Happy Thanksgiving!

Just popped in before I begin working on the feast to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for, my family, friends, church, home, and the list goes on and on and on. I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends today and I hope you'll reflect on all the blessings God has blessed you with and be truly thankful for them.

On our table today...
Cajun Deep Fried Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Giblet Gravy
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Corn on the Cob
Turnips
Marinated Vegetables
Broccoli Salad
Stuffed Eggs
Homemade Yeast Rolls
Iced Tea
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Chocolate Pie
Dirt Cake

Now you see why I call it a feast and no I'm not cooking it all. My MIL and SIL are bringing some of it. I am so thankful that we are blessed enough to have this meal and be together today. Gotta get busy!

Our Thanksgiving Menu with Recipies

I think I've nailed down what our menu will look like for Thanksgiving this year. Of course it is subject to change at anytime depending on who decides to bring what. Right now I plan on a deep fried turkey which MJ will prepare, cornbread dressing, candied yams, green bean casserole, corn on the cob, giblet gravy, fruit salad (or broccoli salad), homemade cranberry sauce, homemade yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, Italian Cream cake, and iced tea. Most of these are family favorites that have been served at Thanksgiving meals in either my family or MJ's family for years and will continue to be our family's traditional Thanksgiving meal. The deep fried turkey is new, we have only been cooking it this way for a few years but will probably stay on our menu for a while.

Now I'm going to share a few family recipes. Hopefully I'll get it right. Most of the recipes are handed down and I just know by heart and are a little of this and a pinch of that. Hopefully I've gotten it written down correctly.

Cornbread Dressing (Chicken & Dressing)
1 chicken boiled and deboned (reserve broth)
1 large pan of cornbread
1 large onion chopped
1 cup of celery chopped
6 eggs, boiled and chopped
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1-2 cans of chicken broth (if needed)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add in other ingredients until well mixed. Start adding in chicken broth a little at a time. The broth that you boiled your chicken in most of the time is richer and is better. Add broth until cornbread and other ingredients are soupy. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for at least one hour. Bake until consistency desired. Some like it a little moist and a little soupy, others like it a little thicker and dryer.

Pumpkin Pie
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick of margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp plain flour
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
9 inch deep dish pie shell

Preheat heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until done in center. Sprinkle a additional pumpkin pie spice on top of pie and bake another 10 minutes.

Deep Fried Turkey

1 whole turkey (15-20 lbs)

1 jar of injectable marinade (you will need an injectable marinade kit)

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Cajun Spice to taste

3 to 4 gallons of peanut or vegetable oil (peanut is better as it does not burn as much)

Turkey cooker

Thaw turkey completely. Then clean out cavity, rinse and pat dry. Inject turkey with injectable marinade. Season turkey with dry ingredients, to taste. Let sit for at least one hour.

Heat oil in pot (allow enough room in pot for turkey to be placed, too much oil will cause overflow), bring oil to at least 375 degrees F. Placement of turkey will bring temperature down and you will want to keep temperature at 325 degrees F. while cooking. Cook turkey until golden brown, about 4 minutes per pound.

PLEASE BE USE CAUTION WHEN DEEP FRYING A TURKEY.

Thankful That's All It Was

Thankfully Ida weakened to a Tropical Storm before hitting Mobile yesterday. Since we are about an hour inland all we got was lots of rain and strong wind gusts. The trees are just about bare now and the yard has a blanket of leaves and limbs. There were a few fallen trees and we lost power for about 5 hours yesterday. I'm just so thankful that's all it was. But in events like this I just like to be prepared because you just never know. I've been through way too many hurricanes to know you never are sure where they are going or how strong they'll be until they get there. They can turn on you and go any direction and strengthen or weaken at anytime.

School systems all around us canceled school but our... and I'm going to be nice... Superintendent decided not to cancel. I kept my kids home anyway. I wanted them to be safe. The wind was gusting way to hard for me to even think about sending them. They are out again today for Veteran's Day.

Hurricane? In November?

Who would have thought it? But there is a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida and it's headed this way it seems. Just when I finally got on a roll with the deep cleaning and organizing. Hopefully it won't get too bad and the power won't stay out for too long if at all. Must go now and prepare.... wash up all the dirty clothes, pick up the toys and such from the yard, make a run to the grocery store for a few more non-perishables and fill up the gas cans just in case we need the generator.

Thanksgiving Traditions, Part 1

We all have them, the recipes, the traditions, the way we celebrate Thanksgiving. I think I'll share a few of ours and I hope you'll comment and link to your blog where are have shared a few of yours.

I think a lot of what we do depends on the area we live or how our own mother's and grandmother's celebrated Thanksgiving. My large extended family always gathered together at my Aunt's home. We jammed into a small dining/kitchen area at a large dining room table, a card table and around the kitchen bar. The food was placed on the table until the table sagged and no more could fit and the rest was placed around the room, usually the desserts. We all ate together, no one was scattered around the house into other rooms when it was time to eat. It might have been a bit tricky fitting us all in there when we were all together, but it was worth it.

Over the years, the food served would vary, but you could bet there would always be fried turkey breast, cornbread dressing, chicken and dumplings, green bean casserole, candied yams, peas or butter beans (which was homegrown), corn on the cob, cornbread, homemade biscuits, sweet iced tea, and more desserts than you can shake a stick at. Two desserts that come to mind that were usually present at our fare were sweet potato roll (like a sweet potato cake filled with cream cheese filling) and red velvet cake. Yep, you guessed it, we are from the south, the deep south.

After the meal, we would all help clean up, well the women and children that is, and then the adults would gather around and converse and us children would go outside if it wasn't raining and play. Then if course it was nap time! I do miss that time in my life, it was and is so special to me.

Now that I'm married with a family of my own, I like to prepare the meal, or at least most of it. If my Mom does not go to visit my brother for Thanksgiving, which she does about every other year, she comes here and helps with some of the dishes. MJ's family, his mom, dad and his brother all come here too. Although the number of people is not as big as when I was a kid going to my aunt's, it's still a big deal and a big meal.

So exactly what do I serve at my Thanksgiving meal? Well, you'll have to come back for Part 2 to find out. I'll even share a few family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie & Pumpkin Bread

It's pumpkin time and Bridget at Bake at 350 is the host of Flavor -of -the-Month and October's theme was Pumpkin. Well, this is right up my alley since my family LOVES anything made with pumpkin. Unfortunately for me I cannot just use the stuff out of the can, I have to use the real stuff. You know, go buy a pumpkin and spend 2 or more hours cutting it open, scraping the outsides, peeling, chopping, cooking and mashing it.

My sweet 5 year old daughter loves pumpkin pie so much that she sweet talked her grandmother into buying a pumpkin just so I could make her a pie. I spent 3 hours total on that pie (see above and the bake time) and you know what, I got one little piece and didn't even get to make a picture! From the time she got home from school to the time she went to bed, the pie was gone! She ate half the pie herself. The rest of us only go one little piece! But I do have cooked, mashed pumpkin in the freezer to make five more pies or even some pumpkin bread. I they all realize how much I love them.

Pumpkin Pie
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tablespoons plain flour
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 9 inch pie crust or one deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into crust and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until set in center. Sprinkle more pumpkin pie spice on top and bake another 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree ( I do use canned pumpkin for this from time to time)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries or rasins
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 cups white sugar
2/3 cup water
4 eggs

Grease and flour three 7 x 3 inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Measure flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices into a large bowl. Stir to blend. Add pumpkin, water, oil, eggs, dried cranberries (or raisins), and nuts. Beat until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for approximately 1 hour.

So Busy Time Just Slipped Away!

WOW! Where have the days gone off too? I can't seem to get caught up on anything. I get started on a project and the school calls for one reason or another, or my husband calls and needs a favor and my day is shot. Church functions and doctor appointment trips. I've also been overloading myself with baking committments and that takes up a good bit of my time. I guess when people find out you can bake they come running. Nope, I haven't made a dime off of any of my baking, they all have been favors for family and friends.

One day I'm going to get caught up and I won't know what to do with myself! Until then, I'll be on here every once in a while.