The Daily Dish Recipes

All day yesterday at the wedding we attended, we spent a great deal of time comparing American cuisine with Filipino cuisine. It was actually really interesting. My brother is American and his new wife is Filipino, so we have been exposed to many new foods and cultural differences already, and it has been seriously interesting. Some Filipino food I like, and some I don’t, just as they feel about our American Cuisine. The one thing that was discussed the most (oddly - but I think because of the holidays) was Pumpkin. We do our pumpkin recipes and dishes much differently than they do anything with Pumpkin. I didn’t actually know that, but it makes sense.
Of course, I love Pumpkin - period. So we got to talking about all the different recipes and things you can make with it. While I certainly don’t have a huge collection of pumpkin recipes, I do have a few I have posted on here already. So in honor of their beautiful wedding yesterday, the fact that I now have a sister in law that I think rocks and the fact that two cultures came together yesterday and it was amazing, beautiful and awesome - I am re-posting my favorite pumpkin recipes. (oh and watch out - because now that December is about to hit - Gingerbread is a MAJOR favorite (even more so than pumpkin).

So here ya go - Pumpkin Recipes You Have To Try:

Pumpkin Empanada Recipe

Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

Pumpkin Custard Recipe

and a new favorite this year:

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Enjoy!

We’ve had our Christmas tree up for about a week now. We did it early because we had wedding activities to attend to the two days following Thanksgiving so we knew we wouldn’t have time. Many of my neighbors seemed to follow suit because we counted four houses near us that already had the tree up too. When do you put your tree up?

Today we are actually decorating it. It is a pre-lit tree, so it’s been beautifully lit since day 1 but it is anxiously awaiting its yearly decorations. We also have a whole Christmas village to put up too. How much decorating do you do?

I thought I’d give you some advice if you have little ones or dogs. We have two pup’s - so we put a baby gate all the way around the entire tree. It actually looks pretty good, we thread garland threw the fence to give it a festive touch and I want to get some red bows to tie to the garland. It keeps the dogs out, and if you had little ones it would keep them out too.

I hope all of my dear readers had a great Thanksgiving. We had a fantastic one, and we reminded each other of all of the wonderful things we are thankful for. Plus we got really full.

We had a 20lb turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, fruit salad and rolls.  Then about an hour after that we brought a green bean casserole to my mother where she was having some people over for Thanksgiving and I was able to see my aunt and uncle who I have not see in six years. Very cool.

The seven of us returned home after spending about an hour or so at their place, and ate slices of pumpkin pie and apple pie.

Last night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for my brother’s wedding, which is later today. My daughter is the flower girl and we actually had to drive to the wedding shop yesterday morning because they had not called to let us know it was in. So I figured I’d just show up. They hadn’t called to let us know it was in, because it wasn’t.  We spent an hour and a half to two hours sitting around the bridal shop, while they tried to take their size 6 and turn it into a size 8. If any bridal shop ever offers to do that for you - Run. Run fast.

The seamstress tried to show us along the way what she was doing, and at first it all made sense. We were excited. When she was done pressing the dress at the end she quickly whisked us off to the counter, put the dress in a bag (no my daughter never got to try it on again) and sent us out the door. We had to be at the rehearsal in an hour. When I pulled the dress out at the rehearsal - omg! The dress looks simply dreadful and I am not a picky person at all. You can see the netting underneath and the jagged way she cut it. she removed bows from the front and when she reattached them they are attached in the wrong spot, the satin beneath sheer layer is snagged in several places. And the one thing that made me madder than anything because it was a LIE - is that she resized the chest and arm holes for my daughter. She didn’t touch any of it and I even double checked with her as she was handing me the dress in the bag. She said she did. My daughter put the dress on, and we practiced walking. You can see every single imperfection on the dress, and there is simply no way to hide it now. $140 which might have been better spent elsewhere.

So - what am I doing about it? Sending hubby down there as soon as they open this morning (three hours and counting) and he’s going to demand that they figure out where the original dress is (they claimed that it was “trapped at the UPS hub and that yesterday wasn’t a normal business day”). What do you think the odds are that today isn’t a normal UPS day either? It’s Saturday. So I’m betting they aren’t going to be able to find it.

Just to let everyone know - I did not custom order this dress, we had done no alterations until she cut apart the dress she had in the shop yesterday as I stood on wide eyed and mouth dropped open. Then she says “It’s my dress, don’t worry.” when I said - “You’re cutting that dress up - what if this doesn’t work?”

Yeah. So, I didn’t get much sleep last night.

I do have a back up plan, but I have GOT to get my money back for this dress. Period.  There is a dress we saw at the mall last week, and then again yesterday that would be perfect. We actually bought her the matching sweater to wear over her current dress at the reception since we are expecting snow showers tonight - she’d have totally froze. So I am thinking about just grabbing that dress and being done with this whole nightmare.

I’m seriously considering contacting “You Paid For It” which is our local newstations little segment they do on shops like this, but I want to see if they will try to make it right today. The wedding is at 3:30. We have to be there at 2:45. Anyone want to take any bets on if this is going to go smoothly or not? Just say prayers. Please? (and lots of them)

Just wanted to pop in and say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. As I type, I am waiting for my French Toast Casserole to come out of the oven - a delicious, hot breakfast for the family. As soon as it is done (about 8 more minutes), the turkey goes in the oven and then I need to finish preparing the deviled eggs and the sweet potato casserole. Everything else is already ready to go in the oven.

I’m so glad we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. I really do enjoy cooking for my family and a big meal like this is lots of fun. (they’ve been helping every step).

I do have to make two green bean casseroles today because I promised my mother I’d bring one out to her this evening, as she is hosting a nighttime Thanksgiving at her home. We’re going to take the casserole and say hi for a few minutes (my aunt and uncle will be landing at 5pm this evening and I haven’t seen them since 2003!). Then we’ll just come back here and probably crash - watch a movie or play a game.

Tomorrow have a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for my baby brother’s wedding, and the next day is the wedding. Busy, busy.

So what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?

For whatever strange reason, I am not fond of the recipe for Green Bean Casserole that calls for Soy Sauce. I like Soy Sauce so that’s not it, I don’t know what it is. Anyway, I use this one, which I believe is a French’s recipe.

Traditional Green Bean Casserole Recipe

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1 1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions

Mix mushroom soup, milk, black pepper, green beans and 2/3 cup of fried onions in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Remove and stir. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

This is my favorite sweet potato casserole recipe, ever. We make this any time of year because we just love it so much. My kids say it’s like having dessert at dinner. Of course it will be on our table this year!

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 Stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
large marshmallows
pecan pieces or walnut pieces (optional)

Boil sweet potatoes for about 40 to 50 minutes. Let them cool and peel. Put everything except the marshmallows into a bowl, and using an electric mixer blend thoroughly. Place the whole mixture into a prepared casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add marshmallows.
Return casserole to oven at bake at 400 degrees for about 5-10 minutes or until marshmallows are browning on top. Eat and Enjoy!

Thursday is Thanksgiving and it is time to think about leftovers because depending on what size turkey you make, I’m sure you will have some leftover turkey to work with. So what are the best ways to use leftover turkey? Here are just a few ways, but think outside the box and you’ll come up with some ideas.

After a big Thanksgiving meal, many people end up with quite a bit of extra turkey. Nibbling on leftovers is fine, but here are some additional healthy ways to use that leftover turkey.

Sandwiches - I think every household that winds up with leftover turkey every year knows how amazing it tastes slapped on a sandwich the following day!

Soup - If you enjoy making home-made soup, drop some turkey chunks in there and you have a hearty, delicious soup. Look for a store bought regular vegetable or rice soup and spice it up a little with some leftover cut up turkey from your Thanksgiving dinner. You can even create a homemade Turkey Noodle Soup instead of Chicken Noodle Soup. Just check out the past week for some great leftover turkey recipes.

Sandwich Wraps - Instead of using regular bread, use a soft tortilla instead. You can dress it up with anything you want (if you like avocado and sprouts, it tastes great on this!)

Salad - You can drop chunks of turkey onto your salad or use it shredded but even better than that is a little Chicken Salad - er… with leftover turkey instead. So..turkey salad. You can eat it plain or put it on bread or in a soft tortilla. Yum!

Chili or Stew - We use ground turkey instead of ground beef most of the time. So anything that calls for chicken or beef could probably be changed up - stews and chili’s taste great with turkey!

What do you do with your leftover turkey? More great recipes coming soon!

The Beginner’s Guide for How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey

It’s almost time guys, we are in an hours countdown to the big day and there are some important steps you need to begin NOW to ensure you have the perfect turkey the day of the big meal.

How many days does it take to thaw a turkey?

It is imperative that you begin the thawing process now. Most people bring home a huge turkey and toss it right back into the freezer. Then they think they can take it out the day before and by the morning it needs to go in the oven it will be thawed. Yeah. No.

Thawing a Turkey

An 8 to 12 lb. bird needs to thaw for 2 to 3 days.
A 13 to 17 lb. bird needs to thaw for 3 to 4 days.
An 18 to 20 lb. bird needs to thaw for 4 to 5 days.
A 21 to 24 lb. bird needs to thaw for 5 to 6 days.

What if I don’t have enough time left to thaw my huge turkey?

Now hold on a second, don’t get upset if you have this huge turkey that is still frozen solid and you don’t have five days until Thanksgiving (thus we have three until it would go in the oven). Here’s how you can handle this situation. One of two ways. First, pull it out of the freezer. Now. Run. Now allow it to sit in your sink, or on your counter on a platter (to collect the water) for about 4-5 hours. Now put it in the refrigerator. Tomorrow morning, take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the counter once again for about 4-5 hours or so. Repeat this process until Wednesday night OR until you can noticeably feel that the turkey is no longer frozen all over. Wednesday night if it seems it is still frozen in some parts, the best option is to get up quite early Thursday morning (about 4-5 hours before you want to put it in the oven) and allow it to sit at room temp. This REALLY only goes for those that have a huge turkey that needs extra days to thaw. You want to be super careful because bacteria growth does occur at room temp if left too long.

So moving right along, let’s get to the important steps.

How do I prepare a turkey?

We are now getting the turkey ready to cook. Many people don’t realize that a turkey usually comes with some extras inside. Reach inside the cavity of your turkey and pull out the neck and giblets. Toss them unless you use them. You can use the heart and gizzard for making stock for the stuffing if you make it from scratch. If you are a truly frugal nut, you can use the neck too. The neck can be cooked along side the turkey or saved for a later turkey soup. I know it’s disgusting and it probably seems funny to someone who has cooked a bunch of turkey’s before, but many people forget they are inside the turkey and that never leads up to good things. ANOTHER thing to watch out for is many turkey’s come with a plastic tie around the feet. Read the packaging because many times you do not need to remove them before cooking, but then sometimes you do. So reading the instructions is important.

What temperature do I cook a turkey?

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. You are more than likely looking for a moist turkey - who wouldn’t be? Many families have members who literally fight over the dark meat because the white meat is often so dry. I was one of those people until I figured out how to properly cook my thanksgiving turkey - it is possible to get moist white meat. Many chef’s enjoy putting the stuffing inside the turkey cavity to cook. I do not. Reason for this is that it allows the turkey the ability to cook thoroughly all over. This keeps the temperature steady, and allows for a moister bird at the end. Some people enjoy quartering an onion, adding celery and/or carrots and some herbs into the cavity - this is your choice, but if you do it, close off the hole with some wadded tin foil and then tie the legs together with string so the added items don’t fall out.

What should I put on the turkey so it doesn’t dry out?

Now it’s time to rub your turkey. You have two choices. Either using olive oil or melted butter. I recommend olive oil because I feel it better seals in the juices or you can start with olive oil and then add some melted butter later. The melted butter does taste good - no doubt, but you will need to baste it a lot during cooking. Sprinkle salt (we use a little garlic salt too) generously all over the outside of your turkey. And then sprinkle pepper all over the turkey. Remember you will be basting during the cooking time so that will help keep it moist.

How long do I cook a turkey?

Usually a turkey cooks for about 25-30 minutes or so per lb. My favorite method of following for cooking the turkey is to simply use the Butterball website or read the packaging on the turkey - it usually says. If you use the butterball website, all you have to do is plug in the size of your turkey and it will give you estimated cooking times. So cook your turkey for the determined amount of time. Uncovered. We have a 20lb turkey this year and will be cooking it for 3 1/2- 4 hours. I will also be basting it with the juices about every half hour or so.

How do I know if my turkey is cooked?

You will know the turkey is done when a meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees deep in the thigh. At this temperature, juices should be clear. You do not want any pink at all. You also need to check the center of the stuffing if you’ve stuffed your turkey. I never do, but that’s me. You are looking for 165 degrees in the center of the stuffing.
Remove the turkey when finished and allow it to sit for about 15-20 minutes before carving.

How do I carve a turkey?

Ask someone else to do it. No just kidding. I actually really do not like being the carver and having a carving knife is almost a must - it makes it so much easier. I give the job to hubby. But if you are doing it alone - use butterball’s awesome directions which include photographs - oh yeah.

Now, serve and enjoy and eat a lot and get really full and be sure to save any leftovers for the next day. Tomorrow’s article is all about leftovers. YUMMY!

A small glimpse at recipes posting today and tomorrow:

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Homemade Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Deviled Eggs Recipe

Stuffing Recipe

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pecan Pie Recipe

and quite a few more…

Yep, we’re down to crunch time and you only have  a few days left. Have you thought about what you want on your table?

Some people just put the food on their table, while others leave it on a serving table and sit around another table. Either way, there are a few frugal ways to spruce up the holidays.

• Making place cards for each person? Two years ago we made these adorable claypot place holders. Everyone took theirs home, as a special reminder of our day. Oh, and we made them pretty so they serve as a decoration. Just run to wal-mart or wherever you purchase clay pots in your area and get the smallest pots you can find. They are just about the size of a votive candle. Paint them inside and out with acrylic paint in an assortment of colors. We used fall colors and swirled some and splattered others. They turned out really cute (I promise to post a picture but I will admit that it might be tomorrow or the next day before I get to that). Then, if you can find a candle that fits inside the pot - the hard part is done. If you cannot, purchase a votive candle and cut the bottom off and then shave the sides to help it slide securely into the pot with the wick untouched at the top. Now, take a bobby pin and poke the top of it into the candle wax leaving the pincher parts sticking out of the candle. Now put a business sized card with a persons name on it in the bobby pin pinchers. Get it? Anyway, you can paint the bobby pin to match and when the holiday is over they can take that out with the card and use the little pot as a nice candle. You can also use a toothpick and glue a paper to it and stick it into the candle. I can think of about a million other things to do with them too.
• If you don’t have a Thanksgiving table cloth, don’t get too upset. Measure the length and width of your dining table (or whatever table you need it for) and then go get a piece of fabric cut from Wal-mart or Joanns or wherever you get fabric in your area. You can use it as is, or if you are at all crafty, sew beading, glue ribbon or whatever around the edges. You can also purchase a contrasting color in a much smaller width (perhaps about 1/4 of your original dimensions, but the same length and it can serve as a contrasting table runner down the center. It looks really pretty.

No matter what you do to make your holiday decor special, remember that this is a time to celebrate family and all that we are thankful for. Enjoy your day!

We’ve been busy baking batches of cookies to try out for Christmas, which I revealed in an earlier post. We’ve already selected a couple: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Chocolate Rum Balls. Apparently without meaning to be, we were on a chocolate kick. We’ve selected a few more which will be appearing starting today and throughout the upcoming week mixed in with other recipes and fun Christmas ideas. Be sure to check back frequently, because as of right now, most days have scheduled posts of at least two - some three and four. You should be able to obtain plenty of great ideas for just about any part of Christmas and the holiday’s imaginable. And even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, there are plenty of other recipes thrown in for good measure. Enjoy! And please let me know if I can help you with any aspect of your holiday shopping, gift giving or recipes.

Here’s to a terrific holiday season. Happy holidays!