Thanksgiving Planning

Archive for the ‘thanksgiving dinner ideas’ Category

It can be a meat casserole, vegetable casserole, dessert, or some type of bread. Oh…and these are kids ages two through five. And, I will choose best answer! THANK YOU!!!

Here’s a really easy dessert that was always a hit with the kids at our Thanksgiving dinners..

Dirt Pudding

13 x 9 inch pan
1 package cream cheese (softened)
2 boxes of instant french vanilla pudding
4 cups of milk to make the pudding
Package of oreos
1 medium sized bowl of cool whip

Put oreos in a food processor to crumble them finely into "dirt." Use half to layer the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan. In a large bowl, Make the french vanilla pudding according to package directions. Mix in softened cream cheese on high speed, until lumps are gone. Stir in cool whip. Pour into pan over the cookie crumbs. Use other half of cookie crumbs on top of the pudding. Chill for one hour. Tell the kids it’s really dirt after they start to eat it, haha.

Another idea is to make spinach dip with king bread. It’s simple and really good. The recipe for the dip is on the back of the Knoll’s vegetable soup mix package. It’s basically just mixing their dry veggie soup with a 16 oz container of sour cream, and 1 cup of mayonaisse, and chilling in the fridge for 2 hrs. I buy the circular sweet Hawaiian King’s bread, cut a circle out of the middle of it and pour the dip into that space. Then voila, excellent pull and eat appetizer with very little effort.

Learn how to remove the carcass when making Thanksgiving turkey soup in this free cooking video with turkey leftover recipes.

Expert: Brandon Sarkis
Bio: Brandon Sarkis has been a professional chef for more than 12 years, and he has worked in Austin, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta, Ga.
Filmmaker: brandon sarkis

Duration : 0:2:40

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I was planning on cooking turkey (obviously) but I was wondering if there were ways to make the foods we all love for Thanksgiving in a healthy way, maybe cook them differently or replace some ingredients to make them healthier. I would love to have stuffing, mashed popatoes, yams, vegetables and the like but would be open to substituting them for different foods. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Happy holidays and happy halloween

Here are some ideas for ways to reduce the fat and calories for your dinner.

1. Make your turkey unstuffed. Fill the cavity with onioin, garlic, an herb bundle with thyme, rosemary and lemon zest. Rub olive oil on the skin and top with kosher salt, rubbed sage, and fresh ground pepper.
2. Green bean casserole update: Saute diced yellow onion with minced garlic in 2 T olive oil. Toss steamed fresh green beans with onion and add salt and pepper. Add sliced portabello mushrooms and 1/2 cup white wine to the mix. Saute until wine is reduced and mushrooms are tender. Add 1/2 cup low fat or fat free sour cream and 3 oz of fat free cream cheese. Blend until melted. Place in baking dish and top with parmesan bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
3. Instead of sweet potato casserole, try baked sweet potatos with a streusal topping. For streusal, mix 1/2 cup light butter or margarine with 3 T brown sugar and 1/2 cup candied walnuts. When sweet potatoes are cooked thru, split them, and top with some of the streusal. Return to oven and bake until streusal is melted, bubbling and yummy.
4. Cook yukon gold potatos in chicken broth for added flavor. Drain and mash with fat free sour cream, garlic, and a little light butter. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
5. Stuffing: Take your favorite cornbread stuffing mix and make according to package directions, reducing fat by half and substituting light margarine instead. To stuffing, add sauteed onion and celery along with crumbled lean turkey sausage for added flavor. Bake in baking dish for 45 minutes.

I’m a die-hard for traditional turkey dinners, so I don’t stray far from recipes that I love very much. Since its one day a year, I indulge in family favorite recipes, but try to lighten them up a bit and get in some exercise while I’m at it.

Learn how to oven cook a whipped sweet potato casserole, a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:19

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Learn how to oven cook potatoes for whipped sweet potatoes, a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:7

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Learn how to carve Thanksgiving turkey wings for a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:14

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Learn how to season gravy, a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:24

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Technorati Tags: catering, celebration, cook, cooking, day, dinner, dishes, family, feast, food, giving, ham, holiday, home, mashed, meal, menu, november, potatoes, recipes, side, thanks, thanksgiving, tips, traditions, turkey, videos, wine

Learn how to slice celery for turkey stuffing, a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:27

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Technorati Tags: catering, celebration, cook, cooking, day, dinner, dishes, family, feast, food, giving, ham, holiday, home, mashed, meal, menu, november, potatoes, recipes, side, thanks, thanksgiving, tips, traditions, turkey, videos, wine

Learn how to caramelize onions for green beans, a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:27

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Technorati Tags: catering, celebration, cook, cooking, day, dinner, dishes, family, feast, food, giving, ham, holiday, home, mashed, meal, menu, november, potatoes, recipes, side, thanks, thanksgiving, tips, traditions, turkey, videos, wine

Part 1 – Learn how to make a marinade for a Thanksgiving tofu turkey, a non traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:35

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Technorati Tags: catering, celebration, cook, cooking, day, dinner, dishes, family, feast, food, giving, ham, holiday, home, mashed, meal, menu, november, potatoes, recipes, side, thanks, thanksgiving, tips, traditions, turkey, videos, wine