Thanksgiving Is Here

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we gather around the table for another filling meal of turkey, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls of all types, dessert pies, cranberry stuff, stuffing of all types, wine, juice, milk, water, cola's, mashed potatoes, Italian green beans, and brussels sprouts, we give thanks to the people who matter the most. Thanksgiving is a tradition that everyone celebrates and it's never the same if you don't make your own imprint or make new additions to your meals. My Mom passed our Thanksgiving traditions to me and I'm keeping those traditions alive by celebrating them. I will add new additions every year. Last year, I baked my own sweet potato casserole with fresh sweet potatoes, brown sugar, honey, and jet puffed marshmallows. It was a long process but in the end, it was worth the effort because it was so delicious. I have decided to try that recipe again for this years Thanksgiving. I haven't made my own sweet potato casserole and felt it would open new broad ideas. I have also started on baking my own pies for Thanksgiving. I've baked cherry pies, blueberry pies, pumpkin pies, and apple pies. Out of all them, we settled on my cherry pie with whipped cream. Every year, the recipe for my turkeys hardly changes. It remains the same, tastes the same, and is so juicy, you'd be surprised. No jabbing with injectors, no salt solution because if you inject with salt, salt dries out the meat, and using a pop up timers to determine if the bird is done. After all, you don't want a raw turkey. I also stuff the bird with a hearty filling stuffing mix and it tastes good. All my secrets come from the seasoning and what I use. I have a secret recipe for my birds and this secret recipe comes from my Mother. One part of this secret recipe comes from love. As much as I have to say that if you show love, it shows in all of your cooking. It shows you care. Without that love, your food shows it. If you're nervous and afraid, it shows. Organization plays a part of putting the entire meal together. I try to time it all together. For example, I sit the turkey in the sink, open it and clean it fully, taking out the giblets and the gravy packet. While the turkey drains out, I start with the stuffing, the celery, mushrooms, and other spices added to the stuffing. The timing is everything for a perfect thanksgiving meal without any rushing and missing steps. The mess that comes with it is usually not so bad if you keep up. I attempt to keep up with messes. I have to or I'll have no room to work. It's very hard to work in a small space for a kitchen, but it works out in the long run. My kitchen isn't updated for big family meals. This kitchen has no breakfast bar, no eat in dining, and one small counter top to work on. I have to keep the counter space clean while I work. As much as I would love to get a bigger space, I make it work as I often do. I don't feed a big family and a twelve to fifteen pound turkey is enough for two people. It may feed more, but I freeze some of the cooked turkey for later.

Oh here comes the yummy delicious cranberry sauce, stuffing, and turkey on a couple slices of white bread. Wonderful and filling. If I didn't know any better, turkey is on my mind when it comes to eating something that feels good. Hello, turkey coma. That's all right. Everyone gets turkey coma and watches football.

Keeping family traditions? Easy. Staying awake to watch football after a delicious meal? Not so easy. Or you have another family meal to attend? Then you have to drive while fighting the turkey coma.