Serving Up {Thanksgiving}: Menu Line-up

How did we get to the second week of November, with Thanksgiving only one week away?

I guess it is time to make the shopping list!

Just this morning I was on the phone with my mom who was asking for my Thanksgiving Beans recipe.  It made me think that I ought to put all my Thanksgiving recipes in one place (or one post to be more accurate).

This is what Thanksgiving looks like most years at our house....enjoy!

Pumpkin Knot Rolls

Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes

Savory Sausage Stuffing

Holiday Yams and Apples

Thanksgiving Beans

Decadent Triple Layer Mud Pie

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Serving Up {Pie}: Decadent Triple Layer Mud Pie

While my mom's recipe for Pumpkin Chiffon Pie is a standard Thanksgiving dessert at our house, we don't generally stop with only one pie offering. In fact, prior to our move from Vegas, we had a traditional "Pie Night" a couple of days after Thanksgiving and were joined each year by another family that we loved and adored greatly. My husband and I discussed having the tradition continue last fall after our move but my heart was not ready to replace those dear friends and so we will wait until their first visit to Oregon and will then pull out the pie :)
(you know who you are and, yes, that was an invitation).

As traditional as pumpkin pie may be, our family Thanksgiving has always included this recipe for Decadent Triple Layer Mud Pie.  It is a favorite.  You can just never go wrong with chocolate!

I would like to give credit to it's source but all that I can remember is that I got the recipe out of a magazine in the waiting room to donate blood.  Weird that I remember it, but it's probably because I tore the page out of the magazine and I would totally chastise my child if they did that to a "public" magazine.  I guess the call of the recipe was just too great for me to ignore.  I have absolutely no regret :)

DECADENT TRIPLE LAYER MUD PIE      
printable version

3 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 OREO pie crust
½ cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional)
2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding
8 ounce cool whip

Mix chocolate and sweetened condensed milk until well blended. Pour into crust and sprinkle with toasted pecans.
Pour milk into a large bowl. Add both packages of pudding and beat with a whisk until well blended.
Spoon 1 ½ cup of pudding over chocolate and pecans in the pie crust.
Add ½ of the cool whip to the remaining pudding; stir until well blended. Spread this over the pudding layer in the crust.
Top with the remaining cool whip, or just add a dallop of cool whip at the time of serving the pie.
Refrigerate 3 hours, or until set.

Serving Up {Vegetable}: Thanksgiving Beans

Last Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving in twelve years of marriage that we celebrated with (part of) my husband's family.  Isn't that crazy?  We had just moved to Oregon and were living with my in-laws who were preparing to move back east.  Needless to say, the household in general was a bit topsy turvey.  My sister-in-law and I took care of everything except for the turkey, which we left to my father-in-law.  When it came to vegetables, I prepared a green salad and my sister-in-law prepared roasted brussel sprouts and we both agreed "NO GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE".

When my mother-in-law discovered that there wasn't a green bean casserole on the menu she let me know that it was requested yearly by one family member in particular who was going to be in attendance.  She offered to put it together and we left it at that.  When Thanksgiving arrived, there was a beautiful, creamy green bean casserole on the table - topped with golden crushed croutons and large shredded pieces of Swiss cheese.  I immediately understood that this was not the canned green beans and mushroom soup dish that I had attempted to void from the meal.  In fact, I determined to not title it "green bean casserole" because this is in it's own category - delicious!

THANKSGIVING BEANS     
(recipe from Marilyn D.)
printable version

2 (12 ounce) bags of French  cut beans (frozen)
2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. butter
1 pint sour cream
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. onion powder
½ pound swiss cheese, grated
croutons, crushed

Cook the beans until just tender; drain well.
In a saucepan make a rue by melting the butter and adding the flour; stir until free of lumps. Remove from heat and cool.
Combine sour cream, salt, and onion powder. Add to the cooled rue. Add the grated swiss cheese and then add the beans and mix everything together.
Pour into a buttered glass cooking dish and top with crushed croutons (could use crackers or corn flakes). Dot with additional butter and a bit more swiss cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

Serving Up {Potatoes}: Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes

Fall is in the air and I am beginning to crave heartier meals.  Meals that I grew up on, like meat and mashed potatoes.  And these are my mom's ULTIMATE mashed potatoes.  In fact, she took these to every family Thanksgiving gathering that I remember - they are part of the tradition at our house.  I grew up not even appreciating gravy because, trust me, you don't need gravy on these potatoes.  They are loaded with yummy flavors and can definitely stand alone.  (I have since learned to appreciate the gravy and happily drown the turkey and stuffing with gravy).

I am not sure where the name came from, but I assume they are called "refrigerated" because my mom always made these the day before and then refrigerated them until serving them, when they would be warmed through in the oven prior to serving.  That option of making them ahead really helps out when you are in charge of Thanksgiving dinner and need to divide all the labor between a few days.

One last plug for these potatoes - my husband doesn't like potatoes.  Isn't that weird?  But he likes these potatoes and eats them whenever they are served.  So if these are good enough to win over a non-potato eater, you may just have to give them a try.

REFRIGERATED MASHED POTATOES     Pin It

(recipe from Linda W.)

printable version

5 lbs. potatoes
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. butter

Boil the potatoes in salted water.  Mash until smooth, using reserved potato water for liquid.  Add remaining ingredients while potatoes are hot and beat until light and fluffy.  Cool, cover and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, place potatoes in a buttered casserole dish.  Dot the top with additional pats of butter. Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through.

Serving Up {Side Dish}: Savory Sausage Stuffing

I have to admit that when it comes to stuffings, add some craisins to a box of Stove Top and I am actually quite happy. I guess I am admitting to easily satisfied taste buds or I am giving Stove Top quite the rave review. Hmmmm.

While Stove Top stuffing may meet my needs on a random week night, there is something about Thanksgiving dinner that demands that the onion and celery and garlic be freshly chopped... that the bread cubes be cut by my own hand, brushed with oil and toasted in my own oven... that I throw in some spinach and cashews, and maybe even craisins, by eyeballing it. I have been creating and adjusting this recipe for years. I will admit that this recipe is a bit of work but the end results are, dare I claim, better than Stove Top.

**as written this recipe makes a LOT!  As in, if you aren't taking it to a family gathering, you may want to scale it back**

SAVORY SAUSAGE STUFFING     

printable version

2 packages Jimmy Dean sausage (I prefer Sage flavored)
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ cup onion, diced
1 ½ cup celery, diced
1 cup grated carrots
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 ounce pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained (I use fresh)
2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
15 ounce herbed dry bread, cubed
(use Italian bread, brush with olive oil and bake until browned)
2 cups chicken broth
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups whole cashews
Craisins, optional (wink)

In a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink. Add mushrooms, onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook and stir for 10 minutes until vegetables are softened. (If using fresh spinach, add the last 2-3 minutes to wilt it down).
Transfer meat and vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
Pour everything into a large buttered 4-quart casserole dish. Bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees.

**Stuffing is a snap done in a crockpot. Cut liquid in half and cook for four hours**

Serving Up {Side Dish}: Yams and Apples

It is November! When did that happen? The holidays will be here before we know it.

My home will be the hotel for some out of town visitors this Thanksgiving, but I have been relieved of the duties of hosting or preparing the meal this year. I may not be cooking this year but I do have some Thanksgiving standard dishes that, were I to be cooking, would make their annual appearance. I have posted the rolls and the pie recipes during my pumpkin-a-thon. Here is the first of "the rest" of the menu...

Years ago, back when I only had one baby, a friend from church made this side dish for a Thanksgiving dinner and it instantly became "my" Thanksgiving recipe for yams. Sorry to all of you that go for the yams topped with marshmallows - you won't find them at my house.

The tart apples pair perfectly with the yams in this dish. When I received the written recipe from my friend it did have the option of adding raisins to the dish but I have never taken that option so I can't comment on it. What I can comment on is that I have substituted orange juice in place of the pineapple juice and the results are divine. In fact, it is a bit of a toss up as to which I prefer...

YAMS & APPLES     
(recipe from Cindy S.)
printable version

3-4 lbs. fresh yams, cooked until tender; cooled and peeled
(or you can use 2 29-ounce cans Yams)
4-5 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups pineapple juice (I have had yummy success with orange juice)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. corn starch
½-1 fresh lemon, juiced
chopped pecans (optional)

Butter a large casserole dish. Alternate layers of sliced apples and cut up yams; set aside.
In a saucepan, mix corn starch and sugar and then add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; turn down the temperature and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce and mix well. Pour sauce over the yams and apples. Sprinkle with chopped pecans (optional).
[at this point you can refrigerate until ready to bake]
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.