Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes with Giblet Gravy, Dressing, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, Baked Cranberry Sauce

Roast Turkey

1 turkey

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, cut into chunks

1 rib of celery, cut into chunks

1 apple, quartered

Oil as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

Defrost turkey in the refrigerator. It usually takes 5 hours per pound to thaw fully. Remove  giblets, neck, and other parts from inside of turkey. Place parts in a bowl and put into the refrigerator for using to make gravy. Wash turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place onion, carrot, celery, and apple in the turkey’s cavity. Place in a roasting pan, breast side up. Drizzle with oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Place roasting pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven down to 250 degrees and cook for an additional 20 minutes per pound. When turkey is done it should be between 170-180 degrees in the thigh area when measured with a meat thermometer. No basting is necessary. 

Mashed Potatoes

12 potatoes

8 Tbsp. butter

Milk

Adobo seasoning to taste

Peel potatoes and quarter. Boil in enough water to cover potatoes until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients except milk and mash with a potato masher or large fork. Add enough milk to make potatoes creamy.

Giblet Gravy

Parts that came out of the turkey, neck, giblets, etc

1 stalk celery with leaves

1 small onion, minced very, very small

Drippings from the turkey pan

¼ C flour (more or less)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse the turkey parts and place in a medium saucepan with the celery and onion, cover with water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until everything is tender. Remove all the turkey parts except the neck and finely chop. Discard the neck. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables, reserve the broth. Pour pan drippings in a large measuring cup, skim off fat and save. Pour ¼ C of the fat into the saucepan, discarding remaining fat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add 1 ½ C. reserved broth to the saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Stir in chopped turkey meat. Serve.

Dressing

20 slices bread (about a pound), cubed

1/2 C butter

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2-2 ½ C chicken broth

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp sage

Place cubed bread into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the celery, onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture over top of the bread in the casserole dish.  Stir to combine.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy.  

Cheese Sauce

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. After milk is blended, cook several minutes until slightly thickened. Add cheese to taste and melt. Serve on top of steamed broccoli.

Baked Cranberry Sauce

1 lb. cranberries

1 C coconut

1 C orange marmalade

1 C sugar

½ C water

Nonstick cooking spray

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour mixture into casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cranberries are tender. Chill until ready to serve.

For more wonderful holiday recipes visit Tuesdays at the Table

Crockpot Potato Soup

Crockpot Potato Soup

8 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 med. onion, diced fine

1 Tbsp. dry parsley flakes

1 (15 oz.) can chicken broth

2 C. water

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk

2 C. cheddar cheese, shredded

Chopped green onions, crumbled cooked bacon and or shredded cheddar cheese for garnish if desired

Add everything to the crockpot except evaporated milk and cheese, cook on low about 8 hours or until done. Add evaporated milk and cheese about 30 minutes before soup is done. If a creamier soup is desired take a potato masher and mash some of the potatoes in the soup, this can be done directly in the crockpot. Garnish as desired.

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef
3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 can-28 oz. crushed tomatoes

1 can-14 oz diced tomatoes
2 cans-8 oz each tomato sauce
2 cans- 6 oz each tomato paste

2 cans-4 oz each sliced mushrooms, drained

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. Italian seasoning or 1 tsp. oregano

1 Bay leaf                                   

½ cup sugar

1 cup red wine

Brown ground beef with onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt and pepper in a skillet. Place in a crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low all day in crock pot approximately 6 hours. Serve over hot cooked pasta

Mexican Beef and Rice Bake

Mexican Beef and Rice Bake

5-6 C cooked rice

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion

1 (10 oz) can tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

½ C water

Adobo to taste

Nonstick cooking spray

1 C cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet until beef is cooked though and onion is tender. Stir in rice, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and adobo. Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour in skillet contents. Top with cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice

1 pound dry kidney beans or small red beans

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

4 stalks of celery chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

Creole seasoning

Hot Cooked Rice 

Soak the kidney beans overnight in water, boil beans for about an hour or until tender.  Let the beans simmer at least an hour by themselves. After the beans have softened up and are getting close to being done add the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer the beans, sausage and vegetables for about a half an hour longer, or until the beans are all the way tender. Serve over rice.

Crockpot Roast Chicken and Chicken and Potato Chowder

 On the night I had planned to serve Roast Chicken, Baked Potatoes, and a vegetable from the freezer a pipe broke in our street leaving us without water. I packaged up the chicken and baked potatoes and put it away. I already had planned leftovers for the next night to be made from any leftover chicken and potatoes.

Crockpot Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
Seasoning salt to taste

3 Tbsp. margarine

Wash chicken and pat dry. Place in crockpot and season. Place pats of margarine on top of chicken. Cover and slow cook 8 to 10 hours or until cooked through. This chicken may fall apart when you remove it because cooking it this way makes it very tender.

Chicken Potato Chowder

2 C chicken, cooked and chopped

6 potatoes, baked and cubed

5 C water

1 carrot, sliced

1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup

salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to the crockpot, stir well. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until done.