Gobble Game Plan Day 3
Today is dedicated to the essentials, except for Turkey. We will talk turkey tomorrow. These are the items that make the Thanksgiving meal. I know the turkey is the main menu item, but you can go to a deli any given Tuesday and get some turkey. These are the items, without which, Thanksgiving would not be the epic feast it should be. I prefer to think of them as award-winning supporting roles. After all, some great films, we could argue, would not have been the same without the unforgettable performances of supporting actors. What would Good Will Hunting be without Robin Williams? I think we can all agree Cuba Gooding, Jr. helped make Jerry Maguire the hit that it was. Octavia Spencer was critical to The Help as was Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. What if A Few Good Men did not have Jack Nicholson? You get the point. In that same spirit, I would like to share some holiday essentials that can and will steal the show. These are the ones we have been preparing and serving for years. The ones I grew up with and intend to continue. Here are the recipes that I cannot do without on Thanksgiving. I have also incorporated some activities focused on the Pilgrims for the kids.
Delicious Testimonials
- The Dressing: This recipe is the perfect Thanksgiving dressing. My mom has perfected it over the years, and this is one of the things she knows is a must have and we know we can expect it. You know how everyone always says they have the best dressing? She really does.
Recipe:
Martha White corn bread mix
1 Package of Pepperidge Farm seasoned stuffing (not cubed).
1 onion
2 celery stalks
1 stick of butter
1 32 oz container of chicken broth
2 eggs
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Instructions:
Make 1 recipe of Marth White corn bread. (cook 2-3 pieces of bacon and use bacon grease for all or part of the shortening in this recipe. This will enhance the flavor.) Once cooked, crumble and put in a bowl with ½ a package of Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned stuffing (not cubed). Chop and sauté 1 onion and 2 stalks of celery in 1 stick of butter. Add all to cornbread mixture along with enough chicken broth until it resembles thick pudding. Add the broth slowly to make the thick consistency because you will add 2 eggs next and you do not want it to end up too runny. Add 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Put in a greased casserole dish and bake at 350 until done, usually around 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- The Sweet Potato Casserole: True story: I took this to our church Thanksgiving potluck several years ago and as we were all sitting down to eat at various tables, I heard a voice say, “Who brought these sweet potatoes? Whoever you are, I’m going to kiss you on the mouth.” It was my pastor. He was in love with these and you will be too.
Recipe:
3 or 4 cups of cooked sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 tsp of vanilla
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 9×13 pan at 350 for 35-50 minutes. Top with marshmallows if desired towards the end.
- The Cranberry Sauce: This recipe is super easy and so much better than store bought cranberry sauce in my opinion. It is absolutely on the essential list because it adds a fruity sweetness to the turkey and the dressing that tops off the perfection.
Recipe:
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1 package of fresh cranberries
Instructions:
Put all ingredients in a pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes. Then, cut heat off and let it cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- The Rolls: I know you are probably expecting me to add a recipe for homemade rolls to round out this list and while I do have one, I am simply going to recommend what I think is the best store bought option out there. This is for a couple of reasons. First, with all the other culinary magic you have going on, homemade rolls would be a lot to tackle. Second, there is an option that comes pretty close to my Grandmother’s recipe, so when you look at the effort vs. the difference, it is not enough to make me bake in this instance. Sister Schubert’s yeast rolls are my favorite. Everyone loves a warm buttered roll so while it is easy, it is essential.
These recipes combined with the turkey are what anchor the perfect Thanksgiving meal. Sure, you could deviate and have something else. Egon said you could technically ‘cross the streams,’ in Ghostbusters too, but look how that turned out. These are the untouchables. You want them on your plate. You need them on your plate and if Cuba Gooding, Jr. shows up at your house and says, “Show me the money!”, you can confidently invite him in to enjoy your spread.
Resort Reservations, Plymouth Package?
As I was reading up on the voyage of the Mayflower, I found myself wishing there was a cool way to really paint the picture of what life must have been like for our country’s first settlers. It is one thing to talk about a journey like that and the hardships of settling into a new community during winter without any familiar comforts. However, it would be nice to really get a sense of the New England colony in 1620. I need Mr. Peabody and the Wabac (pronounced ‘Way-back’) to jump back in time and check things out. By the way, if you and your little ones have not seen Mr. Peabody & Sherman, I highly recommend it. It is cute, educational, and one I as a parent, can stand to watch more than once. Without a time machine, however, I am limited, so I found myself searching online for historical dude ranches. That would be great, right? You and your family can spend a couple of days experiencing what life was like during a particular period in history. The kids get to do some chores that will make the ones you assign at home seem like a stroll to the mailbox and back. Everyone gets a little bit of history and learns to appreciate the value of hard work. On second thought, I think I would like to combine the historical dude ranch with a Ritz Carlton. The historical activities could be structured for a couple of hours or so and mama still gets her bubble bath and cozy bed. After all, I know the value of hard work already. Back to the kids, though. For this day, our activity focused on the pilgrims.
To kick things off, we read Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving. I am a huge fan of Pete the Cat books and this one comes with a bit of history. It tells the story of the Pilgrim’s voyage and their first year in the new world as told by Pete in his Thanksgiving school play. There are flaps to open along the way for learning more facts about their journey as well.
Then, we made these easy pilgrim hats using just some Styrofoam cups, black paint and some card stock or colored paper. Another good way to engage your kids is to discuss the book and see what details they remember and what their favorite parts were. You could have them write one down on each of the four sides of the buckle. You can leave the hats out and use them as reminders throughout the week of the first Thanksgiving story. Alternately, you could also have them write down things they are thankful for on the buckle sides as well.
For an easy treat to match, try these pilgrim hat cookies. Just grab some Fudge Stripe cookies, Reese’s miniatures, and buttercream frosting. If you do not have a piping bag with tips for icing, you can poke a tiny hole in a Ziplock bag and use that for the frosting steps.
Pilgrim hats: Recipe here
True Grit
My 8-year-old son is very detail oriented and tends to be a perfectionist when it comes to his interests. As a result, he gets very frustrated with himself if he does not do something perfectly the first time. The downside at times can be that he is way too hard on himself and wants to give up because he immediately doubts himself. The upside is that usually it bothers him so much he keeps at it until he is satisfied. The first time he tried jumping rope, we laughed until we cried. It was just so wonky and uncoordinated. He decided he would not stop until he did it perfectly 10 times in a row. About an hour and a half later, we were finally cheering. The downside for us, of course, is that it was not nearly as entertaining. I want to do my best to use those as teachable moments, though. I encourage him by telling him very few people step up to the plate and hit a homerun the first time. There may be things he is naturally good at, but more than likely he will need to work extremely hard and practice if he wants to master something and I do not want him to shy away from that. I do not want him to be so hard on himself, but I do want to foster that ‘never quit’ spirit. In thinking about the difficulties the Pilgrims faced, I remembered that more than half of them did not survive that first year. The ones that did could have given up and gone back to England. I think about how tough those settlers must have been to have come through that winter and still decided to dig in and start a new life. I want to raise my boys to be patient and hard-working. To not be afraid to fail and to use their ingenuity. Those are not the only things, of course, but when tough times come, and they will, these traits will help them not just survive, but succeed. Well, these and my mom’s sweet potatoes.
Check out tomorrow’s post for all things Turkey
