Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving has come and gone but I will continue to be thankful for the family I have.  The girls were both home from college and it was nice to be all together again.  The day was hectic, as usual, but in between cooking and cleaning I managed to gather everyone around for a couple of pictures before the feasting began. 

Thanksgiving Favorites

Last year I posted our Thanksgiving favorites.  This year I am posting them again, with a few new additions.  The first is my variation of Paula Deen's recipe for green bean casserole. 

Green Bean Casserole



Here's what you need:
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced fresh mushrooms
2 cups sliced green beans
3 cups chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings
1 cup grated Swiss cheese 


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter.  Add mushroom soup and half of the onion rings and cook over low heat until thick. Meanwhile, boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans to a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish and cover with Swiss cheese.  Pour mushroom soup mixture over beans and top with the rest of the onion rings.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serves 6.

The next two recipes are from the Sioux City Junior League cookbook "Cornsilk" and have been a part of our Thanksgiving since leaving Iowa eighteen years ago.

Oven Mashed Potatoes

Here's what you need:
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
1 cup half and half
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tsp. minced dry onions
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. seasoned salt
Paprika


Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Cook potatoes until tender but firm, about 15 minutes; drain. In large bowl, mash potatoes with half of the melted butter and the half and half. With hand mixer, beat in softened cream cheese and seasonings. Beat until very fluffy. Pile in large casserole dish. Add rest of butter on top and a dash of paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Potatoes should be slightly browned on top when done. These can be made the night before and reheated the next day.

Sweet Potato Rum Nut Casserole



Here's what you need:

3 18-ounce cans sweet potatoes
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
6 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/2 cup rum


Directions:
Mash sweet potatoes. Add salt, pepper, 1 cup brown sugar and pecans. Spread in 9x13 pan, making 3 or 4 indentations down length of casserole. Melt butter and stir in flour and remaining brown sugar. Add evaporated milk and cook until quite thick. Thin with rum and pour over casserole. Garnish with pecans. Bake for 1/2 hour or until hot at 300 degrees.

A new recipe I'm trying this year is one I found on the blog A Year Of Slowcooking.  I'm always a fan of throwing some ingredients into a crockpot and forgetting about it for a couple of hours...

Crockpot Cranberry Sauce

You will need:
12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Rinse off the cranberries and put them into your crockpot. Add the orange juice and water.  Add the sugar and the cinnamon.  Cover and cook on high. It will take about 3 hours.  Stir every hour or so. When the skin from the cranberries has softened, the cranberries will "pop" when pushed with a spoon up against the side of the crock. It wasn't until about 2 hours in that my cranberries were soft enough to do this.  Smoosh all of the cranberries. Stir well.  Heat enough for it to be warm throughout. Take the lid off and heat on high for another 30 to 45 minutes.

The final recipe I am preparing is Sandra Lee's cornbread casserole.  I found this semi-homemade recipe on her Thanksgiving special on Food Network and thought it looked delicious! 

Cornbread Dressing

You will need:

1 large egg

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound store bought cornbread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup frozen diced onions, thawed
2 tablespoons Italian herb marinade mix (recommended: Durkee Grill Creations)
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts
1 (14.75-ounce) can cream style sweet corn
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small bowl beat 1 egg with the chicken broth. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and egg mixture. Stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour.

Britty Makes Dinner ~ Thanksgiving 2009

Milo watches and waits for scraps as his mommy gets busy making soup.


Seven Can Tortilla Soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey.


Here's the happy chef at work. She gets her joy for cooking from her dad.


Soup simmering on the stove, what a yummy sight!


She even made a pumpkin pie! Can't wait for her to return home for Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2009

Our oldest arrived back home Wednesday. Here are the girls on Thanksgiving night before dinner. I'm so happy to have both girls home and together!



Adam came over for dinner too. He started a fire and they sat outside in for a bit but it was pretty cold for us down here so they didn't stay out too long.



Daddy and daughter, decked out in their Aggie gear, getting ready for the big game.



Even though we cheered and the Aggies fought hard they lost to the undefeated Longhorns. There's always next year!



Daddy with his girls. Wish you were down here with us Ed and Delila, we missed you!

Cornbread Stuffing
The recipe for crockpot cornbread stuffing is from Southern Living. This is a great recipe to use on Thanksgiving. It's tasty and easy. I put it in the crockpot about 4 hours before dinner and literally forget about it.




You will need:
4 1/2 cups cornbread crumbs
1 (16-ounce) package herb stuffing mix
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter, cut up


Preparation:
Stir together cornbread crumbs, stuffing mix, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl.


Pour cornbread mixture into a lightly greased 5 1/2- or 6-quart slow cooker. Dot with butter. Cook, covered, on LOW 4 hours or until cooked through and set. Dish up and enjoy with your Thanksgiving dinner!


For more holiday recipes, visit my Thanksgiving Favorites post.