I am fascinated by all the folks on here who put fruit in their turkeys. We may have to try that. My mother does all the cooking - my job is to make sure the Cowboys win (MUCH bigger job than cooking the entire meal, these days!) on Turkey Day.
OK, I'm going to break down and share our family recipes for Thanksgiving & Christmas. [PLEASE NOTE: I don't actually cook this stuff myself since I am totally incapable of preparing food successfully, but I eat this stuff twice a year and have been for over 40 years, so it's all safe):
Mimi's Sweet Potato Cassarole
10-15 tablespoons sugar (can use brown or white)
3 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Nutmeg
1/2 stick, salted, melted butter
1 1/2 cups orange juice
2 20 ounce cans sweet potatos
1 pkg larger marshmallows
Heat sweet potatos until boiling. Mash well in large bowl. Beat & add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter and OJ - you'll need to taste to see if you need to add more OJ. Pour into 7 1/2 x 11 buttered glass pan - place marshmallows on top. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes. This cassarole even wins over avowed sweet potato haters.
Dressing - Southern Cornbread
Make cornbread (w/o sugar) - Aunt Jemima's mix (white)
1 cup onions chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup bell pepper chopped
1/3 cup butter - melt in skillet throw in onions, celery, and bell peppers and sautee. Break up cornbread in large bowl. Add sauteed veggies, 2 BEATEN eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 can Chicken broth - Mix well. Put into greased glass pan and cook at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (don't forget to hop around the kitchen on one leg just after placing in oven - ha! gotcha)
Kentucky Pecan Pie (my great aunt's recipe - she's not from Kentucky so don't ask me why it's called Kentucky Pecan Pie - I just eat the stuff)
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted, salted butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 whole eggs -slightly beaten (oh, go all out and abuse them if you want but it won't taste as good as slightly beaten) 1 heaping cup shelled pecan (whole) - Sam's Club's are great.
Combine sugar, syrup, salt, butter, vanilla and mix well. Add slightly beaten eggs and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Put foil around edges, add peconas over all. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 25 minutes. When cool, you may top with whipping cream or ice cream. This stuff is excellent.
Enjoy!
Prayers for the in-laws, IG.