The Times They Are A Changing

You’ve finished your grocery shopping and now your ready to get your plan in action for your traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Whether it’s your first big holiday dinner or you haven’t done it in quite a while, you may have questions after you’re in the middle of preparation. Who do you call?

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
(888) 674-6854
Yes, They’re open Thanksgiving day to answer any question you have about cooking the 25 pound turkey. But call between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time to contact an expert.

Reynolds Turkey Tip Line
(800) 745-4000
They are open until December 31 - 24 hours a day.

Butterball Turkey Talk Line
800-Butterball or (800) 288-8373
Open through December 28 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm weekdays and until 6:00 pm weekends - CST) Thanksgiving day they are open 6:00 am to 6:00 pm Central Standard Time.

Honeysuckle White
(800) 810-6325
Recorded message to the most asked question about cooking your Thanksgiving turkey.

Foster Farms
(800) 255-7227
Experts on the line to answer your questions 24 hours a day - Nov. 19 to Dec. 1. Their hours for the remainder of the year are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Thanksgiving Recipes for Dummies

How to Cook a “quick and easy” Turkey

A Trouble Free Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day!

I suppose, I’ve known somewhere in the back of my head that certain potatoes work best for certain dishes and others work best for other dishes, but I never categorized clearly.

Russet Potatoes
The brown-skinned potatoes that we normally purchase in a 5 or 10 pound bag at the grocery store are grown year round and therefore they are easy accessible. When cooked they come out light and fluffy making them the best potato for baking or mashing. They also work well boiled and used in a potato salad recipe.

Red Potatoes
These potatoes are sometimes called “New Potatoes” as they are harvested before they are mature. They are firm, smooth and moist making them a good choice for potato salad, roasting, steaming or boiling. They are great boiled with just a dab of butter. They also make great breakfast potatoes if you have some left over from dinner the night before. Just toss them in a heated pan with a bit of olive oil and sauté.

Yellow Potatoes
The yellow flesh makes them seem as though butter has already been added and, in fact, they taste a bit buttery. They are now available most of the year and are a dense and creamy potato. Yellow Potatoes taste good roasted, boiled, baked and steamed.

Round White Potatoes
These potatoes have a creamy texture, but hold their shape. White potatoes are a good all-around potato that can be used in almost any dish.

Fingerling Potatoes
Fingerlings come in a lot of different colors, but basically they are mostly yellow under the skin. Their great for steaming, baking, boiling and salads.

Christmas Potato Recipe

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs. red potatoes
8 oz. sour cream
¼ cup melted butter
½ can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
½ teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray oil inside of a 9X13 inch baking dish.

Cut red potatoes into desired size (bite size is good). Place them in a large pot of water and boil until nearly tender.

Place drained potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add sour cream, butter, mushroom soup, shredded cheese, salt and pepper and stir until combined.

Pour potato mixture into the greased baking dish.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and remaining butter and stir. Sprinkle this mixture over the potatoes.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Note: This recipe can doubled for larger crowds.

I’ve never been able to make great pie crust like my grandmother. Finally I just gave up and started purchasing pumpkin pie at the bakery section of the grocery store or I made it with graham cracker crust. One year I tried something a little different and it’s been a holiday tradition recipe since then - and it’s easy. If, for some reason, I don’t make these Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, I will make them for Christmas Eve along with my easy chicken enchilada recipe with Spanish rice and black beans/corn side dishes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

1 (16 oz) Yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 (6 oz) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil spray the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 beaten egg, 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon until you have a crumb-like mixture. Press the mixture in the bottom of the 9X13 inch baking pan as a crust.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sour cream, two eggs, canned pumpkin, Eagle Brand, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon Using a hand mixer, mix until creamy.

Pour the pumpkin mixture over the cake mix crust. Sprinkle, over the top, with the chopped pecans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the center is set (should not be wet and wobbly, but solid cheesecake-like). Remove from oven until cooled then place in the refrigerator until chilled. Cut into the pumpkin cheesecake bars and serve with a garnish of a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

If you have a specialty baking recipe that everyone always loves, then half your battle for this gift ideas is done. If not, I’ll give you some great “easy” recipes to use that the recipient of this gift will think you slaved over. Fewer and fewer people have time to bake cookies and candies for the holidays, yet it doesn’t seem like the holiday season with out them. And besides, everyone likes food. You can’t go wrong with this handmade gift idea.

Baked Goods Gift Containers

If you are not particularly crafty you can purchase holiday tins and containers for very reasonable prices at discount stores. Another easy container is a basket lined with raffia or colored tissue paper. If you want to spend a bit more, purchase a cookie jar and fill it with homemade goodies. There are also clear, gold and silver bags made for just this purpose. Simply fill with goodies and tie the bag with a festive ribbon.

Baked Goods Gift Containers for Even the Slightly Crafty

A large canning (or other glass) jar is perfect to see the layers of goodies. You could spray paint the lid white or red and then tie a patterned ribbon around it with a homemade gift tag attached. Patterned ribbon can be found at discount or craft stores.

If you’d like to go a step further, purchase some festive cotton fabric and cut circles twice as large as the top of the jar. Cut the edges of the circle with a pinking shears or other decorative edging scissors. If you are working with a canning jar, place the circle of fabric over the lid and then attach the screw top. If working with a regular jar, just place the circle down and then screw on the lid. Tie a solid ribbon around the lid with your homemade tag attached.

Another option is to purchase a plain hard card/paper box at the craft store. They come in different sizes and shapes. Purchase some scrapbook paper and glue it to the outside and inside of the box. Now it can be embellished with beads, ribbon, stickers, paper shapes, etc. Tweens and teens would love to help with this part of the gift as well as the baking. Line the box with colored tissue paper before adding the baked goods. The box can be used later by the recipient for decorative storage.

Baking

When you bake, make sure to make plenty so that you can put some away for your own family to enjoy.

Gingerbread Cookies
Sugar Cookies

Both of these are fun to make and can be mixed with a recipe of easy fudge. Purchase some fun shaped cookie cutters. Just make sure you use a good recipe of royal icing for decorating them and it will harden so you won’t have mushed frosting as you pack them.

Monster Cookies (you can add peanuts to this recipe) are loved by all and they are huge so they really make a statement. However, you can make any cookie recipe into “large” cookies for the effect. Just make sure you cook them a few extra minutes to make up for the size.

No Bake Cookies are nice for the younger helpers to make. The easiest and best fudge is right on the back of the marshmallow cream jars in the baking isle of the grocery store. It’s easy to make and comes out perfectly every time.

Happy baking.

Resources

More Holiday Cookie Recipes