and a good ending....

Ambrosia

1 large container and 1 small container of Cool Whip
16 oz can of Fruit Cocktail
1 flat can of crushed pineapple
1 small box of Cherry Jelllo
16 oz container of cottage cheese

Mix all ingredients, adding jello last. Refrigerate.

This sometimes gets marshmallows added. Sometimes the pineapple is mandarin oranges. I even made it with orange jello once. Yes, you can do sugar free with this when it comes to jello and the cool whip. I've even thrown in tropical fruit cocktail over traditional. Add nuts? Why not!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This is my last in the Thanksgiving series. Add the aforeblogged macaroni and cheese, canned cranberries, a few baked sweet potatoes, a few ears of corn, a relish tray with sweet pickles, green and black olives & cream cheese stuffed celery. Have a few heat n serve rolls, with real butter. Serve red wine and egg nog. You're on par with what I'll have this year.

ENJOY!

Round 2

Diane's Pumpkin Pie
1-1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. quick or old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
4 eggs
2 cans (15 oz. each) solid pack pumpkin
2 cans (14 oz. each) sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 t. salt
Cool whip
Pecan halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats and brown sugar. Add chopped pecans. Melt butter and add to dry ingredients. Press mixutre on the bottom of a cookie sheet pan with high sides. Bake 15 minutes. Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients. Pour over crust and bake 30-35 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

I know, I've posted two pumpkin pies here. This one is so very uniquely different that I can't omit it from my table. Plus it's from my beautiful ex step mother in law, who makes desserts like no ones business. It's like an oatmeal cookie crust, and while I'm not a huge fan of nuts, something here lends itself in a way that says "I'm not just pumpkin pie". Don't be fooled by the flat square shape, this is not a pumpkin bar, this is still very much a delicate pumpkin heaven!

Fruits of our Labor

Baked Mixed Fruit

30 oz canned whole plums, halved and pitted
29 oz canned peach halves, drained
16 oz canned pear halves, drained
16 oz canned apricot halves, drained
8 oz can of sliced pineapple
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1 T butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves


Grease a 3 quart baking dish. Layer fruit except the pineapple. Drain the pineapple reserving 1/2 C of the juice. Place pineapple on top of fruited. In a small saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and juice. Cook until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Pour over fruited. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until it's heated through.

This dish is fantastic on and off the Thanksgiving table. I combine different fruits sometimes - add nuts, or even some oatmeal to the top. Makes for a nice base for alot of different creative ideas.

I brought the....

Green Bean Casserole

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 large bag of frozen green beans
1 - 1 1/2 C of half and half
Cornstarch
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 can of mushrooms
1/2 t nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
1 can of french fried onions

Cook green beans in a large bowl in the microwave according to package directions. In a large skillet, saute onion until it is soft. Add mushrooms, cooked green beans, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Push vegetables to one side of the pan and add half and half. With a whisk, add cornstarch in small amounts until half and half thickens up and creates a gravy. Adding any additional half and half if it gets too thick. Stir veggies into this mixture. Add 1 cup of french fried onions to this mix, stirring gently to not pulverize. Pour into a greased casserole dish, sprinkle more french fried onions on top. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Best green bean casserole EVER. I'm not kidding. This is not the mush that you remember from your days of canned cream of MUSHroom soup. This is really fantastic. I'm no food snob, but I'm not a fan of the "traditional nostalgia" known as green bean casserole. Try this. You'll change your mind!

He's Choppin' Broccoleeee...Broccoliiiieeee

Broccoli Cheese Rice

2 boxes of frozen broccoli, defrosted
2 C of instant rice, cooked
3/4 C celery, chopped
16 oz Cheese Whiz
1 C shredded cheese
1 C Milk
3/4 C onion, chopped
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 stick of butter
1 can of mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except shredded cheese and pour into a greased 10x13 dish. Bake for 25 minutes, remove, add shredded cheese to top, bake until cheese has melted.

The possibilities are endless here for creativity. Throw some leftover turkey easily into this one for a good leftover casserole. Also just add chicken for an easy dinner during the week. Add a little jalapeno for spice. It's a fantastic base for alot of ways to make an easy dinner!

Potaytoh..Potahtoh

Hashbrown Casserole

1 bag of cubed frozen hashbrowns, defrosted
1 1/2 C. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 C chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 C of bread crumbs
1 stick of Butter

Cook hashbrowns and onion in a little butter. Mix with cheese and soup. Pour into greasted 10x13 Pyrex dish. Melt remaining butter and mix with bread crumbs, sprinkle on top. Cook for 30 minutes @ 350 degrees.

This dish is fantastic at the table with everything mixed in. Consider it your base for making everything taste good. It's not a spicy or overly seasoned dish, but it adds that bit of warmth to the plate. Outside of the turkey arena, I trade out the cubed hashbrowns for the shredded variety (O'Brien style if they're available) and omit the breadcrumbs, slide it along with your eggs at brunch and you're all set!

Triple Threat

Turkey in a Bag
1 Turkey
Peanut Oil

Place Turkey in a brown paper grocery bag greased with peanut oil, breast side up. Fold over the ends of the bag and paper clip shut. Place in a shallow roasting pan with the seam side facing up.

Bake at 325 degrees, 20 minutes per poudn when the turkey is stuffed. Otherwise, bake 10-15 per pound. When done, poke the bag for the juices to be used in the gravy.

Turkey Giblet Gravy

2 T flour
1/2 Cup of Water
Turkey drippings & Giblets
Salt & Pepper

Cook the the turkey innards in the water (just enough to cover in a small saucepan). This takes a couple of hours. Remove the giblets/innards from the water.

Mix flour and a little bit of water in a cup to make a thin paste.

Add the turkey drippings to the stock you've made.

Add the flour paste in very small amounts while whisking to make it thickened. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Turkey stuffing
4 Tbsp of onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 T of cooked, pulverized giblet (optional)
4 hamburger buns (8 slices)
Butter Water

Wet the buns in the sink and squeeze them out. Break up by hand into a bowl.
Saute the onion and celery in a little butter until they are soft.
Add this to the bread. Add giblets, salt and pepper to taste. Bake inside the turkey.

I don't care what you've tried - this is the easiest and best turkey I've ever had. This is Mom's turkey, because who's recipe isn't their Moms? , but man, fall apart fantastic. Plus, no basting, no fussing, easy and pretty still after it comes out of the oven!

When the Moon hits your eye like a big pumpkin pie....

Mom's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 C Sugar
1/2 C Bisquick
2 T Margarine
13 oz. Can of Evaporated Milk
2 eggs
16 oz canned Pumpkin
2.5 t of pumpkin pie spice
2 t of vanilla

Grease a pie plate. Beat all ingredients until smooth. Pour into pie plate and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

Warning - this pie is crustless! Which I love, I'm not a crust fanatic by any means - you'll find me next to a pie scooping out the middle usually...so this works me over just fine!

Thanks Martha

Roasted Parsnip Bread Pudding

1 pound of parsnips cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 T of butter, separated into 2 T and 3 T Olive oil
Salt *
Pepper
large leeks, white and pale green only, halved lengthwise and then sliced.
~3 C. 1/2 C dry white whine
2 T chopped fresh thyme
2 C heavy cream
5 large eggs
1 C parmesan
1 loaf of brioche, crust removed and cubed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle parsnips with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until tender - 25 minutes.

Heat 2 T of utter in a saute pan. Add leeks and cook, remove from heat, add wine. Simmer until this is reduced. Add thyme, stir in parsnips.

Whisk together butter, cream, eggs and 3/4 parmesan in a bowl. Add leeks and parsnips. Fold in bread cubes.

Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Pour mixture into dish. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C of parmessan and bake uncovered for 10 minutes more.

Each year I take one recipe from the Martha Stewart Thanksgiving edition of Living Magazine. This year, this is it. Parsnips are a new ingredient to me, and I"m enjoying them - potato feel with carrot goodness. Plus, a casserole at Thanksgiving like bread pudding? Who's going to say no?

It's the Best Month Ever

Corn Casserole

1/2 C butter melted
8.5 oz of corn bread mix
1 can of corn
1 can of creamed corn
1 C Sour Cream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 dish. Mix all ingredients, pour into dish and bake for 45 minutes.

This is the start of my Thanksgiving recipes. Will do the entire table if Mom will give up her Twice Baked Potatoes recipe! This is my favorite holiday and I go out big style for it. Each year has a bit of the same, a bit of new. Hang on tight - it's my favorite!

Coincidentally, this dish also rocks with some bbq pork on top! :)