Tag: dinner

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Stuffed Like a Turkey

Today I am still stuffed from all the turkey and side dishes we ate yesterday. I spent the entire day in the kitchen cooking a big traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the side dishes. Everything turned out great except for the homemade yeast rolls. I had made the dough from scratch for the rolls Wednesday night and set them aside to rise, but it was so cold out with this awful winter weather and so drafty in my old kitchen that the dough did not rise and I had to toss them out. That was disappointing, but there was plenty of other food and no one seemed to miss the hot rolls.

My turkey was perfect and one of the biggest ones that I’ve ever cooked. It barely fit into the Reynolds cooking bag, which is what I swear by. The cooking bag keeps the turkey moist and keeps all the juices inside the bag so you have plenty to make gravy. And another trick that I learned is to put the turkey in the bag upside down. Everyone likes to roast their turkey with the breast side up, but that is what drains the juices down and away from the breast meat. If you put the turkey in the oven with the breast down, all the juices run into the breast meat and it is just oozing with delicious juices when you carve it and serve it at the table.

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Picnic and Fireworks

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because the family always goes down to the elementary school for the town celebration. The fire department sells grilled chicken dinner with potato chips, corn on the cob and cole slaw, there are several local bands playing music to provide entertainment, and when it gets dark the fire department sets off a pretty decent fireworks show. We get to see some of our friends that we haven’t seen in a while, spread a blanket out on the lawn and enjoy the nice weather.

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Budgeting for the Holiday Feast

My favorite meal of the whole year is always the traditional Thanksgiving feast. I have always enjoyed a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, even the one year that I was so broke that I only had $20 in my budget to spend on the entire meal.

I remember going to the wholesale grocery that year and buying the cheapest possible brand of everything to be able to create a small but traditional Thanksgiving meal. I had to buy a frozen turkey loaf for $6, two white potatoes and one sweet potato, a box of stuffing and a can of generic green beans – I already had a can of mushroom soup at home in the almost empty pantry. I bought four apples and made a pie from scratch with flour and sugar and cinnamon already at home. It was a lot of work doing everything from scratch, but it tasted great and made me realize that I can create a great feast with just a little money.

This year I am spending $20 on just the turkey. It will be the biggest one they have in the store – I love turkey and there is not such thing as too much turkey in my house! The rest of the side dishes and fixings will be a combination of scratch and prepared, depending upon the brands and my taste preferences. And I think I will make an apple pie again – its not that hard to do and they always taste better than store bought pies.

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Fish sticks of all things

When my daughter and I went to the grocery store today, she asked if we could have fish sticks for supper tonight. I must have looked at her in horror or something similar, since I am a fresh seafood person,  and the kids are nearly all grown and haven’t had fish sticks since they were young. My main diet is seafood, veggies and rice, but my daughter really wanted the little fish sticks I used to give the kids when they were young, so I bought a big box (UGH) of frozen fish sticks. I did however pick an expensive brand and made sure the sticks were made out of filets, not minced fish.

My kids and even my husband loved the dinner. I did make a side dish of veggies and rice that they like. It sometimes amazes me that the family can be totally happy with simple things.