Take Time to Give Thanks 

Do you get so busy preparing for Thanksgiving that you forget to be thankful? Many of us do. We get so wrapped up in all the preparations, the cooking and all the family coming that we forgot to stop and remember all our blessings. Just like during the year, we get caught up in the day-to-day worries and forget to be thankful.

Before you say your prayers and eat your meal, make it a tradition at your Thanksgiving table this year, to take the time for each member of your family to share what they are most thankful for in the past year. You might be surprised at the things your family is thankful for this year.

Let The Kids Decorate the Table This Thanksgiving 

Kids love making a mess and being creative. What better way to keep them busy while they are waiting for Thanksgiving dinner, then to create some one-of-a-kind decorations for the dinner table? Provide the kids with some paper, glue, scissors, crayons, and other craft supplies, such as feathers, pine cones and artificial leaves. 

Placemats are easy for children to make. Start with a rectangle of construction paper and let the children decorate them. If they are provided with pictures of food and other Thanksgiving things to cut out from magazines, they could make a collage. They could use stickers, simple silhouettes or leaf shapes to add to their placemats as well. Another thing fun for kids, especially the younger ones, is to trace around their hands to make turkeys. If you want to preserve the placemats for later years, simply cover them in clear contact paper once the children are finished.

Create Lasting Family Traditions for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time of food, family and fun. Traditions are passed down from one generation to the next. It's never too late to create new traditions. It doesn't even have to be something "huge" either. Sometimes the smallest things can be the fondest memories.

Food is one of the first things that come to mind when thinking about Thanksgiving. People practically obsess over the perfect meal, forgetting the reason for the holiday -being thankful for our blessings. Does one person do all the cooking and everyone just show up? Try something new by having the hostess fix only the main dish, whether turkey or ham, and maybe a dessert. Then have everyone else split up the side dishes and desserts. The entire day is less stressful for everyone, leaving more time to enjoy the meal and make more memories. Before long, you will all have your specialties, like Grandma's homemade applesauce, that it just isn't Thanksgiving without.

Create a family cookbook by putting together all the traditional favorites recipes. As new things are tried, and enjoyed, add them to the book. As the younger generation grows up and gets married, present a copy to the new bride and groom. This way the recipes get passed down and not forgotten.


Thanksgiving Craft: Cornucopia Centerpiece

One of the most recognizable symbols of Thanksgiving is a cornucopia, or horn of plenty. It represents a bountiful harvest. It can make a lovely centerpiece on any holiday table. There are many different ways you could make a cornucopia, using different materials, many of which you can find around your home.

By using a wicker basket shaped like a horn, it is quite easy to do a basic cornucopia. Most craft stores carry them, usually in early fall, if not year round. Once you've selected a lovely basket, you can either fill it with artificial or real fruit and vegetables. If you chose to use real produce, it's probably best to wait to fill the basket the day of your dinner so it doesn't spoil before dinner. Some fall leaves scattered around the cornucopia are a nice finishing touch.

If the children want to make their own cornucopia, they could make it out of paper. There are many patterns online for adorable paper cornucopias. Have the children glue the horn to a green piece of paper and arrange the fruit anyway they want, gluing them in place. They could even be covered in plastic and used as placemats, in addition to a centerpiece. Younger children might need help cutting the more complicated shapes. Remember to supervise children as is appropriate during the cutting and gluing stages of any craft.

Salt dough clay could be used to create a one of a kind cornucopia. With a little patience, forming the horn isn't very difficult. Start with a flattened piece of clay (use a rolling pin to flatten) and trace a circle using a plate. Cut out a wedge, so it can be curled around to make the horn. You can use a funnel to help hold the clay's shape while it dries. Some types of clay can be dried in the oven. Once dry, paint the cornucopia tan. Then make the various fruits and vegetables that you want to fill the cornucopia, following the same drying procedure for the clay you are using. If you want the pieces to last longer, spray them with a clear sealant once the paint has dried completely.

A horn could also be made from paper mache' by using a wire frame shaped like the horn. Some fruits and vegetables could be made over various size balloons. Again fresh or artificial produce could be used to fill the cornucopia as well.

With a little creativity, it does not take long to make a lovely cornucopia centerpiece for your table. Look around your house and you may find all you need already there. Saving some money is always something to be thankful for.

Tips to Keep the Stress Out of Thanksgiving Dinner

Why do people always get stressed at the holidays? Is it the rush to get everything done? Is it wanting everything to be "perfect"? Is it having to deal with family members that know how to push our buttons? Most likely it is a little of each. So how do we have a stress free Thanksgiving dinner? Here are a few simple tips to have a more enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Plan ahead - While planning the Thanksgiving meal, do you plan who is going to help? Instead of doing it all yourself, recruit your family to help. Not only will the work go faster, it's more fun working together. Make a list of what needs done before everyone arrives. Give everyone something to do and assign things that are age appropriate to the children. Before you know it, the leftovers will be wrapped in foil and everyone will have had a great time.

2. Covered dish meal - If you are having a large group get together for Thanksgiving, divide the menu amongst all those attending. The host family can provide the main dish (turkey or ham) and the drinks. Each family brings a favorite side dish and dessert. If you want to make sure there is a variety, provide a menu and mark things off as people chose what they want to fix. 

3. Simplify - Instead of having a huge feast, prepare a smaller meal. We all tend to overeat at Thanksgiving, so make an effort to make fewer dishes. Not only will the preparation be smaller, so will our waistlines. Another option is to prepare as much ahead of time as you can. Slow cookers can be used to make all kinds of foods, even desserts. Many things can also be made as "freezer meals" and stored for weeks before re-heating them. The less actual cooking you need to do on Thanksgiving, the lower your stress levels will be. 

Let us help prepare your Thanksgiving dinner
by providing great Thanksgiving recipes and
dinner ideas.
  


Thankfully Easy Gravy Recipe

5 cups turkey stock 
1 cup water 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1 tsp poultry seasoning 
1/2 tsp ground black pepper 
1/4 tsp celery salt 
1 tsp salt 

Place water in small mixing bowl. Slowly add flour stirring as you add to dissolve flour. Bring turkey stock to a rapid boil over high heat. Once boiling reduce heat to medium low. Add flour mixture slowly stirring as you go. Once all the flour mixture has been added, stir in poultry seasoning, pepper, celery salt and regular salt. Bring back to a boil. Continue boiling until gravy is the consistency you like. 

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes*

6-8 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small onion, chopped
milk and butter to taste
1 egg, beaten
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. dried parsley
butter

Cook the potatoes and onions until fork-tender. Drain, trying not to lose too many of the onion pieces. Mash with enough milk and butter to taste.

Add the additional ingredients except the butter, and beat until well-mixed. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, and add the potatoes. Dot with butter. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, bake at 400 degrees (straight from refrigerator) for 30 minutes. If you remove from refrigerator ahead of time and the potatoes come to room temperature, cut down on the baking time.

*These can be made a day or two in advance, and save time on the day of the meal! 

Mashed Sweet Potato Bake

6 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice 
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Peel and slice potatoes and boil in water until tender. Drain. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer. Add orange peel, orange juice, brown sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon,. Add egg and milk. beat till fluffy. Add additional milk if necessary. Turn into a greased 1-quart casserole. Cover; bake in a 350 degree over for 45-50 minutes.  Serves 6 to 8.

Thanksgiving Corn Souffle

l box JIFFY Corn Muffin Mix
l 14 oz. can creamed corn
l 14 oz. can whole kernel corn - drained
2 eggs beaten
l 1/2 cups sour cream
l stick butter - melted in microwave

Combine all ingredients in greased 9 x 13 greased casserole pan. Bake 350 for 40-50 minutes. 

This corn souffle is always on the DinnerPlanner Thanksgiving table!

Sweet Potato Filled Oranges

6 oranges 
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter, softened, divided
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Start off by cutting the tops off the oranges, about half an inch off the top should do nicely. Scoop out the flesh of the orange leaving a nice shell to fill up. In a mixing bowl mix up the sweet potatoes, orange juice, eggs, vanilla extract, 1/2 cup butter and the grated orange peel. Fill up the orange shells with the mixture and put them in a deep casserole dish to hold them up. That was the easy part; now let's really get into the work. In a small pan combine remaining butter (1/2 cup) with brown sugar, flour and pecans. Cook this until the sugar dissolves. Spoon sugary pecan mixture over the filled oranges. Fill casserole dish with about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom to help the cooking process and prevent burnt orange shells. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Thanksgiving Cheesecake Surprise

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 
3/4 cup white sugar 
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling 
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp ground ginger 
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 
2 eggs 
1/4 tsp salt 
2 prepared 8-inch pastry shells 

In large mixing bowl beat on medium speed cream cheese and sugar until cream cheese is smooth. Add pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg mixing until all ingredients are incorporated together. Add eggs one at time making sure to beat each egg into mixture thoroughly. Add salt and beat on medium speed until creamy. Fold pumpkin mixture into piecrusts evenly. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 45 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted in middle of pie comes out clean. Cool to room temperature. Garnish with cool whip.

Pumpkin and Eggnog Pie

1 can (15 ounces) 100% pumpkin 
1 1/4 c. prepared eggnog
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin-pie spice 
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs, beaten
1 (9-inch) frozen deep-dish pie crust
8 oz. container whipped topping
nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large bowl, mix pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, spice, salt, and eggs with a whisk until well blended. Place frozen pie crust on cookie sheet, and pour in the pumpkin mixture (it will come to the top of the pie crust.) Place cookie sheet with the pie on the center rack of the oven. 

Bake pie for about 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours, or until filling puffs up around edges and center is just set but not puffed. Remove from oven, and cool pie completely on wire rack. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg, if desired. Keep leftovers refrigerated. 



WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVERS

Delicious Turkey and Apple Bake

1/4 cup chopped onion 
1Tbsp butter or margarine 
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted 
3 cups cubed cooked turkey 
1 large unpeeled tart apples, cubed 
1/3 cup golden raisins 
1 tsp lemon juice 
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 
1 (9 inch) pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Over medium heat melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Mix in the soup, turkey, apples, raisins, lemon juice and nutmeg. Be sure to mix all ingredients together well. Heat until just heated through. In a large ungreased baking dish place soup mixture. Roll out pie crust on a floured surface. Place rolled pie crust over top of soup mixture being sure to tuck sides of pie crust down sides of dish. Cut slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Place in oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is brown. 

Yummy Leftover Turkey Soup

1 leftover turkey carcass 
3 medium onions, chopped 
2 large carrots, diced 
2 celery ribs, diced 
1 cup butter, cubed 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
2 cups half-and-half cream 
1 cup uncooked long grain rice 
2 tsp salt 
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules 
3/4 tsp pepper

In a large kettle place leftover turkey carcass and cover with water. On high heat bring water to a rapid boil. Lower heat, cover and allow simmering for an hour. Remove turkey carcass and allow cooling to room temperature. Strain broth into large bowl. Reserve strained broth. Be sure to save any piece of turkey meat before empting strainer. Remove any turkey meat that remains on the carcass. Cut meat into bite size pieces or shred. Place butter in clean kettle over medium heat melting butter completely. Add unions, carrots and celery. Sauté until onion is translucent and carrots and celery have softened to your liking. Lower heat to lowest setting. Blend in flour until completely moistened. Add 1/3 of the reserved broth to kettle stirring to mix all ingredients together well. Bring to a rapid boil and cook uncovered for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add half and half, rice, salt, pepper, chicken bouillon and remaining broth. Bring back to a rapid boil. Add turkey meat. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 1 hour.

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