Help me out with ur semi-homemade Thanksgiving recipes. More ? Post#9

[love2disney]

On the onset Thanksgiving is something I haven't officially celebrated. When I cam from India it was a new concept for me. Now DS6 is in school and wants a Thanksgiving with all the food he keeps hearing

So
Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Cranberry sauce, Pumpkin pie

I have to make this for him and Dh and me. Not sure how much he plans to eat of all this but I want to do it for him so I need your help on how to do it on a small scale. I do not want to buy a huge turkey coz we r not big turkey eaters so leftovers would be of no use. I understand cranberry sauce is available in a can? How can I make a little stuffing with a little turkey and what do you do with the sweet potatoes?

All inputs appreciated

 

[paintnolish]

You can jst buy a turkey breast so you won't have as many leftovers. Yes, you can get cranberry sauce in a can, but if you like it chunky you can get it in the refridgerated section and there might be a few varieties (like orange). You can just do baked sweet potatoes but if you want to do one of the casseroles (topped with marshmallow and/or pecan) you can use canned to save time. You can buy a ready made pumpkin, a frozen one you bake, or the ingredients to make your own (not that hard, only takes a few ingredients, use a premade crust). You don't have to make stuffing inside the turkey and you can do it from scratch or use Stove Top. Ooh, a huge thing here at Tgiving is green bean casserole! Good luck and enjoy!

 

[clarabelle]

This is so nice!
A new tradition for you -to mix in with your own.

You can get a Turkey Breast and not a whole turkey

There are mixes for stuffing -Pepperidge farms makes one in a bag. I would advise against stuffing the turkey. It is tricky to get the turkey done and not have the stuffing dried out. I would cook the stuffing separately in a pan (here in the south we call it dressing)

Ocean Spray makes cranberry sauce in a can -jellied (which is almost like a jello consistency) and whole berry -which has big pieces of cranberries in it.
Some people hate this stuff and prefer homemade (usually not nearly as sweet)
I love the stuff in the can

Green Beans and mashed potatoes are my favorites with Thanksgiving.
You could make a sweet potato casserole. Tons of recipes out there. Just be warned this is a sweet dish -it almost seems like dessert.
Buy canned Yams -and there will be a recipe on the can most likely. Or you an google one.

Pumpkin Pie is a popular dessert -store bought ones are usually almost as good as homemade. Or if you don't like pumpkin -any kind of pie will do.

I hope you have a great thanksgiving!

 

[happygirl]

I hope you have a great first Thanksgiving

 

[clarabelle]

Stuffing mixes:

http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/ProductDetail.aspx?catID=770&prdID=120515

 

[Sorsha]

ok let's see here...

Starting with turkey - you can buy just a turkey breast in most grocery stores and roast that (like you would roast a chicken). Or, if you want even less meat, I believe you can buy "turkey cutlets" as well. Look in the meat section of your supermarket, over by the chicken section. There is a company that just packages and sells turkey parts - Jennie-O, maybe?

Stuffing - of course, you can just buy a box of Stovetop and make that up. If you want a slightly more homemade taste, you can make your own. brown a little bit of sausage with some onions and celery, and mix that with dry bread cubes (you can usually find a bag of them in the bakery section). moisten that with some chicken or veggie broth and some melted butter, and bake in the oven till the top is nice and crunchy. Stuffing is one of those fun things that you can add just about anything to. Don't like sausage? Leave it out. You can add fresh herbs, more veggies, chopped apples, whatever.

Sweet potatoes - look online and find a recipe. I have a wonderful one that turns out a mashed sweet potato consistancy, baked in the oven, topped with a brown sugar pecan topping. If you would like a copy, let me know, and I will gladly post it, but I will warn you its a fair amount of work.

Cranberries - yup they are sold in a can. Many people like the sauce made with whole berries, my family enjoys the jelly consistancy.

 

[clarabelle]

Another thing
You can have some candles on the table -or have your son collect some leaves and make a fall centerpiece.
You can all go around the table and tell what you are Thankful for.

 

[laurie31]

Wow, that's really great that you are going to try all these dishes for your son's sake.

I would suggest you buy the turkey already cooked from a restaurant or a supermarket. Turkey can be tricky to cook, and if it's overdone, it's dry and unappealing. If you really want to cook your own, just get a small one, or even just a turkey breast. My Mom is just doing a breast as there will only be 6 of us this year.

Sweet potatoes are my speciality, but I'm not sure I can tell you how I make them, but I will try.

Buy maybe a pound of sweet potatoes. You want ones that taper at the ends, not ones that are round on the ends.

Boil them until they are tender, 20-30 minutes. Then peel them. I then put them in the food processor and they turn out awesome this way. If you don't have a food processor, you can use a mixer. I did for years. With a mixer, just beat them until they are smooth, but there are these stringy things they have. A food processor takes care of them, but with a mixer, they will wrap themselves around the beaters. I beat a bit, then take the beaters off and rinse them off, thus getting rid of most of the strings. I do that at least 3 times.

After you've either processed or mixed your potatoes into smoothness, add some butter and sugar. I have no clue how much I add; I just put it in there until it tastes right. I'm guessing maybe 1-2 Tablespoons of butter and 1/8cup sugar for a pound of potatoes. I add these and process/mix them in.

Then spread the mixture in a casserole dish. (anything you bake in is fine, the shape doesn't matter. You could even use a pie pan if you need to).

Dot the top with butter (meaning cut very thin slices from a stick of butter and put them all over) then put 1 cup light brown sugar and 1/3 cup flour in a zip loc bag, and shake them up until well-blended. Sprinkle this over the top of the buttered potatoes. Then cover with pecans. I cover mine solid with pecans, but my family loves nuts. You can use fewer, or just put them on half, or leave them off entirely, depending on your own tastes, but for us, the pecans are what sweet potatoes are all about - lol.

Bake this for 30 minutes at 350.

Enjoy!!


Have a very happy Thanksgiving, and don't forget to go around the table and say what you're thankful for! Even if you end up not liking the traditional foods, you will love hearing what your DS has to say. (kids usually say things adults will find funny, but sometimes they surprise you and say something poignant)

 

[love2disney]

Thank you every1 for all the help. a few more questions

1. Green bean casserole is beans, campbells mushroom soup can, seasoning and bake and then fried onions on top?
2. Do I marinate the turkey? What kind of seasoning goes with it? What goes into the gravy?
3. Can someone give me an idea of how the final stuffing should be like. Is it crispy, mashed, dry I mean finally how should it be?

Sorry for all the silly questions but I am really very clueless about this

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

These are not silly questions. We all had them at one point. Not everyone's family celebrates the same way.

I've never made a green bean casserole. But it sounds right.

You can marinate the breast, but it would be really tricky to do the whole bird.

Stuffing should be moist and firm. Not dried out and not mushy. Using a box/bag and it's directions is the best way to go for the first time.

Have you thought about getting the dinner precooked from a grocery store, Boston Market or Cracker Barrel? I'm not sure where you are located. Those places here in the Mid-West offer a variety of sized dinners. Small enough for no leftovers to large enough for a huge dinner party.

Personally, my family is getting our dinner from Cracker Barrel. I am doing the individual dinners as opposed to the bulk-to-go dinner. We don't like turkey enough for leftovers, but still like the tradition.

I think you are awesome for doing this for your child.

 

[Pamlur]

Since this has hit you all at once, I'm going to suggest you check with your local supermarket and see if they still have the "whole dinner in a box" available. Then you would have a year to look up recipes for next Thanksgiving.

 

[Sorsha]

Since this has hit you all at once, I'm going to suggest you check with your local supermarket and see if they still have the "whole dinner in a box" available. Then you would have a year to look up recipes for next Thanksgiving.

Yes, all of the grocery stores here offer this service at the deli counter. You have to preorder, but you get turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, and rolls. You add a vegetable or salad.

 

[princess momma]

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Campbells cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1 1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions together. Put into baking dish. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

If I were you I'd buy a box of Stove Top Stuffing. It's very simple to make. I never marinate turkey.

 

[Kae]

Since this has hit you all at once, I'm going to suggest you check with your local supermarket and see if they still have the "whole dinner in a box" available. Then you would have a year to look up recipes for next Thanksgiving.

That's what I was thinking. aslo check out www.foodtv.com for hints. Start by making one of the dishes your son wants to as homemade, my pick would be mashed potatoes can be tricky but when they are done right so good.

Kae

 

[AmyinKY]

Easy Sweet Potatoes:

Take 2-3 of the same size/shape, rinse well. Place in crock pot on high for 4-6 hours. They are done when a butter knife can pierce the skin very easily, also the smell will be delicious. You do not need to add anything to the crock pot, no water, etc.

Top with butter, brown sugar, or cinnimon.

Amy

 

[paintnolish]

I always buy canned/jarred gravy.
Stuffing- If it is from scratch and in the bird it wil be a lot more moist. If not, it will be drier and fluffier. I like the mushy, homemade stuff in the bird, though!

 

[clarabelle]

Don't worry if it doesn't come out perfect. I agree with the others that getting parts of it from a grocery store or restaurant is a good idea. Publix in our area has Thanksgiving to go.


Many of us were raised to this -watching our Mothers and Grandmothers cook Thanksgiving as children.
Also -many of us could tell you stories of Thanksgiving mishaps.
Lots of burned or still frozen turkeys.

Imagine if I told you I had never cooked Indian food -not even tasted much of it -and I wanted to make several different dishes and Naan bread plus a dessert.
You wouldn't expect it to be amazing would you?
Have fun with it and don't stress too much. You need lots of practice to make a really good homemade Thanksgiving meal.