Today is Thanksgiving, that unique American holiday in which we gather our loved ones together, cook all day, then stuff ourselves with copious amounts of food. Often we'll squeeze in a few (or ten or twelve) hours of TV, be it a football game (American football, of course, not soccer), the Thansgiving Day Parade coverage (I'm a Macy's girl myself) or the first viewing of Miracle on 
34th Street for the season.
What?? You've never seen Miracle on 34th Street? Are you busy right now? Because it's on at my house.
But while we do love our families, & the TV traditions are important, let's not kid ourselves. Today is all about the food. Golden turkeys, fluffy mashed potatoes, rich stuffing, my mom's mysterious corn casserole that is delicious in spite of (or possibly because of) the fact that it consists nothing but butter, sour cream, a couple cans of corn & a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. And then there's the apple pie--French Apple, of course, with a crumbly top that makes grown men weep with gratitude.
My husband's family throws a pan of home-made mac & cheese into the mix. Grandma Pickett's recipe. It took me a few years to get on board with this break from tradition but now a Thanksgiving table looks sort of naked without it. The first time my husband (then my boyfriend) joined my family for Thanksgiving, he insisted on making it for us. My aunt leaned over during dessert & said to me, "Do NOT let this one get away."
I didn't.
At this point, Thanksgiving without any of one these things is like, well, like pie without ice cream. Like chips without salsa or pizza without an icy cold Coke. Like the year my mom decided on an all white Christmas tree rather than just throwing on every ornament a kindergartener had ever given her. Okay for some people, I guess. Pretty on the pages of Better Homes & Gardens. Just wrong for us. If it's not a tacky, tinsel laden tree, how are we supposed to know it's ours?
So tell me, what was the hugest break from tradition your family ever risked around the holidays? Was it great? Was it a disaster? Did it spawn any new traditions or just an solemn agreement to never do it this way again?
75 comments:
Gobble, Gobble.
Happy Thanksgiving, Banditas!
Och!
I was THIS close....
Ummmm...corn casserole. Sounds yummy!
My biggest break from tradition? Tomorrow when...for the first time EVER...I will be eating dinner at a resturant.
I'm betting they don't have bread stuffing :-(
Hey, congrats on the GR, Kim! Don't let him see the turkey tomorrow. It freaks him out to see poultry in the oven.
Oh, Joan, so close to having the GR for Thanksgiving. Wait, having the GR OVER for thanksgiving, not actually FOR...
Oh heck, you know what I mean. :-)
And yes, the corn casserole is divine. I have seen articles in various magazines about how to lighten it up (we call it Heart Attack In A Dish) but I have no interest in such things. I like it as is.
And good luck at the restaurant tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed on the bread stuffing...
One year we went clear away from tradition for Thanksgiving as it was just Me, My husband, and daughter. We had lasagna as that is her favorite with salad.
Congrats Kim
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone
Good post Susan traditions in our family when I was a little girl many many moons ago we never had a christmas tree we always got our presents at the end of the bed in a pillow case we would leave out for Santa but Hubby always had a christmas tree so when we had children of our own what do we do? we both said so after discussing this for a while we made the decision that our children would have both and even now at their ages they still have their own santa pillow cases (sacks as they call them) and insist on putting them out (they don't get anything in them anymore except some chocolate).
So the main presents went under the tree and I always had small things like chocolate lollies a book and colouring pencils a few small games etc in their sacks at the end of their beds so they had something to keep them busy until it was time to get up and open the bigger things under the tree.
This tradition has carried onto the grandchildren and my sisters children as well and I will be putting the christmas tree up next weekend when the grandkids are here to help and the decorations my children made thru school still get hung on the tree, our tree would never grace the cover of any magazine but we love it.
Have Fun
Helen
Kim, congratulations, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Better luck next time, Joan. I hope the restaurant has bread stuffing.
Susan, all that food sounds seriously yummy. No breaks with tradition are coming to mind offhand. We did go to my aunt's house, instead of having everyone over to our place, for Christmas dinner one year when I was in junior high--in two cars to hold all of our extended kindred--and one car had a flat on the side of I-85 coming home. We stood there, my mom, grandfather, sister and me, and watched the other car sail past.
Luckily, someone spotted us as they went by, and they pulled over and backed up so my dad could change the tire. We didn't go down there on Christmas again.
Squiresj, our son isn't crazy about turkey. We usually have stir-fry for him, but I bet he'd like lasagna.
Helen, the pillowcase tradition sounds like fun. You seem to have reached a very nice compromise.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Anyone besides me a sucker for the Macy's parade on TV?
Susan, Miracle on 34th St. (in black and white) is one of my favorite ever movies. That and It's A Wonderful Life are integral to Christmas for me.
The dh loves A Christmas Story, and the boy usually wants to see Jingle All the Way.
And we all like the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
Oh! Oh!...I forgot to second the watching of Miracle on 34th Street!
And I'm with Nancy. Black and white ORIGINAL with Maureen O'Hara.
Second would be "White Christmas"
I can and will if asked sing the entire movie for you. "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing {glide,twirl} Things you wouldn't do before come naturally on the floor...
Sigh
Hey, Kim, good catch on the chook. Just hide his gaze from his cousin the turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving, Banditas and Buddies! It's not an Aussie holiday but these days, it feels like I get to celebrate it all with you anyway. I hope you have a wonderful day and eat yourselves silly and all your favorite teams win the football!
um... hugest break? Not having turkey. To be honest the rest of my family was fine but I was so so sad. I just... really love turkey. (Esp/but only the dark meat :P) - though the rest I guess is good for casserole. Yum. (The rest of my family doesn't like casserole either :P)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, everyone! :)
Congrats on the GR, Kim.
Happy Thanksgiving. We don't really break from tradition, but we do usually have different dessert choices beside apple and pumpkin pie. One time we made cheesecake with an Oreo cookie crust and last year we had chocolate creme pie.
The corn casserole dish that Susan mentioned IS divine. Its one of my very favorite dishes. I could eat it every day. Nope, not joking at all. lol.
Susan--we have to have mac & cheese too! Although usually my mom makes her Velveeta recipe. This year I'm cooking and making the best mac & cheese in the world. Its so good.
We also have to have my mom's creamy fruit dessert. Its so easy to make. A large can of fruit cocktail drained. A bar of cream cheese whipped up until its creamy with 1/4 cup sugar and then folded into a small container of cool whip. Fold in the fruit cocktail with a couple handfuls of colored mini-marshmallows. Yum!
No worries about the GR. He's in good hands. *g*
Oh, and for movies. Starting today, I must watch Elf a couple times a week. "Go ahead. Call me elf one more time." "You're an angry elf."
Congrats, Kim!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :)
My mom makes pheasant every now and again instead of turkey, if my dad had a good hunting trip. And Joan, we did that restaurant thing once, too, but my Dad missed the leftovers too much for us to do it again.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Be kind to the GR, Kim. It's a traumatic day for him.
We went the restaurant route...once...never again. I'm all about tradition.
Happy Thanksgiving Morning everyone!
Just wanted to take a moment and say....
I'm thankful for the Banditas. 19 of the the most wonderful, marvelous, talented, FUN friends a gal could have.
I'm thankful for all our BB's. Really ladies (and the occasional gent) my day wouldn't be complete without shouting out hello on the blog.
Due to circumstances my tradition changes each year but the common thread is still there...being with friends.
Off to do another non-traditional Thanksgiving thing....finishing my 2nd entry to the GH! Write::Write:: Write::
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Hey Susan, my mother went the white Christmas tree route for a few years, too. She insisted on using red ornaments only, and put away all the tacky, homemade ones. It was very "House Beautiful" -- or would've been, if not for her three goofy little kids running around making a mess of things. LOL
Joanie, going out to eat on Thanksgiving is my idea of heaven! Last year we took my mom out and it was great, but she insisted on ordering an extra dinner to go so we'd have leftovers the next day!
I'm making that corn casserole! Sounds fabulous and fattening!
Kim, enjoy the GR!! I mean, as a guest. Not as, um, ya know, dinner... :-)
Pssst....Kirsten....
You COULD beat those Black Friday crowds and get in line NOW
:-)
Right back at you, Joanie!!!
I'm thankful to all our wonderful Banditas and friends for making the Lair the coolest place to be, any day of the week, all year long!
{{Hey Joanie ... get back to work!!!}}
Happy Thanksgiving Banditas and BBs!!
Congrats on the GR Kim, be gentle with him today could be very traumatic for him.
My family broke with tradition for as far back as my memory serves, we always had spaghetti along with all the trad favorites, don't ask me why, none of us are Italian to my knowledge but we always had spaghetti for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all other food related holidays including the 4th of July.
Good morning everyone! Kim congrats on the GR....remember, he's the little bird!
Joanie, my kindred spirit...I have my own copy of White Christmas Lynds bought me one year. I save it for one night when I sit up drinking hot chocolate and wrapping presents. It's MY tradition...just for me!
As for Thanksgiving...Sigh. One year after we moved away from home I thought I'd take the left over turkey and make a casserole for dinner the next night.
On Saturday, hubby asked, "Where's my turkey?" When I told him what I'd done, he was sooooooo mad. Apparently HIS tradition is to eat turkey sandwiches for the next three or four days.
Now I just slice up the white meat and put it in a plastic bag. No turkey tetrazzini, or turkey and stuffing casserole, although I'm eyeing those legs for turkey vegetable soup this year. Shhh! Don't tell him!
LOL on the bird, Kim. You DO know, of course, that he must return to the Lair untouched. The GR must not be eaten!
Great post, Susan. We are boringly traditional at Thanksgiving. I am very intrigued by your mom's corn casserole. Can you share the recipe with us? My grandkids would love it!
Every year Dr. Big tries to cajole me into making his mom's famous HEAVENLY PIE, a light, refreshing lemon dessert. It's labor intensive so I rarely make it, but if he's been a good boy, sometimes I'll give in.
Here's the recipe:
HEAVENLY PIE -- Mabel Robertson
Sift together 1 c. sugar and 1/4 t. cream of tartar. Whip 4 egg whites until stiff. Add sugar mixture gradually and continue beating until mixed well.
Grease an oblong pan and line with the egg white mixture. Bake in a slow oven (275 degrees) for one hour. Do NOT underbake or mixture will not dry out properly. The crust should be very dry, not sticky. Cool crust.
Cook 4 slightly beaten egg yolks in top of a double boiler (see, I told you -- time intensive and I never use a double boiler. If you watch carefully, you can keep the eggs from cooking without the DB). Add 3 TB of lemon juice from fresh lemons (cheat and use Real Lemon). Cool.
Whip 1 pint heavy whipping cram with 1/2 c. sugar and 1 t. of vanilla. Add to filling. Fill pie crust with filling.
Chill overnight.
It's quite delicous, but can you see why I seldom make it?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Anna, you get to celebrate with us and not have guilt for over-eating. Hmm. Something to think about there.
I, too, am grateful for the banditas and all our buddies. I love this blog and everyone who participates in it.
Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!
Joan, I'm not a fan of colorizing in general, or of remakes. Newer is not necessarily better.
Limecello, I like turkey, too. It really is a part of the holiday for me.
Jane, if we weren't having friends over and if they weren't bringing dessert, I'd have splurged on one I saw yesterday in a local deli--cookies and cream. Yumm! I bought an individually sized one, and it was seriously delicious.
Kim, that creamy fruit dessert sounds fabulous. Also easy, my favorite food adjective. *g*
Gillian and Suz, isn't it funny how leftovers become part of the tradition, too? We buy a small turkey, so there isn't a lot left. At Christmas, we get a turkey breast since it's usually just the three of us. I'm used to turkey, warmed-over veggies, and so forth for a couple of days, but we really don't have that.
PJ, we did a restaurant Thanksgiving once. My grandfather took us to the restaurant at the airport. I don't remember much about the food, but watching the planes take off and land was cool. I still prefer to eat at home, though.
Kate and Susan, the "house beautiful" people would have a conniption (sp?) over our tree. We have ornaments commemorating our dogs, super-hero ornaments, ornaments from our various vacations, bread dough ornaments, plastic ornaments, Star Trek ornaments and whatever else appeals to us. I admire beautiful "theme" trees, but I don't really want one of my own.
Joan wrote: Pssst....Kirsten....You COULD beat those Black Friday crowds and get in line NOW
Don't give her ideas, Joan! Anybody willing to roll out at 4 a.m. might just take the suggestion. And it's gonna be cold outside along about midnight.
Dianna, your family must just love spaghetti. It's my default food and has been ever since I first moved out on my own. Don't know what to make for dinner? Dump spaghetti in a pot and sauce in a pan.
Jo, the heavenly pie sounds heavenly! But yes, very labor-intensive. Thanks for sharing.
Kate wrote: {{Hey Joanie ... get back to work!!!}}
What she said. Go finish!
Good morning, everybody! Sorry I've been AWOL. I spent a good portion of the morning cutting up an extremely reluctant turkey. I'm now up to my elbows in potatoes, so it'll be another little bit before I can get on & chat.
But talk amongst yourselves! Pour yourself a nice glass of wine. Enjoy the day & I'll be on to play soon!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
My biggest break from the traditional holidays was about three years ago. My husband and I took the boys to the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving week. We had a blast. No turkey on Thanksgiving because we weren't willing to spend $40/person for restaurant dinner. I think we had pizza that year and loved every bit of it. I made a nice turkey dinner for Christmas that year.
Squiresj--Mmmmm, lasagna for Thanksgiving. Sounds good to me!
Hey, Helen! We didn't have Christmas sacks, but our stockings did mysteriously appear outside our bedroom doors on Christmas morning. The rule was we could open the stocking presents as long as we then stayed in our rooms & allowed my parents to sleep until they woke up on their own.
As a parent myself now, I see the genius in this plan & am waiting impatiently for the day my two girls are old enough to independently open their stocking gifts. :-)
Hey, Nancy! I'm a Macy's girl all the way. Ditto on Miracle on 34th Street (black & white version for sure) & the Grinch (original, of course. Jim Carey wasn't grinchy he was just sort of disturbing.)
In preparation for the desserts I am scheduled to consume this afternoon, I watched the parade while on the treadmill this morning. :-)
Joanie--
YES on White Christmas! "Sisters....sisters....never were two such devoted sisters...many man have tried to break us up but no one can....Lord help the mister...that comes between me & my sister...and lord help the sister...that comes between me & my maaaaaan!"
A classic. Loves it. I understand it's a musical now. It was in Minneapolis last year but I didn't want to see it. Why screw with perfection, after all?
Hey, Anna! I know it's not Thanksgiving in Australia, but have a slice of pie or something in our honor tonight. :-)
limecello--ooooh, you're a dark meat girl? You'd have to arm wrestle my oldest daughter to the death for a shot at one of our drumsticks. She claims them for her very own practically before the bird is done using them. :-)
Hi, Jane! I have to say, I like your break from tradition with the desserts! Cheesecake with an Oreo crust sound like heaven to me!
I'm branching out this year with mini pumpkin cream puffs. Pray for me, because when you screw with somebody's pumpkin pie & fail to provide a reasonable alternative, you could be setting yourself up for some serious fall out.
Hi, Kim! You're a Corn Casserole Fan, too? Yay! I made lots extra so come on over!
My mother in law tackled the mac & cheese this year (it's her mom's recipe so I just stand back & watch the magic) & also brought up that frozen fruit salad you mentioned. God bless my mother in law. She has my traditional bases covered.
Kim--
Elf, huh? Is that the one where Will Ferrell goes nuts with the revolving door until he has to run outside to puke in the trash can?
I love me some Will Ferrell. Especially in tights. There's just something about a schlumpy guy who's willing to squeeze into a pair of tights...
Hey, Gillian Layne!
Pheasant, huh? I've never tried pheasant. What's it like?
Speaking of things I've never tried, a woman called into a radio cooking show today (Thanksgiving crisis helpline on NPR) to ask how the hell she was supposed to cook the TurDuckEn a friend brought out. (It's a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, cooked as one weird package.) Anybody ever try one of those? Or a Tofurkey? If so, I want to hear the stories. :-)
Hi, PJ--
I'm kind of into tradition, too. Call me stodgy, I just like knowing what's coming next. My husband loves novelty & it's constant battle between us. He doesn't cook, however, so on Thanksgiving, I win. :-)
Awww, Joanie, you brought a tear to my eye with your being thankful for the banditas & buddies. I'm incredibly grateful for that, too. You don't often get a group as big as this to gel this well. We're lucky, lucky, lucky.
Now go write. :-)
Hey, Kate--
Yeah, after the amount of flack my mom caught for the Year of the White Tree, she never attempted another House Beautiful holiday. I think she finally surrendered to the fact that we are Not That Family. :-)
Hrdwrkdmom--Spaghetti for every major food related holiday? One moment, please. I'm putting my children on a plane to your house. They seem to want you to be their new mommy. :-)
Suz--
LOL on learning to combine family traditions the hard way! My husband's family (as I believe I mentioned) has mac & cheese every Thanksgiving & Christmas. Not in place of anything, just in addition to. It took me three or four years of "accidentally" forgetting to put it on the menu, then dealing with the last minute "what??? No mac & cheese???" crisis that I finally gave up & just planned for it.
Christie, I could go with pizza in the Bahamas for Thanksgiving--and be very thankful for it! *g*
Susan, you watched the parade on a treadmill? Wow! You're really disciplined. I plan to eat dessert, too, but I'll exercise mainly by running my mouth with our guests over the meal and after.
Did you know that fidgeting burns calories? Really. Just not very many. ;-)
The dh has the turkey in, and the dog is guarding it. And eying the bag of "little orange fish" she thinks like her to eat them (Pepperidge Farm goldfish) on the counter. I'm using the lull to work on submissions.
Our meal is this evening, so it's just a nice, quiet day.
Jo--
Heavenly Pie sounds delicious! Maybe I'll try it over Christmas...
As for the Famous Corn Casserole (aka Heart Attack In A Dish) it's embarrassingly easy.
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 can whole kernal corn, undrained
1 can creamed corn
1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
Mix together. Bake at 375 about 45 minutes or until set. Eat until your pants don't fit or your heart stops, whichever comes first.
Hey, Nancy, your tree sounds awesome. I'd love to see the section commemorating all the dogs you've loved & lost.
Susan wrote: a woman called into a radio cooking show today (Thanksgiving crisis helpline on NPR) to ask how the hell she was supposed to cook the TurDuckEn
One of my favorite West Wing episodes includes a bit about the president being determined to cook the First Family's turkey, not really knowing how, and learning that Butterball (I think it was that company) had a turkey cooking hotline. Then he called and was trying to get the information without admitting who he really was. There was also a hilarious bit with the press secretary and the whole turkey-pardoning thing. They were both hilarious.
Hey, Christie--
Yeah, if I were in the Bahamas, I don't think I'd miss the turkey all that much. :-) Good on you for breaking free to tradition & getting yourself a holiday tan.
Susan, we don't really have a section for the dogs. They're just all over the tree. The current one is #4, and we got the yellow lab ornament on a trip to Colorado. They used to be all together, very low and near all the superheroes, because the boy liked to hang those ornaments himself and couldn't reach very high.
Those days are gone. *sigh* The last time I gave him a hug, my chin scraped his shoulder. Granted, he was wearing shoes and I wasn't, but -- when did he get so tall?
Susan Seyfarth said...
Hrdwrkdmom--Spaghetti for every major food related holiday? One moment, please. I'm putting my children on a plane to your house. They seem to want you to be their new mommy. :-)
LOL, alrighty then, send them on but you might warn them that I am a crotchety old lady now and I don't even decorate for holidays anymore.
All of this food sounds fantastic wish I could visit.
Have a great day everyone
Have Fun
Helen
Susan--yup, that's Elf. We're home from my mom's and I'm getting ready to load it into the DVD player:D
We did a restaurant one year too but we just went nuts not having any leftovers. I can do magic with turkey leftovers. Shepard's pie, panini's, mole, etc.
Hi Everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I didn't get a chance to read all the comments, but I hope everyone's having a fab-o Turkey Day.
We broke with tradition and did the restaurant thing once, but as someone said, there's no leftovers. BUMMER!
We also went to another family's house for T-giving once...uh,no...NEVER again. Just not THAT family....urg. Bad juju.
Lalalalalala - (Thinking of something else to take the memory away!)
So, it's a great day here in the NC Mountains. Hope its beautiful where you all are too.
Hugs! Jeanne
Helen, we wish you could visit, too!
Kim, enjoy watching the movie. I hear it's very funny, but I've never seen it.
Miracle on 34th St. just ended on NBC, and it was the original, b&w version. Now SciFi is running a Bond marathon with sneak peeks at upcoming (in January) episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Not that I'm watching TV when I should be working. Nuh-uh, not me.
Jeanne, have a great time in the mountains! I'll bet it's a bit nippy there.
Popping in to wish all of you across the Pond (below the Canadian border *g*) a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Obviously, we don't have a tradition to uphold, but in your honour we have been watching the NFL (Bloody Cowboys!)
I'm another one who loves Miracle on 34th Street. The original best, but the remake isn't bad
Hi Nancy!
It's been nippy at night but very nice during the day. now we're "in" and gonna chow down on leftovers. :>
Anna, I didn't realize the NFL had crossed the water. I hope you have a peaceful day.
Jeanne--leftovers already? We haven't eaten yet!
Nancy wrote: Did you know that fidgeting burns calories? Really. Just not very many. ;-)
Good to know! I'll start fidgeting immediately! Does talking excessively count? Because I already do that. :-)
Nancy wrote: One of my favorite West Wing episodes includes a bit about the president being determined to cook the First Family's turkey, not really knowing how, and learning that Butterball (I think it was that company) had a turkey cooking hotline.
I loved that episode. I thought Jed Bartlett was the greatest president we never had. :-)
hrdwrkdmom wrote: send them on but you might warn them that I am a crotchety old lady now and I don't even decorate for holidays anymore.
That's okay. They'll take care of everything. Just leave some paper, markers, a scissors & a roll of scotch tape unattended & they'll have you living inside a blizzard of multi-colored confetti before you know it. It's their particular gift.
Helen wrote: All of this food sounds fantastic wish I could visit.
I wish you could, too. Because I have a LOT of left over turkey (and stuffing & potatoes & corn casserole & rolls...) in my fridge just waiting to be pressed into service. :-)
Kim wrote: I can do magic with turkey leftovers. Shepard's pie, panini's, mole, etc.
Tell me more about this turkey mole thing....
Jeanne wrote: We also went to another family's house for T-giving once...uh,no...NEVER again. Just not THAT family....urg. Bad juju.
Ooooh, that's awful. There is absolutely nothing worse than discovering you have absolutely nothing in common BEFORE the meal even starts. Did you stick it out through pie, or just plead indigestion & hit the road??
Nancy wrote: Now SciFi is running a Bond marathon with sneak peeks at upcoming (in January) episodes of Battlestar Galactica.
Hey, Nancy, I just saw the new Bond last night. Aside from the total lack of anything resembling a coherent plot, it was everything you'd expect from a Bond movie. Lots of chasing, explosions, beautiful locations & fight scenes that made you want to stick your head in the popcorn bucket until it was over. Good stuff. :-) Hoping for a plot next time, though I do like that Daniel Craig fella...
Kim said...
I can do magic with turkey leftovers. Shepard's pie, panini's, mole, etc.
Yes Kim, tell us more about the mole and the shepard's pie. I want to know how to make shepard's pie.
Anna wrote: Obviously, we don't have a tradition to uphold, but in your honour we have been watching the NFL (Bloody Cowboys!)
You make me feel like a total slacker, Anna. You're all the way back in England following the NFL while I've lived in America my entire life (including a few years in Texas) & I had to think, "Cowboys...are they from Texas? Dallas maybe? Huh."
Hope your team (whichever one that may be) wins. :-)
Happy Thanksgiving Banditas and Buddies! Stuffed full and hoping everyone had a great day!
Hi, Deb! Thanks for swinging by this Thanksgiving! I'm stuffed, too. I think we all probably are!
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. I'm for bed--got a lot of turkey to sleep off....
Oh, you went to bed before I could tell you Happy Thanksgiving!! :-) Well, I guess I better go to bed too, cause those sales don't wait.
And Joanie, you naughty thing, don't give me any ideas! It's bad enough as it is!
Oh, and if anyone else is still rolling around with their elastic waist pants and a deliciously overstuffed turkey buzz, I have to say I tried a new thing this year - fresh pumpkin for my pumpkin pie.
And it was FABULOUS! Yum!
Thanks for the Corn Casserole, Susan, sounds yummy!
Susan--sorry if you don't see this! I didn't get back yesterday. Too much turkey ;)
For turkey mole, I buy the mole brand from Wal-mart. It comes in a small glass jar. You just start with a basic roux, mix in the mole, add chicken or turkey broth to make a nice sauce. If it gets to thick just add more broth or water. Once you get your sauce going just add in your chopped meat. Turkey, chicken, pork. I have to eat it with pinto beans and tortillas but my guys can eat it just the way it is.
For shepard's pie, mix your chopped up turkey (or any other meat) with a bag of frozen veggies or two cans of your favorite veggie, two small or one large can of cream of mushroom soup (if its chicken or turkey you can use cream of chicken), pour into a baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and bake until bubbly. You can also sprinkle some shredded cheese on top of the potatoes.
You can also make a casserole. Get a 9X13 cake pan. Put a layer of frozen broccoli florets, layer of chopped chicken or turkey, two cans of cream of mushroom soup, a box of stove top stuffing prepared. Bake until bubbly.
Happy belated Thanksgiving Day to all! Hope you enjoyed all the great
dishes that are a part of this day
of food, family and football!
Many years ago, my Mother was one of the special guests at our table. It was one of the first times that
I did the cooking for Thanksgiving.
It was also about the time when the
emphasis began to turn to "lighter"
foods. After my lighter dinner my
Mother, who was one of the world's
best cooks, spoke up: "You used to be a good cook, what happened?"
After I picked my chin up off the
floor, I explained the changes and
determined there and then to never
lighten up Thanksgiving again!
Pat Cochran
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