Wow! Aren't you ambitious?!?!?
This is the one meal all year I do
not look forward to cooking.
I no longer stuff my turkey, although DH really misses it. It's just a LOT of extra work - plus my oven is rather small & won't fit anything beyond my covered roasting pan, so I just make it separately. Many times I now substitute Fufu (from AKL's Boma) for candied sweet potatoes. If I take the time to make stuffing ahead of time, I also make Corn Pudding & just re-heat it. Green Bean Casserole works well in the microwave so that's often what I make. I just open a can of refrigerated biscuits & make a green Jello salad to finish out the meal. Lately I've gotten really lazy & just buy a pie - pumpkin or mincemeat...but it's the fake kind, no meat in it.
Potato Filling
4 – 5 stalks celery, diced
4 – 5 potatoes, diced*
3 Tbl butter/margarine
2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 c boiling water
2 tsp celery seed, ground (or celery salt)
2 Tbl parsley
2 eggs
1 c milk
12 – 15 oz bread cubes (I use the dried ones in a bag)
Optional
2 apples, diced (NOT red delicious)
¼ c dried cherries
Sauté celery & potatoes in butter until tender. Cool. Dissolve bouillon in water. Put bread cubes in a large bowl, sprinkle with spices and pour bouillon over to soften. Stir in celery/potato mixture. Beat egg & add milk. Stir in egg/milk mixture. (Do not add egg/milk while the rest is still hot as it causes the egg to “cook”.) *For a faster alternative, use the frozen hashbrown cubes.
If not stuffing the turkey, bake at 325 for 20 to 30 minutes
covered tightly or it will over brown & get crispy.
NOTES: If using apples & cherries…sauté the apples with potatoes. Add cherries when adding bread cubes.
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Corn Pudding
2 c grated corn
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl butter
1 Tbl flour
1 c milk
The original says "fresh corn preferred" but I always use frozen & use the blender to "grate". I only grate until it is sort of like creamed corn - not totally mush. It screws up the baking time if you don't defrost the corn first though. (I know, I've tried it!) Doubling the recipe also extends the baking time - if you use one dish.
Grate corn & add salt, sugar, pepper, flour & melted butter. Add beaten eggs & milk. Pour into a greased baking dish & bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Serves 6.
It is done when the center is "set" - like any custard - & a knife comes out clean.
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Fufu
1 pound Sweet Potatoes, peeled, medium dice
1 pound Potatoes, peeled, medium dice
To taste Salt and Pepper
2 T. Coriander, roasted
2 T. Cinnamon, toasted
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup Butter
**
Steam all of the tubers until tender. In a mixer mash everything together. Check the seasoning, adjust if needed. Make sure the potatoes are cooked well. Serves 8
**NOTE: This is the way I got the recipe from AKL. However, it definitely needs some liquid added. I just use some of the water from steaming - or even a bit of milk.
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Green Junk (sorry - that's what we called when we were kids...no real name
)
8 oz cream cheese
3 oz lime gelatin, powdered
1 c water, boiling
½ jar maraschino cherries
1 c marshmallows
12 oz pineapple, crushed
1/2 c chopped walnuts (opt)
Combine softened cream cheese, gelatin powder & water. Cut cherries into halves. Add cherries, marshmallows & pineapple to gelatin mixture. Pour into mold or bowl & chill.
*I skip the marshmallows and use sugar-free Jello & pineapple in its own juice, but it's better the other way.
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Since I no longer stuff the turkey, I use a rub of spices/herbs and slide lemon or orange under the skin. That's probably WAY too much work to do at WDW and you won't have a full spice cupboard to work with anyway. Here is the recipe, though, for future reference. Oh - and if possible, I'd get one of those "cook in bags" to use so there's no clean-up!
Kosher salt
½ - ¾ tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground celery seed
½ tsp lemon zest (I use dried)
¾ tsp orange rind (I use dried)
2 – 3 oranges or lemons
½ c orange juice or
¼ c lemon juice
Cut 1 orange (or lemon) in half & squeeze juice over outside of bird. Set the squished pieces aside to toss into the cavity after rubbing with spices. Rub inside & out with Kosher salt. Combine spices & rub this mixture inside & out. Toss squished halves into cavity.
Slice 2 oranges (~¼” slices) & slip under the skin on breast & legs. Squeeze any remaining orange slices into the cavity (to remove juice) & then toss the squished slices in there - including the end pieces. Add juice to the cavity. (For lemon, I use the frozen Minute Maid lemon juice.)
