Traditional Homemade Thanksgiving Recipes

For those of you just need just the basic side dishes and desserts for your Thanksgiving dinner, here they all are in one spot.

If you need a fantastic roast turkey recipe or you need to know how to roast a turkey, you can find it here!

Mashed Potatoes

5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

In a large saucepan, place potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes depending on your altitude). Drain. Transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl and mash. I use a hand mixer for this but you can use a potato masher.  Add butter, milk, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth. Serves 5-6.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Topping
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix all the ingredients and put in a buttered 9×9 casserole dish. Sprinkle on topping. Bake uncovered at 350° for 20 minutes. This is a great dish for holiday dinners and potlucks because it can be made the day before and then baked the next day. Serves 8-9.

Homemade Stuffing

This is my Grandma Tatum’s stuffing recipe (Jill’s Mom). It has been in our family for years and is a family favorite! -Tawra

I have hesitated to include our stuffing recipe because it is one of those recipes where it is hard to give exact measurements. You can adjust any of these ingredients to suit your taste and if you want, you can add different things to the dish.

For example, you can replace some of the bread with cornbread or you can add mushrooms, celery, apples, or giblets and many other things according to your own taste. This is one of those recipes that looks complicated but is really easy once you make it.

For a drier stuffing, use less liquid and for a moister dressing, add more butter. Butter doesn’t evaporate and won’t make your dressing "soggy" instead of moist the way liquid will.You can also add a little milk if the stuffing seems too dry.

When you bake stuffing inside a turkey or if you cook it in a covered pan, it won’t dry out so keep this in mind when testing for moistness.

If you want your stuffing to be fluffier, beat the eggs in the recipe before adding.

Here is the basic recipe:

8-10 cups dried bread, cubed or torn (You can use anything including hot dog buns, dinner rolls or French bread.)
1/2-1 lb. pork sausage
1/2-1 onion (or onion powder to taste)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups broth*
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4-1/2 cup margarine
3 heaping tsp. ground sage
salt and pepper
1 small bag or box of seasoned croutons

Cube and tear bread, place in a very large mixing bowl and let it set out overnight if not dry enough. Fry sausage and onion. I don’t like celery in my dressing but if you do you can add it at this time. Drain and add to the bowl of bread. Pour broth into a large measuring cup. Add margarine and bouillon cube and heat in the microwave to melt margarine and bouillon cubes. Pour this mixture and eggs over bread. Add sage, salt, pepper and onion powder if not using onions and croutons. Using your hands, mush it all together until well mixed. Place in a well greased casserole dish or pan. Cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

If you like your stuffing soft on the inside with a crispy crust, just remove the cover for the last 15 minutes. If your dressing seems too dry, add a little milk for more moisture.

*For broth, I simmer the neck and giblets in a pan of water for an hour or two as soon as I take them out of the turkey. Then I use this water and some broth from my turkey, which has been cooking, to make my 1 1/2 cups.

If you are baking your stuffing in the turkey and can’t tell if it is done, just test with a meat thermometer and it should be 165 degrees.

Turkey Gravy

3-4 cups turkey juices/drippings
1/4 cup flour
Salt, pepper to taste

Pour turkey juices/drippings into a sauce pan. Whisk in flour. Add salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring once in a while until it is the right consistency.

If the gravy is too strong or you need to stretch it just a little, you can add a small amount of water. Another way I used to make turkey gravy (either way works) is to dissolve the flour in 1/2 cup of cold water and then whisk it into the turkey juices.

Pie Crust

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 cups shortening, cold
1 egg, cold
1 Tbsp. vinegar, cold
5 Tbsp. water, cold
sugar

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives (I use my fingers). Add egg, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water. Mix lightly. If dough is too dry, add more water. Mix with hands. Don’t over mix. Mix just until the dough sticks together.

Divide into thirds. Roll out to make 3 pies crusts. When using the crust for the top of the pie, sprinkle sugar on top and poke with a few steam holes. Crust can be frozen in balls and then defrosted and rolled out when ready to use. Makes 3 crusts.

Pumpkin Pie

1 pie crust
2 eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

Bake pie crust at 350° for 1-2 minutes until crust starts to puff with small bubbles. Watch carefully. Then remove from oven. Blend all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into pie crust and bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350° for 45 minutes. When a knife is inserted into the center of the pie and comes out clean, it is done. Makes one pie.

Pecan Pie

1 stick butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped
1 (8-9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Brown butter in a pan until golden brown. Do not burn. Cool. Add other ingredients in order given in a separate bowl. Mix well. Blend in cooled butter well. Pour into pie crust. Bake 10 minutes at 425° and then 40 minutes at 325°. Makes one pie.

For more traditional homemade scratch recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By: Cameron Nordholm

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Mock raspberry jam is a great way to use green tomatoes. There are recipes on the web. If you have picky eaters, just don’t tell them. I have never had anybody say, "yuck". You don’t need to can the jam. Just freeze in freezer containers.

Thanks for the tip Melanie.

For all of you who will be bringing in the last of your gardens in a few weeks, here are two recipes to try.

Mock Raspberry Jam 1

2 1/2 cups green tomatoes, grated or chopped well in a blender
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (3 oz.) package of raspberry or strawberry Jello

Cook tomatoes and sugar on medium heat for 20 minutes uncovered. Turn down heat. Add Jello and cook until Jello is dissolved. Pour in sterilized jars or freezer containers. Stores in the fridge a couple of weeks and in the freezer about 6 months. Makes 2-3 pints.

Mock Raspberry Jam Recipe 2

4 cups green tomatoes, grated or chopped fine in the blener
4 cups sugar
1 (6 oz.) pkg. raspberry or strawberry Jello

Cook tomatoes and sugar 10 minutes over medium heat. Turn down heat. Add Jello and cook 20 more minutes. Pour in sterilized jars or freezer containers. Keeps two weeks in refrigerator and 6 months in freezer. Makes about 6 pints.

Photo By: Quinn Dombrowski

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Menu – Pancake Pizza – Cinnamon Bacon

We love to have brunch after church on Easter and here are some recipes I think will be a hit whether you serve them on Easter morning, for brunch or breakfast any time.

Menu:

Pancake Pizza*
Homemade Maple syrup*
Cinnamon Bacon*
Fruit Platter
Coffee/Juice

Recipes:

Pancake Pizza

2 cups biscuit mix
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. pancake syrup
1 cup granola
1 cup walnuts

Combine first 5 ingredients. Spread on a greased 14 inch pizza pan. Sprinkle with granola and nuts. Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes until golden. Cut into wedges and serve with more syrup.

Cinnamon Bacon

1 lb. bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon. Cut bacon in half widthwise and roll in sugar mix. Twist and place on a foil lined 15x10x1 baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes until crisp. These freeze great. If you plan to freeze them, just bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until heated through.

The Following Recipes Are From the Dining on a Dime Cookbook

Grandma’s Maple Syrup

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp. maple flavoring
1/2 cup water

Stir together; bring to a boil. Simmer 2-3 minutes and cool. Makes 1 cup.

A. Jamie Syrup

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 cups dark corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. maple flavoring

Combine all but flavoring in a saucepan. Stir until it comes to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes. Add maple flavoring. Makes 1 quart.

      -Jill

Photo By: Tania Liu

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St.Patrick’s Day is a couple of weeks away but I thought I would start early with the special St Patrick’s Day menus. Corned beef will be going on sale soon and there is no reason you need to wait until the "wearing of the green" day to have corned beef. For that matter, stock up on it for some other day.

Corned Beef Tips:

• Cut corned beef across the grain for more tender slices.
• Save juices and reduce. Dice leftover corned beef and make corned beef soup with leftovers.

Menu:

Irish Corned Beef Brisket and Cabbage
Irish Soda Bread
Blarney Stone Cookies

Recipes:

Irish Corned Beef Brisket and Cabbage

1 (3 lb.) corned beef brisket, plus seasoning packet
1 large onion, peeled
10 small (red) potatoes
15 baby carrots
1 head of cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Place brisket, seasoning packet and onion in a large Dutch oven or pot. Cover with water 6 inches above meat. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 minutes. Reduce to medium low or to a  gentle boil. Cover and cook for 3 1/2 hours. Remove onions, cut into wedges and put back in the pot. Add carrots, cabbage and then potatoes. Cover and cook 30 more minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove vegetables, but keep the meat in the juices until you’re ready to slice it so it won’t dry out.

Side Sauce

Mix the night or day before and then serve on the side with your corned beef.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. horseradish
1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Irish Soda Bread

This Irish Soda Bread is great served with Irish stew. Eat leftover soda bread toasted or use for French toast.

1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups raisins
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds, optional*
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350° (175° C). Mix first seven ingredients. In a second bowl mix eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Add liquid ingredients to dry, adding enough until flour is moistened. Knead 10-12 strokes. The dough will be very sticky. Place in a 9 inch cake pan. Cut a 4" X in the top. Brush top with milk. Bake for 65-75 minutes.

*Caraway seeds make it more authentic, but if you don’t like them or don’t have them, you can leave them out. You could also use 1 cup of raisins and one cup dried cranberries.

Blarney Stone Cookies

Add a couple drops of green food coloring to the dough of your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Sprinkle with green sugar* or frost with green frosting.

*Make green sugar by placing sugar in a container with a couple of drops of green food coloring and shake.

photo by: stuart_spivack

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Delicious Breakfast Recipes

Today we will share some delicious breakfast recipes with you. Now that the holidays are here, some of us will have every evening booked with a special get-together. If you are planning a get-together or party of your own, try having a brunch instead. It is a good way to use some of today’s delicious breakfast recipes, and is a great way to use the ones you are too busy to use on an ordinary weekday.

Breakfast Tips:

• The holidays are the time of year when many of us try new and different recipes. One rule of thumb is to always read the entire recipe before you start. As a seasoned cook, I don’t know how many times I was sure I knew how a recipe should be made, so I didn’t read it all the way through and got into big trouble because of it. READ YOUR RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
• Waffles and pancakes aren’t just for breakfast. They make great dishes for supper on cold or snowy evenings. You can add so many different things to them. For example, add some puree pumpkin or sweet potato, apples, fried and crumbled sausage, nuts, berries or peanut butter.
• Have fun with different kinds of syrups and butters too. Here are some examples:
  1. Orange-Honey Butter – Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of honey and 2 tsp. of orange zest to a stick of softened butter.
  2. Vanilla Butter – Stir in 1-2 tsp. of vanilla and 1 Tbsp. of powdered sugar to softened butter.
  3. Berry Butter – Mix a few berries with 2-3 Tbsp. of powdered sugar into butter.
  4. Cinnamon Butter – Add 2-3 Tbsp. sugar, 1-2 tsp. cinnamon and a small dash of vanilla to 2 sticks of softened butter. Double this and add to a one pound tub of butter or margarine like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Use on bagels, pancakes, bread or even on baked sweet potatoes topped with some extra brown sugar.

Recipes:

Some of these recipes will be richer and have more unusual ingredients than those we normally share but, since they are for the holidays, I wanted to give you something special for this special time of year.

This recipe can be used for a fun and different tradition for Christmas morning. Can you imagine what the house would smell like? Gingerbread– Oh Yum! You might also try using them for dessert. Make them ahead of time and then warm in the oven or toaster. Top with ice cream or whipped cream.

Gingerbread Waffles

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger
2 eggs, separated
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat egg whites to form soft peaks. Beat egg yolks and add other liquid ingredients. Add liquid ingredients to the dry, stirring quickly until flour mixture is moistened. Fold in egg whites. Bake slightly slower and 1-2 minutes longer than plain waffles. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 5 servings.

This recipe was given to me by my sister in law and it is simply to die for! I can hardly eat my regular waffles anymore because these are so good. Check out the ingredients and see why.

Dutch Honey

1 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream (not whipped and no substitutes)
1 cup white Karo syrup

Mix everything in a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until it is a light caramel color. It takes about 20-30 minutes. Watch it when you first start to cook it because it boils over easily but once it gets started you can leave it, just stirring occasionally. It is great on pancakes and French toast, too!

Peachy English Muffins

2 English muffins, split in half
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened
1 (15 oz.) can peaches or pears, drained. (Cut thick slices lengthwise to 1/2 inch thickness.)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice (optional)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. margarine, softened
1/4 cup quick cook oats

Spread muffins with cream cheese and place on baking sheet lined with foil. Place peaches in bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and stir. Arrange in single layers on muffins. Mix the brown sugar, remaining cinnamon, margarine and oats until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

You don’t always have to serve the usual coffee cakes or rolls. Try something different but just as good to go with your scrambled eggs and bacon like a fruit crumble. Here are two fruit crumble recipes. The first one is an easy version from my mother in law and the second is still easy, but more of the traditional crumble.

Blueberry – Raspberry Crumble

1 (21 oz.) can blueberry pie filling*
1 (21 oz.) can raspberry pie filling*
1 white cake mix
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 cup (stick) margarine, melted

In a greased 9×13 baking dish, combine pie fillings. Mix the rest of the ingredients until crumbly and sprinkle over pie fillings. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm.

*You can use any pie fillings you want, like peach or apple. I even saw a recipe once where they used a (16 oz.) bag of dark cherries and a (16 oz.) can of crushed pineapple. Another recipe had blueberry pie filling and a can of crushed pineapple, with coconut sprinkled on everything.

Traditional Fruit Crisp

2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 apples, peeled and sliced or chopped in small pieces*
3 pears, peeled and sliced or chopped in small pieces*
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1 cup berries*
1 1/2 cup oats
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup melted butter

Toss apples and pears in lemon juice to keep from getting brown. Add cinnamon, flour and sugar to fruit. Pour into a 9×13 greased baking dish. Sprinkle with berries. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients until crumbly. Then sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes until fruit is tender. Check at about 30 minutes.

*Before I add the topping, I microwave my fruit on high for about 5 minutes to get it partially cooked. This cuts down on the baking time.

*If you prefer, you can use all apples, all pears or no berries.

*Use your favorite fruit or whatever fruit is in season.

*If you don’t mind peels, you can leave them on.

For more delicious homemade scratch recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

photo by: vancouver-bites

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Make Canned Cranberry Sauce Taste Homemade

Cranberry Sauce

1 can (15oz.) jellied cranberry sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. ground clove

Mix together all ingredients. Makes a great topping for ham or turkey. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

From Dining on a Dime

photo by:vegan-baking

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Menu:

Brisket With Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Garden Vegetable Salad
Chocolate Covered CherryCake

Recipes

Brisket with Cranberry Sauce

1 (2 1/2 lb.) beef brisket (fresh, not corned beef)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (16 oz.) can cranberry sauce
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. mustard

Season brisket with salt and pepper; place in a 5 quart crockpot. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour on meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. When cutting brisket, thinly slice across grain. Skim fat and serve juice with meat.

This salad is nice because you can prep the vegetables the night before and then toss it all together and let it set all day. By dinner time, it will be ready to set on the table — one less thing to think about!

Garden Vegetable Salad

2 cups of each:
Celery, sliced
Cauliflower, thinly sliced
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Carrots, thinly sliced
Cucumbers, sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced with the rings separated

Place vegetables in a large bowl.

Dressing:

3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Place in jar with lid and mix. Pour over vegetables and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

1 pkg. Pillsbury fudge cake mix (This brand works best.)
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1 tsp. almond extract (optional)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine everything by hand, mixing well. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool and frost with:

Frosting:

1 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup milk
6 oz. chocolate chips

In a saucepan, bring sugar, butter and milk to a boil. Stir constantly and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chips. Pour over cake and smooth out.

photo by:houseofsims

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Easy Barbecue Sauce

1 cup grape jelly
garlic or garlic powder (to taste)
1 cup ketchup

Mix together and serve with ribs or chicken wings. Makes 2 cups.

From Dining on a Dime

Photo By: jetalone

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Homemade Enchilada Sauce

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. chili powder
5 Tbsp. green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste)

Combine all ingredients in saucepan, mixing well. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Makes 2 cups.

From Dining on a Dime

Photo By: little blue hen

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half quart jar of mayonnaise
4-5 large cloves of garlic, pressed or 1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix pressed garlic with mayonnaise. Refrigerate for at least 1 day before using. Great on sandwiches, chicken, fish or with vegetables.

From Dining on a Dime

Photo By: bekathwia

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