without mashed potatoes? What’s dinner period without mashed potatoes??? I kind of like mashed potatoes! Can you tell?

The great things about mashed potatoes are they’re easy to make, most people love them, and you can get creative with them. You can even keep them pretty healthy and low-fat.

As I mentioned in one of my first Thanksgiving tip posts, I like that you can peel the potatoes the day before and get them soaking in water, so you don’t have much to do on Thanksgiving Day. You can even take it a step further and completely make your mashed potatoes and then warm them up in your slow cooker the day of the holiday.

My Basic Mashed Potato Recipe

4-5 russet potatoes, peeled, washed and cut in half

1 cup fat free sour cream

¾ cup fat free milk

2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped (or you can substitute garlic powder)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a size appropriate pot, cover potatoes with water and add about a teaspoon or two of salt. Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Turn burner down to medium low. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Add sour cream, milk, garlic, salt and pepper and stir. Enjoy!

Options – Here’s where you get to play:

• Instead of all Russet potatoes, use half or more of sweet potatoes.

• In addition to your potatoes, boil, mash and mix some carrots with your potatoes. These turn your potatoes a beautiful orange color that is very Thanksgiving appropriate. It sneaks some veggies in too!

• Sliced chives or green onions can be a nice addition that add both flavor and color.

• Of course, you can add butter! It’s delicious, but it does bump up your fat and calories. I choose to make butter available at the table and let people make their own choice about that.

What are your creative mashed potato innovations?

Thanksgiving Tips Part 6 – Sweet Potatoes and Apples Are The Best!!!

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apples, Cooking, Food, recipe, side dish, Sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving, Tips, vegetable

  
About 20 years ago (man, I’m old!), I was at an office potluck and a co-worker of mine brought the most wonderful sweet potato dish. Keep in mind, prior to this I did not like sweet potatoes. My mom didn’t cook them much at all growing up, so my only exposure was that dish where they’re covered in marshmallows and to top it off, I don’t like marshmallows much either!
Anyway, this dish my coworker brought was both sweet and savory. In addition to the sweet potatoes, there were apples in the dish.

I asked her for the recipe and she said she didn’t have it. Her mother had made the dish for her to bring, so I asked her to please ask her mom for the recipe. She comes back into work and tells me that her mom won’t give her the recipe. It’s a “secret” family recipe. What’s a girl gotta do to get that stinkin’ recipe!?! Thanksgiving was coming and my friend said that her mom would make those sweet potatoes every year, so I gave her marching orders to hover around her mother and take copious notes. Well she came through!!!

This dish has been a family favorite for the last 20 years and it always gets rave reviews when I share it with others. I’ve taken it to a few church potlucks and the such.

Not only is this dish delicious, it’s also pretty darn easy to make. Nothing complicated, but the flavors come together wonderfully! The recipe I have is pretty rough and these days I usually just make it from memory. It’s kind of a vegetable lasagna as you’re simply layering the ingredients and it’s easy to increase/decrease the recipe based on how many people you’re feeding. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do!

4-5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in half, short-ways

2 – 15 oz cans apple pie filling

Butter or margarine

Brown sugar

1 tbsp Brandy

Place sweet potatoes and 1 tbsp brandy into large pot of water making sure to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove potatoes from hot water and slice into ½ inch slices. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and spread one layer of sweet potatoes, then thinly cover this with a layer of pie filling (about ½ can or more if you need it), spoon dots of butter over apples about a teaspoon or so 2-3 inches apart. You just want them spread apart. Then sprinkle about 1/3 cup brown sugar. Now repeat these layers. I usually try to end with the brown sugar on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until warmed through and bubbly. If you’re making a bigger batch, it may need to cook longer.

You really can’t go wrong with the amounts of the ingredients, so play with it and see what looks good to you. It’s amazing how much flavor that little bit of brandy in the water adds!

Thanksgiving Tips Part 5 – The BEST Stuffing EVER!!! There is Chorizo in it!!!

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Cooking, Food, recipe, Southwest Cornbread and Chorizo Dressing, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Tips

  
For some odd reason that I don’t understand, I am the only person in my family that likes stuffing. Who are these people I live with??? Since they don’t much care for it, I rarely make it. Thanksgiving is my one exception though! I ALWAYS make stuffing on Thanksgiving and several years ago I came across a recipe that is so fantastic, even my stuffing-free family and friends love it. One of my girlfriends stakes her claim on our leftovers every year!

One year we picked up a holiday edition of Sunset magazine and this is where I found my all-time favorite stuffing recipe. This dish is extremely colorful and the variety of unique ingredients create a bold, bright flavor. Let’s just say there is chorizo involved! CHORIZO!!!! Geez I love that stuff!!! There is also fresh baked corn bread, mushrooms and butternut squash, just to name a few.

I just know you and yours will love it as much as we do!!!

Southwest Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffing

1 butternut squash (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb.)2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 onion (6 oz.)

1 red bell pepper (8 oz.)

1 fresh fennel head (9 oz.)

1 pound mushrooms

1 pound chorizo sausage (see notes)

1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) unsalted butter

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 large eggs

1 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth 

CORNBREAD (RECIPE FOLLOWS)
Preparation

1. Peel and seed squash. Cut into 1-inch chunks; you should have about 3 cups. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over high heat, combine 1/2 cup water with brown sugar and the squash. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring once, until squash is almost tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and cook, occasionally stirring gently, until most of the water is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Peel and chop onion. Rinse, stem, seed, and chop bell pepper. Rinse fennel and trim off and discard base of head and tough stalks. Chop enough fennel to make about 1 cup. Rinse mushrooms and slice 1/4 inch thick.

3. Squeeze sausage from casings and break into chunks into a 12-inch frying pan or 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat; stir often until lightly browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour sausage into a wire strainer to drain; discard fat.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Add butter to unwashed pan over medium-high heat; when melted, add onion, bell pepper, and fennel and stir often until vegetables begin to soften, 7 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir until limp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sausage, cilantro, sage, and thyme. Add squash.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and broth. Break cornbread into 1/2-inch chunks and drop into bowl. Add sausage mixture and stir gently to combine. Scrape dressing into a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish and cover with foil.

6. Bake until hot in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisp and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Makes 10-12 servings. 

Cornbread: Preheat oven to 400°. In a bowl, mix 2 boxes (8 1/2 oz. each) corn muffin mix, 3/4 cup milk, and 2 large eggs until blended but still slightly lumpy. I have also used Marie Callender corn bread mix. Just follow package instructions. Pour batter into a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Bake until top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cornbread cool in pan on a rack.

Thanksgiving Tips

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Cooking, Food, recipes, Thanksgiving, Tips

  
i hope you’ll follow my blog and keep an eye out for my series of Thanksgiving tips and recipes! I have already posted the first 4 tip entries, so don’t be afraid to back an check them out. Lots of great information to lower your stress levels during the holiday while creating a drop dead delicious meal!

Thanksgiving Tips Part 4 – Barbecued Turkey – Great Tasting and It Frees Up Your Oven

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barbecue, barbecued, Cooking, Food, grill, grilled, recipe, Thanksgiving, Tips, Turkey

  
I think we can all agree that the backbone of a great Thanksgiving dinner is the turkey! I know for me, if I screw up the turkey I feel like I have failed as a Thanksgiving host.

I forget exactly how we discovered it, but about 20 years ago my husband and I discovered the joy of the barbecued turkey. This moist, smokey flavored bird is definitely the star of the meal. An unexpected perk to barbecuing the bird, is that you don’t have a huge turkey hogging up your oven. I have never been blessed with two ovens, so on a big cooking day oven space is at a premium. Since I usually put my husband in charge of the barbecuing, it keeps him occupied and out of the kitchen. Prior to putting him to work on the barbecue, he was always sticking his finger in to taste things and stealing yummy bits of food. He likes to set up a little man zone outside on the patio with a cooler of beer and a TV to watch football

So how do we do it?

1. You need a barbecue deep enough to accommodate whatever size turkey you’re cooking. We started with a simple Weber kettle and now we use a CharGriller barrel grill. Those square Meco grills tend to not be deep enough unless you’re cooking a really small turkey.

2. The secret to a moist bird? Stuff it with moist ingredients that will evaporate into the bird as it cooks. We stuff our bird with a variety of fruit, garlic and onions. Remember the flavors of what you stuff it will impart flavor to the bird. I usually use a variety of citrus fruits, apples, and or pears. The stuffing just gets thrown out after the bird has cooked, but all that fruit juice that evaporates into the bird makes for a moist and flavorful turkey.

3. Want that smoke flavor? Add some wood chips to your briquettes. We like to use wood from fruit trees. Our favorite is apple. Some of the other woods, like mesquite, can be overwhelming. The fruit wood provides a mellow, sweet flavor to the bird. Be sure to soak your wood chips overnight, so they don’t just catch fire and burn up right away. You want them to burn slowly and give off lots of smoke. My husband has also been known to pour some brandy or tequila in with the chips as they soak for additional flavor.

4. As I always like to say, play with your food! Over the years, we have tried a variety of things and they’ve all been good. We’ve brined our bird and we have injected our bird. These strategies both add moisture and flavor. Don’t be afraid to try different things! If brining, I will tell you to be cautious with the zip-lock brining bags and how you store your brining turkey. Let’s just say I had one pop open on me and then was dealing with about 2 gallons of liquid on my kitchen floor. It wasn’t a good day, but we recovered. Maybe I’ll include a brine recipe in a future post.

  
So let’s get to the actual recipe for barbecuing your turkey!

Ingredients

• Turkey – size should be based on the number of people you’re feeding and the amount of left overs you want

• Fruit for stuffing – Any combination of Apples, oranges, limes, lemons, pears,etc, cubed

• Savory ingredients for stuffing – Garlic and/or onion, cubed

• Salt and pepper or barbecue rub (See my very first blog post for a great rub recipe)

To prep turkey, clean out the chest cavity removing neck bone and any organs. I discard these things, but some people cook with them. Ensure the turkey is completely thawed, inside and out. Season the outside of the bird and inside the cavity with salt and pepper or a barbecue rub. Stuff the bird generously with the fruit and savory ingredients. Prior to seasoning, some people like to rub their bird with oil or butter. In an effort to keep fat and calories down, I opt not to do this and my turkey still turns out moist and delicious. This is also the time you would inject your turkey, if you decide to do so. Place turkey in a turkey baking rack, so it can be moved more easily.

Barbecue Instructions

• You’ll want to use the indirect method to cook your turkey by creating two beds of charcoal on either side of your grill. Add soaked wood chips to charcoal if you choose. In between the charcoal beds place an aluminum drip pan to catch your turkey’s drippings. Replace your grill’s grate.
• Place turkey in rack on grill grate and close barbecue.
• Every hour add 5-8 briquettes to each charcoal bed. Add carefully, so you don’t get ash on your turkey. Also, add additional soaked wood chips, if you’re smoking your bird. Your remaining charcoal should be hot enough to light these newly added briquettes. You can also baste your turkey with the drippings at this time. If the dripping are too hard to get to, which is the case with some grills, just baste with chicken broth that you keep warm on the stove.
• Cooking time should be about 11-13 minutes per pound. For example a 20 pound bird should take about 3 1/2 hours.
• A meat thermometer should register 180 degrees in the thigh or 170 degrees in the breast.
• Let the bird rest 10-15 minutes before carving. Remember that smoking the bird will sometimes make the meat a pink color, this doesn’t mean it’s not cooked through.
• Discard the fruit stuffing. It’s job is done!
• Carve and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Tips Part 3 – It’s All In The Prep!!!

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Cooking, Food, food prep, holiday, Holidays, meal planning, preparation, Thanksgiving, Tips

  
The planning and shopping are important, but it’s the prep that will really reduce the stress of preparing a large dinner like Thanksgiving. As you do your prep, try to think of every litle thing you can do ahead of time. Even if it doesn’t seem like much, unwrapping your butter to put on a dish or opening the cans of cranberry sauce, will shave minutes off your Thanksgiving Day work. Trust me! It all adds up and you’ll cherish those free moments on the day of thee holiday!

Let’s Get Prepping!!!

My key to a relaxing Thanksgiving day is to hit the prep activities hard. I usually take the day before Thanksgiving off from work and work my rear off that day  Go dish by dish and think about what you can do in advance

• Brine your turkey?

• I usually stuff my turkey with fruit, so I have that all chopped and in a zip lock ready to go the next                     morning.

• Mashed potatoes? When you peel potatoes they will turn brown, BUT if you submerge them in water they won’t turn, so I peel mine the day before the holiday, put them in the pot I’ll cook them in, cover with water and stash in the fridge.

• Stuffing and Sweet Potatoes? I do all the dish preparation and cooking, except the last baking step. I cover them, put them in the fridge and then they are just ready to slide into the oven the next day. Just keep in mind the baking time will need to be extended due to the refrigeration and if you’ve increased the recipe.

• Anything you can put in a bowl, cover and refrigerate? Cranberry sauce? Olives? Appetizers? Do it!!! Any little bit of work you can do, will decrease your stress on the day of the holiday!

• Have your recipes pulled out and ready to go.

• Line up your spices and any cooking tools you’ll need the next day.

• Beverages? Be sure to chill those that need to be and set out what you plan to serve that doesn’t need to be chilled. You can find an excellent recipe for non-alcoholic sangria in one of my previous blog posts. This is great for company and you can make it ahead of time!

• Set your table! I’m good in the kitchen, but I’m not the most visually creative person. My husband and daughters do have that gift! I usually recruit them to set the table and get creative with decorating that! My 16 year old has discovered a passion for napkin folding!

• Try to think of any little thing you can do the day before! You will be so well prepared that your guests will ask how they can help, but you’ll have nothing for them to do and you’ll have plenty of time to visit with them as you leisurely take care of your last few tasks!

Thanksgiving Tips Part 2 – Making That Grocery List and Shopping

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Cooking, Food, groceries, grocery, holiday, Holidays, list, menu, planning, Thanksgiving, Tips

  

Here are my Thanksging tips continued from yesterday’s post…

1. Decide what to make and what to buy. I’m not a great baker and my husband LOVES the sweet rolls from our WinCo grocery store, so I buy the rolls. I also haven’t been blown away by homemade cranberry sauce, so I use the canned stuff and maybe just add some orange zest to it. That’s just me! You might have some awesome recipes for these items, but if you can shave time off for yourself where it makes sense, it’s helpful.

3. Make your grocery list

a. It’s a big dinner, so attention to detail on this step is important. You don’t want to have to run to the store at the last minute, so plan your grocery list carefully.

b. Go dish by dish and carefully write down every ingredient you’ll need for each dish, including any toppings, seasonings, or sides. Of course, don’t buy stuff you already have, so pay close attention and even if you already have it, make sure you have enough.

c. Consider the number of guests you’ll have and if you’re doubling/tripling recipes and take this in to account as you plan the ingredients you’ll need and make your list

4. Shop! 

This can be done a few days in advance, especially if you’re buying a frozen turkey as those take a few days to defrost. I always try to buy a fresh turkey though. You don’t want to shop too far in advance though and have produce go bad.

Thanksgiving Tips Part 1 – The Details of Menu Planning

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Cooking, Food, holiday, Holidays, menu planning, Thanksgiving, Tips

  
It’s probably no surprise that November is this foodie girl’s favorite month to cook. In addition to it being the beginning of soup and slow cooker season, it also means Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner!!! I love cooking it and I love eating it! Because I have cooked Thanksgiving dinner numerous times over the years for groups both big and small, I think I have really developed my large meal preparation skills. Over the next few weeks, I would like to write a few blog entries highlighting recipes, strategies and techniques that you all might find helpful in preparing your own Thanksgiving meal.

My goal for the Thanksgiving meal is to serve delicious food, while trying to keep it healthy and not killing myself with the stress. This is where careful planning comes into play. My Thanksgiving days are usually pretty relaxing as I get the bulk of the work done ahead of time, so on the special day I’m just taking care of a few basic things.

So where to start? I guess we’ll start where I usually start and move on from there! I found these instructions got pretty lengthy, so I think I’ll split them up in to a couple of blog posts!

Thanksgiving Planning Part 1 – Menu Planning

1. Get that menu started!

  a. Are you cooking everything or are other people bringing dishes?

• My motto, is that if I’m hosting the event I get to decide what I would like to cook and then I can give others a few choices of what to bring. Over time, I’ve found out what type of dishes my various family members are comfortable making/bringing and so I try to play to their strengths.

   b. Figure out what you’re making

• I usually stick to the foundational dishes; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (I usually only make these in addition to mashed potatoes if it’s a decent size group), gravy, cranberry sauce.
• Search your cookbooks and online resources for the recipes you will use. Over the years, I have assembled a few recipes that are made every year. I’ll be sharing these special recipes with you in future blog posts! Hint: One of these includes cooking our turkey on the grill. It tastes great, takes the same amount of time as the oven, and it keeps your oven open for cooking other dishes, like stuffing and sweet potatoes! Plus, it keeps the men occupied and out of your hair!
• Write out your menu making note of what you’re making and what others are bringing. This will give you a visual of your meal and make sure you’re not missing an important component. For the things I’m making, I also write down the name of any cookbooks, with the page number and/or print out any online recipes. Here’s a sample:

          1. Turkey stuffed with fruit – Weber Cookbook, Page 20 – Me

          2. Stuffing – Me

          3. Mashed Potatoes – Me

          4. Sweet Potatoes – Me

          5. Gravy – Me

          6. Cranberry Sauce – Sierra

          7. Hot Vegetable Side – Stephanie

          8. Side Salad – Cathy

          9. Rolls & Butter – Me

          10. Desserts and Any Toppings – Grandma Barbara