A typical Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and cranberries. This dinner was delicious and made for two, but there were plenty of leftovers.
TURKEY
I did not want to cook a whole turkey. This may not be very American of me, but I don't like turkey that much. My favorite thing about thanksgiving is all of the sides. So knowing it wouldn't feel like thanksgiving without turkey, I made turkey drummets (part of the wing). There were 3 in the package I bought and they were pretty big. For an easy and no hassle way to cook them I used a Crockpot/Slow cooker. After searching online I found a general consensus of how to do this.
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth (use the soup can to measure)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp dried sage
3 turkey drummets (thawed)
It is a simple recipe, just put all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook all day on low (or 3-4 hrs on high). The turkey turns out moist, and falls off the bone, and you can use the cooking liquid as gravy.
STUFFING
My favorite thanksgiving food is stuffing so I have been planning this for a while. Usually I just use the store bought bread cubes, but I make homemade sandwich bread weekly. So I cut whatever bread was leftover and about to go bad into cubes and dried them out in the oven at a low temp. I have been doing this for a couple of months before I saved up enough. It is a great way to use that last third or fourth of your loaf (croutons are also a great use).
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
3 cups bread cubes
2 eggs
1 tsp dried sage
Garlic powder, to taste
1 tsp salt
Chicken broth (enough to moisten)
Saute celery and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, with butter in a large pan until soft. In a large mixing bowl mix the veggies with the bread, eggs and spices. Add enough chicken broth to moisten. Pour into a greased baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. This can be done a day ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to bake. Bake in 350 degree oven (covered) for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15. This is delicious and classic, nothing fancy but still very good.
MASHED POTATOES
Mashed potatoes don't really have a recipe in my family. My husband is in charge of making the potatoes, he introduced me to good mashed potatoes so he's in charge.
Growing up I always had mashed potatoes that were mashed with margarine and either skim milk, or potato water. These were fine, I knew no better and they may have been healthier but I never went back for more.
My husband's mashed potatoes are a once or twice a year treat. He mashes the potatoes with plenty of real butter an real cream. It may not be very heart health, but we don't have them often, and they are so good.
This post is getting long so I will continue this next time with my sweet potato and cranberry recipes. See ya then. Enjoy.
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