ACOT Message Board

What foods do you guys usually have on Turkey Day?  Any recipes and tips would be appreciated, lol.   This is going to sound really sad, but I have only cooked Thanksgiving dinner once(and I really don't remember what I did.)  We always travel for the holidays and end up visiting family so I don't cook.  Dh and I were talking today and decided for the first time we were going to stay home for Thanksgiving and not drive the 6 hour drive to visit our families.  We both have a ton of work and Bella is finally better after being sick for over a month.   I am in panic mode about the cooking.  So, I would love to hear what you guys traditionally make and any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Usually...
spiral sliced ham
dressing
hashbrown casserole
sweet potato casserole
corn
green beans
some form of bread - rolls, croissant rolls, corn bread
cranberry something - sauce, salad, etc.pumpkin roll
caramel cake

For my Thanksgiving...Turkey...mashed potatoes...cabbage rolls...perogies...gravy...corn...broccoli....mandarin orange salad...meatballs and gravy...pumpkin pie and apple pie, cos I hate pumpkin....oh...and lots of wine!!!It was yummy!!!edited to add after  reading the others...cranberry sauce....stuffing......

Yum, you guys are making me hungry!

Turkey and stuffingSaladVegetable of some type--probably petite whole green beans (not a casserole)Homemade yams, but not with marshmallows; these have maple syrup, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and they are done in thick slicesCroissant rollsHomemade cranberry sauce (done with orange juice and spices)Pie--pecan and appleSparkling cider, etc. for drinks

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallow, green bean casserole, baked ziti, stuffed mushrooms, antipasta, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie. Here is the apple pie and pumpkin pie recipe.Pumpkin pie1 cup apple butter
1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.Combine apple butter, pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl. Stir in eggs. Gradually add milk and mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake for about 40 minutes or until set. Apple Pie1 pie crust
1/2 cup quick cook oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 cups thinly slice apples
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce

Stir together 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar and oats. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form and set aside. In a large bowl mix applesauce, sugar, 3 tbsp flour, cinnamon and flour. Add apple. Pour in crust and top with crumb topping. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with pecans and caramel.

We always have a huge feast for my side of the family. We have turkey, chicken and dumplings, hash brown casserole, sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, broccoli salad or another salad, green beans, corn, mac and cheese for the kids, rolls, pecan and pumpkin pies. I am sure that I am leaving some things out.

I love to add thinly sliced apples to my stuffing and use apple juice instead of water in it ( to the already boxed and prepared kind ).I like liquid smoke added to my turkey while it is baking too.We make sweet potato fries instead of yams. The kids love them just as much as the adults. Yum!

Dinners at my parents house. Christmas is at my house.I make mac and cheese, cranberry relish, and an apple pie.But we have turkey, ham stuffing, potatoes, veggies the usual

Turkey (deep fried this year)
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes (with marshmallows on top, yum!)
Green bean casserole
Mashed turnips
Stuffing - meaty and non-meaty (my Dad is a veggie)Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Apple Pie

I'm like you Beth, Mindy's dh always cooks the turkey. I just figured out the other day that I had to cook the turkey and everything else. My dh has to work on Thanksgiving. We are having  Turkey, stuffing, Gravy, baked sweet potatoes, whole green beans, ....and no carrot pudding  Carols Cherry& pineapple cheesecak, and pumpkin pie. Snacky stuff during the day deviled eggs, black olives, ...

I'm gonna wrestle with my first BRINED turkey this year.Since it's only gonna be me & DH, I got the smallest turkey I could find (10 lbs.). Going to do a buttermilk brine. With some sort of stuffing that I'll make from scratch.We'll have roasted fall veggies with olive oil and sea salt and pepper,Mashed, baked butternut squash & sweet potatoes (mixed). I'll make a vat of these so we can snack on them for another day or two.Our Jack Russell Petey loves them, too!And for dessert, I'm making a low-cal pumpkin (for me) and a low-cal cherry dessert (for DH) with a Fiber One crust and crumbles on top, sort of like a cobbler. With low-cal Cruel Whip. *snort!* Neither one of us wants a whole pie OR NEED IT. We're gonna be good thru the holidays, like we always are.We've both lost 35 lbs over the past year & 1/2 and we don't wanna pack it back on.Anyhoo----I'm a good cook (no, really. Everyone tells me so, especially DH!) so everything will be yummy!OH---and I can't forget the cranberry gelled stuff that plops outta the can. Quite the gourmet's nightmare but I LOVE THAT STUFF! 

Turkeygravystuffinghomemade rollsmashed potatoeswinter squash (done with maple syrup0baby peasrelish tray (carrots, celery, olives, etc)

Since there will only be 4 of us I'm only making two pies:  cherry crumb and chocolate cream (Not box pudding - the REAL stuff) 

hey Beth, no stressing- just keep it simple. I cooked my first real T-dinner alone last year too. We've always been with my family for the holidays and have our traditional ways of cooking everything. Well, since it's just me, the dh and girls I don't feel like i have to go all out putting the meal together. As long as we have our thanksgiving staples we're good.Turkey -cooked in the electric roaster oven is a no-brainer!
Betty Crocker has the mashed potatoes all ready to go for me (butter & herb flavor)
Stove Top is a regular side dish to our everyday meals so there's no question about what kind of stuffing ot make
green bean casserole (just follow the recipe on the back of the can)
a can of yams and marshmallows
can of cranberry sauce
a jar of Boston Market turkey gravy
chilled sparkling cider
homemade pumpkin and apple pies (baking is my specialty)

Turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potatos, brocolli cheese and rice cassarole, green beans, carrots, roasted asparagus and zucchini, roasted deviled eggs, lima beans, greens, butternut squash soup, and pumpkin pie.  We're big on veggies in my family. 

I don't think it's funny or weird at all that you've only cooked turkey dinner once.  Do you know, I am 40 years old and I've NEVER cooked a turkey.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday cause I do very little cooking.  DH always cooks the bird, stuffing and gravy.  Then our family and friends bring everything else.  Normally all I do is clean house.  :)This year we are having:Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato something and some salad with cranberry sauce (my new SIL is bringing those two), green bean casserole, squash, regular green bean, mashed potatoes and orange rolls.  Dessert will be pumpkin and cherry pies and cheesecake.

Turkeystuffinghamveggiesmashed patatoesyamsgreen saladcranberry saucerolls & butterpumpkin pie w/whip creamjellosoft drinks

can you say "honeybaked ham?"  that's what i'm doing this year since, like you, someone else usually hosts it, but we can't get away this week, so we're left to our own device and no way in heck i'm spending that much time in the kitchen... i love honeybaked's whole smoked turkey and heats up for 2-3 hours, their creamed corn & spinach are delish, as well as their desserts!

I tried to post this earlier, but it FAILED!Thanksgiving is just DH and me with our girls.  We have turkey, dressing, asparagus, and pie.  Here is the dressing we always make:                     *  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                          Apple Walnut Stuffing

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 12   Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Side Dish                        Stuffing
                Favorite Sides And Snacks

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   8      cups          bread -- cubed
     1/4  cup           butter
     1/2  cup           onion -- diced
     1/4  cup           Fresh parsley
   2                    Eggs
   1      cup           Chicken broth
     1/4  teaspoon      Pepper
   2                    apples -- cored and diced
   1      cup           walnuts -- chopped

Preheat your oven to 325°.  Place bread cubes in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Chop the parsley. Add celery, onion and parsley to the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. This should take about five minutes. Mix all this with the bread. Now beat the eggs. Mix eggs, broth and pepper; add this to the bread and mix it all real well.  Stir in apples and walnuts. Bake in greased 2-quart dish for 25 minutes.

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I'm hosting this year too.  Total panic mode.  You'll eat and you'll like it, or you'll host it next year I've got:Turkey
CranRasberry relish
Cranberry cornbread stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Peas
Gravy
Yucky yams that my mom is bringing
Hawaiin rolls
Tomato Aspic
Green salad for those who can't hang with the aspic
Pumpkin, pecan and apple pies and some ice cream for a la mode.