Simple Thanksgiving

We had this meal for Christmas last year (and probably will again but with cranberry sauce added) but it is perfect for Thanksgiving too.  Using turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey is great for a smaller get together.  We had five adults and three kids.

Roasted Honey-Brined Turkey Breasts recipe from Wegmans

Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe from Betty Crocker

Arkansas Green Beans recipe from All Recipes

Maple Butternut Squash recipe inspired by Skinnytaste

I love the extra shelves I can add to the oven to get everything ready at the same time.

Here's the spread.  I can't wait to make this meal again.

Meal Plan: March 1 - March 7

So last week's test of the Let's Cook recipes went rather well.  We liked all of the recipes that we tried.  The only one that needed some tweaking was the chili.  Next time we probably would not add the chipotle as it almost burned my daughter's tongues off.  They loved the taste just not the heat.

This week we are celebrating my daughter's birthday!!  She chose ribs for her birthday meal!  This made her dad very happy.  I think he is starting to look more forward to our girls birthday's than they are since they both keep choosing ribs.  Wellllll, maybe not.

What we are having for dinner this week:

Sunday: Herb Broiled Chicken, Boiled Herb Potatoes and Arkansas Green Beans
Chicken Recipe from About Food
Potato Recipe from Wegmans
Green Bean Recipe from All Recipes.com







Monday: Green Eggs and Ham  
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Tuesday: Copycat Red Robin Bonzai Burgers

Recipe from Six Sisters Stuff - We are going to use brioche rolls because I love a burger on a brioche roll.








Wednesday: Ribs and Mac and Cheese

Thursday: Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

Recipe from Eat and Exercises.net










Friday: Wegmans Frozen Pizza
Mozzarella and Pesto for Mom and Dad
Cheese for the Kids

Saturday:  First Competition of the Year! Dinner out somewhere.

50 States; 50 Meals: Utah

What we had for dinner:

Pastrami Burgers

This burger is said to be invented in Utah.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound sliced pastrami
1/4 cup Russian dressing
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper. Form into four patties. Grill until almost done. Place 1/4 of the pastrami on each patty and top with cheese. Allow cheese to melt. Serve on kaiser rolls with 1 tablespoon/15 mL of Russian dressing.

Found on about.com

Funeral Potatoes

These potatoes are often served at dinners following a funeral.  This make a great potluck dish.  I have been making a similar dish called Harvest Potatoes for years.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 30-ounce bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, lightly thawed (I prefer cubed)
One 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded sharp yellow Cheddar
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed corn flake cereal

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, an additional 2 minutes.

In a bowl, toss together the cooked onions and garlic, hash brown potatoes, condensed soup, sour cream, Parmesan, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cups Cheddar. Spread the mixture in a 9-by-13 inch casserole dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Top the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, corn flake cereal and melted butter.

Bake in the oven until it bubbles around the sides, about 1 hour. 

From Cooking Channel

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I can't tell you why but they love their jello in Utah.  Utah consumes more jello than any other state.  So I choose to make my favorite jello dish.  

Ingredients
1   8-ounce can crushed pineapple
2 cup boiling water
2   10-ounce packages frozen strawberries
2   3-ounce packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix
1   8-ounce container Cool Whip
3/4 cup sugar
1   8-ounce package cream cheese
3 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2 cup crushed pretzels

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Press this mixture into a 9x13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Fold in the Cool Whip, and spread over the cooled crust.  Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly.  Add the strawberries and pineapple, and pour over the cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate until serving time.
To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of Cool Whip.

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

Next State - Vermont

What's for dinner?: July 20 - July 26

We are back from a week in Virginia Beach where we visited family and my daughter competed in a dance competition.  It was an exciting week and full of good summer food.  We had hot dogs, pulled pork, smoked brisket, pulled pork, tuna subs, crab legs, pulled pork, burgers.  Full on vacation food.  Have you ever gotten to a point where you just wanted the Elaine "Big Salad"?

Here's what we are having for dinner this week:

Sunday: Banana Splits for National Ice Cream Day
Yes, we are the coolest parents ever.  We were tired, it was easy and we had a "holiday" to give us an excuse.  Our splits had bananas, Neapolitan ice cream, whipped cream, peanuts, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, pineapple from my pineapple plant and a cherry on top.

Monday:  Chicken Milanese with Spring Greens and Rice Pilaf
I love making this recipe because it is kid friendly without being too kiddy. I do put ranch on the girls salads rather than the lemon dressing.  Pair it with a box of Near East Rice Pilaf (Any flavor will do.  We are having the one with almonds)
Make it even faster by buying a bottle of Lemon Vinaigrette.
Recipe from My Recipes


 

















Tuesday: Tacos with Black Beans
The walking tacos we had the other week added black beans to the ground beef.  I'm going to replicate that with our tacos.  We all really liked it.  Not sure how black beans in the tacos and on the side will go but we have been loving them over regular refried beans lately.  Have you ever bought refried black beans?  Delicious!

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Salad
Have you ever had a spaghetti sandwich?  I totally got the craving while typing this.  I think I will pass on the Texas toast garlic bread.  You just take a slice of sandwich bread, butter the bread, add the spaghetti and fold in half.

Thursday: Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Tomato Soup
My favorite sandwich from Doumar's where we visited last week. 

Friday: Utah State Dinner - Pastrami Burger, Funeral Potatoes and Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad

Saturday:  We will be at birthday party.

Have a great week!