Cranberry Salad

This is a salad my grandmother has always made for Thanksgiving.







CRANBERRY SALAD

1 Can Cranberrys (don't use jell, even though this one looks like jell)
1 Can Crushed Pineapple, with some of the juice drained
1/2 bag of Marshmellows
1-2 C. Wipped cream with a little powdered sugar and 1 tsp. Vanilla OR 1 small container of Cool Whip
1/2 C. Chopped Pecans - optional (I have to make two salads, one with nuts and one without, 1/2 love nuts, the other 1/2 hate them. I am in the "love" half.)

SO EASY and it's really yummy... Try it!

Thanksgiving Candied Yams

Boil the Yams until soft. They should be full. Pull out of water and place on a cookie sheet to cool. After they are cooled, remove the skins and slice. Place in a 9x13 cake pan and cover with the following mixture:

1/2 C. Butter
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Wonder Flavor (if you don't have wonder flavor you can go without it, but it's AMAZING if you can find it!)

Melt butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan until fully combined. You don't want to boil this mixture, but you want it to be creamy.

Cover the yams and then cover with marshmellows and toast in the oven until marshmellows are golden brown.

How do you like Yams cooked?

Thanksgiving Stuffing

Stuffing should not be cooked in the bird. It doesn't reach the right tempturature at the same time the bird does, so one of two things will happen, the bird will be very dry, or the stuffing won't be fully cooked. So, I always cook the stuffing seperatly.

This is not exact measurments:

STUFFING
Saute in butter the following:
Chopped onions
Chopped Celery
Dash of dried Thyme
Dash of Salt
Dash of Pepper

Cook until veggies start to sweat. Add to dried bread cubes or stuffing mixture. Add dried rubbed sage, chicken stock and cream until desired consistancy, tossing gently. Cook at 350° until golden brown. (About 45 minutes)

Scalloped Potatoes

I adapted this from America's Test Kitchen Recipe. I will include their recipe later as I don't have it with me at the moment... This recipe is done in one pan - my version is anyway.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

Slice several potatoes (I used red potatoes, but Yukon Gold are the best for this recipe)
One onion diced
2 Tbs. butter
1/8-1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken base (or one bullion cube)
Sautee the onion in butter and seasoning until tender
Add 1-2 C. milk (depending on the amount of potatoes you have. I used 1 1/2 C. milk for the sauce pan shown above.)

Taste the mixture, it should be a tad strong, only because the potatoes absorb most of the flavor. Add to potatoes to the liquid. Boil on medium to low heat until potatoes are tender. Place in a 350 oven until brown and bubbly on top.

I added cheese to the dish below. I guess that makes them Au Gratin Potatoes.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

I like to roast my Asparagus in the oven with a little olive oil and kosher sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sometimes I will add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Creamed Peas and Potatoes

I've always called this dish "Creamed Peas and Potatoes", but really, it has peas, potatoes and carrots. Both sides of my parents families had this dish growing up so it's something that was passed down. It's really yummy and I usually prepare this dish in the fall when potatoes and carrots are at their prime. But in the spring when peas are fresh it's also a fun treat.

Really it's a comfort food.

When I was a young girl I would spend hours in the garden picking and eating fresh peas. Something I still love. I've always loved peas, fresh sweet ones. Not canned peas, those are nasty!

To make this simple dish you need to start with a rue. To make a rue you melt butter and mix it with an equal amount of flour.

Brown the flour a little until it looses the raw taste.

Add salt, pepper, a pinch of white pepper, and a little bit of Chicken base. If using bouillon cubes, use only one. If using a concentrate, such as the Swanson Chicken Base concentrate packets, use about a teaspoon.

Wisk in milk and cream.

Wisk until sauce begins to thicken. It should cover the back of a metal spoon. Adding more milk if necessary.

Mix white sauce with boiled red potatoes, boiled carrot slices and rinsed frozen baby peas. Mix until peas are warm. Don't over cook the peas, they go hard and or mushy.

Serve

CREAMED PEAS AND POTATOES

4 Tbs. Butter - melted
4 Tbs. Flour - mixed with butter in sauce pan
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
pinch of white pepper
1/2 tsp. Chicken base/flavoring
1 C. Milk
1/2 C. Cream

Mix with boiled red potatoes (I used about 6 very small red potatoes - quartered), carrots (I used 3 carrots, sliced) and frozen sweet peas (about 1 cup frozen peas - rinsed).

Yeild: This amount serves 4-5