Tuesday Treats - Thanksgiving Meal

This is the third year in a row that Daniel has been in the midst of a night shift at work through Thanksgiving. In the past, we have worked around it and still managed to celebrate on the actual holiday. As you can imagine, it's not ideal. This year, we changed things up, and it resulted in a wonderful holiday weekend.

We were joined for the weekend by my parents as well as my sister and her husband. Saturday morning was spent poolside in Georgetown to watch Abigail compete in a short meet. Then, four of our group headed into Austin to see the Longhorns win a football game. Sunday was all about Thanksgiving. It was such a great day to relax and enjoy the celebration with no regard to work schedules or exhausted people.

Since everyone out there in blogland is just now preparing their own Thanksgiving feasts, I wanted to share my favorite recipes that we enjoy for our meal.

Daniel takes care of the turkey and dressing. We're all about a cajun fried turkey and cornbread dressing. There are no recipes for these, and I'm not involved with them. I just know they are mighty tasty! (He also makes the mashed potatoes and deviled eggs.)


Sweet Potato Casserole (Fabulous recipe courtesy of Ted Moore in Summerville, SC)

2 cans of large sweet potatoes
2 cups sugar
12 tbsp of soft butter
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Mix all of that together and then top with:
2 cups pecans
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Green Bean Casserole (Can't have a southern meal without it.)
2 cans cut green beans
1 can french style green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix soup and cheese in 9x13 baking pan. Add beans. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Top with can of french fried onions and return to oven for 5 minutes.


Corn Pudding (This stuff is the yummiest goodness!)
1 can cream corn
2 cans corn
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
8 oz. sour cream
2 eggs
2 T butter

Combine ingredients in 9x13 baking dish and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce (The great Paula Deen is responsible for this deliciousness)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup Grand Marnier (we didn't have this, but susbstituted Moscato)
1/2 orange, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers. Add the apples, walnuts, raisins, Grand Marnier, orange and lemon juices, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool.


Ham
I've found the best ham is the Sam's Choice double glazed ham. It's a bit pricey, but extremely tasty.


Although Daniel and I share the main meal cooking duties, the baking is all me. I LOVE to bake. This year I didn't make as many as I have in the past, but there were still plenty of pie to go around.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Recipe courtesy of my mother's friend Sandy. This is always a crowd pleaser!)
The first thing you need to do is prep your spring form pan. Wrap the bottom ~ and up the sides with heavy duty tin foil ... press it good so it's tight. Next place a roasting pan in the oven and fill it about 1/3 to 1/2 full with water. When you actually are baking the cheesecake you will have the spring form pan sitting in the water in the roasting pan.

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter ~ melted
dash of cinnamon
Combine the crust ingredients and press them into the bottom of the spring form pan

Filling
3 (8 oz.) packages of Cream Cheese ~ softened at room temperature
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 Eggs
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract (real vanilla is preferred to the imitation vanilla)
In a large mixer bowl beat cream cheese until it is fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Take out 1 cup of the filling and reserve. Set rest of filling aside

Pumpkin Filling:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients. Add pumpkin mix to main filling mix (not the 1 cup reserve). Mix well. Layer half of pumpkin mix and then half of your reserved filling mix over crust. Repeat layers. Cut through batter with knife several times to create the 'swirl effect'. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.


Cherry Cream Pie (This is my family's favorite, and the absolute easiest pie to bake.)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
Graham cracker pie crust (see cheesecake recipe)

Combine all ingredients and fill pie crust. Refrigerate until set. Top with can of cherry pie filling. Refrigerate until set.


Caramel Pecan Pie (Rich but super yummy!)

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

36 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) In a saucepan over low heat, combine caramels, butter and milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Gradually mix in the melted caramel mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool until filling is firm.

Pumpkin Crunch (Another piece of greatness from Paula Deen)
1 (15 oz.) can fresh pumpkin
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
2 sticks butter, cut into pieces

FROSTING:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk, cinnamon and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and mix well. Pour mixture into a 9X13 baking dish prepared with a non stick spray. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over entire top. Sprinkle nuts evenly over cake mix and top with butter pieces. Bake at 350º F for 50-60 minutes. Set aside to cool. Prepare frosting while cake is cooling. In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light. Add in whipping cream and continue to whip until fully combined and thickening. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon and whip until smooth. To Serve: Scoop out a slice of the pumpkin crunch and top with a dollop of the cream cheese frosting, or frost the entire pumpkin crunch with the frosting.

Creamy Lemon Supreme (This is my prettiest and tastiest pie, courtesy of Pampered Chef)
Crust:
12 lemon creme-filled sandwich cookies, finely chopped (1½ cups)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 lemon

Filling:
2 lemons
1 package (2.9 ounces) lemon cook and serve pudding and pie filling (not instant)
½ cup sugar
2 cups water, divided
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

1. Lightly spray springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. For crust, finely chop cookies. Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter in small bowl. Press crumb mixture into bottom of pan. Cut 6 thin slices from lemon; cut each slice in half. Place lemon halves against inside collar of pan with cut side touching crust. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

2. For filling, zest lemons to measure 1½ teaspoons zest. Juice lemons to measure ¼ cup juice. Combine pudding mix, sugar, ¼ cup of the water and egg yolks in small saucepan; stir until blended. Stir in remaining 1¾ cups water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full boil; remove from heat. Set aside ½ cup of the pudding; cool slightly. Whisk butter and lemon juice into remaining pudding in saucepan; cool 15 minutes, stirring twice.

3. In large bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix well. Whisk in reserved ½ cup lemon pudding and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Fold in 2 cups whipped topping, spread over crust.

4. Stir remaining lemon pudding mixture and spoon evenly over cream cheese filling, spreading gently. Refrigerate at least 6 hours.

5. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and lemon zest. Cut into wedges.