Thanksgiving Planning

Thanksgiving Planning

Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays because it really is all about the food, but sometimes that food can be pretty expensive depending on the number of people, what is being served, and when the food items are bought. Planning for the big dinner few weeks in advance is a good way to reduce stress, better plan the menu, and helps the cook not to over do it on the menu. Here are several tips to help the Thanksgiving cook save money and stress during Thanksgiving.

Items to Buy Before or During Thanksgiving:

• Pick up canned goods several weeks in advance-canned goods last for years at a time and there are often sales at grocers, go ahead and grab the canned goods while grocery shopping a few weeks before the week of Thanksgiving according to the dishes for which they are needed.
• Wait to buy canned cranberry sauce until the end of October, beginning of November-if buying canned goods early, Cranberry Sauce is one to wait on because the sales on the delicious fruit do not start until the holiday season, before sales it is one of the more expensive canned items, so it pays to wait.
• Get boxed items, including sugar and flour, throughout grocery shopping trips. If using boxed stuffing, go ahead and buy it and store it, it can be bought months in advance, much like canned goods, and saved for the holidays.
• Get Onion Straws for Green Bean Casseroles or any other casserole during the holidays, like cranberry sauce, it seems like the best sells for this item is during the season, so go ahead and stock up for next season as well-that at least eliminates one year of buying the yummy crisp onions the next time.
• Turkey and canned pumpkin, buy it during the season, lowest prices seem to occur at this time.
• Use paper plates, paper cups, paper napkins, and disposable silverware, especially for large gatherings. These items are very decorative now and can be found for as low as $1 for 12 paper plates, will reduce the amount of dishes to wash, and Michaels has a huge sale on a large variety of these, including unbreakable Thanksgiving wine glasses (probably want to safe those for years to come).
• Decorations, buy at the end of October, beginning of November, including tablecloths or placemats. All the fall items have giant sales on them at this point and it is a great opportunity to pick up decorative items, serving platters, and towels for dishes and for the bathroom. In fact, Kohl's and Target are just among the few with prices on Halloween and Thanksgiving items marked anywhere from 40%-80% below the original sales price, and some places are even offering an extra 10% or 20% off the already marked down sales price.

Planning the Menu:

Plan the menu at least two weeks in advance, try not to make a lot of changes when it comes to the main course and side dishes, but try to keep deserts to a maximum of three. If guests are bringing food, contact everyone 2 weeks and then again at 1 week before Thanksgiving to be sure everyone knows what to bring and what is on the menu. If cooking for a small group (4-6 people) keep the sides at maximum three (not including rolls, cranberry sauce, and gravy), and if cooking for a larger crowd, keep the sides to a maximum of five or six, but make a cut in the desert area if doing six sides. Also, do not be afraid or embarrassed to use store bought rolls (also on sale during the holidays), frozen pies (Edwards is mouth watering good) and gravy in a jar. There is no shame in saving time and money and washing of extra pans and mixing bowls.

• Determine number of guests
• Look at Serving sizes on planned recipes in order to know how much of it to make.
• Two items to cook more of than needed, Turkey and Stuffing-both go really fast at the Thanksgiving table, and during the weekend
• If feeding 4 people, a 12 pound Turkey should be fine, for 8-10, a 15-18 pound turkey, if feeding more than 10 people, instead of one large bird, grab 2 or 3 fifteen to eighteen ponders, or to make it easier, get turkey breasts which can be cooked side by side two at a time and for a shorter time period.
• If serving drinks, keep specialty drinks to two choices, make one a Sangria (very easy to make), or let guests BYOB, and be sure to have something for the non-drinkers.

Cooking the Thanksgiving Meal

• Prepare any items that need to be chilled the day before, including the cranberry sauce and also go ahead and make the deserts, the oven needs to be good to go when it comes to the turkey and side items on the big day.
• Get the turkey in asap on Thanksgiving morning, if using turkey breasts-the cook time is less-so enjoy some coffee, talk shows, some of the parade, and then start cooking (gotta love Thanksgiving made easier while still tasting good).
• While the bird cooks, make side items on the stove, go ahead and prepare the casseroles and dressing for the oven as well.
• Cook other items in the oven once the turkey is done, while turkey cools a bit.
• Heat rolls last, set timer to avoid burning.

No matter if one uses plastic and paper ware or the best China, cooking everything from scratch or the box, or using a pre-cooked bird or frozen, it is good to plan before hand and double check the day before to be sure no one is trying to find an open store or wondering through Walgreens hoping to find an item on Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Maple Pumpkin Monkey Bread

Pumpkin Maple Monkey Bread

Finished Monkey Bread

A sweet treat for dessert, brunch, breakfast, or a gathering, this monkey bread is perfect for the season of fall and there is a sweet way and a savory way to make this treat. The first involves pumpkin spice cream cheese and the second involves maple sausage. Both of these recipes were inspired by Sandra Lee's Fall 2015 magazine, and the first follows the same steps, with a few ingredient changes.

Pumpkin Maple Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 cans 7.5oz biscuit dough
• 8 oz. container pumpkin spice cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
• 3/4 stick butter
• 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider
• 1/2 cup chopped Walnuts (optional)
• Cooking Spray

Directions:



pumpkin cream cheese mixture

Pumpkin Mix goes into center of biscuit dough

Folded Dough

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Spray a Tube Pan (Bundt Cake Pan) or an 8X8 baking dish lightly with Cooking Spray.
3. If using Walnuts, sprinkle along the bottom of the pan or baking dish.
4. Mix the pumpkin spice cream cheese and 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup together in a small bowl.
5. Place a Teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each biscuit and stretch the dough around it, pinching the ends to seal.
6. Put the Balls of dough into the tube pan  around the bottom and on top of each other (if using a baking dish only use 2 tubes of biscuit dough).
7. Heat and stir the rest of the syrup, the butter, the Apple Cider, Cinnamon, and Sugar over Medium low heat until melted and mixed together. Stir often.
8. Pour the mixture over the dough balls and bake for 25-35 minutes.
9. Let cool for five minutes, then flip the pan onto a serving platter or plate and enjoy.

Maple Sausage Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 cans 7.5oz of Biscuit Dough
• 1 lb. Sausage
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 stick Butter
• 1 lb. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Follow directions 1 and 2 of the Pumpkin Maple Monkey Bread Recipe.
2. Cook sausage in a pan over medium heat, smashing it as it cooks, until brown. Drain and return to heat and turn the heat to low.
3. Add 1/4 cup of the maple syrup to the sausage, stir together, let it heat through for a minute, turn off heat and stir again.
4. Place a little over a teaspoon of the sausage in the center of the biscuits along with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese (don't worry if the cheese sticks out, it will be good). Wrap the edges around the sausage and cheese, pinch together to seal, and place into a tube pan.
5. Heat the Butter, Brown Sugar, and the rest of the Maple syrup in a small pan over medium low heat, stir and heat until everything is melted and combined.
6. Pour the syrup and sugar mix over the biscuit dough and bake 25-30 minutes.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes, turn over onto a serving plate and enjoy.

Both these recipes would be a great addition to a Thanksgiving meal or a Christmas Brunch, but most of all, they are delicious comfort food great for the season.

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Graham Cracker Crust

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Cream Cheese and Graham Cracker Crust

pumpkin pie bar with whipped cream

Pumpkin is the ingredient of the Fall and Holiday season. It seems to go into everything from coffee to lasagna, and the public loves every delicious sweet and savory sip or bite. One  of the most enjoyed desserts of the holidays happens to be pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving and Christmas just aren't the same without pumpkin pie, but sometimes it is nice to switch things up a bit and this pumpkin pie bar is the perfect substitute for the normal pie and for those who are not all that fond of the pie (yes, there are people who eat pumpkin but not in pie form), and the recipe includes ingredients already in the house and can be made for less than $10, even $5 (depending on where one shops and how many of the items are already at home).






Ingredients:

Crust:

Walnut Graham Cracker Crust

• 2 1/2 cups Graham crackers (broken up)
• 1/2 cup Walnuts
• 1/4-1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:

• 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin purée
• 12 oz. whipped cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Crust:

Cream Cheese and Sugar Mixture

1. Place broken graham crackers into a food processor (a small, 3 cup, one works fine), pulse on high till finely chopped.
2. Add the walnuts, pulse on high till everything is finely chopped.
3. Pour the crust mix into a medium bowl, add the melted butter, and stir together until the crust mixture is moist.
4. Spray a 9x9 baking dish with baking spray and press the crust into the bottom of the pan.

The pumpkin mixture poured on top, going into the oven

Filling:

baked pumpkin pie bars

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place the whipped cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for 30 seconds to a minute, just until warm enough to easily stir.
3. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar to the cream cheese, stir until well combined.
4. Pour half of the cream cheese and sugar mix onto the crust and spread it out.
5. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stir very well, and pour onto the cream cheese. Spread the top to even it out along the edges.
6. Bake for 1-1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle or until set.
7. Let cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

The taste of this pumpkin pie bar is sweet and savory, thanks to the cream cheese and spices, and one will even taste a little hit of honey which really makes the pumpkin flavor pop! So, heat up some cider, tea, or coffee, and enjoy the taste of a favorite dessert made new. Happy Holidays!!!

Halloween Snacks for Kids

Halloween Snacks for Kids

Easy to make, kid friendly, snacks for the Halloween season. These are great for kids to help create. These treats are made out of apples, celery sticks, peanut butter (cheese can be substituted), pumpkin granola bars, and some semi-sweet morsels, and will have kids coming back for seconds throughout the Halloween season.

Creepy Crawlers

Using Celery Sticks and Peanut Butter and Pretzels, let the kids have some fun creating centipedes, bats, spiders, and maybe a made up creepy crawler. Raisins can be used as eyes, if desired.

Pumpkin Face Apples

Adults:

• Cut an apple into fours (cut each side off of the apple)
• Using a paring knife, cut out a pumpkin face on the flesh side, gently, without piercing all the way to the skin
• Let the kids place semi-sweet morsels into the mouth and eyes (can also use raisins)

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Granola

Ingredients=1 serving:

• 1 Sun-Belt pumpkin Granola Bar
• 2-3 Tablespoons semi-sweet or butterscotch morsel
• 2 Tablespoons peanuts

Directions:

Let the children break up their granola bars into a bowl, mix in the remaining ingredients, and serve along side some cold or hot cider for an after school snack.

There are so many fun creative things to do with food during this time of year, and it is always fun to hand a child some food items just to see what they will come up with and it may even shock parents to see what their kids will eat when it is their creation. Happy Fall!!!

Apple Cider Quick Bread

Easy Apple Cider Quick Bread

Apple Cider and Pumpkin are not only for fall, these culinary pleasures are used for the entire holiday season in breads, cakes, drinks, and even main courses. One of the most popular uses for each is, quick bread and this Apple Cider Quick Bread uses ingredients easily found in the cabinets and will have everyone asking for more.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Butter, softened/at room temperature
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Apple Cider
• 2 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar (for sprinkling)
• 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2-3 Large Green Apples, washed, peeled, and cut into thin slices
• Baking Spray or Butter Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Cream the butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl, add the eggs, mix well, set aside.
3. Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (if there is no sifter, use a fork to mix the ingredients).
4. Add half the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, stir, and add half of the cider. Stir Again.
5. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and the cider and mix together.
6. Spray a bread pan lightly with butter spray and line 1/2 of the apple slices along the bottom, sprinkle with half of the brown sugar.
7. Pour the batter over the apple slices and smooth the top.
8. Place remaining slices on the top of the batter and sprinkle with sugar.
9. Cook for 60 to 75 minutes, until set. Spread some melted butter, thinly, over the top after 45 minutes of cooking and right after it is finished.