CharcuTURKEY!!!

 I needed a little snack for everyone while the turkey cooked, so check out this cute little cheese turkey!!!

Apple Sausage Stuffing

This was DELICIOUS!!!  I only made this to go in the Pork Crown Roast we made for Christmas but this was SUPER yummy and I might have to make for Turkey day going forward!!!!  SUPER good -- do it up!!!

Ingredients

• 14 ounces Ciabatta Bread, cubed  (or just buy regular cubed stuffing mix -- 15-ounce package)
• 1 1/2 pounds Mild Italian Sausage, bulk
• 1 1/2 large Sweet Onion, chopped
• 4 large Celery Ribs, chopped
• 2 large Honeycrisp Apples, cored and cubed
• 6 large Garlic Cloves, chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons each Fresh Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, chopped
• 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
• 2 large Eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons Butter, for greasing the pan

instructions

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Cut 14 ounces of ciabatta bread into 1/2 to 1-inch cubes.
• Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the bread is completely dried out.
• Let the bread cool completely.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 1/2 pounds of ground Italian sausage. Cook until done and remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
• Add 1 1/2 large chopped onion and 4 large chopped celery ribs to the sausage grease and sauté for about 7 minutes.
• Add 2 large cubed Honeycrisp apples and cook for another 7-10 minutes until everything is softened.
• Add 6 large chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 more minute.
• In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, sautéed ingredients, 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, and 2 tablespoons each of fresh chopped sage, rosemary, and thyme.
• Start with a cup of stock. Toss everything together. Continue adding a 1/2 cup of stock at a time until the stuffing starts to clump together and is moist, but not wet.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and 2 beaten eggs.
• Stir until completely mixed together.
• Increase the oven to 350°F.
• Generously grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with 3 tablespoons of butter. Spoon the stuffing into the dish.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until heated thoroughly. Uncover and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

notes

• Choose a bread that is crusty on the outside but chewy on the inside. It will hold up well when chicken stock is added.
• The key is to buy day-old bread and make sure it is stale and/or dried out.
• Drying the bread in the oven can be done ahead of time. Make sure it is completely dried out and cooled before you store it in plastic bags.
• You can substitute a bag of regular cubed stuffing mix if you prefer (15-ounce package).
• To save time, prep the vegetables ahead of time and store them in ziplock bags in the fridge.
• The rule for sautéing vegetables: heat the pan then add the oil. Heat the oil then add the vegetables.
• Cut the onions and celery to a uniform size and shape. This will ensure they cook evenly.
• Don’t be tempted to grab the powdered parmesan that comes in the green can. There’s no comparison between that and freshly grated parmesan. Even the pre-grated packages lose flavor over time.
• You know you’ve added too much chicken stock if there is a puddle of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. If that is the case, throw in more bread cubes to soak it up.
• I always choose stock over broth as the stock has more of a full mouthfeel and a richer flavor because of the gelatin that is released from the simmering bones when cooking.

Pumpkin pie bites

I'm not a huge of sweets or pie...or pumpkin for that matter but these were really good hahaha

 Ingredients:
Pumpkin pie
Whipped cream
Cinnamon

I cut out little bite size "cupcakes" from the pumpkin pie -- topped with whipped cream - and put a dash of cinnamon on top.  DELICIOUS!!

Turkey Day Placecards & Tablecloth Tradition

Hosting Turkey Day for the 1st time this year, so I had to get out my creative hat and start putting together some decor :)

Pilgrim Placecards

Beverage Station

Thankful Tree & Tablecloth Tradtion

 I collected branches from outside and cut out leaves on the cricut -- then each person wrote down what they were thankful for and then hung it on the tree as the table centerpiece :)

Also, started a new tradition this year...I spent weeks trying to think of something that we could start this year, but that still honored my Mom.  It was such a hard day not having her present at our table...but this made me come up with the perfect idea.  I borrowed a tablecloth of my Mom's and ironed on two pictures of her in the center...Each year - we will section off an area and write the event, who hosted, and then everyone will sign their names / put huge milestone from that year within that area.  Then each year, we get to reuse the tablecloth at our gathering and sign away.  Always keeping my Mom close to our hearts and present at our table :)

Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin

This was SO yummy and really easy to make!!!

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1lb boneless lean pork tenderloin
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup mustard
1/2 cup orange juice
1T balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp minced garlic

Whisk everything together in a small bowl.  Transfer to a Ziploc bag and add tenderloin.  Let marindar for at least 30 minutes.

Choose one of the following ways to cook it:
1. Grill, medium heat, internal temp 145 degrees
2. Roast in oven, 425 bake for 25-30 minutes
3. Crock pot, first brown both sides in skillet - then transfer to crockpot, cook on high for 4 hours

Thanksgiving Craft

Again - something SUPER easy but very thoughtful and cute for a Thanksgiving Day Card....OR for a baby book / scrapbook in my case :)

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.