This post was inspired by the recently used Capital One credit card advertisement that asked, “What’s in your wallet?” This is not the first time I was inspired by that phrase. I once wrote a garden club lesson called, “What’s in your compost?” Our activity was composting in a bucket!
I digress, however. Since both my husband and I shopped this week AND we are both maintaining our new weight post keto diet, we opted for our traditional Thanksgiving meal. This includes:
Roasted Turkey. This year we will cook it in the oven, but years past we have smoked it as well as fried it. I seem to be on a traditional kick lately, so our meal reflects that mindset.
Homemade sausage stuffing. This is my mother’s recipe. The boys all really love it. It has pork sausage, bread cubes, celery, onion, sage, and turkey drippings, among other seasoning. It will be the left-over that is gone first, post holiday.
Gourmet potatoes. This is my mother’s recipe via a family friend who gave it to her over 40 year ago. Sour Cream, White Cheddar (New York), onion, white potatoes pre-cooked and grated, and butter – lots of butter. All ingredients are mixed together after pre-cooking and then baked for 45 minutes until the top is bubbly. This is my favorite dish – well, one of them, anyway!
Chinese cabbage salad – This is my grandmother’s recipe. Napa cabbage, onion, bacon, and bacon grease. Served warm with a vinegar based, slightly sweetened dressing. This is another family favorite. Usually, there’s not much (if any) left, and it does not reheat to the same cripsy crunchiness as when first served.
Vegetable – This year’s vegetable will be green beans. Not green bean casserole, mind you, just green beans.
Rolls – Yes, rolls are a necessary part of the dinner. I’ll stay away from them.
Cranberry sauce – Okay. This is canned. Don’t judge us. I’ve made, from scratch, a variety of cranberry sides with fresh cranberries. Everyone like the canned jelly type of cranberry sauce. So, why bother?
Gravy – No. No one eats it.
Squash – I like acorn squash, roasted with some butter and brown sugar. I just realized I did not buy one this year, nor did we grow any.
Sweet potatoes – These are cut up and cooked in a liquid sweetened with brown sugar. I guess some refer to them as candied sweet potatoes. My husband usually makes these.
Home made cider – Yup. We have 30 fruit trees in our home orchard, most of which are apple. Despite a lackluster (just okay) harvest this year, we did manage to make cider and freeze it. We do not pasteurize it but freezing works well. It’ll be drank quick. We thawed a gallon for our feasting tomorrow. This has become a necessary and valued part of our traditional meal for holidays.
Home made apple pie – My husband was busy this morning making an apple pie and a berry crostata for dessert. We have frozen apples from this years harvest, too, but not many. They’ll be reserved for Christmas pies. He used Granny Smith for the pie he made today.
For the last few years, we’ve started the meal with going around the table and each stating what, specifically, we are thankful for. It’s a nice way to reflect on our many blessings.
Holiday traditions in our house mostly revolve around food. What are some of you Thanksgiving traditions? What is your favorite Thanksgiving meal food? Let me know in the comments!
The Apples in My Orchard 