Tuesday Poetry

Albuquerque Turkey

(Sung to Clementine)

Albuquerque he’s my turkey

Oh he’s feathered and he’s fine

He wobbles and he gobbles

And I’m awfully glad he’s mine.

He’s the best pet

You could ever get.

Better than a dog or cat.

Albuquerque he’s my turkey

And I’m awfully glad of that.

Albuquerque he’s my turkey

He’s so cozy in his bed

Because for Thanksgiving dinner

We had scrambled eggs instead.

(Found here on Alphabet-Soup.net)

Menu Plan Monday

It's Thanksgiving week! I'm excited--Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. There's just something about it--I guess it could be the food, but it's much more than that. The family, the remembrance of all that I'm thankful for, the harvest decorations...I just love it all.

Here's the menu plan for this week:

MONDAY: Beef (actually venison, thanks, Heather!) enchiladas, rice

TUESDAY: Ravioli bake (Sorry, I know this was supposed to be this week's recipe, but I didn't make it last week), Garlic bread

WEDNESDAY: Macaroni and Cheese

THURSDAY: Thanksgiving Day! Turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, squash, Maryanne's sweet and sour green beans, stuffing, rolls, fruit salad, pumpkin pie and chocolate pie

FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Leftovers

SATURDAY: Pasta and Ham Primavera

SUNDAY: Chili, cornbread

So last week after my post about Thanksgiving traditions, Allison requested my stuffing recipe. Well, it's not my recipe, it's my mom's. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without this stuffing. I've even made it on Christmas with ham--it's that yummy. Actually, I could just make this stuffing for a meal, and be perfectly happy. So in honor of Thanksgiving, I'm sharing the recipe!

Stuffing

(Or dressing. Whatever you call it.)

1 c. butter, melted

1 c. chopped onion

1 T. poultry seasoning or chicken bouillon

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3/4 c. chopped celery

Combine these ingredients and cook for 5 minutes, and then add:

3 quarts dry bread cubes.

(This HAS to be the UNSEASONED bread cubes. I like to buy the bag of stuffing bread that the store bakery has, though our store didn't have any this year. Brownberry makes unseasoned stuffing cubes too.)

Mix in 1-2 boxes of chicken broth, depending on how wet you want your stuffing. I don't like my stuffing too wet, so I go more towards using 1 1/2 boxes of broth. If you add too much broth, your stuffing will be gluey and gummy=gross. You can stuff your turkey with this stuffing, but I usually bake it in a big baking dish for about an hour at 350. This recipe makes enough for a 12-14 pound bird. (I usually double it.)

Really, with stuffing, you add and taste, then add and taste. It's taken some practice, but I've gotten it down to a science. Have some extra bread cubes on hand, because that way if you add too much liquid, you can add more bread cubes. But then remember to adjust your seasonings!

I also wanted to share a bread recipe with you. I made this bread last week, and it was AWESOME. Dan and I decided it would be perfect for leftover turkey sandwiches, so I'll be making another loaf on Wednesday.

Bread Machine Garlic Bread

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon dry milk powder

1 Tablespoon white sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

2 tsp. garlic powder (I used minced garlic)

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in this order. Select basic bread cycle; press start.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everyone!

REMEMBER, CANS FOR COMMENTS IS STILL GOING UNTIL THURSDAY! SO FAR, I'VE COLLECTED 20 CANS--KEEP COMMENTING!

He is my Sunshine (Updated--it works now!)

Sorry, those of you who couldn't see this--I accidentally set it to private. All is fixed now, so you should be able to see it!

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. Thanksgiving is next week. (Like you didn't already know that.) I'm all ready, got all the food either in the cupboard, the fridge, or the freezer. I'm so excited--Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! There's nothing better than a Turkey dinner--unless you count the turkey dinner leftovers. And I found this awesome recipe for bread maker garlic bread that will make some rockin' turkey sandwiches. Gobble gobble!

2. We went to Wal-Mart on Monday night, and Dan decided that Katie should have a dog bed. You know, one of those pillow-type dog beds? So we stuck it in her kennel (that she sleeps in at night and when we're gone) and she seemed very happy with it. Until I came home from Mom's Group on Wednesday. The pillow? Decimated. The kennel? FULL of stuffing. So Katie is back to sleeping on a quilt.

3. I got out my old Barbie house for Emma yesterday. It was a rainy day, and she and Zachie were looking for something to do. This Barbie house was a combined effort of my parents and my aunts back in the day for me. My dad made it with his wonderful wood-working skills. My mom papered the walls, made the curtains, and helped me with the furniture. And my aunts cross-stitched teeny tiny pillows, rugs and pictures for the walls. And now Emma gets to play with it! It was so fun--getting out my old Barbies, dressing them in their old clothes. The clothes that I loved. It's something I've been looking forward to since the day I found out Emma was a girl!

4. I'm a sucker for holiday TV specials. This time of year is the best! I love them all, from the Peanuts' different holiday specials to the ABC Family countdown to Christmas. I'll stop everything to watch them. Dan always complains, asking me why I have to watch them live on TV, when we have most of them taped, or on DVD. But that's the point--to watch them live, when they're on. It adds to the authenticity. (By the way, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be on Thanksgiving Day, on ABC at 7pm central time!)

5. Recently the clutter in my house has started bugging me. That's usually when I start major cleaning binges. I've already cleaned the pantry, and that looks great. Next up is the toy purge in the basement--we have so many toys that the kids don't play with anymore. I'm going to try Craigslist for those--hopefully we can earn some extra money! I'm not going to do it all at once--just a room at a time. It's always good to sift through the clutter, right?

6. Yesterday was a busy day--I also got our Christmas cards ordered! Thanks to my good bloggy friend Amy, I got 50 free cards, with free shipping! If you hurry, you can take advantage of this deal--just click here to find out how. It ends on Saturday, though, so get busy! It was no small feat to get the kids to all look at me, sit still and smile at the same time, but I did it! Boy, does that feel good. I can't wait to see the finished product.

7. We have a sweet lady at our church who loves to bake--and she loves to give away her baking. We reaped the benefits this week. I should say that I reaped the benefits, because she made my favorite, favorite peanut bars. Graham cracker crust, some sort of carmely goo, mixed with Spanish peanuts. Oh so yummy. I have a recipe for them, but I never make them. They're so much better when June makes them!

Want to know what other people have been up to? Wondering what they have on their minds? Head over to Conversion Diary.com to find out!

AND REMEMBER, I'M DONATING A CAN OF FOOD FOR EVERY COMMENT ON MY BLOG UNTIL THANKSGIVING DAY, SO COMMENT AWAY, PEOPLE!

Giving Thanks and Giving Back

This time of year, we always sit back and reflect on the blessings God has given us in the past year. We are blessed, that's for sure--with family and friends, with a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies. So many people don't have that!

We talked about that at our Mom's Group at church, and so we decided to sponsor a couple of families. We collected money to buy two families a complete Thanksgiving dinner that will be delivered to them. How wonderful to bless them like that--to know that they're going to have a meal to celebrate Thanksgiving with their own families.

I want to keep the giving going this year, so I decided to follow in a fellow blogger's footsteps and sponsor Cans for Comments this year. For each comment left on my blog between today and midnight on Thanksgiving Day, (even comments on old posts count), I will donate 1 non-perishable item to a local food pantry. Last year Helen over at Three Times the Giggles collected 39 items for her local food pantry--can we beat her? I bet we can!

Helen also had this challenge over at her blog: "I would love to have lots of other bloggers jump on board with this! If you think you can spare the cash to buy some canned goods please join us! As a bonus, you'll see the number of comments jump on your blog over the next week. Just by doing what you already love (blogging and reading other blogs) you can make an impact at food banks around the country!" Head over to her blog by clicking here if you'd like to join in.

Thanks for helping!

Wordless Wednesday: Doggie wake-up call

Thanksgiving Fun

I found this post on Sunday--one that I posted last year on Thanksgiving Day. It's so much fun I want to post it again, and I'm going to tag YOU, MY BLOGGY FRIENDS, to answer the questions yourself. I'd love to hear your answers!

1. Which do you like better: hosting Thanksgiving at your home, or going elsewhere?
Hands down, hosting. I love, love, love to cook Thanksgiving dinner. And what's better than Thanksgiving dinner? Thanksgiving dinner leftovers! One year in Walker we went to our church's dinner on Thanksgiving, and then to my brother's house for pie. We were so bummed out that we didn't have leftovers that I went to the store the next day, and bought everything we needed for our own dinner.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free-range?
Always frozen. Much cheaper.

3. Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind?
I call it stuffing, but I don't actually put it in the turkey. My mom calls it dressing. I use her recipe every single year. Never anything else. It's the best!

4. Sweet potato pie or Pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin pie. I'm a Yankee.

5. Are leftovers a blessing or a curse?
A blessing. There's nothing better than a turkey sandwich (with Miracle Whip, of course) and some leftover stuffing on Thanksgiving night, watching a Christmas movie. HEAVEN.

6. What side dishes are a must-have in your family?
Mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, MaryAnne's sweet and sour green beans (you can find that recipe here), buns, mom's fruit salad (with REAL whipped cream), pumpkin pie (again, with REAL whipped cream), and cherry pie.

7. What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier?
Oh, probably tons of money, so I could pay for all my far-away family to be here with us!

8. If/when you go to someone else’s house for the holiday, do you usually bring a dish? If so, what is it?
If I were to go somewhere, which isn't very likely, (see #1) I'd bring what they asked me to. I like to make pies and homemade cranberry sauce, so if it were up to me, I'd probably bring that.

9. What do you wish one of your guests would bring to your house?
Wine. Beer. Just kidding. No, really, all I want of my guests is to bring an empty stomach and a thankful heart!

10. What do you wish one of your guests would NOT bring to your house?
Pecan pie. Ick.

11. Do you stick with a particular menu from year to year, or do you mix it up?
Always, always, always the same menu. Every year. I'm a strict traditionalist, and so is my husband. One year, Dan's mom made a new stuffing with apples, raisins, and all kinds of crap in it, and he and his brothers were so mad they made Stove Top! So I know to never waiver from the traditional.

12. Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home?
I suppose that you could say that it is "secular" because we celebrate on the National Thanksgivng Day, but for us it's all religious. We'll be starting the day at church, thanking the Father for our blessings this year. It's because of Him that we are so blessed. All the praise and glory goes to Him alone!

13. Share one Thanksgiving tradition.
We always go to church, whether it's a Thanksgiving Eve service, or one on Thanksgiving day. Our holiday is centered on God.

14. Share one Thanksgiving memory.
My mother is the youngest of nine children. Thanksgiving was ALWAYS celebrated with her side of the family. It got so big that the family rented out a church basement. Two people were in charge every year, and they made the turkeys and the stuffing. They sent out postcards to everyone else, telling them what they were to bring. When it was at it's biggest, we had about 150 people there. It was a BLAST! After eating, the men (and some of the girls) would go outside and play the annual "Turkey Bowl" football game, and the women would play spoons. About 3pm, we'd get out the leftovers, and make sandwiches before everyone went home. My Aunt Maria always brought creamed corn and chocolate chip cookies. No one made those two items like her. And no one has ever since. Those are my warmest memories. It's probably why I love to be surrounded by people on Thanksgiving!

15. Name five things you’re thankful for.
1. My Family
2. My Savior
3. My Church
4. My Freedom
5. My Friends

Now it's your turn! Leave me a comment with your link, so I can enjoy your answers too! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!