Hello Phil and friends,

Here it is, the day before and so much preparation to be done. Yet, I had to check by with some friends before getting too involved. We will only have the 3 of us but others might stop by during the day. We always cook a large meal for Thanksgiving. By the way, Carla, I will send you a copy of Mama's Sweet Potato Casserole which I have to make for our meal tomorrow. I might have posted it last year in Papa's Kitchen, Phil, I am not sure.

May we all just be thankful if we have food to put on the table and enjoy with family and friends.

Sara

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'" ~William A. Ward

Hi Carla & Sara,

It always makes the Holiday Special when Wonderful Friends such as you two drop by to visit. Here's another Thanksgiving menu that I've used from time to time. Hope you all might like to try some of these, if not at Thanksgivng, well, can Christmas really be far behind?

It's That Time, Again

The days are getting shorter now.
I feel a snow flake on my brow.

The leaves are crackling as I run,
The squirrels' searching almost done.

The turkey's restless in the pen,
Oh! No! I see my breath again!

It makes a person take a pause
And think about old Santa Claus!!!

Start with a simple, perfect roast turkey just like grandma used to make. Seasoned with salt and pepper, and basted with turkey stock, the flavors of the turkey really stand out. Stuff with your favorite dressing.

Perfect Roast Turkey

Ingredients

• 1 (18 pound) whole turkey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock
• 8 cups prepared stuffing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
2. Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
3. Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), about 4 hours.
4. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

Then, move on with a tantalizingly tasty Green Been Casserole. Here's a delicious and easy to make variation of the bland holiday favorite.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen whole green beans, thawed
• 4 slices bacon
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup canned French fried onions

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Fry bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside. Drain most of the bacon grease from the pan, and place over medium heat. Add the onions and bell pepper; cook and stir until tender. Stir in the wine, scraping all of the bits of bacon from the bottom of the pan.
3. Mix in the butter, milk, soup, and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the green beans and bacon until evenly coated. Fold in cheese, then transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with French fried onions.
4. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through, and sauce is bubbly.

Then, a delicious variation on the usual Mashed Potatoes. These Creamy Potatoes get even better when they're cooked in Swanson® Chicken Broth, then mashed until smooth with just the right amount of light cream, sour cream, chives, butter, bacon and black pepper.

Ultimate Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth
• 5 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve some for garnish)
• Generous dash ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the broth and potatoes in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving the broth.
3. Mash the potatoes with 1/4 cup broth, light cream, sour cream, chives, butter, bacon and black pepper. Add the additional broth, if needed, until desired consistency. Garnish with the remaining bacon.

Finally, finish up your Thanksgiving Feast with that old Favorite, Sweet Potato Pie. This is my family's favorite around the holidays. The rum and butter give the pie a rich flavor.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
• 3/8 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Into food processor, put sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum, eggs and butter or margarine. Blend until smooth. Pour into pie shell.
3. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Bake for about 50 minutes more, or until the filling is firm.

Wishing You All A Blessed Family Thanksgiving,

Phil

Hello Phil, just dropping back by after a really tiresome day. Just remaining thankful even after all our problems today. We discovered a water leak in the basement, Gus was on the way home and had a flat tire, we had to go into town and get a part to fix the water line. Everything worked out fine, all is at rest and I have managed to get most of the things doned I planned to do. Even cooked the ham and made 2 banana cream pies. Tomorrow I will cook the turkey, make dressing (Southern, of course), sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole and giblet gravy. We will have cranberry sauce and green hot peppers. Thanks be to God who makes all of this possible. Through all our trials today, I just kept telling everyone, just be thankful, it could have been so much worse. We are safe and warm, we have food and WATER and God is great!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU!!

Sara

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

• 5 large sweet potatoes (4-5 lbs.)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 10.5 oz. package miniature marshmallows

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 1-1/2 to 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Wash and prick potatoes with a fork several times. Place on a baking sheet and bake 1 hour. Alternatively, place on a paper towel in the microwave, and heat on high 6-12 minutes until soft.

Let potatoes cool. Peel and place sweet potato pulp in a food processor.*

Add remaining ingredients except marshmallows. Puree until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread marshmallows over top of casserole. Bake another 5-10 minutes on the top rack, until the marshmallows brown.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 to 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
• zest of one orange

Preparation:

Place orange juice and sugar in a medium or large saucepan. If you know you like foods sweet, use the whole cup of sugar. If you prefer a tart cranberry sauce, start with 1/2 cup of sugar. You can always add more sugar to the cranberry sauce later. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add cranberries, stir, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst and sauce thickens. Taste, and add more sugar if necessary. Stir in orange zest.

Cool and serve. This cranberry sauce can be prepared up to a week in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.