Manic Monday Meals ~ A Few Thanksgiving Meals

Thanksgiving is done, do I look stressed??? hehe it was fun I got up early and cooked my little heart out overall good comments and everyone seemed to enjoy the different parts. Always some drama but I promise to go into that later. Today I picked a few of my recipes I tried to share, tomorrow I share the others didn't want to over load you. Now some are thinking but thanksgiving is over, but believe me you can make these anytime! Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving ala Alexis AKA MOM!

Ingredients

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 apples, cored and halved
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
  3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used sparkling cider, 3 apples and margarine. This was the moistest (I know it's not a word) turkey I've EVER had. It had a GREAT apple taste and it was a hit with everyone at the table!

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Every year I try out a new stuffing mix (yes it drives everyone nuts). I just love to try new things, something about having a new recipe to keep things fresh :).

Ingredients

• 16-ounce bag stuffing cubes
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping
• 1 pound fresh sage sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (See Note)
• 2 eggs, beaten

• Directions

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

  Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

  Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack thedressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkeypan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top iscrisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.

ALEXIS NOTES: I think I would scale this down a bit the bag I bought was 12oz I think that would be enough. I used Jimmy Dean sausage they were out of the sage flavor. So when I cooked up the sausage I just added some sage. I toasted the walnuts in the microwave all the burners were busy on the stove :).

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Third on my list is always do a Mac & Cheese but you know me not the same old one :).

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter, for greasing
• 8 ounces macaroni
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk
• 4 ounces provolone cheese, coarsely grated
• 4 ounces aged Asiago cheese, coarsely grated
• 2 large eggs
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 3 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 3 strips bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart shallowcasserole dish. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain; transfer the pasta to the prepared casserole dish along with 1/4 cup of the cold milk. (This will cool the pasta and prevent it from becoming gummy.)

Meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a small bowl. Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk in a medium bowl. Add the scallions, bread and half of the cheese to the egg mixture; set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoonsdrippings from the pan. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon salt; cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and 3/4 cup water to the skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking until thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese. Add the sauce to the macaroni; stir to combine.

Crumble up the bacon and add it to the egg/bread mixture. Spread evenly over the pasta. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven; let sit 5 minutes before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I of course used turkey bacon the big hit in the house. I just cubed up some wheat bread (we never have white here). I did double this recipe which left me with way too many left overs. I also used whole wheat pasta from the bulk section. I found Asiago in a shredded package, the provolone was in a mix with mozzarella but it was great.