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Christina & Greg’s Thanksgiving Recipes

Greg & Christina Hood

Greg & Christina Hoo

We have so many things to be grateful for this holiday season.  The fact that we met you is one of them!  We hope you enjoy our recipes and we look forward to seeing you at one of our next cooking classes.  For updated class schedules be sure to join our mailing list!

And now, the recipes from our most recent class at Midway Home Solutions…

Cranberry Orange Salsa

3 cups or 12oz. of whole cranberries

16 oz orange juice

2 cups sugar

3 large jalapeños

Mix the cranberries, orange juice in a 2 quart sauce pan (pot) and reduce over medium heat for 1 and half hours.  Add diced and sautéed jalapeños after 1 hour.  Make sure to clean all the seeds from the jalapeños before sautéing to create a subtle hint of their unique flavor.  Let chill and serve at room temperature.

(To speed the process one can mix all the ingredients except the jalapeños in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for ten minutes, or till the cranberries are soft, then simmer in the sauce pan for 45 minutes adding the jalapeños towards the end)

Bacon, Sausage and Corn Stuffing (Dressing)

The key ingredient: 1 16oz. bag of Pepperidge Farm™ “Herb Seasoned Stuffing”

32 oz. Chicken stock – no fat

1lb. Bacon, maple cure

1ib. Jimmy Dean sausage or breakfast sausage

1 14.5oz. can of sweet corn

Cut the bacon strips into 1” lengths and cook in skillet till most of the fat is rendered, then drain.  Make sure to keep the bacon moving in the pan so that it does not stick. (Although non-stick pans are easier to work with, stainless steel is preferable for browning.)  Then add the sausage, continuing to mix and chop till the sausage cooks through and the edges begin to crisp.  Drain again leaving about 4 tablespoons of the fat in the bottom of the pan.  This will look like +/- 1/16” across the bottom of a 12” frying pan.  Add this to a large baking pan, (large lasagna pans work nicely).  Drain the corn and mix into the stuffing mix adding the chicken stock, evenly distributing all the ingredients.  Bake in oven at 350º for 35 minutes or till the top becomes brown.

Turkey Breast

This is a unique, quick to fix solution to the holiday turkey challenge.  This delicious microwave recipe produces a 3 pound turkey breast in the round in ½ hour.

1 3lb. Honeysuckle White™ or equal boneless turkey breast

3 tablespoons of Pampered Chef™ “Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix”

6 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter

Salt and Pepper

Required tools:

Chef thermometer

Pampered Chef™ “Deep Covered Baker”

Start defrosting the turkey breast in the refrigerator 48 to 72 hours before cooking.  Rub the bottom of the Pampered Chef™ “Deep Covered Baker” with 2 tablespoons of butter.  (We use this product as it is the only baker that we know which can cook in a microwave producing a wonderfully cooked meat while not damaging the microwave.)  Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan.  Place the turkey breast inside the “Deep Covered Baker” and rub the outside of the turkey breast with melted butter.  Season it with the “Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix” followed by a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Place in the microwave for 25 minutes at power level 10 or full power.  Remove and stab with the thermometer.  If the breast is 170º it is done.  If not add time in 3 minute increments.  Don’t worry if the temperature is a little above 170º, it will still be delicious, but take care not let the microwave run wild since they will over cook meat.  (Note every microwave is different, which is why you must use a thermometer to check the meat’s temperature.)

Giblet Gravy

½ pound of turkey or chicken giblets, chopped

6 cloves of garlic or to taste, sliced finely

32oz. fat free chicken stock

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Prepare the giblets by medium chop, approximating 1/8” in any direction.  Melt butter in a 8” or 10” saucepan and add peeled, sliced garlic, finer the better.  Sautee the giblets in the garlic butter till golden brown and start adding the chicken stock.  The goal is to reduce the mixture, producing 16oz. to 20oz. of gravy.  Once the stock giblet reduction has simmered down or about 45 minutes, reduce the heat to a minimum and gently start adding the flour while rapidly whisking to avoid any clumping.  Once the gravy starts to firm, remove from the heat and strain removing the giblets and any solid garlic.

Green Bean Casserole – reprinted from COOK.COM

30oz. canned green beans, drained

10-3/4oz. Cream of Mushroom Soup

¾ cup of whole milk

2-3/4oz. French-fried onions

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Combine green beans, soup, milk, pepper and ½ of the onions; gently stir together to mix well.  Spread mixture in a 1-1/2 to quart ovenproof casserole dish.  Bake at 350º for 25 minutes. Top with remaining onions.  Bake 5 minutes more.

(May substitute 18 ounces of frozen cut green beans, thawed and drained.)

Mashed Potato & Turnips

3 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lb/1.1 kg)

3 Turnips

3 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, softened

Optional:

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2 mL) coarsely ground black pepper

Peel and quarter potatoes, place in Deep Covered Baker and pour 2 cups of heavy cream over potatoes.  Cover and place in microwave for 10-12 minutes.

Peel turnips and place in water.  Boil to soften.  Quick softening in microwave is an option, place in micro-cooker for 10-12 minutes to soften.

Drain turnips and begin to mash using mix-n-chop.  Add to Deep Covered Baker potatoes and cream.  Pour remaining cream over mixture, stir and place in microwave for 5 minutes.  Stir in softened cream cheese and place in microwave for an additional 2 minutes.

Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Scalloped Sweet Potato Casserole – adapted from COOK.COM

Part 1

6 medium sweet potatos

2 medium onions

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of butter or vegetable shortening to grease the baking dish

Salt

Peel the potatoes and the onions.  Cut the potatoes into 1/4” thick slices.  Thin slice the onions so they are ¼” thick too. Lightly oil the Pampered Chef™ “Deep Covered Baker” and add the potatoes.  Place in microwave and cook on high for 8 to 10 minutes or till “fork tender”.

In the meantime, take the onions and sauté them in the remaining oil, adding a ¼ teaspoon of salt as seasoning.  Cook till the onions are caramelized or starting to brown.

Pre-heat the oven to 350º.  Grease a baking dish.  Place 1/3rd of the sweet potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish and cover with ½ of the sautéed onions; repeat and cover the last layer of onions with the remaining sweet potatoes.

Part 2

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon of ground ginger

¼ teaspoon of pepper

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons of parsley

In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, stir in flour, ginger, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt until blended; cook 1 minute.

Gradually stir in milk; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils – remove from heat and pour sauce over the potatoes in the baking dish and garnish with parsley.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

November 20th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Recipes

46 comments to Christina & Greg’s Thanksgiving Recipes

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