Tag Archives | Thanksgiving recipe

Not-So-Sweet Potato Casserole: Day 11 Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving

By on November 22, 2011 in Survival Guide for Busy Moms

Thanksgiving Recipes

It’s Day 11 of Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving and it’s time to make our Not-So-Sweet Potato Casserole.  It’s also time to set our Mushroom White-Wine Shallot Sauce in the refrigerator to thaw.

Toni’s Not-So-Sweet Potato Casserole

This simple recipe can be made today and stored in the refrigerator in a casserole dish to bake and serve on Thanksgiving Day.

Ingredients:

  1. Sweet potatoes- 2 1lb cans
  2. Butter- ½ cup (1 stick) plus a few tbspns more to pour on top
  3. Marshmallows- 1 bag
  4. Brown sugar- ¼ cup
  5. Dried sage and thyme- 1 tspn each

 Directions:

  1. Melt butter in microwave
  2. Combine sweet potatoes, melted butter, ½ of marshmallows, sugar and herbs
  3. Beat until smooth
  4. Transfer to casserole dish and pour remaining marshmallows and drizzle melted butter on top

This recipe can be made in advance and stored before bringing out on Thanksgiving Day to bake.  I make mine about two days in advance.

  1. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes

sweetpotatoe2 650x433 Not So Sweet Potato Casserole

 

Toni’s 12-day guide breaks up the overwhelming job of preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner into small daily tasks, allowing busy moms to spend the holiday enjoying family and friends instead of slaving away at the stove.  With daily tips, recipes and videos, Toni will help make this holiday less stressful.  Sign up now for Toni’s weekly newsletters to receive “Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving”.  Sign up here.

Toni12Days250 Tonis 12 Days of Thanksgiving

Black Friday

Don’t forget about our Black Friday special for The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System.  The biggest discount-ever- for this monthly subscription that brings you the most recent meal plans straight to your inbox each week is 70% off for one day only!

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Let’s Talk Turkey: Day 10 Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving

By on November 21, 2011 in Survival Guide for Busy Moms

Thanksgiving Turkey

It’s Day 10 of Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving, and it’s time to thaw your frozen turkey.  According to the USDA, the safest method of defrosting a turkey is in the refrigerator to keep any bacteria that was present before being flash-frozen is kept at a safe temperature.  Thawing in cold water is also safe, but requires more attention and care.

Thawing A Frozen Turkey In The Refrigerator

For thawing in the refrigerator, you want to allow 24 hours of thawing time for every 4-5 pounds of turkey.  That means that a 15 pound turkey will need four days of thawing in the refrigerator, and a completely thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.

Thawing A Frozen Turkey In Cold Water

For thawing in cold water, you want to allow 30 minutes per pound of turkey.  So a 15 pound turkey can thaw in a day.  However, the water must be changed every 30 minutes until the turkey is thawed and must be cooked immediately after thawing.  The turkey must also be kept in the leak-proof plastic bag to prevent absorbing any of the water and to prevent cross-contamination.

 

To learn more about thawing frozen turkeys and other ways to prevent food contamination, check out the USDA Fact Sheets.

 

Onions and Celery… and Cranberries!

It’s choppy-chop time.  Chopping onions and celery for stuffing can be time consuming and messy.  So, getting this task done and out of the way a few days in advance will same some time and headache on Thanksgiving Day.

Since we’re including cranberries in our stuffing this year, we can go ahead and chop those up as well.

I use a food processor to chop onions and celery, but chop my cranberries by hand.  I combine them all together in a airtight food storage container or zip-top baggie.

 

 

Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving

If you’re not already signed up for my Thanksgiving planning guide “Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving”, sign up now to receive daily tips, videos and recipes:

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Black Friday

Don’t forget about our Black Friday special for The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System.  The biggest discount-ever- for this monthly subscription that brings you the most recent meal plans straight to your inbox each week is 70% off for one day only!

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Homemade Cranberry Sauce- Day 6: Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving

By on November 17, 2011 in Survival Guide for Busy Moms

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Homemade cranberry sauce is probably the easiest recipe to make on your Thanksgiving menu, so don’t be tempted to purchase the canned version!  It’s Day 6 of Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving and the perfect time to make Toni’s Perfect Cranberry Sauce- watch the video below for a cooking demonstration of this simple recipe.

Homemade cranberry sauce can be made and stored well in advance without having to freeze because you’re essentially making a sugared jelly out of the fresh cranberries.  This recipe for cranberry sauce has never let me down which is why I call it “perfect”.

Cranberry sauce recipe

Toni’s Perfect Cranberry Sauce

 

Toni’s Perfect Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

This sauce recipe will serve between 6-8 people, so double or triple the recipe if you’re cooking for more people.

  1.  3 cups cranberries (1 12oz. bag)
  2.  1 cup orange juice
  3.  1 cup agave nectar or 1 cup sugar
  4.  Cinnamon sticks- 2

 Directions:

  1.  Combine all ingredients in saucepan; cook over medium heat stirring constantly
  2.  Be amazed at how beautiful the cranberries look when they soften and begin to pop
  3.  Once cranberries are completely softened and have popped (about 10-12 minutes), remove from heat, cool
  4. Remove cinnamon sticks before serving or stick them up in the sauce for decoration


 

cranberrysauce 650x433 Tonis Perfect Cranberry Sauce

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Black Friday

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Make-Ahead Mushroom Shallot Sauce: Day 5 Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving

By on November 16, 2011 in Survival Guide for Busy Moms

Making Delicious Memories This Thanksgiving

It’s Day 5 of Toni’s 12 Days of Thanksgiving and the perfect time to make a mushroom sauce to pour over steamed green beans on Thanksgiving Day.  This Thanksgiving green bean recipe can be made well in advance and stored in the freezer.

Thanksgiving green bean recipe

Mushroom White-Wine Shallot Sauce Recipe (wine is optional)

 Ingredients for Mushroom White Wine Sauce: (double this recipe for a large group)

  • Butter-1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 tbspns)
  • Sliced mushrooms- 1 bag
  • Shallots- 2, peeled and minced
  • Flour- 3 tbspns
  • White wine, like cooking wine or a Chardonnay like Mirassou Chardonnay
  • Chicken broth- 1 cup
  • Heavy cream- 1 cup

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat
  2. Add shallots and mushrooms; saute until tender, approximately 3 minutes
  3. Add flour and saute for 1 more minute
  4. Add wine and stir until flour is dissolved (or skip if not using wine)
  5. Add broth and cream; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes

Store in airtight container until Thanksgiving Day to pour over steamed fresh green beans.

Thanksgiving Day

For fresh steamed green beans, they’re making it really easy for us these days.  I use fresh ready-to-steam green beans that are found in the produce section that are washed and ready to steam in the bag in the microwave.  Also, Bird’s Eye Steamfresh frozen green beans are easy to pull out of the freezer and cook in the microwave.

Or you can buy fresh green beans in bulk from the produce section to wash and trim yourself.

Warm the Mushroom White-Wine Shallot Sauce in the microwave or a slow-cooker to keep warm for serving.

Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole: Classic or Contemporary?

Many people prefer the classic Green Bean Casserole.  Here is a post I wrote last year about classic versus contemporary green bean recipes for Thanksgiving.

greenbean1 650x433 Steamed Green Beans with Mushroom White Wine Shallot Sauce (wine optional)Classic Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving
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