Cheeseburger Meatloaf

So after all that Turkey - we decided to do another hearty meal...who needs to shed lbs right now anyways :)  Got this recipe from a friends blog - and man oh man was it yummy!!  It added the best element  - CHEESE!!  Super easy and quick to make!!  Try it out !!  (Don't mind that it looks a little burnt....I got caught up singing Chipmunks Xmas songs.....he he).  We made this with a green side salad - but mashed potatoes / corn goes really well for an extra hearty side :)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

2/3 cup ketchup

2/3 cup bread crumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup bread-and-butter pickles, chopped

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/3-inch cubes

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, bread crumbs, eggs and pickles; mix in the onion. Crumble in the beef, add the cheese and mix together. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a 4-by-12-inch loaf. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°, about 35 minutes.

Let the meatloaf rest for 5 minutes before slicing

****Figured I would put another meatloaf recipe on here in case you wanted to try something else.  This is an old Ronhovde recipe.....dates so far back that I remember my sister Lori having to make this for "her weekly meal" when it was her "chore" to make dindin....so trust me - you can make this....she was like 12.....ha ha.  Ok I'm exaggerating, but I want to see if N-Ron reads this :)  *****

Meatloaf Ronhovde style

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

3/4 cup oats

1/4 chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1 cup tomato juice

1 egg beaten

Mix together - form in ungreased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 min.

Grilled Asparagus

So this was super yummy and easy to make.  We made this with the Grilled Portabella Mushrooms - DO IT!!!   

Ingredients:
Asparagus

Olive oil

Lemon juice

salt / pepper

We just cut the stems - threw in a glass plan, sprinkled with olive oil / lemon juice / salt and pepper - and baked for 15 min at 350 degrees.  Then just sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and let it melt over.  (You can grill this too - but if it's too cold ....oven works good too)  :)

Grilled and Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

So this meal was super yummy!  Might be a new favorite of the Sodahls....it was super easy to make too.  We made this with grilled asparagus - and it was a yummy side!!  Yum yum in my tum :)

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
12 oz turkey sausage, casings removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (at room temp)  **found this in the fancy cheese section
2 tbls fresh thyme
2 tbls fresh oregano
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 cup (4oz) gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
6 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed

Directions:

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir in the mascarpone cheese. Add the thyme, oregano, bread crumbs, 1/2 of the Gorgonzola, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir until all ingredients are combined.

Brush the mushrooms on both sides with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the mushrooms, stem side down, for 3 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over and grill for 2 minutes until tender. Fill each mushroom with the sausage mixture and top with the remaining Gorgonzola.  (It was too chilly to grill outside - so we just grilled on the stove top.  Use a flat pan - and do the same thing on high heat)

Return the mushrooms to the grill and cook until the stuffing is warmed through and the cheese starts to melt, about 5 to 7 minutes.  (Again, it was too cold to grill - so we just put on a cookie sheet, stuck in the oven on high broil, and watched carefully until the cheese had melted)

Sinful Sandwiches & Pickle Rollups

So had the "101" crew over for a party on Friday - and these were a HUGE hit.  These were super easy to make - and it was nice that you could make ahead of time, and then just throw them in the oven about 30 min before you wanted to eat.  They were really yummy cold too - and as leftovers!!

Ingredients:
2 dozen dollar buns sliced
2lbs meat (any kind, I used turkey)
24 slices of cheese (cut into 4 small squares) - I use cheddar, but thought pepper jack would be delicious too!!


Prepare the above ingredients in a 13X9 pan. I end up using two pans and putting 12 sandwiches in each, assemble them like a meat and cheese sandwich in the pans.

Sauce:
2 sticks of butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 tablespoons mustard
2-3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Let cool and pour over sandwiches (2-24 hours before baking).

Bake covered at 325 for 25 minutes

Pickle Rollups

I'm sure you have had these before - and they are super easy to make, but thought I would type it up anyways!! 

Ingredients:

Pickles

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

package slived ham

Just spread the cream cheese onto the ham - roll up the pickle.  Then let sit in the fridge for awhile - slice in little rounds, and it's ready to go :)

Crab legs with roasted red potatoes

So Ross's Birthday request was crab legs -- so thought I would blog it since it was soooo easy!!  So as long as you buy fresh crab legs - all you have to do is heat them.  We had about 4lbs -- so we used a roaster pan - filled it with a couple cups of water and baked ("heated them up") in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.  We had  this with caesar salad and roasted red potatoes and it was perfection!!  ENJOY :)

Roasted Red Potatoes

2lbs small red potatoes, havled

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

parmesan cheese

On a small cookie sheet / roasting pan - place potatoes (halved side down).  Drizzle olive oil over potatoes - and sprinkle satl, pepper, and paprika on top.  Bake in oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes (or until potatoes are tender).  Serve right away -- we sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top.....YUMMY!!



Vodka Diet

1 shot vodka

Diet coke

Mix with straw - drink and be merry :)

Balloon Birthday Wreath

So we all know how much I LOVE Birthdays - so I figured I need some sort of decoration to celebrate the occasion even more :)  Found this cutie craft idea from the OBB blog, and had to make it right away!!  It cost me like $15 for everythign - and only took about 2 episodes of Dexter to make the whole thing :)

Supplies:

Straw wreath

330 colored balloons (I used the 7 inch ones)

Floral pins (same # as balloons)

Ribbon

Then you basically just put the balloon through the floral pin (you could also use T pins too....) and push into the straw wreath.  Make sure to leave the plastic wrapper around the wreath (holds everything together).

 

 

And then when you are done you are left with this AWESOME birthday wreath to hang up for BIRTHDAY WEEK!!!

Pork it up!

So I can't "count" this as my new recipe - as my mom actually made this for us....BUT it was so tasty and so easy to make that I couldn't resist putting it on here!!

Basically, all you need is pork chops and some sort of "sauce".  We ate this with asparagus, brown rice, and carrots!  Oh and don't forget your little food "decorations" to stick in them :)

Take pork chop and brown them in frying pan - lightly sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper and place into crock pot.  Pour "sauce" (you can use cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, BBQ sauce - depending on what flava you want)!  Then just cook on low in crock pot for 6-8 hours and serve!!

Wedding Ideas

Ahhh weddings – planning one is my calling!!  I had so much fun planning our wedding, and putting a personal touch on our special day!!  Here are some easy  / cute ideas!

Card Box

What you need:

Hat box / cardboard box (Found mine at Michaels for like $3.00)

Favorite Ross & Lisa pictures

Mod podge

I cut a slit in the top of the box that would allow cards to slip in.  Then all you do is cut the pictures and fit them around the box to your liking.   Mod podge those bad boys in place – and “Ta Da” = the perfect card box for your wedding day!!

Table #s

Since Ross and I have known each other since we were 15 – I thought it would be fun to do our table #s for the years that we have been alive…..I put years on one side or the card stock – and matching pictures of both of us on the other.  It was a fun way for people to mingle amongst the other tables – and get some great laughs over our pictures J

Wedding Favors

Since Ross likes to fish – I decided to central some of our stuff around that.  So our wedding favor / name card holders were made out of fishing bobbers.  I put a slit into the top – and slid the name cards right in there.  Then if you have lots of leftover bobbers for those Non-fisher guests – I basically hooked them all together and have that as our garland on our Christmas Tree!!  It will be a part of our lives forever :)

Keeping with the theme – I did a welcome sign when you walked in that said “We’re Hooked” – and put fishing line with a hook to hold our pictures in place….get it??  J

Wedding Cake

Last but not least – I had a real live fish in our cake!!  Check this out J 

Don’t worry – I didn’t kill the little fishy…I made sure the bubble vase that the cake topper was resting had little air holes so the fishy could breathe!!  Another nice little treat that made its way back to our house!

Another fun idea we did for our cake table - was to put pictures of both of our parents cutting their wedding cake!!  It was cutie - and meant a lot to us!  Both our parents are great role models as to what marriage / love really stand for!

Pesto Crostini

We had appetizer night at cookbook, so we tried this out.  It's probably less time consuming to just buy your own pesto dip - but this was SUPER yummy and you can say you made it from scratch :)

Serves 1 cup

INGREDIENTS

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts 

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Baguette

Cream cheese

METHOD

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor.  Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Toast Baguette – and put cream cheese and pesto on top and serve

Crab Toasts

So this isn't the "healthiest" appetizer out there - but it is soooo good!!  They lasted about 5 min at cookbook club :)

Yield: 24 appetizers

Ingredients: 

1 (5oz) jar Kraft Old English Cheese (kind of like Velveeta cheese – not stored in “cooler” but next to dairy section – found in-between eggs and cream cheese at EP rainbow)

½ c butter, softened

½ teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

1 Tablespoon mayonnaise

1 (6 oz) can crab meat, drained

8 slices Master bread English Muffin Toasting Bread

Remove cover from the jar of cheese, heat in microwave until warm, but not melted, approximately 1 minute.  Stir in butter until smooth.  Add the seasoned salt, garlic powder, and the mayonnaise, stirring until blended.  Fold in the crab meat.

Stack and using a long knife, cut the bread into thirds.  Spread the crab mixture generously on each bread strip then place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in 375 degree oven about 15 minutes or until bottom of bread is golden brown.

Serve immediately

To prepare ahead, freeze crab toasts for a few minutes on the baking sheet – cover with aluminum foil.  Heat from frozen, adding a few additional minutes.

Double Tomato Brushetta

Really easy to make - and doesn't take that much "prep" time.....but it tasted very professional like  :)

6 servings

3 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped

¼ c sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons (or 8 leaves chopped)  fresh basil, stems removed

Salt and pepper

½ French baguette

1c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven on broiler setting

In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper.  Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes

Cut the baguette into ¾ inch slices.  On a baking sheet – arrange the baguette slices in a single layer.  Broil for 1-2 minutes, until slightly brown.

Divided the tomato mixture evenly over baguette slices.  Top the slices with mozzarella cheese – then broil for 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Greek it up!

So we had Greek night at cookbook - so below are the 2 recipes we made.  The dip was SUPER easy and SUPER yummy!  We just ate it with crackers - but you could do pita bread too! 

The Briam was really easy prep - but takes an hour to cook.  Half of us thought it was really good (feta cheese on top made the meal) - makes WAY more than a side dish for 5!  You could have this as the main course too -- and we thought eggplant (as well as zucchini) would have been really good too.  The other half of the group thought it didn't have much flavor - so feel free to add more herbs that would give it a little more kick.

Greek Dip

Serves 5

Ingredients:

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto (found in the tomato sauce aisle)

Blend the feta cheese, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and sun-dried tomato pesto in a food processor/hand mixer until completely mixed.  Serve immediately or chill overnight.

Briam - Greek side dish

servings : side dish for 10 / main meal for 5

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more dor drizzling

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloes garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups tomato sauce

1 pinch of dried mint

1 pinch of dried basil

1 lb zucchini, sliced in thin rounds OR eggplant

4 large tomatoes, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Crumbled feta cheese

Peel and boil the potatoes in generously salted water until nicely tender.  Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds and set aside.

heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a sauce pan and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.  Add the 1/2 cup wine and saute a few minutes more.

Add the herbs, tomato sauce, and about a 1/2 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the over to 425 degrees.

While the sauce is simmering, drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of a rectangular baking pan.  Layer half the potato slices on the bottom of the pan.  Season them lightly with salt.

Top the potatoes with the tomato slices.  Season lightly with salt / pepper.  Next add the remaining potatoes.  Season lightly with salt and top with half of the tomato sauce.

Next add the zucchini/eggplant and top with the remaining sauce.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 1 hour or until the veggies have cooked through and are tender.  Top with feta cheese to serve.

BBQ Flatbread Pizza

So I've never made pizza before, but this was super easy (if I could stop talking for 5 min to actually put together the ingredients!) You could always use regular BBQ sauce if you are in a mega hurry - but the sauce was tasty and relatively easy to make!

Ingredients:
Pizza crust
Chicken
2 pears
Chopped walnuts
Feta cheese
Sauce below


BBQ Balsamic Sauce
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.

I basted the chicken with some of the BBQ sauce - and just grilled it till it wasn't pink.  Then spread remaining sauce on the pizza and apply whatever toppings you'd prefer.  I used 2 cut up pears (we cut them the long way so they looked like "French Fries" - per Dale - ha ha) walnuts, and feta cheese.

 Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken

Who needs to get take out when you can make it yourself!  This was really yummy and super quick/easy to make.  Served this with a green salad and it was the perfect amount -- maybe some peppers / snap peas would be a good side too.  Thanks to chef Tiffany for this recipe!!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless chicken breast (cut into chunks)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons green onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ginger
4 tablespoons wine vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
4 cups rice (cooked)

Combine chicken and cornstarch to coat


Heat oil and stir fry until not pink (5-7 minute). Add onions, garlic, red pepper, and ginger. Stir fry 15 sec. and remove from heat.


Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl (my sister recommends doubling this combination). Stir well and add to the skillet. Stir in chicken, while heating. Stir in nuts right before serving

Green Beans with Red Onions and Feta Dressing

This was amazing!!  So part of my issue with cooking is that I always want complete meal ideas - so we had this with steak and baked potatoes, and we were the perfect amount of full when we were done!!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
16 oz of fresh (not frozen) green beans - cleaned, stemmed, and steamed

1/2 of a red onion sliced

Dressing:

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Freshly ground pepper

Steam the green beans (We have a veggie steamer which makes this really slick)


Place the green beans on a serving platter, sprinkle with red onions.


Whisk together the dressing, it will be thick due to the feta.  Drizzle the dressing on top of the green beans.

Crab Stuffed Chicken Breasts

So I was apparently SO hungry that I forgot to take a picture of this meal BEFORE eating - so you get the "halfway" shot :)  It was super good - and the Apple Romaine Salad and chicken breasts went really well together. 

Ingredients: 

6 boneless chicken breasts

Salt / pepper

½ cup celery, chopped

½ cup onion, chopped

3 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon white wine

6 oz canned crabmeat, drained, flaked 
½ cup herb seasoned stuffing mix
2 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoon butter, melted

For the sauce:

1 envelope hollandaise sauce mix(Durkee/McCormick brand)

2 tablespoon white wine

½ cup Swiss cheese, shredded

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound to flatten to ¼ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. 

Sauté celery, onion, and butter in a skillet over medium heat until soft and translucent but not browned.  Remove from heat.  Add the white wine, crab, and herb stuffing – mix all together.

Divide the crab mixture and shape into 6 rod-shaped pieces.  Place one rod on top of each piece of flattened chicken.  Roll or fold chicken to encase the filling, secure with toothpicks or string.

Combine the flour and paprika.  Roll the chicken in the flour mixture and place in a 9x13 inch pan.  Drizzle with the 2 Tablespoon melted butter.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Remove pan, cover with foil, return to oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a heated platter.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce by following the directions on the hollandaise sauce mix, except; reduce the liquid by 2 Tablespoons.  At the end of the cooking time, add 2 Tablespoon white wine and the cheese, stirring until cheese melts.  Pour half of sauce over the chicken, pass the remaining sauce in a container.

Roasted garlic-spinach dip

Makes 8 servings (1/4c)

133 Calories / 7g total fat

Preparation Time: 45 min

**Pretty good – very green….good idea for St Patty’s Day treat J

Ingredients:

1 whole head garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 - 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach

¼ cup skim milk

Dash bottled hot pepper sauce

1 - 8oz package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), cut up

Chopped tomato (optional)

1 recipe Toasted Pita Wedges **found these in the fancy bakery section – near Hawaiian bread at Rainbow.  You do need all 8 rounds in order to have enough bread/dip ratio

Directions:

Peel away outer dry leaves from head of garlic, leaving skin of garlic cloves intact.  Cut off pointed top portion of head (about ¼ inch) with a knife, leaving the bulb intact.  Place on a double-thick, 12-inch square of foil.  Drizzle garlic with the oil.  Fold foil to enclose garlic.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until garlic is soft.  Cool.

Toasted Pita Wedges: split 8 small pita bread rounds; cut each half into 6 wedges.  Place, cut sides up, on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake in batches in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Cook spinach according to package directions, except omit salt.  Drain well; press out excess liquid.

Squeeze pulp from garlic cloves into food processor bowl, discarding skins.  Add the drained spinach, milk, hot pepper sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.  Cover and process until well blended.  Add cream cheese.  Cover; process until nearly smooth.  (used a blender and worked pretty good)

Transfer mixture to saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium-low heat until heated through.

To serve, transfer to serving bowl.  If desired, sprinkle with tomato.  Serve with Toasted Pita wedges.

Breakfast Sandwich

So I have to admit - I stole this from a friends blog, but I'm in NEED of some easy bfast recipes!  We never give ourselves enough time in the am to eat bfast - but that's the most important meal of the day!!  So if you are like us - then try this one....it's super easy and fast!

Toast up some wheat bread, spread a little Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese, spread some avocado on top of that (remember you can just put some lime juice in your leftovers, so the avocado doesn't look all nasty brown), and then a scrambled egg to top it off!!

Chicken Enchiladas

Anyone in the mood for some Cha Cha Mexican ?!  Got this tasty recipe from my Uncle Rick!!  We made this with Spanish Rice (you can make your own OR quicker version - try the Rice a Roni Spanish rice) and of course beans.  It was really eask to make -- and 1 way to speed up the process is to make the chicken ahead of time and cool, so you can just throw everything together the day of....and you could always freeze these and then just bake them up at a later time too.

Serves 24

Ingredients:

24 large flour tortillas

5 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

3 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 large can of Ortega green chilies (**for spicy – add 2 cans)

2 green onion tops/ scallions

1 small onion, chopped

1 can of sliced olives

1 pint of sour cream

1 pound of graded cheddar cheese

1 pound of graded monterey jack cheese

Optional: salsa and extra sour cream (for top)

Combine soup, chilies, onion tops, onion, sour cream, olives, and some of the cheese.  Set aside 1.5 cups of this mixture.

Add cut up chicken to remaining mixture.  Place mixture in tortilla and roll it up.  Place in baking dish.   Pour remaining 1.5 cups of remaining mixture over.  Place remain cheese on. 

Bake at 350 degree for 45 minutes covered and 45 minutes uncovered.

For topping – tastes really good with salsa, sour cream, or some Franks red hot (if you like spicy).  

Turkey Day Practice

So cookbook club decided to do a little Turkey Day practice - so if we ever had it at our house, we would be ready for the chaos.  It actually didn't go as bad as we thought - BUT it helped that we had a roaster to free up the oven for all the other loveliness.


For all you Greens out there - the dressing recipe is Grandpa's, so that brought back memories of playing bingo with buttons and racing around trying to find the "best lap" for the Sleigh Ride song....and you Ronhovdes - I'm not sure you can make the sweet potatoes without mom's "1974 handmade potatoe" serving dish - but it tasted ALMOST as good in a plain serving dish!  Thanks to all for the recipes!!


Gobble Gobble!!

Turkey

For a 14-18lb fresh and THAWED turkey

The roaster oven cooks a turkey in about half the time of a regular oven, but use a meat thermometer to make sure your turkey is cooked through.  The roaster does not brown a turkey  The constant dripping of condensation from the cover of the roaster prevents the turkey from browning but also produces a turkey that is moist and juicy.

Remove the rack.  Pour ½ cup water into the insert pan, cover and preheat to 325 degrees.  Remove giblets and neck from cavities of turkey.  Set aside and use for giblet gravy.  Rinse bird inside and out with cold water.  Pat dry.  Place dressing inside turkey.  Paint turkey with the browning mixture.  Place in roaster – cover and cook at 325 for 2-2.5 hours.  Check meat thermometer reading.  Continue cooking until it registers 180 degrees.

Browning Sauce:

¼ cup melted butter

1 ½ teaspoons browning sauce (like kitchen bouquet)

1 teaspoon paprika

Gravy:

Package fresh mushrooms

Chicken bouillon

Juices from the turkey

Flour to thicken

1 teaspoon browning sauce

Mix all together  (shake in Tupperware container to mix well) – then heat in saucepan. 

Turkey Dressing from Grandpa Green

5 lb turkey (1 cup dressing per pound)

Ingredients:

4 cups dry bread cubes

1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons chopped onion (use white onion)

Sage to taste

¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/3 cup melted butter

Hot water to moisten

1-2 stalks chopped celery

Use hands to mix – stuff turkey before cooking!

Sweet Potatoes from N-Ron

Makes 9 servings

Ingredients:

3 cans (1lb, 2-oz size) vacuum packed sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup bourbon

½ cup butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups miniature marshmallows

Turn sweet potatoes into large saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.


Preheat oven to 350


Mash sweet potatoes.  Add sugar, bourbon, butter, and vanilla; beat until well blended.  Turn into 2-quart shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle marshmallows over top.


 Bake, uncovered 30 min – or until marshmallows are golden

Green Bean Casserole from the back of the French's can :)

Serves 6 or more

Ingredients:

¾ cup milk

½ teaspoon pepper

Can cream of mushroom soup

2 (9oz) packages frozen cut green beans (thawed)

1 1/3 cup French’s French fried onions

In 1 ½ quart casserole – mix all ingredients except 2/3 cups of the fried onions.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes – stir – top with remaining onions and bake 5 more minutes or until onions are golden.

Pumpkin Pie from Miss Stephanie Hickel

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1 2/3 cups evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 (10 inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and eggs; blending until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 minutes then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue to bake for about another 40 minutes or until pie is firm.

Mashed Potatoes from Auntie Barb

This recipe says it’s for 12 servings.  You might get by with 1 ½ for Thanksgiving with all the other food.

Ingredients:

9 large potatoes (5lbs)

2-3 oz cream cheese

1 cup sour cream (with chives, if desired – I use the chives sour cream) Whole thing

2 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

Cook potatoes and mash.  Boil and Cook in salt water for 30 min.  Add remaining ingredients and beat till light and fluffy.

Cover and place in refrig or put in oven and use right away.

To serve, place desired amount in greased casserole and dot with butter.  Bake 300-350 till heated (about 30 min) or crock-pot for 3 hours (on medium/high).

I make the day ahead, put in crock-pot in frig.  I’ve started them at home when I take to a holiday and finish at whoever’s house.