Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thanksgiving preperations

I'm planning out my Thanksgiving menu. It will just be me and my parents this year.

I wanted to try out a simple Thanksgiving menu that Domino magazine had this month - but my mother vetoed it in favor of our traditional meal - which is fine - that's good too! I'll save the simple Thanksgiving menu for another time. Perhaps when I finally succumb to my wandering ways and end up on the other side of the country - I'll invite other people like me over for the holidays and do the "new" meal.


But for this year - here is my menu for Thanksgiving (and leftovers for forever given that there will only be three of us)


Turkey: salt and pepper and a few other spices perhaps - whatever I feel like that morning.
Stuffed with a stuffing mixture composed of: white bread crumbs, cream of mushroom soup, sage, Italian seasoned bread crumbs, onion, and water.

I'll roast that in my super duper huge roasting oven (think huge crock pot) and baste it every hour or so. It will turn out moist and perfect with yummy stuffing all moist and savory!


Side Dishes:

Sweet Potato Casserole: Bake sweet potatoes, scrape out the flesh and mash/mix with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to taste. Pour into a baking dish. In a small bowl mix pecans, brown sugar, and soft butter - - sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. Bake 45 minutes at 350.

Cranberry Walnut Salad: Grind 4 cups fresh raw cranberries in a blender. In a large bowl mix with 1 bag miniature marshmallows and 1 cup of white sugar. Refrigerate over night. Just before serving mix with 2 cups chopped apples, 1/2 cup of walnut pieces, and 1 pint heavy whipping cream. Serve cold.

Green Bean Casserole: the way everyone makes it. :) This is actually my sister-in-law's speciality. Mine never tuns out so great. But, I'm going to attempt it again this year as she'll be a few hundred miles away that day!

Mashed Potatoes: Martha Stewart Living had an article about blending your mashed potatoes in a mixer and mixing in cream cheese along with the butter and milk - I'm going to try that this year as part of my "something new and different!"

That's the traditional spread with re-runs of family favorites - - and then I always like to add one or two new dishes.

This year my ideas are:

Baked Acorn Squash via The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Corn and Wild Rice Casserole also from that Pioneer Woman (the woman makes good looking food!)


and I'm open to other suggestions! So share those favorite Thanksgiving side dish recipes!


Oh - and for dessert we'll have Pumpkin Pie and the Robert Redford I told ya'll about a few weeks ago.

5 comments:

  1. Mm, that sounds delicious.

    I'm a fan of plain boiled sweet potatoes. Peel, chop, and boil! So yummy.

    Fruit salads are great too, the kind with marshmallows in them. I need a good fruit salad recipe.

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  2. Sounds delicious, but wow. That's a lot of food! Especially for three people.

    I guess you really will be eating that forever!

    PS, this popped into my head: Anyone you know (students included) who won't be able to have Thanksgiving for whatever reason (no family, no money, etc)? Maybe invite them over on another day for a belated Thanksgiving. They'll feel cared for and it'll use up some of your leftovers...and, in my mind, kind of touch upon your mashena thing.

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  3. yup - that thought has already been in my head. I've been thinking through people I know who may be alone on the holiday. Not even belated - just to join us.

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  4. This sounds AWESOME! I hope you have a great one!

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  5. I've been getting ready for Thanksgiving for a few weeks now. I always have the same menu though. It works and it's special because we only eat those things at Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the meal preparation and watching my family enjoy the meal I've prepared.

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