Thanksgiving
 

We are a week away from Thanksgiving, thus the holiday season begins. What is everyone doing? Whether it be cooking or visiting... Lets share a favorite receipe. I think we did this last year or it may have been on Yorkie Talk.It will be fun and we can exchange different dishes.


I usually cook and have about 25 for dinner, this year my sis in law is having it, I will make a dish or two to help her out. I will be hosting Christmas Eve instead this year. I will post later one of my favorite Thanksgiving receipes....

Oh fun thread! I am on my way out, but I'll share a recipe asap! :)

Y'all know that I'm going to my daughters. I'm not big on cooking, so I ordered
stuffed shells, grilled veggies in vinaigrette and mixed roasted potatoes. I'll bring them up. Her MIL is bringing desert and the appetizers, so all she has to do is the turkey, stuffing and her green bean dish.

Oh I dunno...Might cook a frozen pizza that day. :D


Here's a recipe for a beautiful and very yummy dish.

Crandberry-Pineapple Gelatin Salad

2 (3-ounce) packages raspberry gelatin
1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple packet in its own juice
1 (15-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts


Topping:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons whipped cream
1/4 cup walnuts

Spray a 4-cup gelatin mold or a 9-inch swuare pan w/ vegi oil cooking spray. In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the raspberry gelatin and unflavored gelatin. Add 1 cup boiling water and stir with a metal spoon continuously for 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup cold water. Add the pineapple and juice, cranberry sauce, and walnuts. Stir with a metal spoon until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared mold, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

About 1 hour before serving, invert the mold onto a serving platter and allow to sit at room temperature; the salad will release itself and come clean from the mold.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipped cream and walnuts in bowl. Spoon into the center of the mold.

Candied Yam Souffle
 

Candied Yam Souffle

1 stick butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 large (40-ounce) cans large yams or sweet potatoes, drained
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (12-ounce) jar marshmallow topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and pecans. Simmer for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place drained yams in a large bowl and mash finely with a potato masher (leaving some chunked pieces). Pour sugar/pecan mixture over yams. Stir until combined thoroughly. Add in cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer to a metal pie pan. Top with marshmallow topping. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees F. Remove from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake for an additional 10 minutes to brown the top, watching carefully to keep from over-browning.

Serves 8

Thanksgiving is in October here :p But I'll tell you what we DID do! We had it at my aunt and uncle's house with my three cousins, more aunts and uncles, grandma, and my parents came into town for it. We had ham and roast moose (not traditional, but my uncle hates turkey!) and potatoes and veggies, and for the first time in my life I had yorkshire pudding! Mmmmm now I'm hungry!

We can't eat any of the foods right now and I have to tutor someone that day but I will be logging into 4wt to hear how your holiday is going and to feel part of a community.

Most of you know we dont celebrate Thanksgiving here, but i wish each, and everyone of you a total blast, have a wonderful time, and be merry ;)

From me as well :cheer: :cheer:

Thanks Mandy and Highlans. Even though we don't eat the foods, we do take the time to be grateful for what we have as a family and to be in touch with family members who are too far to see in person. It's really quite nice.

(We're not into the American football games but we get a kick out of our friends who are - big ones on Thanksgiving!)

Can't post now either, but will soon. I'm off to work shortly and this evening am going to spend a long weekend with Melissa working on her wedding. Anxious to see what happens to this thread over the weekend. I love collecting tried and true recipes!!!!:D :D

I actually found this recipe on YT a few years back and it's been a hit ever since!!


APPLE BREAD!

Oven 325, bakes in about 1 hour and 10 minutes

3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups chopped, pared, cored apples (about 3-4) (this puts to good use that darned apple/peeler/corer slicer thing you got at a Pampered Chef party years ago and never used!)
1 cup chopped pecans

topping:
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to slow 325. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans (or I use those mini loaf pans)

2. Stir together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla in medium sized bowl until well mixed.

3. Combine the flour, soda and cinnamon on piece of waxed paper, and then then stir into liquid ingredients until just evenly mixed. Stir in the apples and pecans. The mixture will be very thick and gloppy.

Divide between the loaf pans.

4: Prepare the topping: combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small cup, and sprinkle over the loaves.

5: Bake in preheated slow oven at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes, approximately. Check it carefully with a tester inserted in center comes out CLEAN. Make sure it's done. Sometimes in my oven they take longer than the time specified. Make sure they are done. Nothing worse than raw middle.

I can't believe how fast the holiday is approaching. One week from today and I haven't bought that first thing yet. Been way to busy with Mom in the hopital and just haven't had time. I'm not sure exactly what is happening with us this year. Usually I fix the meal for hubby's side, but this year there is only us three and his stepsister and her two grown kids. I may see if we can all go to my sister-in-laws. I think Mom was wanting to have it, but hopefully I can talk her into letting SIL have it and she take it easy this year. We'll see.

Also, I thought I posted a stuffed mushroom recipe, but can't seem to find it, also can't find the one here at home. If anyone comes across it, would you please let me know. I do know it had crabmeat in it and the mushrooms were wonderful.

I think you should still have turkey and stuffing and Sheryl's cranberry sauce.
It's just such a nice dinner!

I agree! Go for Mandy!!! Celebrate with us. :)

I am using both of sheryl's recipes. Her yams are only a little different from mine but I thought the pecans would be a good touch.

Kate...why can't you eat the food? Are you allergic to everything? Can you substitute and come up with a meal that you can feel like you've celebrated Thanksgiving?

Janet...I haven't started buying anything yet either, and we're having it at my house. It just dawned on me yesterday that I need to start getting my house cleaned. It's gotten pretty bad since we had the garage sale and not feeling well. It will come together.

Angie...I have that recipe for Apple cake and it's wonderful. I like to heat it up and serve it with Cool-whip! Yummmm!!!! Also, it freezes really good so you can make it ahead.

Thanks Diana, but our diets are overwhelmingly limited. I can't even get a snack if we are out and I am hungry. Neither can our son although he does have a few more foods than I do. But we are still thankful to be together, the three of us and Bowser, no matter how tough the road is sometimes.

That must be very challenging Kate, i hope you can come up with something nice to eat, even though you guys are limited, decorate the table with candles, and just enjoy your time together.

Well, our Thanksgiving is on Sunday! Mom has chemo on Tuesday and won't feel like cooking OR eating by Thursday so we decided to do it early. I'm pretty excited. I get to make more sides than usual this year. Mom is taking care of the turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and Sheryl's jello dessert.

Mandy, what a good idea - candles - our existing essential oil peppermint ones are almost used up - I will get new ones for the holidays. Anyone have a good online source for good essential oil products?

I think that you've come up with a wonderful idea for your family. You're a very sweet daughter to make sure that your Mom has a good Thanksgiving too. And your Mom will be in my prayers this week too!

Strawberry Bavarian Cream
 

This chilled dessert looks as good as it tastes! And for those who don't enjoy cooking, it's SUPER SIMPLE

* 1 large box strawberry flavor gelatin
Mix according to box directions

* 1 large container frozen extra creamy cool whip whipped topping, thawed
* 1 quart strawberries - washed, hulled and sliced lengthwise (Can use frozen but remember to decrease the amount of cold water in your jello by about half a cup)
* extra strawberries for garnish (optional)
* 1/2 cup slivered almonds ( add 1/4 cup coconut if desired)

Preparation -
In a large mixing bowl, make the gelatin;
then place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill (Don't let it thicken or set). Remove from the refrigerator and, using an electric mixer at low speed, mix in the thawed whipped topping, and almonds till the color is consistent.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Garnish with a few additional strawberries, if desired.
Serve chilled.

You can use other flavors if you want... raspberries work great!

Maybe that would be a good thread for everyone to see, and post ideas ;)
I will see if i can find any.

It was actually Mom's idea. I didn't know her chemo fell two days before Thanksgiving and she told me and then asked how Bren and I felt about doing it on Sunday. We were more than happy to do it whenever, so long as Mom gets to have fun and enjoy the day. I'm getting so excited!!

Thanks Mandy. I will look, too.

Angie, when you get to make and eat all that good food, take a bite for me and let me know just how much I enjoyed it! lol Glad you could find a way so Mom could be a part of your traditions. :)

For many years dhs' family has had Thanksgiving at his brothers house and celebrated Christmas at the same time because 3 of the 5 siblings live a distance away and winter driving in our part of the country can be challenging at best.

This year we'd planned to do the same, but dh is so angry at his brother that he's decided we're not going. There's a long history of serious problems in the family, that started 50+ yrs ago... so it's nothing new really, but has reached a boiling point. It's actually a relief for all of us since it's not a lot of fun to go when you only see these people once a year and there's always tension in the air. My feeling on it is that it's one less obligation to worry about.

So we will be having Thanksgiving at home with our own kids this year. Katie plans to cook for us this year, so that should be fun.

Sounds like you have a plan Tink. I understand your husband's wishes. Another reason I have Thanksgiving for hubby's side is I really don't want to be around my two brothers. Oh I love them very much, but my younger brother is so moody, I feel I have to walk on eggshells around him. Not a comfortable feeling. My older brother always wants to agitate and it gets people upset. He also always has to be right and wants to keep an argument going. Not sure why they are like that, so as long as I can have Thanksgiving for the in-laws, I'll save Christmas for my family. Once a year is enough for a family get together under these circumstances.

You all sound like you have got it worked out as far as family. Nice to look forward to a more relaxing holiday than it might have been otherwise. I love my family but I prefer to see them one sib at a time with their immediate family, than to get together as a group. There is too much tension in the group. For us I think it comes from the ages we were through my mother's illness and death, and the way that my father coped with it. We all did our best but the family took a lot of damage and the shadows of it still linger. We did so well through our father's death that I had hoped the healing from that would last longer. Some of it does, though.

Point being, my dh, son and I don't go to the big holiday gatherings as we want to enjoy our family, not be stressed out by them. All my bros go to their wives families on the actual holidays, too. It would be my sis and her family that would join with mine, and we are separated by too many miles to handle the drive with the rest of the country.

Maybe I will send her a web cam to mount on her computer so at Christmas we can at least visit webface-to-webface. I went to a party that had them set up so the relatives who couldn't make it could still be with us all - we are in Virginia they were in Maine. Has anyone tried that?

Haven't tried the webcam yet, but I'm thinking of asking for one for Christmas. Sometimes you get two for the price of one...we'll see.

My sister and I agreed we are going to try it this year for Christmas. Too late for Thanksgiving day but our sons will be testing it out over the weekend :) Hope you get one Janet. If not, I'll send you one - I know there's a spare in a box of computer parts in the office.

Jessie wants me to get a webcam. I don't know anything about them, so any info you guys can share would be appreciated.

I also signed up with Consumers Reports so I'm going to look them up there.

If anyone needs info about anything they're looking to buy, let me know and I'll look it up for you.

Angie, Debbie, and Traci,

I know your Thanksgiving Day today was wonderful! Hope you took pix.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Debbie, we can all be thankful that you're coming through this illness with such courage and that you'll be fine.

I am using an old webcam that came with a system we got a few years ago. They are simple and inexpensive. My sister is using one that is built into her laptop. We are looking at google chat which apparently has camera ability and also at Skype which is what the Brasilians I know use to talk to their parents and sibs everyday.

Angie, i hope you, and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. You know pics are welcome ;)


Janet, Judy, and kate, i have a webcam, and it's a Blessing. Invest in one, it really is worth it, they not expensive, and the chats are very different, because you can see facial expressions, smiles, and all.

Kate, skype is a good program, so is msn, and yahoo.

My sister doesn't really want to be seen on camera right now - so I told her she can see us and point her camera out the window to the snow - we never get any for the hols!

Webcams are priceless!!!! I have personally watched Mandy spew coffee all over her keyboard when she laughs. :D It's special moments like these that makes it all soooo worth it! :p Oh...and it's fun to put the fur kids on too! :cool:

Is there any one kind you recommend over another? OR does it really matter? What kind of info should we look for when buying one?

I have a logitech - the folks that make keyboards and mice. Most are very simple devices. I will check with my nephew over the weekend and find out if there are any reasons to get one brand over another. Is that too late? I can email him sooner if you need to know before Thursday. (I did email him.)

Now I'm getting one!