Thanksgiving Prep

Here are a few yummy recipes to help you get your menu together for the upcoming Thanksgiving feast. [click on the name to get the recipe]

Classic Mashed Potatoes

Pecan Pie Bars

(easier to make than pecan pie and feeds a lot more people)

 Oven Roasted Carrots

One Hour Dinner Rolls

Parmesan Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Flaky Pie Crust

Corn Fritters

Green Bean Casserole

Vancouver Dip 
(one of my most favorite appetizers)

One Hour Rolls

These are my favorite dinner rolls to make.  They are so easy and they taste amazing.  Way better than the frozen dough kind you buy at the grocery store.  I love rolls fresh out of the oven, but I'm not a huge bread making fan.  However, you can't mess these puppies up too easily.  They are a cinch to make and you don't have to do any kneading.

These rolls come out so soft and flavorful, you'll be hooked.  Make a batch with soup, or your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.  Here's the DL...
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons butter
3 teaspoons salt
6 3/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (or 3 packages)
1 1/2 cups water
5 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
In microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup stir together milk and sugar.  Add the butter and microwave until butter is melted (usually about 45 seconds-1 minute).  Set aside and cool to lukewarm.
Using a mixer bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water (warm, not hot).  Add the milk mixture to it (make sure milk mixture is not too hot, or it will kill your yeast).  Mix in the salt.
Using the dough hook on low speed, add in the flour one cup at a time.  Mix for about 3 minutes, until dough is forming into a ball and is cleaning the sides of the bowl off.  Dough will still be a little sticky.
Put some oil on your hands and form the dough into a ball.  Put dough back into the bowl and cover with a clean dry dish towel.  Let rise in a warm, draft free spot for 20-25 minutes.
Lightly grease a baking dish.  Roll balls of dough about 2 inches in diameter.  Place the dough balls in the baking dish about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Cover the rolls with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.
Bake rolls in 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  I like to brush the tops with melted butter for the last 1 minute of baking.  Remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy with butter and homemade jam!  [makes about 24 rolls]

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be grateful for.  Remember to ponder on the many blessings in your life today & thank the Lord for his provision.  Happy Thanksgiving!

For The Kiddos

If your house is like mine while us mama's are busy getting dinner ready the kiddos are getting restless.  They need a little something to focus their attention on.  Here are some fun festive crafts for your busy dinner day.  Sure to keep little hands busy & easy enough that older children or men can help ;)

Turkey hats.  So cute & great for a range of ages.  Click here

My girls made a version of this in their class.  So cute.  Click here

We've also done the pine cone turkey using colored popsicle sticks as the tail & forming pipe cleaners as the legs & head.

This one is great for preschooler.  And who doesn't love using googly eyes!  Pretty self explanatory.  You'll need a paper lunch bag, dry pinto beans, construction paper, googly eyes, scissors & glue.   Fill the paper bag with some dry beans to give it weight.  Legs are crinkled by folding them accordion style.  Child's hand is traced to make the tail.  They could even write what they are thankful for on the "feathers".  A diamond shape folded in half makes the beak.  

This is a great site for getting activities & craft ideas from.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

The other day while searching for some vintage Thanksgiving Day images.  I came upon a bunch vintage Thanksgiving card.  Some of them were, well, bizarre.  The illustrations are so... um... creative.  I was laughing & saying "what in the world" a lot.  What makes these even funnier is the fact that they were done in all seriousness & that people actually sent these to love ones as a honestly loving gesture.  Artists got to make a living somehow I guess.

I'm not getting the appeal of children & turkeys interacting.  Turkeys kind of always freaked me out when I was a kid.  

The last thing I ever wanted to do was ride a turkey...

...or run arm & arm with one.

Turkeys driving a corn car with lemon wheels.  Yep, that makes perfect sense!

Who in their right mind wants to envision the turkey they're about to eat smoking a cigar.  Somehow cigar smoke & turkey meat just don't mix well for me.

Hmmmm.

Mashed Potatoes Two Ways

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching.  And unless you're Charlie Brown you will be having mash potatoes on your table.  If you are Charlie Brown, enjoy your toast & popcorn!  Here are two ways that I like mashed potatoes.  Hope this helps in your Thanksgiving dinner planning.

My Favorite Mashed Potatoes

I can't resist these potatoes.  They don't need any gravy & they are full of cheesy goodness.  The crunchy top adds a perfect texture.  They taste even better the next day.
Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
4 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Topping
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile peal potatoes & rinse with cold water.  Cut potatoes into quarters.  Remove pot from burner & add potatoes, then return pot to burner & bring to a full boil.  Cook for 20-30 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.  Drain potatoes & return the pot.  Put on the burner on low heat.  Add butter & mash until all the lumps are out.  Remove from burner.  Add milk & using electric beaters beat on low speed until smooth & creamy.  Stir in the cream cheese, cheddar, & Parmesan.  Add the salt & pepper to taste.  Put into a baking dish.
In microwave melt the remaining butter for the topping.  Stir in the parsley, remaining cheeses, & Panko crumbs.  Spread mixture evenly on top of potatoes
Bake for 20 minutes or until top is brown.  Enjoy!
*This recipe also works great with instant potatoes.

Standard Mashed Potatoes

It's hard to beat a good ol' standby.  Here's basic mash potatoes in their purest and yummiest form.
Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup half & half
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Bring large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile peal potatoes & rinse with cold water.  Cut potatoes into quarters.  Remove pot from burner & add potatoes, then return pot to burner & bring to a full boil.  Cook for 20-30 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.  Drain potatoes & return the pot.  Put on the burner on low heat.  Add butter & mash until all the lumps are out.  If you want them really creamy take the beaters to them on low speed.  Stir in the sour cream & milk a little at a time until desired consistency.  Add the salt & pepper to taste.  Serve up warm with some good ol' gravy.  Enjoy!

*You can make these ahead of time.  Just put into a casserole dish & refrigerate.  They will keep in the fridge for a day or two.  When you're ready pop 'em into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Here's another good Thanksgiving dish.  I'm not a big fan of traditional sweet potato casserole.  You know, the one with marshmallows on it.  It just doesn't float my boat.  If I'm gonna eat sweet potatoes they'll need to have a good measure of salt in them.  Get some salt on a sweet potato & it's pretty much irresistible.  Therefore, this recipe is irresistible.  This is by far the best way to eat a sweet potato.  It's pretty much addictive & pretty dang easy to pull of.   Here's skinny...
Ingredients
6 medium size sweet potatoes
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons butter
Pepper garnish
Chives for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  With a fork prick each potato about 5 times.  Wrap in tinfoil & bake for about 1 hour, or until potato is soft throughout.  Remove from oven & unwrap.  Let potatoes cool.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise.  Scoop out inside of potatoes leaving about 1/4 inch to create a shell (sweet potato skin is very delicate so you need to be careful & make sure to leave enough of the potato in the skin to provide a shell that will hold up.)
In a bowl mash up the sweet potato pulp that was scooped out.  Add 3/4 cup of the Parmesan, salt, & butter.  Mix well, add more salt if needed.  Fill each potato shell with the mashed potato mixture.  Set filled shells on a cookie sheet & bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until cheese melted & tops turn a little brown.  Remove from oven & sprinkle the tops with pepper, remaining cheese, & chives.  Serve warm & enjoy!

*These can be made a day ahead of time.  Cover filled shells & put in refrigerator until you're ready to bake them.

Corn Fritters

Here's another recipe that can help you prep your Thanksgiving Day meal.  I love these little guys & I think you'll find it difficult to keep them from popping into your mouth while your making them.  You may also find this a problem with grazers who may be passing through the kitchen while you're cooking them.  Fritters are so yummy for young & old alike.  Make them right before you sit down so they are crispy on the outside, yet soft & warm on the inside.  I like to put corn in mine, but you can omit this if you prefer.  Fritters are also great for breakfast- replace corn with 1 cup diced apples & provide maple syrup for dipping.  So yummy.  Here's the scoop...
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salad oil
1 cup canned corn
 oil for frying

Directions
Fill up a pot or dutch oven with about 3 inches of oil & heat on medium or to about 375 degrees.  In a bowl mix flour, baking powder & salt.  Stir in eggs, milk & salad oil.  Mix until incorporated, but not too long because that will make your fritters tough.  Gently fold in corn.

Drop tablespoons* of the batter into hot oil.  Make sure that fritters are not touching when you first pour them in or they will stick together**.  Fry for about 5 minutes or until brown on all sides.  Turn the fritters half way through cooking time to get even cooking & nice color.  Drain on paper-towel & serve immediately.  Enjoy!

*Drop the batter in the oil in one quick motion, otherwise you'll end up with something more like corn funnel cake.
**If batter sits on the bottom of the pot for longer than 8 seconds the oil is not hot enough.  Turn up the heat & try again.

Thanksgiving Inspiration

Here a few Thanksgiving/Fall inspired photos.  Use them as you will, or just enjoy viewing them today.

Mr. Moe's Potatoes

Since Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us I thought I better get some Thanksgiving style recipes going.  Give us a jump start to planning one of the most important meals of the year.  These potatoes are a nice alternative to mashed potatoes & little kids love them.  My guitar teacher back in high school, who was also a family friend, made them for us when we all went to his house for dinner.  Immediately we were hooked & my family has been making them ever since.  These potatoes are easy to make & taste sooooo good!  When I was pregnant with one of my children (can't remember which), I craved these potatoes.  In fact, I think I almost single-handedly ate an entire pan by myself.  Here's the skinny (or not so skinny if you eat the entire pan by yourself)...
Ingredients
1 package frozen O'Brien hashbrown potatoes, thawed
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken (10.5 oz)
2 cups grated medium Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup finely diced onion
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl adding salt & pepper to desired taste.  Pour potato mixture into a 9"x13" baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

*You can make this dish ahead of time in the morning & put it in the fridge until your ready to bake it.  These potatoes reheat wonderfully making them a good leftover.  If you're having a large crowd, over 6 people or so, double the recipe.