Thanksgiving Menu of Recipes Review

Cooking for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year.  For many years, Mom and I have cooked the day before Thanksgiving prior to any of our house guests arriving.  It was like the calm before the storm.  That day has always truly been a day of fun and laughter as we taste tested our way into sheer exhaustion that never felt better.

This year, several family members are coming in early, so Mom and I will be sharing the kitchen with a few others.  I already know I am going to miss that special time for just the two of us, but, like all things, we will adapt and no doubt, still enjoy fun and laughter.  In fact, I am already mentally devising ways to annoy my sister, who will be one of our early birds.

This year it will be more like the days of our youth when the girls in the household will pack into the kitchen like a can of sardines to cook, while the guys brilliantly stay out of the way.   Now that I think of it, I wonder, what do those guys do?  Perhaps I will spy on them this year and I can report back to you all later.

Note:  You can click any of the photos to see the actual recipes.

Breakfast Breads

As much as I enjoy cooking, I do not like to cook first thing in the morning.  I like to drink my coffee and wake up slowly.   How my morning begins has always affected my entire day.  If I wake up late, that stressful feeling of being rushed doesn't seem to leave me even as the day changes into early evening.  If I wake up to immediate work, I never seem to find that peace and I tend to be irritable all day.  Therefore, I prefer to either cook something the day before or something that can quickly be mixed together and stuck in the oven to bake while I drink my coffee and wake up fully.

Here are a few muffin and bread recipes that our contributors on Review This have shared with me and I, in turn, will share them with you.

 Healthy Pumpkin Muffins Cranberry Nut Muffins Coffee Can Pumpkin Bread

 Festive Broccoli Salad Recipe

Festive Broccoli Salad

Anything that can be prepared ahead of time, especially the day before, is going to be a real winner in my book!

BarbRad's Festive Broccoli Salad sounds like a delicious recipe, plus it looks like one I could make ahead and leave in the refrigerator.   If someone gets hungry before the complete Thanksgiving dinner is ready, this salad is something they could easily help themselves to without ruining their appetites.

It would also be a very pretty addition to the Thanksgiving dinner table, provided you have any left after your guests know it is available while they wait.

The Thanksgiving Turkey

For as long as I can remember, the turkey has been one of the main dishes on our Thanksgiving table.  I cook it the same way my mother prepared her Thanksgiving turkey.  It is always delicious, tender and moist.   After all, not one enjoys a dried out turkey!

I share all of my secrets for  How to Bake a Turkey on Cooking for the Holidays.

 How to Bake a Turkey

 Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe

Making Another Meal with Turkey Leftovers
 
Since our guests stay for nearly a week, we need meals on the days after Thanksgiving.  No one really feels like cooking huge meals the following days or spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  Recipes that can be created with leftovers are the perfect solution to the days after Thanksgiving dinner dilemma.

Susan Deppner has shared her recipe for Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup.  This is such a great recipe for those turkey leftovers, especially for those cold, damp days that always seem to follow Thanksgiving.



Wishing You All a Wonderful Day, Delicious Meals, and Safe Travels this Thanksgiving Holiday!

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Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

After days of cooking in preparation for Thanksgiving, it seems like no matter how well we plan or how many years of experience we have, there are always leftovers.  I hate throwing out leftovers, but I very much enjoy having a recipe on hand that makes good use of leftovers.  After all, few of us really want the exact same meal several days in a roll, so having a recipe for a totally different meal is simply awesome.

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe 

Cheeseburger Soup Recipe by Mbgphoto

I want to start with a recipe that sounds delicious!  Not only will it make good use of our leftovers, but most of us don't need or even want a very heavy meal on the days immediately following Thanksgiving and soup is more than sufficient.   

This Cheeseburger Soup recipe by Mbgphoto is the perfect recipe for leftover turkey!   It gives us a great alternative meal for what is otherwise plain turkey.  I do love turkey, but after a day or two of eating it, I am ready for something different and Cheeseburger soup is most definitely different.

Curry in a Hurry

Susan Deppner offers another fast and easy recipe that uses the leftover turkey.  What I really love about this recipe is just how fast it is to prepare.  I looks like in less than 20 minutes, you could have a delicious meal without having to spend any more money for the meat. 

This also helps you make good use of that leftover apple from the fruit basket!  This recipe makes me doubly happy because it uses double the leftovers.

 

A Variety of Recipes for Leftover Turkey

For a real variety of salad and sandwich recipes for your leftover turkey, please visit AllRecipes.com.  Turkey sandwiches are my husband's favorite creation to make with turkey leftovers.  I have no doubt he will find several suggestions in this group of recipes that he will want to try this year.

A Delicious Fruit Salad with Leftover Fruit
 

I have personally committed several times about how much I have having a fruit basket for the holidays.  It is so easy for guest to grab a healthy snack between meals if I have a fruit basket available.  However, I inevitably have a few pieces of fruit left over, which means it is time for me to make a fruit salad.

Tossing the leftover cut-up pieces of fruit in a bowl together is perfect for leftover fruit.

 

More Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

If you have a published recipe that would be great for Thanksgiving leftovers, we would love to have you share it with us.  Please leave the link to your recipe in the guestbook below.



Recommended by Our Readers!  (Thank you for sharing with us!)

Healthy Vegetable Soup with Cannellini Beans and Optional Chicken Sausage

 

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How to Create a Positive Environment for Your Thanksgiving Dinner

It's the Time of Year we Gather to Give Thanks

In a cynical and often condescending world, it's easier to descend into typical family battles that tend to swallow up the purpose of our assembly: to give thanks and acknowledge and remember those who have been there for us through it all. It's cliche, but 'when push came to shove,' who did we turn to, and who loved us unconditionally?

We live in divided times, and many families who reunite for dinner rest at polar opposites in their beliefs, likes, dislikes, tolerance levels, and education. These differences are fast becoming the virus that devours the most important reason we take the hand of the person next to us at that dinner table: love. Again, call it cliche, call it corny, call 'love' overly simplistic, but John Lennon got it right, 'all you need is love.'

So how do you survive a Thanksgiving Dinner with people who sit at the opposite of your beliefs? Like any assembly, setting ground rules is the best place to start. Here are 10 ways to create a positive environment for your Thanksgiving Dinner:

1. Let everyone know there will be no discussions about Politics, Religion, or Current News Affairs.
2. As the dinner host, have the evening planned in advance: Plan to play games before and after dinner. If it's a larger gathering, have teams set up to play against each other for a grand championship.
3. Do not turn on a TV set. If a sporting event is on that the entire family wants to watch, then go ahead and gather around the 'game' in front of the TV if need be. But don't allow any News shows or channel flipping to take away the fun of the game.
4. If someone in the family breaks the rule about conversation and starts into a diatribe of their opinions and beliefs about an issue, as the host, politely remind them about the rules and do not engage them in a discussion about their point. Remember that no minds or opinions will change in one night anyway, so keep the evening and dinner on a strict track of fun.
5. Have music playing in the background in as many rooms as possible. Best of all, if you know the favorite songs of the people attending, plan ahead and have a CD compilation of everyone's favorite song! When the song for that special someone in the house begins to play, turn it up, walk over to them, kiss them on the cheek, and let them know, 'We did this for you.'
6. If you're hosting a large gathering and certain people are best not sitting beside each other, use name/place tags on each plate to direct people where to sit. 
7. Toast the Senior members of the family. Often, seniors feel excluded, unwanted, and unappreciated, and no matter how ornery they are or aren't, give them a few minutes of special thanks. You'll make their day.
8. Go out of your way to be friendly and especially to be kind. Set the tone. Set the pace, and you may be surprised how everyone follows.
9. Find reasons to smile and laugh. Laughter and smiles are much more infectious than anger and fear.
10. Lastly, remember a famous quote, 'When given a choice to be right or kind, always choose Kind.'

 Have a joyous Thanksgiving <3

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