The Meal Plan Takes a Thanksgiving Break...And Some Thanksgiving Recipes

Hello friends!

I have to admit that this week, planning what my family will eat every night for dinner for the next 7 days has been pretty far from my mind. (We'll be gone 4 of those 7 nights, anyhow.) My focus is on Thanksgiving Day, of course! And for the first time in 5 years, I am NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner! Hooray!

Not that I mind preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, I love to cook for the people that I love. Shoot, truth be told, I even love cooking for strangers. If you know me or have been reading this blog for any amount of time, then you know that cooking in sort of "my thing". : ) But, Thanksgiving is extra-special, because I am cooking for some of the people that I am most thankful for in this whole wide world. It doesn't seem like a chore...more like a labor of love.

But this year, it finally works out that we are able to celebrate at my parent's house. They are actually going to be home, we are finally within a reasonable driving distance, no one is too pregnant to travel, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Between my mom (the woman who taught me how to cook), my grandma (the woman who taught my mom how to cook), and my sisters (those chicks that attended the same cooking school that I did), they all have it covered. Since my husband, the kids, and I are the only family members who will have to travel, my mom asked what I wanted to bring...and then she mentioned about 3 times how much she loved my bread pudding from Christmas last year. So...I will bring a bread pudding, BUT I'm trying a new recipe this time. (I will probably post the results of that new recipe sometime this week.) At the request of my oldest daughter and one of my sisters, I will bring the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Fluff Filling.

That's all! 2 desserts. Although, I make throw in another dessert (Cranberry Blondies!) and maybe some cranberry sauce too (there's a new recipe that I want to try). Clearly, I have "issues" and won't be able to stop at just 2 desserts...

It's weird not rushing around right now, not making grocery lists, not polishing silver or ironing linens, not writing a timeline to-do list for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning so that dinner is perfect and on the table in time. But it IS good to take a break.

Through the holidays, my meal plans may be sporadic or even non-existent. I've made a rough meal plan for the next two weeks, consisting of meals that I can make from ingredients that I have on hand. I'm also planning for at least 3 new leftover turkey recipes...assuming that there will be leftover turkey (there always is!) I've also got a spaghetti squash that's been staring at me for weeks that I need to use up- it's definitely on the menu. But that's all I've got today. No day to day meal plan... and no grocery list.

I seem to have been less focused on meals and more focused on holiday treats over the last few days. Recipes for holiday candies and cookies and homemade gifts...recipes with titles that include words like "eggnog", "peppermint" and "buttered" are my un-intentional focus. I spent a good part of my Saturday pulling and stacking holiday recipes from my files- both favorites and new recipes that I want to try this season. I'll certainly keep you posted on how all of these recipes turn out, complete with notes and recipes.

But for this week, here is the link to my Thanksgiving Recipe post from last year: Thanksgiving Recipes.

And here is the link to some of my favorite recipes to use up leftover Turkey and Mashed Potatoes: Leftover Turkey.

I'm sure I'll be checking in before Thanksgiving, but in the meantime, Happy Cooking, everyone!

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I sit here writing about what to do with the leftovers and the turkey isn't even out of the oven yet. What can I say? I'm a planner. Okay so, only two of these recipes were actually written for turkey. The rest of them were made with chicken when I originally posted them, put turkey will work just as well. I plan to freeze some leftover turkey into one pound portions for use in soups and casseroles for future meals. Cooked turkey will keep well in the freezer for up to 4 months. Here are my recommendations (and the links to recipes) for leftover turkey:

Turkey Alfredo Pizza

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Divan

Turkey and Dumpling Bake

Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey Enchiladas

Turkey Noodle Soup

Southwestern Turkey Soup

Turkey Poblano Casserole

Oh, and if you've got leftover mashed potatoes, here are a couple of recipes for those too!

Potato Pancakes

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Wild Turkey, 3 Ways and My Thanksgiving Recipes

Wild turkeys are indigenous to this area. Despite that the town where I live is rather urban/suburban, it is not uncommon to see one of these large birds darting across the street or wandering through your backyard, especially if your lot backs up to a wooded area. I'd guess this is because of our wonderful metropark system. There is quite a bit of forest interspersed in between all of the commercial and residential areas. It's one of the reasons that I like it here, and I'd bet that the turkeys agree! (I'm sure proximity to a mall and Starbuck's in addition to great hiking are tip top of the turkey's list when shopping for real estate.) Wild turkeys are most likely the variety that graced the tables on those early Thanksgivings in the 1600's. It's also probable that the pilgrims ate other wild fowl like goose and duck and wild game such as deer. Lobster, seal, eel, and cod may have also been on the menu. Remember, the original settlements and eventually the colonies were largely coastal (Pennsylvania being the exception).


These days most of us stick to the farm-raised, domestic type bird (think Butterball) that we purchase from the grocery. But there are still those that bring home their Thanksgiving bird fresh from the field or woods. From what I understand, wild turkeys are somewhat plentiful. They inhabit every state in the union, however, are the most prevalent in the Eastern half of the country.



There are whole magazines published about turkey hunting.



While turkeys are rumored to be fairly unintelligent, the hunters could probably still use a few tips...my research shows that wild turkeys can run up to 25 mph and fly at speeds of 50-55 mph.

I personally have never tasted wild turkey. I did once try a wild goose that my grandpa shot. It was beyond awful. That single experience kind of turned me off on wild birds altogether. However, if any of you adventurous readers are of the mind to stalk a turkey in the wild and bring him home over your shoulder for the Thanksgiving feast, here are a couple of links to recipes that might interest you: Wild Turkey Recipes and these recipes from the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Last week, while visiting the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center I finally got close enough to a real, live, wild turkey to snap a picture.



Check out this one! We had a staring contest. Who are you lookin' at, lady!?



Of course, some of you may be familiar with this type of Wild Turkey at your holiday gathering. For cooking purposes, of course. It certainly wouldn't be on hand to ease the stress of large family gatherings with crazy Aunt Bethany (remember her from National Lampoon's Christmas Family Vacation? "Is this the airport, Clark?"), dozens of lively young children running wild and touching your "breakables", and heated political debates with cousin Eddie. Right?


You really can cook with this stuff. A few of my favorites are Pecan Pie, Sweet Potato Casserole, and Warm Vanilla Cider. Click here for recipes. Hey, if you sneak a nip in between all of that chopping and mixing, who am I to judge?


Here are MY wild turkeys...absolutely essential for all of my holiday gatherings. They are one of the things in life I am very most thankful for. They may look innocent, but trust me, they're WILD! It's genetic.



This year my daughter's class got to be the turkeys for Thanksgiving Chapel. Last year she was a Native American or a warrior or something like that (I'm pretty sure they're not allowed to call them Indians). The chapel was also filled with classes of Mayflower ships (they sported sails on their heads), Pilgrims, and the young Warriors among other Thanksgiving mascots. They were so cute!



And now the countdown is on! Thanksgiving is one week away. Time to finalize the menu, make the grocery list, press the linens, polish the silver, and shine that crystal! Last year I hosted Thanksgiving at my house. This year we're travelling (insert sigh of relief). Don't get me wrong. I loved it. I can't wait to host it again, but it's also nice to go home for the holidays. Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, as documented in my kitchen last year. I was a baby blogger back then, plus I was knee deep in holiday preparation and celebration so please excuse the photography and sketchy directions. Whatcha really need though, the recipes, are there.

Herb Turkey Rub

Grandma Shirley's Bread Dressing

Sweet Potato Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Baked Irish Corn

And for dessert:

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

French Apple Pie

Grandma Bailey's Apple Dumplings

Grandma Kathleen's Cherry Pie

Peanut Butter Pie

Happy cooking, happy eating and most of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

Stay tuned next week for ways to utilize that leftover turkey!

Grandma Shirley's Bread Dressing

I started my dressing two nights before Thanksgiving. First, I cut up a loaf of stuffing bread. I’ve never used stuffing bread before, I usually just use a loaf of stale white bread. However, I saw stuffing bread on the shelf at the grocery and thought, “why not?” I don’t think it made any difference in the taste…but then again, it’s been a whole year since I tasted this recipe.

Okay, so I cut up the bread and put it in a bowl to get stale. I stirred it a couple of times over the next 36 hours, just to make sure that all of the bread was getting a little air exposure. You can also put the bread on a baking sheet in the oven and achieve the same stale or toasted effect in a more timely manner. In honor of my grandma, I do it exactly the way she taught me, which means that bread sits on my counter for a day or two.


When the time comes to assemble the casserole, chop 2 cups each of celery and two cups of onion.


Then melt a stick of butter in a skillet,


And sauté those veggies.


Now dump a bag of stuffing mix into a large bowl.


Top that with the stale bread, sautéed veggies, and herbs and spices. I used parsley, nutmeg and sage.


Melt another half a stick of butter. Beat in a few eggs and dump that over the dressing.


Now start pouring in the chicken broth. I think I used about 1 and ½ large boxes of broth. Keep stirring as you add, so that you can gauge the consistency of the mixture. You want everything very moist, but you don’t want standing pools of broth.


Now I add milk. I don’t know why. That’s just what my grandma does. Since I like her dressing and want mine to taste similar, I just do what I’ve watched her do over the last 30 or so years. So...milk it is. I just dump in a little so that I’ve met grandma’s milk requirement. Then I stir it all up really well. Last of all, even though I know that there are three raw eggs in it, I taste it to make sure that it is adequately seasoned. Hey, the integrity of my stuffing trumps possible danger of contracting salmonella at this point.


Next, I spread it into a couple of casserole dishes and bake at 350 until it’s done. That’s what the recipe says. Until done. I think mine took an hour or so.


Unfortunately, I failed to photograph the finished product. It was nice and golden brown on the top and tasted delicious, just like my grandma's.

Grandma Shirley’s Bread Dressing
Plain white bread, dried and cut into 1 in. cubes
1 bag of seasoned stuffing mix
2 cups of onion and 2 cups of celery sautéed in 1 stick of butter
parsley
nutmeg
1 teaspoon of sage – you could go more on this. We’re just not big on sage here.
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ stick of melted butter
Chicken broth
Milk

Combine all of the ingredients and bake at 350 degrees until done!

Corn Casserole

Everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving food. This one happens to be my husband’s favorite. He actually said that as long as there are corn casserole, mashed potatoes, and rolls on the table, he really doesn’t care about the rest. He doesn’t even eat dessert. I guess men are from Mars and women are from Venus, because that is just plain craziness to me!

I began by melting a stick of butter in my baking dish. Then I dropped in a couple of eggs and slightly beat them with a fork.


Now I just start dumping. The recipe calls for 8 oz. of canned corn. My family froze corn into bags last summer, so that’s what I used. I’d guess this is about 2 cups. I dumped in some chopped onion, which the recipe does not call for, and salt and pepper….also not in the recipe that I used.


More dumping. That’s 8 oz. of sour cream and 1 small box of corn muffin mix.


Top her off with a can of cream corn and stir it all up until completely combined.


Now pop it in a 350 degree oven for an hour. The center should be set (not jiggly). This one may have gotten a little too “done”, I didn’t have any of this casserole left over, so it was a hit with the crowd.

Baked Irish Corn
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups of corn, drained
1/3 cup chopped onion, optional
8 oz. cream corn
8 oz. sour cream
1 small box corn muffin mix
salt and pepper, to your taste

Combine all ingredients in a large baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, until set.