Green Beans with Bacon Breadcrumbs

Photo from Southern Living

This recipe for green beans was in the November issue of Southern Living, and it gave me inspiration for our Thanksgiving dinner.  The original recipe uses fresh green beans and has a cream sauce.  Be sure to click over to see this version. 

My modification used frozen green beans and didn't have a cream sauce.  My version is below.  The buttery homemade breadcrumbs were so delicious, and would make a great topping for so many dishes.  

Sweet Potato Casserole

Image from Paula Deen Magazine

For many years, I have made this sweet potato casserole from Cooking Light.  It is delicious, and doesn't taste "light" at all.  But this year I decided to get a little more indulgent with a recipe from Paula Deen.  It is very similar to my old standard, but this will be my new go-to for Thanksgiving.

Semi-Homemade Stuffing

I take the easy road on Thanksgiving by using store-bought stuffing to go with my favorite turkey recipe.  I usually buy the turkey variety of StoveTop, but this year I opted for the Cornbread mix.

In order to give this a homemade twist and just a little more of a fresh flavor, I add some extras.  The extra ingredients always include onion and celery sauteed in some butter.  I like to include some of the celery leaves for extra flavor.

This year I happened to have an apple, so I chopped that finely and added to the saute.  In the past, I have added pecans.  Maybe you have some fresh ingredients you can add to your stuffing mix?

After I prepare the stuffing according to the directions, I stir in the sauteed fresh ingredients.  I find that two boxes makes a 9x13 pan.  Before the meal, I cover this and heat with the other Thanksgiving casseroles.  This semi-homemade shortcut makes my Thanksgiving meal a little easier!

Cranberry Sparkling Punch

Thanks to I Should be Mopping the Floor for a delicious Thanksgiving drink recipe!  This was a big hit for this Thanksgiving and so easy to mix up.  Here are the ingredients:

2 cans of frozen concentrate cranberry juice
3 L Sprite
1 bottle sparkling wine

I added frozen cranberries to the container and also put a few in each glass.

I found some Cranberry flavored Sprite at the store, so this was the kids' drink.  I put it in a decanter to make it a little more festive.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Recipes Round Up

Here is a listing of Thanksgiving recipes from previous years.  Enjoy!

Turkey and Gravy

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

Sweet Potato Casserole

PW's Mashed Potatoes

PW's Mac and Cheese

Cranberry Sauce

Pecan Pie

Cheese Ball

Dinner Rolls

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

photo from myrecipes.com

Good luck finding canned cranberry sauce here in England.  And fresh tastes much better anyway.  Here's the recipe I used for Thanksgiving this year, straight from my trusted Southern Living cookbook.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
12 oz fresh cranberries
1 T grated orange rind
1 T orange juice
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Add cranberries, rind, and juice.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in pecans.  Cover and chill.

PW's Mashed Potatoes

Have you noticed that many of my posts begin with "PW?"  Pioneer Woman gives me lots of inspiration through both her website and cookbooks.

This year I added her mashed potatoes to my Thanksgiving menu.  Yum!  I liked her recipe because it was a make-ahead style dish that I could heat at the last minute with all the other casseroles.  It was delicious and super easy.  I lightened it up just a little from her original recipe.  I also cut the recipe in half for our group of 4 adults and 2 children at Thanksgiving.

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3/4 cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half (I used whole milk.)
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used regular salt since I didn't have Lawry's)
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.  (I just drained them and mashed in a bowl with a mixer.)

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter (I didn't add quite the full amount of butter), an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.  

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

The Best Dinner Rolls

I don't make homemade bread very often, but I might start after trying this recipe.  Wow, this was a winner!  These buttery rolls melt in your mouth and are fairly easy to make.  They remind me of the rolls from the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

When I made these, I was very busy making lots of Thanksgiving casseroles and pies so I didn't take any pictures.  But I still wanted to put the recipe on for my future reference.  Sooo good!

I cut the recipe in half with no problems to make 1 9x13 pan of 12 rolls.  The recipe is from Our Best Bites, an excellent resource for all kinds of cooking!


2 c whole milk
1/2 c + 1T sugar (divided)
1/3 c butter
2 t kosher salt
2 packages active dry yeast
2/3 c warm water
8-9 c all purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.  Add beaten eggs. 

Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.

Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces using a pizza cutter.  Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Or you can cover and put in the fridge til you are ready to bake.  If refrigerating, take out at least 30 minutes before baking.  

Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

Pecan Pie

from Karo syrup website

I knew Pecan Pie would be a special treat for Thanksgiving, especially since it is Michael's favorite pie.  I had to hunt down some imported Karo syrup, but everything else was easy to find.  It is such a simple recipe and hard to go wrong!  It is straight from the back of the Karo syrup.

Turkey and Gravy

This year for Thanksgiving we made not one but TWO turkeys.  After surfing the internet looking for a great recipe, I stumbled upon She Wears Many Hats.  The photos of her turkey looked moist and delicious, so that was my pick.

Photo added in 2014.  It was delicious again!

We made Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey with gravy.  I was busy cooking and didn't snap a picture of the turkey, but it looked and tasted great!

TURKEY

12-14 lb. whole turkey
6-7 fresh sage leaves, rough chopped
5-6 fresh thyme stems
2-3 springs of rosemary
2-3 springs of oregano
1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons coarse salt
1-2 tablespoons pepper
3 stalks celery, rough chopped
1 large onion, rough chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, salted



1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Lay turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Remove leaves from herbs stems. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano to mayonnaise;
combine well. Rub mayonnaise/herb mixture all over bird - in and out.
4. Salt and pepper turkey. Add the celery, and onion, inside and out, and tuck the butter in
the cavity.
5. Roast turkey in 450°F oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350°F, and insert the meat
thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful not to touch bone. Continue roasting,
uncovered, until internal thermometer reaches 160°F. Cover legs with foil partway through roasting
if desired. Total cook time is about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Remove from oven. Cover with foil and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes (depending on size)
before carving.

GRAVY

drippings from 12-14 pound Roasted Turkey
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
salt and pepper


1.  Skim off most of the fat. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes stovetop, stirring occasionally. Use a
slotted spoon to remove celery, onion, and any large pieces of drippings. Continue to simmer.
2. Combine flour and broth or water in a small mason jar with a lid; shake it up to combine. Gradually
whisk in the flour/liquid mixture into the drippings until smooth. Lower temperature.
3. Add salt and pepper, and any other seasonings to taste. Whisk well.

*I added more chicken broth to the gravy.  I also strained the gravy in a strainer after step 1.

Ranch Cheese Ball

For our Thanksgiving celebration this year, I made a cheeseball using a recipe and idea from the blog Gluesticks.  Here cheeseball is so cute with a turkey head crafted out of felt.  Grace made ours with cardboard.  Easy and very tasty!

3 packages cream cheese
1 package dry ranch mix
3 1/2 c. shredded cheese (any variety)
1/3 c. diced green onion
2 c toasted almond slices

Mash cream cheese in a bowl.  Add next 3 ingredients. Form into a ball.  Roll in nuts.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

 (UK note:  British cream cheese is not as solid as American, so make sure to give plenty of time to chill.)