Favorite Thanksgiving Traditions & Recipes

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I thought it would be fun if we shared our Traditions & Recipes for the day.

I'll start =)

We are blessed to live nearby my inlaws and they host Thanksgiving giving us the opportunity to spend time with the members of our BIG family. My husband has 4 sisters, so between all of us and the many daughters, nieces... we have a great meal. Of course we always have the traditional foods of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, bread/rolls, pies, but many other delicious foods show up as well to round out the meal.

I usually volunteer to make a number of things and one of them is often homemade bread or rolls. Here is my go-to recipe for Homemade Bread from a previous blog post http://inkelleyskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/bread-baking-binge.html

What is your favorite Thanksgiving Recipe?

Chicken Casserole Recipe ~ Comfort Meal from the Pantry

This is one of those super simple recipes that you can easily adjust to the amount of people you are feeding. It's from almost all pantry ingredients.

Chicken Casserole

Potato Layer:
3 cups instant potato flakes
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 T. butter
1 cup milk

Boil 3 cups water, add salt & butter, stir in potato flakes & then add milk, mixing until potatoes are fluffy. Spread into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Stuffing Layer:
1 box instant stuffing mix, prepared according to instructions on box
Spread over potato layer.

Chicken Layer:
1 9.75oz can chicken breast
Drain and put over stuffing layer, breaking chicken chunks apart if necessary.

Corn Layer:
1 can corn
Drain & put over chicken layer

Gravy Layer:
1 jar chicken gravy
Pour over top

Sprinkle top of casserole with dried parsely.

Bake at 350 until heated through or may be heated through in the microwave.

Veteran's Day

I ran across this Veteran's Day Tribute & wanted to share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pfBUUZNbFM&fe

“Thank You, Soldiers" was written by music teacher Michael Souders and his wife, Angela, was recorded by the 3rd graders at Tussing Elementary School, in Colonial Heights, Virginia, and subsequently uploaded with a picture video to Youtube. The song was intended to be a heart-felt ‘thank you’ to veterans and current serving soldiers.

Party Potatoes / Hashbrown Casserole (Recipe)

With the Holidays coming up, I thought I would pull out this tried and true recipe to share again.

Cooking for a Crowd-Potatoes for a Party
(This is my version of Party Potatoes/Hashbrown Casserole. I make it often when entertaining or cooking for a crowd. My family "has to have it" at Holiday Dinners! Enjoy!)

Party Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 - 32 oz. bags frozen hash browns (cubes)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celerycream of chicken)
Salt & pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley
Topping:
2 c. frosted flakes
4 T. butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, onions, sour cream, soup, salt, pepper, basil & parsley. Stir in shredded cheese and then mix with potatoes. Pour into 1/2 size aluminum deep foil pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle frosted flakes evenly over potatoes flakes and drizzled melted butter over top. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes.

For my daughter's wedding reception, I made batches of these ahead a few at a time (a total of 8 pans) as time permitted, covered well with heavy duty foil, and froze them (uncooked) until the day before the party. I thawed them in our spare refrigerator and then baked them on party day. 2 of these half pans fit in my roaster side by side for serving - I kept extra pans warm in the oven to refill serving area as needed. This recipe may also be made in 2 - 9 x 11 pans for use where you're not using a roaster or warming pan.

Recipe for Blueberry Bread

I baked Blueberry Bread on Sunday afternoon and wanted to share the recipe. It makes 2 loaves, so you could freeze one for later. My husband is enjoying it for breakfast & supper, so I may not get one in the freezer. lol =)

BLUEBERRY BREAD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray.
Ingredients:
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups milk
6 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 T. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix the the eggs and sugar together. Stir in the milk & oil. Add the flour, salt, & baking powder, stirring until blended. Add vanilla. (Be sure not to over mix.) Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (Check the loaves for doneness when there is about 10 minutes time remaining because all ovens are different. Bake until golden and a toothpick come out clean when you check.) Enjoy!

Repost of a money-saving recipe - Kelley's Cheddar Beer Bread

I often have people ask me for this recipe, so I thought I would share it again. =)

Kelley's Cheddar Beer Bread

Ingredients:
9 cups self-rising flour
(If you don't have self-rising flour, you can easily make your own. ---For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt & mix to combine.---)
1 cup sugar
36 oz. beer
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 loaf pans. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix in shredded cheese. Add beer and stir until mixed. Pour batter evenly distributed between the 3 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on wire rack. I usually wrap, label & freeze 2 loaves for later use and wrap 1 loaf to enjoy right away.

Uh-Oh the Power is Out!

An unusually early snowstorm that brought heavy, wet snow to the East Coast knocked out power to more than 2.3 million homes and businesses in late October. Many were without power for days. This reminds me of a few years ago when we had an ice storm in our area that caused widespread power outages. Ice build up snapped tree limbs (& whole trees) bringing down power lines & surfaces including roads were covered with a thick coating of ice. We were without power for 2-1/2 days, but some were without power for many days as crews worked to repair lines with the help of out of state workers.

Regardless of the time of year or your geographic location, power outages happen for various reasons.

This brings me to a question for you regarding preparing meals for your family during a power outage. (For the purpose of this question, we'll assume you are safe and have means to keep warm if you are in a cold climate.)

During a power outage, what is your plan to prepare meals...do you have food on hand for a number of days...how will you prepare it...what are your go-to meals for this situation?

I'm looking forward to your comments. I'll be sharing some ideas for you too in a follow-up post. =)

Back from hiatus!

After my hiatus from my blog, I am so excited to get back at it.

The early snowstorm on the east coast made me start thinking:
The power's out? How will you come up with meals for your family?
How have you prepared for events such as bad weather, power outages, etc?

Do you keep things in your pantry to cook and bake if you can't get out due to the weather?

Here's a recipe to make for your family and/or guests. It's made with things I try to keep on hand.

Fruit Crunch
Combine 3 cups frozen blueberries or raspberries and 1/4 cup water in a square baking pan.
Combine the following and sprinkle over the berries:
3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 c. melted butter
Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Get those crockpots out!

A Year of Slowcooking:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
(I like Stephanie's blog--well written, fun, and filled with great ideas!)

Leave a comment and share:
-how often you use your crockpot
-whether it's a money-saver and/or time-saver for you
-your "go-to" crock-pot recipe

One of my favorite things to make in the crockpot is soup! With autumn almost here I am looking forward to making Chili, Vegetable Soup...

Here is my recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup.

Deep Dish Pizza For Supper!

If you're thinking about what to make for supper, how about this Deep Dish Pizza?
My family loved this when I made it...must add it to the menu plan again soon!
(If YOU have a FAVORITE Tried & True Recipe for Deep Dish Pizza, please share!)

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza ---Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicago-Deep-Dish-Pizza/detail.aspx
By: JULIANNA19
"Anyone who likes Chicago-style deep dish pizza will enjoy this great recipe. Thick crust pizzas are baked in cake pans. This is the basic recipe for a cheese pizza, but feel free to add more toppings to your liking."

Cook Time:
40 Min
Ready In:
40 Min
8 Servings

Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) envelope rapid rise yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cornmeal
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and squished
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt to taste
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:

Place the water in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Pour in the vegetable oil, olive oil, cornmeal and 3 cups of the flour. Mix with the beater for 10 minutes. Add the remaining flour, and switch from the beater to the dough hook. Mix for about 5 minutes. This can be done by hand, but the dough is very rich and moist. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface, and cover with a large bowl. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and let rise again. This time won't take as long.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
Grease two 9 or 10 inch round cake pans. Divide the dough evenly between the two pans. Press the dough out so that it goes all the way up the sides of the pans. Lay the slices of mozzarella cheese onto the crusts like tile. Next put the tomatoes over the mozzarella, and season with basil, oregano, garlic and salt. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is golden and gooey, and the crust a light golden brown.

Variations: Italian Sausage - hot or mild, Yellow onions, peeled and diced, Pepperoni, sliced thin, Mushrooms, sliced, Green sweet bell peppers. Put any or all of these on your pizza and then top with the Parmesan and the olive oil.