Turkey Day Favorites

I have at least three recipes that I want to share with you from Thanksgiving, but seeing they are all related I decided to do a "Thanksgiving Episode"!  We were fortunate enough to host this year for the Hubby's side of the family - there is no way my side would all fit in the house let alone have a sit down meal!  I was super excited!! Not only did I get to cook the turkey and ham, but I got to create some delicious side dishes and stage what I hope was a wonderful meal.  It seemed to go wonderfully so I am hoping to make our hosting into an every other year tradition!

Now for the recipes.

This year I decided to brine the turkey.  Now I have brined meats in the past with good success, but I have never brines a turkey.  Especially not for a main course holiday!  Of course I contemplated spending the $15/can on some Williams Sonoma brine but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I decided I could make my own based on my tastes and hope everyone else would enjoy it.

Turkey Brine

• 1/2 Gallon Water*
• 2 1/2 Tubs Veggie Stock* (*or enough bouillon/broth to make 1/2 gallon) 
• 1/2 c Salt
• 1/2 c Sugar
• 1 T Rosemary
• 1 T Sage
• 1 T Thyme
• 1/2 t Garlic 
• 1/2 Gallon Cold Water

1. Combine all ingredients save the 1/2 gallon of cold water in a stock pot.  Bring to a rolling boil and cook until sugar and salt are dissolved.  
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. While the brine is cooling prepare your turkey by removing the innards and giving it a good washing.  Pat the turkey dry and place it in a brining bag or large pail - I use a brining bag cause space is limited in my fridge.
4. Combine the cooled mixture with the 1/2 gallon of cold water, mix together and pour over the turkey.  
5. Seal up the bag or pail and place in the fridge for approximately 1 hour per pound of bird.  
6. Once the brining is complete be sure to RINSE YOUR BIRD THOROUGHLY or you will have a very salty tasting dinner.  
7. Stuff and/or cook your turkey as you normally would - keeping in mind that brined birds tend to cook a little faster than non-brined.
8. ENJOY

See, easy!  If you have a super large bird that the brine does not cover completely then you will have to flip it half way through the brining process (or simply double the recipe and use enough brine to cover the bird).  It produced a wonderfully tender and juice turkey with just the right hint of seasonings.  I was very pleased!  Forget spending $15 for a one time use can of brine mix - this will now be my go to for brining large birds!


The next recipe I am going to share is my stuffing recipe.  Now I grew up in a Portuguese family, which means that stuffing contained chourico or linguica.  Now Portuguese sausage is wonderful, especially with peppers, onions and some cheese on a roll, but it can be an acquired taste and I was cooking for non-Portuguese people.  (I should point out that I am not a huge stuffing fan to begin with, if I want to eat bread I am going to eat bread.  It doesn't have to be mashed and flavored :-D)  To that end I wanted to create a stuffing that still had the same principle of the stuffing I grew up with, but without the extra kick linguica would give it.  I give you:

Chicken Sausage and Herb Stuffing

• 14 oz Wheat Bread (about 3/4 of a large loaf)
• 2 T Butter or Margarine
• 1 1/2 c Onion, diced
• 1 3/4 c Celery, diced
• 4-5 links Chicken Sausage (I used Italian flavored)
• 2 1/2 - 3 1/4 c Chicken Broth
• Sage, to taste
• Thyme, to taste
• Garlic, to taste
• Salt and Pepper, to taste 

1. Toast and shred the bread into a large bowl.  I have found this is the easiest way to dry out the bread, but you can also cube it and bake in the oven or leave out on the counter over night - though this method has been met with varying success.  Set the bowl aside.
2. Remove the casings from the sausage links and chop into small pieces to facilitate crumbling.
3. In a large fry pan combine the celery, onion, butter and sausage.  Cook on medium high heat until sausage is warmed through and celery is translucent.
4. Add the sausage mixture to the bread bowl and mix well.  
5. Mix in the spices to taste and slowly add the broth until the desired consistency is achieved.
6. Transfer the stuffing to a lightly greased casserole dish.  Now you can either bake this dish now, or refrigerate the stuffing until Just before your turkey is done cooking.
1. To cook the stuffing immediately you should preheat your oven to 375 F.  Cook the stuffing to 30 minutes, removed from the oven and mix gently.  Return to the oven and cook for another 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
2. To prep the stuffing for future cooking just place in the fridge.  Remove the stuffing about 10 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to acclimate.  Seeing the stuffing takes about 1 hour to cook I find it is best to throw it in the oven during the last 20 minutes of the turkey cooking.  That way the stuffing will cook while your turkey is "resting".
7. ENJOY

Again, easy!  Now stuffing is mostly bread so if you are thinking that it is a lower calorie food I am sorry to burst that bubble.  That being said this stuffing actually comes in not as high and one would have expected.  I divided the recipe into 9 equal servings - which for this limited stuffing eater was a BIG portion - and came up with about 175-180 calories per stuffing.  Not bad for chickeny bready goodness!


The final recipe I will leave you with is one I am sure you have all made at some point in your lives - I just have a different twist.  PUMPKIN PIE!  Now I am NOT a pie fan.  I am pretty sure it stems from my hatred of pie crust.  I have always loved pumpkin pie but I would only eat the filling growing up and leave a big empty pie crust shell on my plate.  A few years ago I discovered how to remedy the empty shell issue - GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST!  I love graham cracker crusts.  They are the perfect answer to my pie crust dilemma.

Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

• 2 c Pumpkin , mashed or puréed
• 3/4 c Sugar
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1/2 t Ginger
• 1/4 t Cloves
• 2 Eggs
• 1 can Fat Free Evaporated Milk
• 1 1/4 c Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1/3 c Butter or Margarine, melted
• 4 T Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 4T of sugar in a bowl.  Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a pie plate and bake for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Set aside.
3. Increase oven temperature to 425F for 10 - 15 minutes or while you prepare the pumpkin filling.
4. Mix together all remaining ingredients save the evaporated milk.  Slowly pour the evaporated milk into the mixture and combine well.
5. Pour the pumpkin mixture onto the prepared graham cracker crust.  Reduce oven temperature to 350F and bake the pie for 40-50 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean.
6. Serve warm (or cool) with cool whip and ENJOY!

The best pumpkin pie ever all due to a graham cracker crust!  The calorie count of this pie reflects the lack of "classic" pie crust as well.  For 1/8th of the pie you are looking at 200 calories, where as with a regular pie crust you would be facing 285 calories per piece!

Honorable mention goes to my water pitcher.  I have never gone through so much water before.  Very simply I added some cranberries and sliced lemons to my water picture and filled it up - such a hit!


And there you have them folks.  My picks for Thanksgiving favorites.  I could have added in the zucchini bake, sweet potato casserole, molasses cookies, or even glazed ham; but this post is long enough as it is.  I leave you with this wonderful picture of us just starting to gather about the table for our feast! :-)