Thanksgiving Menus

[Hound dog]

It's just around the corner........omg the months are zipping by so fast I can't keep up with them.

So what yummy fattening diet buster ......... um "feasts" are you guys having? What's on the menu?

Ours:

Roasted turkey
stuffing and gravy
mashed potatoes
candied yams with marshmellows
green bean casserole
broccoli casserole
corn
pumpkin bread
pumpkin rolls
pumpkin pies with both real whipped cream and cool whip
Nichole's homemade dinner rolls
shrimp cocktail
deviled eggs

I *might* feel energetic and make some cookies and an apple and cherry pie.........notice the *might* part. lol

There are several pumpkin items on the menu because easy child and I bought a ton of pumpkins as decor for halloween...................and we're not letting them go to waste so they're turning into pies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin rolls. lol (and saving the seeds to plant next year)

 

[AnnieO]

Turkey
Green beans with salt pork
Mashed garlic potatoes
Gravy
Sausage stuffing
Orange-cranberry relish
Homemade bread
Pumpkin pie

...We have a $40 gift cert to Honeybaked, so I'm using it! No cooking a bird, just heating! YAY!

I love sweet potatoes, not candied just a little butter and cinnamon, but no one else in the house will eat them (my parents will be out of town with my grandparents), so I'm making regular mashed taters.

And I've always been anti-french-fried-onions. I don't really like vegetables in a casserole unless it's a potpie. Blame my parents for that one!

The cranberry relish... Well, forget the jello-stuff that comes in a can. Yech. I hated it as a kid. As an adult, I drank so much cranberry juice for UTIs I started liking it... But the relish stuff rocks. Especially later on a turkey sandwich. And I'm making a very small amount, because the kids hate it.

The bread... Well, I love to bake bread, and my rolls come out like hockey pucks, so I'm going for sliceable loaves.

 

[HaoZi]

Farthest I've gotten so far is a ham steak in the freezer and some cans of the jellied cranberry sauce that apparently only I like. I expect we'll get some rolls or biscuits and a pumpkin pie or cheesecake. Just the two of us, so we don't really do much.

 

[Hound dog]

I forgot the cranberry sauce. LOL I can't eat it, so I never remember it. easy child always brings it because she loves it.

Mmmmm homemade bread sounds good..........and I still need to try making it............but Nichole's dinner rolls are yummy........ahhhh the choices........lol

 

[1905]

You guys are so energetic, I always had so many things on the menu. Thanksgiving is such HARD work, it never ends all day. I am always the one to do everything, I dread this. I'm sorry I'm so un-festive.
But I am looking forward to this year....because I ordered it from a terrific restaurant!!! There are even carving the turkey for us! This will be the first Thanksgiving I can truly enjoy!

I ordered enough for the people who are coming and I'm not making one extra thing!

 

[AnnieO]

Lisa - my homemade bread, basic recipe, you can add other stuff:

6 cups flour
1 tbsp or 1 pkg quick rise yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp oil (I use olive)
2 1/4 cups hot milk (I put in in microwave on beverage setting)

Mix it all up well, throw it in a greased bowl. Turn it over, put a towel over it, and let it sit for about an hour. Punch down & knead a bit, cut into 2 pieces and put in greased glass bread baking dishes. Throw the towel back over it for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350, toss them (gently) in the oven, bake about 45 minutes until they look about right (LOL). If you tap them lightly and they sound hollow, they're done.

 

[hearts and roses]

Since we will be at brother in law's it's anyone's guess, lol. But what we usually have (and I'm hoping to have a hand in helping create the menu) is:

Roasted turkey
sausage stuffing
mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Green beans
Creamed onions (H's fave)
I am bringing my canned homemade orange cranberry chutney (yum!)

For dessert: sweet potato pie, cookes, pumpkin bread, coffee

 

[Hound dog]

Creamed onions? Ok I'm an onion lover..........so tell me what that is.

*runs up and gives step a huge hug* YIPPEE!!! I think we'll have bread too and I'll put it in my fancy bread basket I rarely use cuz the darn thing is worth a fortune.......some collecter basket mother in law got me.

 

[AnnieO]

LOL - super easy. I even use the food processor to mix everything... I'm LAZY!

 

[hearts and roses]

Lisa, All I know is I buy those little pearl onions and boil them. Meanwhile, in a separate pot H makes a cream sauce, then places the boiled onions in there to simmer. Adds some salt and pepper to taste and that's it. He can't stop eating them! I will admit, they are tasty, just something I never had growing up.

 

[AnnieO]

Jo, now I know what to do with all those nasty little pearl onions.

Ship them to Lisa, and to you.

 

[trinityroyal]

Well, Canadian Thanksgiving was on 10-Oct, but if I recall correctly we had:

Roast turkey
Pork sausage and sage stuffing
Cranberry sauce (the proper sauce with whole cranberries in it, not that horrible cranberry jelly)
Gravy
Sweet corn
Roasted potatoes
Mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, onions, green beans)

Dinner, as usual, was at mother in law's house. When Thanksgiving is at my house, I also add:
caesar salad (with no bacon bits, otherwise I spend the evening picking things out of my salad and don't get a chance to eat it)
garden salad

For difficult child's birthday this year, I made a maple almond butter cake which would have been a lovely addition to the thanksgiving menu, if I'd thought of it at the time.

 

[donna723]

My son is back staying with me for a while and it will be just the two of us so we don't get very elaborate. And he always likes things to be just like they always have been, so I don't get very creative. He's also not big on leftovers so I don't cook more than we can eat in a day or so. We'll have our standard turkey/dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. And I just found a recipe for a sweet potato casserole that has bacon and sour cream in it so I may try that too. Neither one of us really likes pumpkin pie so I'll make either apple or blueberry or maybe a cheesecake. And I guess it's impossible to find a small turkey anymore unless you buy just the turkey breast. Seems like every time I go to the store, they're all about the same size!

 

[Hound dog]

Donna go ahead a get a big one and freeze what you don't eat for sandwiches later or other recipes like turkey and noodles (yum), and turkey hash (double yum).

Jo, sweetie, do you think you could get that cream sauce recipe from your husband for lil ol' me? Do ya, huh huh? Perty please? I'm not flirting with you dear, I'm batting my big brown eyes at your husband to woo him outta his recipe. lol

I've got an onion and pasta with cream sauce recipe that is to literally die for, unfortunately I can't afford the ingredients right now like wine and heavy cream ect ect. lol

 

[hearts and roses]

Creamed pearl onions

1 bag of pearled onions, cleaned and steamed
Half and half, milk, water, and butter-add flour to thicken
Salt and pepper to taste

He doesn't have exact measurements, sorry! I'll look for a recipe for you.

 

[hearts and roses]

Here Lisa, this one is pretty darn close!


Recipe: Creamed Onions
Creamed Onions | BigOven

The recipe is presented without resizing, providing 6 servings

Ingredients:

18 sm White onions
3 tb Butter
3 tb Flour
1 1/2 c Milk; or use part cream
1/3 c Chopped parsley
1/4 Tourette's Syndrome Paprika

Preparation:
To prevent weeping, cook the onions in their skins until tender, 20 minutes *or longer. Drain, cool slightly and peel. ***In a small saucepan or Micro dish, melt butter. Add flour and stir with a *whisk until blended. Meanwhile bring the milk to a boil and add, all at *once, to butter mixture, stirring vigorously with whisk until smooth and *thick. Add onions to sauce and reheat. ***Sprinkle with fresh parsley and paprika. ***Can make ahead and reheat in Microwave just before serving. ***If using very small onions, cut sauce ingredients down by 1/3. Can do in *Microwave. ***Variations: ***Cheese - Add 1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese to the sauce before adding *the onions. ***Mushroom: Saute 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms and add to sauce with the *onions. ***Thyme: Substitute 1 tsp. or less of thyme to sauce and omit paprika.

 

[susiestar]

We are going to my inlaws, so it will probably be mexican. they get homemade tamales from a local little restaurant where they only sell them to people they REALLY like - most people are just told that they either don't have them or are out, lol. StepMIL will go to Sam's and stock up on frozen mexican things, make a 9 layer bean dip, some other things that are easy, and then just heat stuff up on the day. father in law will then announce what a good job he did of cooking it all, lol (family joke).

We will likely take pumpkin crumble. Make your pumpkin pie filling and then put it into a greased 9X13 pan (use the large can of pumpkin that makes 2 pies). Mix a yellow or white cake mix with 1 stick of melted butter or margarine. Crumble the cake mix/butter mixture on top of the pie filling and bake until a knife comes out clean. 350 degrees, about 45-60 min. It is easier than pie crust, less mess to clean up and super YUM. If you want a really decadent taste, use whole milk, half and half or part half and half/part heavy cream instead of that nasty canned milk in the pumpkin recipe. I hate the artificial/metallic taste of the canned milk, and one year we were out of milk and only had a little half and half so I used heavy cream too - OMG it is AMAZING!

Serve with whipped cream. To make the whipped cream ahead of time and have it last, add 1/2 tsp cornstarch per cup of cream when you start to whip it. The corstarch will stabilize the cream and it will hold for a LOT longer than you would expect. It is hugely cheaper to do this than to buy the little packets of "whipped cream stabilizer" in the fancy grocery stores. They are cornstarch mostly but you pay about $1 for 1-2 tsp of it!!

For sweet potato lovers, get a package of sweet potato fries and bake them in the oven. Serve wtih a cinnamon honey butter (just mix some cinn and honey into softened marg or butter to taste) and they are great!! Or bake sweet potatoes like potatoes and add the marshmallow cream/cinn/honeybutter at the table to taste.

If we were staying home it would be a turkey breast baked in the crockpot from frozen - about 8-10 hrs, with the meat side down, and YUM.

Our big question is if Wiz is going with us or not. Last year he was going to go down to see his gparents alone because he had to work when we would be down there. He never went and my mother just realized he still hasn't given them the gifts he bought them. She is NOT. HAPPY. as twice he went supposedly to do that but really went out with friends. He is 19 after all, lol.

We will spend the night and do some shopping on Fri, if I am up to going. Otherwise I wills tay here and they will do a bit of shopping and I will have 36 hrs of blessed peace and quiet - soemthing to truly be thankful for as I am almost NEVER alone in the house for even an hour. Homeschooling a kid will do that, lol.

 

[SRL]

Jo, now I know what to do with all those nasty little pearl onions.

Ship them to Lisa, and to you.

I'll ship them a green bean casserole too!

 

[hearts and roses]

I'll ship them a green bean casserole too!

Ew, Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Lol

 

[Hound dog]

LOL on the green bean casserole. Nichole and her husband are major fans of it. I like it, but I can take it maybe twice a year. ( Tday and xmas) I guess that's better than I do with turkey, once a year is about tops for me. Maybe a sandwich now and again but I'm not a huge fan of it either.

This pumpkin bread recipe easy child found is decadent to the nth degree. I can't keep my hands off it. Literally. We're making some more tomorrow so she can show me how to convert my whole pumpkins into pumpkin bread. lol Her boys can't get enough of it either........Brandon keeps sneaking it.