Thanksgiving Is About Two Weeks Away-What's Everyone Cooking

[launderess]

Or not! *LOL*

As per for past several years family is still up in air over Thanksgiving which complicates planning to bake or cook anything. If things don't cloy within a few days am going to order/pick up something from Wegmans and call it a day.

 

[joeekaitis]

Leaning toward the non-traditional

 

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Turkey breast </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Bacon cheeseburger macaroni (instead of loaded mashed potatoes) </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Broccoli casserole (instead of green bean casserole) </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Corn </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Stuffing </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"style":3,"writingDirection":1},"fontHints":1}">Cornbread (bye-bye, brown 'n' serve rolls and fridge biscuits) </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;" data-tt="{"paragraphStyle":{"alignment":4,"writingDirection":1},"font":{"name":"SFUIText-Bold","pointSize":0},"fontHints":1}">Cranberry sauce </span>

Pumpkin pie

Whipped cream

 

Just Cathy, her uncle and me this year.

 

 

[launderess]

Picked up a few cans of pumpkin pie filling at Whole Foods on special offer last week. If given enough advance notice will nip down to supermarket for ready made crusts.

Am going to make one last final push this weekend to get mother and family to make up their minds about Thanksgiving dinner. Depending how that goes may roast a turkey breast or BBQ turkey drumsticks/wings and take along with pie to mother's house. Once there either will make sides or perhaps bring them along (catered).

 

[ea56]

I’ve already got most of the ingredients purchased.  It will be just David and I this year for Thanksgiving.  It’s David’s very favorite meal of the year and we usually eat the leftovers for dinner for the next 4 to 5 days,  which is fine with me.

 

The Menu is as follows:

 Roast Turkey Breast with Gravy

Homemade bread stuffing with celery, onions and sliced water chestnuts

Mashed Potatoes

Petite Peas and Pearl Onions

Fresh Yams baked with a little melted butter, light sprinkling of brown sugar and pecans

Lime Jello Salad

Jellied Cranberry Sauce 

Homemade Crusty Dinner Rolls

Homemade Apple Pie with Whipped Cream ( I make my own crust)

 

I’ll have the dressing, yam casserole, Lime Jello salad, Apple Pie and Dinner rolls prepared on Wednesday.  So on Thanksgiving most of the hard work is already out of the way.  Just a matter of roasting the turkey breast, peeling and mashing the potatoes, making the gravy and heating the peas and onions.  I’ve been preparing Thanksgiving Dinners since I was 13, 60 years now.  I can almost do it blindfolded now. 

 

We like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  For the successive 4 to 5 nights dinners I’ll arrange the leftovers on the dinner plates, cover and reheat in the MW oven, I reheat the gravy in a 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup in the MW oven and then pour it over the reheated meals.  This way the leftovers taste just like they did the first night and saves me a lot of work for the dinners those 4 to 5 days after Thanksgiving.

 

Neither of us like dark meat turkey so the Turkey breast is perfect for us, plus there is next to no waste at all.  I know lots of folks like to use the turkey carcass to make Turkey Soup, but this something I really don’t like to do.

 

Eddie

 

[launderess]

"I know lots of folks like to use the turkey carcass to make Turkey Soup, but this something I really don’t like to do."

If you have access to a pressure cooker consider giving it a go. Turkey soup isn't much different than chicken.. *LOL*

There's often a fight over turkey carcass (great minds think alike), often will put it into freezer if don't have time to make soup right away. When holidays are over sometime early in new year fish it out and go to work.

Grab whatever fresh and or frozen veggies that household likes along with some noodles or other macaroni and have at it.

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-day-thanksgiving-turkey-carcass-soup/

 

[ea56]

Nay, Launderess, I’ll pass on making Turkey soup with the carcass, Pressure Cooker or not.  I don’t like messing with all the bones.  But for those that like to do so more power to you.  It’s certainly a great way to stretch the grocery budget.  My Mom always did this and it was delicious.  

 

Eddie

 

[launderess]

Maybe it's just one, but hate to see good food wasted.

Have seen people rubbish turkey carcasses with still tons of meat left on those bones. To embarrassment of someone else one will usually do an intervention and rescue carcass.

 

[angus]

Well, my hosts provide the turkeys (one fried and one roasted), mashed potatoes, turnips, peas (unfortunately canned), baked butternut squash and green bean casserole (actually made by one of the other guests and a very good completely homemade version). My assignments are hot sausage dip, cranberry sauce, creamed spinach, candied yams, apricot Jello salad (recipe from Cook's Country and very unusually good). In addition, I am tasked with carving, so I bring my knives to dismember the birds... Everything, except the sweet potatoes can be made in advance, carefully wrapped, refrigerated and baked Thanksgiving day. The sweet potatoes get done that morning.

 

[combo52]

Roasting a whole turkey as usual

It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without roasting a whole turkey, the turkey is already resting in the freezer where it's been since last year. I always pick up a turkey or two when the stores are practically giving them away this time of year and always have one in the freezer Often I roast one in the summer I did not this year.

The 18 pound turkey will be micro roasted as usual in the gas chloric convection oven. We usually have 6 to 8 people over, I always make the mashed potatoes. Usually, I mix in some sweet potatoes and turnips all cooked in the pressure cooker and then made into mashed potatoes.

Others will bring a salad. I always bake an apple pie or two probably a pumpkin pie as well.

I agree, laundress I've left more than a few Thanksgiving dinners with a big plastic bag with the turkey in it because people don't know how to deal with the bones and make great soup out of it. That's the best part, you don't even need a pressure cooker just put it in a big pot and cook it. It's already somewhat cooked of course And all of the bones go down the disposer in about two minutes when you're finally done.

John

 

[appnut]

Getting together with some neighbors and they've asked me to make my chocolate chip cookies and another dessert, whihich is going to be a Caramel Apple Dump Cake.

 

[westtexman]

I love hearing what others have for Thanksgiving . . .

My mom wants to host this year, as she lives next door to my aunt who has Alzheimers and does not like getting out. I will smoke either a turkey breast or a whole turkey. I’ll make cornbread dressing, a ham, and probably homemade dinner rolls. I will buy the giblet gravy. I will also make a pumpkin pie.

My mom will make mashed potatoes, broccoli-and-rice casserole, green beans and a chocolate pie. I enjoy traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and will enjoy leftovers for a few days.

For Christmas, we generally have Mexican food as we will have had our fill of the the traditional fare.

I really miss Kelly’s posts. I have them bookmarked and return to them often this time of year. He was inspiring!

 

[mattl]

Picked up a 12lb turkey at Meijers, $0.33/lb. I'll make my dinner this week, going to a cousin's on Thanksgiving.  Expect about 20 there, I'm by myself  but miss having my traditional dishes so I make them. Will freeze half for later and make turkey soup too!

 

[wayupnorth]

Since my immediate family has all passed away and I miss the holidays with them now. The local church ladies put on a big free seniors dinner and I picked up 2 to go meals, wrapped them up and froze them. Will heat one up on Thursday and the other on Christmas. Thats the extent of my holidays. I did give those hard working ladies a nice donation for all their hard work.

 

[circlew]

Don't know for sure. May go up to my sister's near Toledo, or to my nephew's in Deer Park, about 40 minutes from here. Usually if my sister has Thanksgiving at her house, Christmas will be at my nephew's, and I hope that's how it will be this year.

 

[gansky1]

 

 

For a number of years, Fred Nelson came in to town for the week of the holiday and we always did the full-dinner Thanksgiving spread. Way too much food, tradition, leftovers for everyone and in the end, too much food wasted.  

 

With his passing this last January and things being so different, I've made reservations for our party of six at a local steakhouse that offers a limited menu and a traditional Thanksgiving meal option which should please everyone.  I'll have desserts at home after dinner in the afternoon.  

 

 

[kimball455]

A long standing dinner with long time friends. They do it right. Everything comes from Wegmans.

 

[jamiel]

Heading to my aunt's in Oberlin, Ohio for a dinner at her CCRC, Kendal at Oberlin. Avoiding the local family due to the election drama. It's such a late Thanksgiving (short Christmas season) that it feels a bit weird this year.

 

[polkanut]

With my dad's recent passing (Oct. 26th), my Mom wants to do a non-traditional dinner. She is making lasagna, and my sisters and I will provide the sides and dessert. 

 

[ea56]

Re:#6

Regarding letting good food go to waste. Trust me, when I’m finished stripping the turkey breast carcass of ALL the breast meat there is NOTHING left but the bare bones. I use all the smaller pieces of the white meat to make either some Turkey Chili, a casserole, turkey salad sandwiches or something else, just not soup.

I never throw out anything that can be eaten. Even on the rare occasion that we do have a whole turkey I’ll still strip the carcass of ALL the meat and use it for Turkey Chili which makes excellent use of the dark meat that neither one of us really care for.

There is more than one way to use turkey leftovers, making soup isn’t the only way.

Eddie