Thanksgiving Menu

The food is in the house, and I am ready to cook!  I am going to start some of the cooking tomorrow, like the pie, and some is already done, like the butter!  Here is the menu for Thanksgiving at my house this year! 

Turkey
Tri-Color Butter Browned Cauliflower
Mashed Potatoes
Coconut Curry Sweet Potatoes with Golden and Dark Raisins
Green Beans and Spatzel
Pearl Onions in Cream
Stuffing
Orange Cranberry Sauce
White Wine Gravy
Warm Buns with Homemade Butter and Lavender Butter
Pickle and Olive Tray
Sparkling Apple Cider
Wild Rice
Apple Sauce Cake
Pumpkin Pie

If anyone is looking for recipes for Thanksgiving, or ideas for leftovers, click on the labels at the bottom of this post!

Waldorf Salad Croissant Sandwiches

Waldorf Salad found its start at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC.  It was actually created by a maitre d'hotel in 1896.  The original salad contained apples, celery, and mayonnaise.  Later, walnuts were added to the mix, and it is most commonly served on a bed of lettuce.  Here at our house, we prefer our Waldorf Salad as a post-Thanksgiving treat served on croissants!  

I guess I need to preface the history of this recipe with the story of the 53 pound Thanksgiving turkey.  My mom decided to buy a fresh kill, never frozen turkey for the 5 of us and some guests.  Worried that a 25 pounder would not be enough to feed us all, plus have leftovers, she asked the farm to give us the biggest turkey they could find.  53 pounds later, we were all REALLY sick and tired of turkey leftovers!  In an effort to mix things up, she suggested a new spin on Waldorf Salad to put a dent in the leftovers.  It was an immediate success and we still enjoy it, even when we don't have turkey leftovers! 

Waldorf Salad Croissant Sandwiches
Yields 6 sandwiches

To Prepare the Salad
1. Break up 2 cups worth of cold, leftover turkey or chicken into a decent size bowl.  If you don't want to use leftovers, you can substitute this with canned chicken breast (the kind that comes like tuna).  Just be sure that you strain it of as much juice as possible!
2. Chop 2 cups worth of peeled apples.  I like to use a sweet apple such as a gala or honeycrisp.  I would avoid anything in the sour family!  Add these apples to the bowl.

3. Add 1/2 a cup of Craisins, and 1/2 a cup of raisins to the bowl. Sometimes we also add 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts, but that is usually when I have leftovers from baking!

4. Bring everything together with 3/4 cup of mayo or light mayo.

5. Serve the salad in a croissant, or if you prefer, a super hearty multi-grain wheat bread.  I like to throw a side of baked potato chips on the plate too!

Cheesy Turkey Casserole

This is a recipe my mom came up with about 10 years ago the week after Thanksgiving!  After cooking a 50 pound turkey (for 5 people), we had TONS of leftover turkey!  We also had a lot of Wild Rice leftover, too.  All of the leftovers, combined with my mom's need to sneak my brother and sister veggies, brought this recipe to life!


Cheesy Turkey Casserole
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Prepare 2 boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice per the directions on the box.
3. While the rice is cooking, pan sear approximately 1 pound of turkey in olive oil over medium heat.  You could also use chicken, or even ground turkey or chicken...just be sure, whichever you choose, that you cook it!  If you are using leftover turkey or chicken, you will just need to break it up into 1 inch pieces!
4. Pour the rice into a large casserole dish, and spread it out evenly. 

5. Next you will need to prepare 2 1/2 pounds of broccoli.  I used chopped frozen broccoli that I thawed.  If you are going to use fresh broccoli, you will need to boil it first!  Once your broccoli is either defrosted or cooked, spread it evenly across the rice!

6. Spread the meat evenly on top of the broccoli layer.

7. Top the whole casserole with 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese.

8. Bake the casserole for approximately 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown!

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole

It is the official start of my self proclaimed CASSEROLE WEEK!!!  Why casseroles, you may ask?  They are easy and cheap to make, are a great way to get left overs out of the fridge and freezer, and can be made a head of time and reheated!  Plus, casseroles are great for lunch the next day or two!  I know that some of you do not have ovens or access to them, so I would like to take a quick second here to tell you that you do not have to have an oven to enjoy a casserole!  All of the ingredients can be prepared and heated and then served on top of each other.  For example, with tonight's recipe, you can heat the green beans in the sauce while the chicken cooks, and then top with the stuffing mixture.  Sometimes, we just have to get a little creative to enjoy our kitchen and dinner!

I have made this casserole for some of my friends in the past, but never for my family, so it is new for my dad and sister...hopefully they will be digging in for seconds!

Creamy Chicken and Green Bean Casserole
Yields 6 - 8 servings

To Prepare the Casserole
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Once the olive oil is hot, add 1 pound of chicken.  I used boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins!
4. While the chicken is cooking, start making the sauce by adding 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and 1 cup of white wine in a bowl and mixing it well.  (Be sure to pour yourself a glass of wine while you are at it!)

5. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a large casserole dish.

6. Put 2 pounds of thawed green beans in the casserole dish.

7. Evenly spread the cooked chicken on top of the green beans.

8. Cover the entire casserole with the remaining sauce.

9. Top with dry, seasoned stuffing cubes.

10. Bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the stuffing is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling! 

Enjoy your casserole with a glass of white wine!