Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving RoastedTurkey Just Like Grandma Used to Make

2009-11-25T10:02:00.001-06:00

Placing the butter between the skin and the meat helps the meat to stay moist during roasting. It also helps with the browning of the skin when the turkey has not been basted with oil.

Ingredients:

1 (12 lb.) whole turkey, thawed
6 tbsp. butter, divided
4 C warm water
3 tbsp. chicken bouillon
2 tbsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. parsley, chopped fine
2 tbsp. seasoning salt
1 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Prepare the turkey by removing the giblets and rinsing the turkey in cold water. Use paper towels to dry the turkey well. Separate the skin from the turkey meat on the breasts by inserting your finger and carefully lifting the skin up to make a pocket. Place 3 tbsp of butter under the skin on each side.

Place the turkey in a large roasting pan being sure the breast side is facing up.

Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the bouillon, onion powder and parsley being sure to mix well to combine. Pour the mixture over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle the turkey with the season salt and pepper. Cover the turkey tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake 3 hours 30 minutes basting the turkey with the juices in the pan every 30 minutes.

Remove the aluminum foil and continue roasting for 45 minutes.

The turkey skin should be golden brown and the internal temperature of the breast meat should be 170 degrees when the turkey is done. Remove from the oven and allow the turkey to stand 30 minutes before carving.

Serves 12

Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

2009-11-25T09:48:00.000-06:00

A meal is never quite finished until dessert is eaten. On Thanksgiving that is especially true seeing as there are so many delightful dishes to choose from. Here are some ideas for Thanksgiving desserts your family will love.

The first dessert everyone looks forward to is pumpkin pie. Pumpkins are a favored item during the autumn season. If you have time, fresh pumpkin can be used for the pie. Don’t sweat it if you have to use canned pumpkin. The family will forgive you. Besides, you won’t have to worry about removing all of those stringy fibers.

Did you know that pumpkin is good for more than pie? Use it in muffins with some raisins. Pureed pumpkin can be used to make a pudding type dessert covered with a dollop of whipped cream and cinnamon.

Pumpkin bread is also scrumptious. You won’t even know it contains pumpkin. The sweet bread can be drizzled with a confectioner’s sugar or a lemon glaze or eaten plain, whichever you prefer.

Many fancy sweet potato pie to pumpkin pie. Sweet potatoes go for around twenty-five cents a pound at Thanksgiving so pie bakers can stock up. Sweet potato pie is a long standing tradition in many households for Thanksgiving dinner. Spiced up with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon extract, a good sweet potato pie won’t be around for very long.

My personal favorite is apple pie. Apples of all varieties are plentiful for the choosing at this time of year and several types make great pie fillings. Granny Smith apples are a favorite because they hold up well when cooked. They are a bit tart so a sweeter apple in the mix cuts the sour taste of these particular apples. Some suggestions for a more sugary taste are: Gala, Jonathan, or Fuji. Less sugar is needed in recipes when the apples are sweeter.

Apple pies can have a crumb topping like Dutch apple pie or a flaky butter crust. Canned pie filling can be used in a pinch, but it is definitely not as good as one you create yourself from fresh apples.

This year, give yourself a wee-deserved break. Try a few no-bake desserts to supplement the pies, sweet breads and muffins. Pudding is great for the kids. Vanilla or butterscotch instant pudding complements the pumpkin bread you worked so hard to make. Ice cream is the ultimate no-bake dessert. A la mode goes with all pies and cakes on the menu.

What are you fixing to satisfy that sweet tooth this year at Thanksgiving dinner? Add a few easy dessert ideas to the family recipes and make the job easier for you, but still sweet for everyone else.

Thanksgiving Sides with Flavor

2009-11-25T09:41:00.000-06:00

We all look forward to eating dinner with friends and family on Thanksgiving Day. The center of the table is saved for the turkey, but it is not the piece de resistance. The supporting players on the table are what we all want to savor. Here are some ideas for making your turkey day sides irresistible.

What about the spices? Spices get our blood boiling, sometimes literally. It is said by nutritionists that eating spicy foods increases our metabolism. We need that on Thanksgiving Day when we tend to eat everything in sight.

One zesty spice is crushed red pepper. You can create your own by stripping the seeds out of hot peppers. It is the seeds that create the mouth meltdown anyway. These yummy seeds go well in or atop sausage stuffing.

Cinnamon and nutmeg are also great for adding flavor. We usually see them as a part of desserts, but they can also sweeten our side dishes. Add both to a bowl of candied yams or carrots for a different treat this year.

Herbs, especially fresh herbs, taste great on vegetables. Blend a few in with the mashed potatoes. Combine your potatoes with garlic and melted butter for a heavenly taste. Thyme or dill added to a cream sauce provides tasty coverage for fresh green beans or asparagus spears.

Instead of using plain water to cook rice dishes, add some bouillon cubes and fresh herbs to the water. While the rice cooks, the herbs infuse flavor through each piece. This also works great when steaming vegetables and boiling potatoes.

We add sage to the turkey for dressing it, but it can also be added to the stuffing. A hint of sage and cracked black pepper in cornbread stuffing complements the turkey and the gravy. All of the spices that you use on the turkey will end up in the essence in the bottom of the roasting pan. Add this concentrated bit of flavor to the gravy to liven up the taste.

What are you planning to complement the turkey on Thanksgiving Day? Whatever side dishes and salads you choose to serve, be sure that they are as good as they can be. Instead of the same old tastes, add a new sensation with a sprinkle of spice. It’ll wake up the taste buds and your guests.

What you don’t want to do when it comes to adding flavor to your side dishes is overdo it. Too much overshadows the natural taste of the food that everyone loves. Remember, herbs and spices are meant to enhance food without taking away from its original flavor.

Linus' Thanksgiving prayer

2009-11-22T23:39:00.001-06:00

Meal Planning Ideas for Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-19T12:02:00.002-06:00

For many, the biggest part of the day on Thanksgiving is spent in the kitchen. There are dishes to prepare, meats to cook, and desserts to make. When the cooks finally get to sit down it is at the Thanksgiving table to join their family and friends in devouring the meal he or she has worked so hard to put together. It’s no wonder they don’t fall face down in the mashed potatoes after all that time and effort.

Here are some ideas for meal planning this Thanksgiving to help you spend less time in the kitchen and more time actually enjoying the holiday festivities.

Begin early. Most people work up until Thanksgiving Day so they buy groceries and let everything sit until the night before at the earliest. This year, create a list of the food items that will be on the Thanksgiving table at least a week before the actual day. If it is not on the list, it doesn’t go on the table.

Cook ahead and freeze. Casseroles, macaroni and cheese, and rice dishes are wonderful candidates for freezing. Be sure to let them completely cool before refrigerating them or it will cause condensation to form. Once the dish is evenly cooled, cover it with an airtight lid or in freezer bags and place in the freezer until Thanksgiving morning when you can pull them out and reheat.

We all like to have our pies fresh and hot from the oven, but that is a lot of “perfect” timing for the baker, which is hard to come by when you’re cooking a huge Thanksgiving feast. Bake your pies before hand and let guests heat their single pieces up after dinner when they’re ready to enjoy them.

Buy a fresh turkey instead of a frozen one. For one thing, a frozen turkey needs to thaw in the fridge for four to five days before preparing. That means your refrigerator won’t be available to hold too much else. It also means that raw, thawing meat will be right next to other foods for the big day. Not a good idea if you’re trying to save time and energy and start early. A fresh turkey can be bought later without the space worries. Even if it has to be cooked a day or two before, the entire bird can be reheated in the oven on Thanksgiving Day before meal time.

Purchase or make appetizers. I don’t think there is one household that ever has dinner on the table exactly at four o’clock or whatever time you slate for the Thanksgiving meal. In case dinner is a little late getting to the table, munch on a tray of raw vegetables with ranch dip or a fruit salad. It is light and healthy and won’t ruin the appetite for turkey and gravy.

Do you plan for the big turkey day or just wing it? Planning takes the guesswork out of the occasion and leaves more time to enjoy with family, friends and the good food you’ve prepared.

Kids' Craft: How to Make a Thanksgiving Garland

2009-11-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

by Rachel Paxton
If your kids get bored this Thanksgiving, put them to work making a colorful Thanksgiving garland to help decorate your home for the holidays. It is easy to make, and your kids will love tracing, cutting it out, and putting it together. You may even already have the supplies you need laying around the house!

This craft is suitable for ages approximately four and up. Your child will need to be able to trace and cut out shapes with scissors.

Supplies needed:

Orange, yellow, red, brown construction paper
Fall-themed cookie cutters
Pencil
Scissors
Hole punch
Yarn

Get out your baking supplies and see what you have for fall-themed cookie cutters. We had a pumpkin and a fall leaf. Craft stores usually have a good selection of holiday cookie cutters to choose from.

All your children need to do is use a pencil to trace the cookie cutter shapes onto the construction paper and then cut them out with the scissors. If your child wants to, he or she can layer several pieces of construction paper on top of each other and cut out more than one of the same shape at once.

Next have them use the hole punch to punch a hole into the top of each shape.

They will then cut a length of yarn, tie a knot on one end and then string the shapes onto the yarn. Their Thanksgiving garland is now ready to hang!

This craft project is suitable for any holiday! Use your cookie cutters to make holiday garlands for any occasion.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Plain and Simple Roast Turkey Recipe

2009-11-10T14:04:00.000-06:00

Any type of stuffing works with this roasted turkey. You don't even have to use stuffing if you prefer not too. It tastes great with or without.
Indredients:

1 (18 lb.) whole turkey
5 C of your favorite stuffing
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 1/2 qt. turkey stock

Direction:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Move the rack to the lowest position you can in your oven.

Place a roasting rack into a large roasting pan.
Clean the turkey by removing the neck and giblets and rinsing the turkey with cold water. Pat the turkey dry with paper towel inside and outside. Stuff the turkey cavity with your favorite stuffing mixture. Rub the turkey skin with the soft butter making sure to cover the whole outside of the turkey. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper to taste. Pour 2 C of the turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the turkey breast side up on the rack in the pan. Make a tent out of aluminum foil to completely cover the turkey but not over the roasting pan.

Place the turkey in the oven and allow roasting for 2 1/2 hours being sure to baste the turkey every 30 minutes with the stock in the roasting pan. If the stock should evaporate add 2 C to the roasting pan and continue adding as necessary 1 to 2 C at a time.

After 2 1/2 hours remove the aluminum foil and continue roasting for another 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees when inserted into the thigh. Be sure to continue basting every 30 minutes during the last 1 1/2 hour of roasting.

Remove the turkey from the oven and place on a large platter for at least 30 minutes before carving.

Serves 24

Thanksgiving Craft: Turkeys

2009-11-10T01:55:00.003-06:00

Turkeys are popular at Thanksgiving time, both as the main dish and as decorations. There are many different ways to create nice turkey that may become a tradition for decorating for years to come.

The simplest turkey to make is by tracing around a hand, fingers spread. The thumb becomes the head, the other fingers the feathers and the palm is the body of the turkey. Color the turkey, add details like eyes and cut it out. They can be hung on the walls, scattered around the table or used to create a mobile.

Another fun project is a paper mache' turkey. Prepare the paper mache' paste. The two most popular methods are:

1. Non-cooked - 3 part white glue to 1 part water
2. Cooked - 1 part flour to 5 parts water, boil about 3 minutes and let cool

Blow up a large balloon and cover with newspaper strips that have been covered in the paste. Once dry, prime the body and paint brown. Cut out colorful feathers, feet, and a head and attach them to the turkey body.

If you don't want the mess of a paper mache' turkey, you can make one out of a paper bag. Stuff the bag with newspaper or plastic bags and shape the body. You can decorate it like the paper mache' turkey, with feathers, feet and a head.

Another turkey craft that could also be used for a game is to make 2-liter bottle turkeys. Put a little bit of sand in the bottom to keep them from falling over. Paint the bottles brown and then decorate them. After you have ten of them, you could let the kids go bowling for turkeys.

If you have a pine tree, as well as other trees that have beautiful fall foliage, in your back yard, you have the makings of a completely free turkey craft. Gather the items from your yard, arrange the leaves on a piece of paper in a fan shape, to look like the turkey's tail feathers. Glue the pinecone at the base for the body. Add google-eyes, or cut out construction paper eyes, feet and beak and you have an adorable turkey right from your own yard.

To create a turkey wreath, cut out a circle of cardboard with the center cut out, leaving about a two-inch ring. Cut strips of red, orange and yellow construction paper an inch wide by about 4 inches long. Glue the ends together to create rings, and arrange them on the wreath for the feathers. Cut out a head and feet and attach at the bottom of the wreath.

With some imagination and a few simple supplies, you can create not only nice decorations for your Thanksgiving celebration, but memories too. Spending the time with your children to make a few turkeys will be remembered long after the pie and stuffing are all gone.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2009-04-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cups brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or dried cranberries

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs and oil. Mix well. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir well. Fold in the cranberries.

Transfer mixture to two lightly greased loaf pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for approximately 45 to 55 minutes or until golden and baked through. Cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

5 Tips to Keep the Stress Out of Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-03-27T22:18:00.001-05:00

Why do people always get stressed at the holidays? Is it the rush to get everything done? Is it wanting everything to be "perfect"? Is it having to deal with family members that know how to push our buttons? Most likely it is a little of each.

So how do we have a stress free Thanksgiving dinner? Here are five simple tips to have a more enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Plan ahead - While planning the Thanksgiving meal, do you plan who is going to help? Instead of doing it all yourself, recruit your family to help. Not only will the work go faster, it's more fun working together. Make a list of what needs done before everyone arrives. Give everyone something to do and assign things that are age appropriate to the children. Before you know it, the leftovers will be wrapped in foil and everyone will have had a great time.

2. Covered dish meal - If you are having a large group get together for Thanksgiving, divide the menu amongst all those attending. The host family can provide the main dish (turkey or ham) and the drinks. Each family brings a favorite side dish and dessert. If you want to make sure there is a variety, provide a menu and mark things off as people chose what they want to fix.

3. Simplify - Instead of having a huge feast, prepare a smaller meal. We all tend to overeat at Thanksgiving, so make an effort to make fewer dishes. Not only will the preparation be smaller, so will our waistlines. Another option is to prepare as much ahead of time as you can. Slow cookers can be used to make all kinds of foods, even desserts. Many things can also be made as "freezer meals" and stored for weeks before re-heating them. The less actual cooking you need to do on Thanksgiving, the lower your stress levels will be.

4. Family harmony - While you can't make everyone happy, there are ways to promote a peaceful, relaxing dinner. Use place cards to put the people who tend to bicker further away from each other during dinner. This will help alleviate some of the tensions.

5. Be thankful - Simply taking the time to be thankful for all your blessings can reduce your stress level. Before everyone arrives, take the time to list all that you're thankful for over the last year. Have everyone share their blessings before dinner. Having a better attitude will help everyone enjoy the day more.

Stress doesn't have to ruin the holidays. If you stop to smell the turkey, and plan ahead, you can have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Planning and organization, while not great fun, can help you enjoy things later once all the guests arrive.

Creamy Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes Recipe

2009-03-27T11:10:00.003-05:00

This mashed potato recipe certainly isn’t low fat, but definitely delicious. In our house it’s reserved for holidays only :)

Serves 6, double or triple quantities as necessary.

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.
¼ cup cream
¼ cup real butter
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
3 peeled cloves of garlic (optional)
Chopped fresh chives of parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water, add a little salt and peeled whole garlic cloves if using. Bring to a boil and cook over medium or high heat for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, discard garlic and return to pan.

Add the milk and beat potatoes with electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add a little of each of the ingredients and keep mixing. Depending on your preference you may want to add a little extra or less sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finally add the chopped chives or parsley if using and stir well. Serve immediately.

Note: For roasted garlic potatoes use the same recipe as above but do not add garlic cloves to potatoes while boiling. Instead crush the garlic cloves and sauté for about 1 minute over very low heat in a little olive oil. Add mixture to potatoes once cooked and mix with all other ingredients.

Creative Ways to Say "Thank You"

2009-03-09T12:01:00.002-05:00

By Jo Condrill

Thanksgiving Day comes once a year in the U.S., but every day there are people in our lives who deserve our thanks. Sometimes a simple "Thank you" is appropriate. At other times, it is more thoughtful to be creative in expressing appreciation. It's just good business.

Here are some suggestions for thanking people at work, at home, and in the community.

1. When you say "Thank you" tell the person specifically what it is you appreciate and why you appreciate it. "Thank you for going to the Post Office for me. It saved me a lot of time."

2. Send an e-mail note. When I sent a thank you note to my staff in the Pentagon, the energy level shot up.

3. Send a hand-written thank you note. These are noteworthy because so few of us take time to write and mail them.

4. Place an unexpected phone call just to say "Thank you." Connecting verbally adds warmth to your appreciation even if you reach voice mail.

5. Present a small certificate. Half-page certificates take up less space if displayed and are as meaningful as full sized certificates. They tend to draw attention because they are different.

6. Give a single flower from your garden, flowerpot, or florist, with a verbal "Thank you" or a note.

7. Put a candy bar or piece of fruit on the desk of the person to be thanked, with or without a note. (Be sure the person is not on vacation!)

8. Bake some cookies. This is especially effective when men bake and present a few cookies in thanksgiving.

9. Say something nice about the recipient of your thanks to someone else when the person you appreciate can overhear you. This is especially powerful in a business setting.

10. For special occasions, present a US flag that has flown over the Capitol. It is a unique, reasonably priced item which few people own. A certificate of authenticity is provided in honor of any special occasion you designate. Call your congressman's office and ask for it. If you don't have a local contact, call 202 224-3121 and ask for your congressman or congresswoman by name. When you reach that person's office, ask to purchase a flag. They'll know what to do!

Jo Condrill was a civilian leader at ArmyHeadquarters in the Pentagon, and she led 3,000 Toastmasters to rank #1 in the world. She knows the value of gratitude. Author of "Take Charge of Your Life: Dare to Pursue YourDreams," "101 Ways to Improve Your Communication SkillsInstantly," and "From Book Signing to Best Seller." http://www.goalminds.com/takecharge.html

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Disney Stars Give Thanks - Miley, Demi, Emily and Brandon

2008-12-17T09:59:00.001-06:00

Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Emily Osment and Brandon Smith, give thanks on thanksgiving!

When Do You Give Thanks?

2008-12-08T15:33:00.005-06:00

By Roger Carr

Do you wait until Thanksgiving Day or Christmas to thank those that you love and those that have helped you? It is important to spend time during these special holidays to be thankful. However, it shouldn't be the only time you demonstrate your love and appreciation to others.

There are some great reasons to thank people throughout the year and not just during the holiday season.

1. Your appreciation may have more of an impact when it is done at an unexpected time. Giving thanks during the holidays can be somewhat expected. Surprise someone by showing your gratitude when it is least expected and it will be remembered for a long time.

2. It can be done immediately after an event you are most thankful for. That is when it will encourage others the most.

3. Your notes and thoughtful comments won't get diluted by those from others trying to catch up for the past year on their thanks.

4. You can give more time and personalized attention when showing your gratitude. You will not have to do something for a large list of people in a short period of time.

You should have no problem thinking of ones to thank on a daily or weekly basis. If you need some ideas, here are some to get you thinking:

1. Family and friends that have done something for you (including being your friend)

2. The person that delivers your mail and newspaper

3. Teachers, teacher aides, and school staff

4. Church staff, teachers, and helpers

5. Business co-workers and clients

6. Community workers (including police, fire fighters, and government workers)

7. Medical professionals looking after your family's health

What are some ways to thank those that have made a difference in your life? Try one of these ways or be creative with your own heartfelt method:

1. Send a handwritten note or letter that expresses your thankfulness.

2. Tell the person face-to-face how grateful you are for them being in your life.

3. Provide a simple gift to the person. Don't give an extravagant gift or you run the risk of minimizing the actions of the other person.

4. Help the other person in a way that benefits him or her.

Giving thanks doesn't just benefit the other person. You will receive benefits from doing it as well. You will begin to feel happier and more relaxed. In fact, it has been proven in studies that being grateful can have a positive effect on your health. It can reduce your stress and boost your immune system.

Why wouldn't you look for every opportunity to show your thankfulness to others? Don't wait for a holiday before you look for opportunities to show your gratitude. Give thanks on a regular basis throughout the year.

To learn more ways to give, sign up for the free Everyday Giving ezine at http://www.everydaygiving.com. Roger Carr is the founder of Everyday Giving. His life purpose is to help people help others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Carr
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Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe

2008-11-25T10:52:00.007-06:00

Ingredients:

2 cups pureed pumpkin
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 pie crust

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into pie crust. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for approximately 60 minutes or until set through.

Topping:

1 pkg cream cheese
1 cup whipped cream
½ cup powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients together and use to top pie.

The History of Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-24T10:48:00.002-06:00

Pumpkin pies are a traditional fall dessert enjoyed during the Thanksgiving holiday. And Allen Smith says that today's pie is far different from the kind early colonists prepared.

Thanksgiving Craft: Placemats and Place Holders

2008-11-22T15:13:00.004-06:00

A beautiful table setting is the finishing touch to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. By collecting a few simple things from around the house, and maybe a trip to the craft or fabric store, you have the makings of a festive table. Standard placemats start with a rectangle of construction paper, or fabric, in fall colors or white and come in endless varieties, limited only by your imagination.

Handy Turkey Placemats - Trace around a hand, with fingers spread, to create a turkey. The palm is the body, the thumb is the head, and the other fingers are the tail feathers. Each child can make their own. It can turn into a game, to try to find their handprint at dinnertime, to see who sits where.

Fall Foliage Placemats - Collect colorful fall leaves from your own yard to make a lovely, natural placemat. You can also use artificial leaves from the craft store, if you prefer. Cut two rectangle pieces of contact paper the size you need. Arrange the leaves neatly on the first piece. Carefully place the second piece on top, pealing part of the paper backing off a little at a time, and press in place. Give the placemat a boarder by gluing strips of construction paper about an inch wide along the edges.

Pilgrims and Indians - Draw or find a pattern for simple silhouettes of Pilgrims and Indians. Place one of each on either side of the placemat. Decorate them, or leave them as simple silhouettes. Craft feathers could be added for details around the edges.

Burlap Placemats - If you want to go with a more rustic look, cut rectangles of burlap. If you have a sewing machine, stitch around the outside edge about an inch in, with a zigzag stitch, to keep it from raveling too far. Decorated the placemat with ribbon or yarn.

Fabric Placemats - There are many lovely fall prints available that could be made into placemats. They could be bordered with a nice ribbon (make sure it's washable) for a simple placemat. The ribbon could be attached with fabric glue or double stick tape. Just be sure to use the permanent kind, if you want to wash them. Alternatively, you could make a quilted placemat and finish it off with binding, for a very elegant looking table.

Placeholders or place cards, can also be a nice touch at the dinner table. These help to eliminate the arguments of who sits where at dinner. They can be made by taking a piece of card stock, or heavy paper, about four inches square, folded in half. Print the name on both sides. If someone knows how to do calligraphy, that can add a nice touch. With all the interesting fonts available, it is easy to print out nice ones, and even add small graphics that fit the theme of the season right at your home computer.

Taking the time to create an attractive table adds a bit of color and fun to the festivities that will be enjoyed by everyone.

Thanksgiving Craft: Wreath

2008-11-22T15:09:00.003-06:00

There is nothing more special than to hang a Thanksgiving wreath on your front door. It is inviting as well as pleasing to the eye. For this Thanksgiving, why not involve your entire family in the craft of making a Thanksgiving wreath? Here are some suggestions.

Having ventured out to various stores, I found Thanksgiving items that were being displayed. One store had a beautiful wreath made of grapevine with fall-colored leaves attached. Although the leaves were plastic, it was a simple, yet elegant wreath. The more one looked at it, the more it seemed it could be spruced up by adding additional items such as berries, nuts, or perhaps a small pumpkin in the center.

Another wreath that was quite impressive was one that used the basic grapevine, but the leaves were freshly picked and dried, then glued to the vine. In addition, there were feathers and beautiful red and green checked fabric which was used to tie berry branches to the vine as well.

One wreath that was quite unique was made out of a large 8-1/2x11 picture frame. The leaves covered the outer part of the frame with berries and nuts placed within the leaves. The center, however, was the focal point of the wreath. A picture of a family with small text indicating three things they were thankful for on this special day.

Thanksgiving, after all, is a day of giving thanks and signifying not only the beauty of the holiday but one’s sentiments as well. A Thanksgiving wreath is not only a lovely way to express the holiday’s meaning, but a gift to share with family, friends, and neighbors as well.

There are so many different wreaths one can creatively and ingeniously make to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Your local craft store has all of the items you need to create a wreath unlike any other. Remember to take pictures for your scrapbook as well. If the Thanksgiving craft in wreath-making has been a tradition in your home for years, then every picture taken is a reminder of how much love and attention you have given in designing a special wreath for your family.

At a time when world events seem to invade our daily lives, this year it is especially important to show not only how thankful we are for all we have, but show our thanks for the freedom we enjoy every day. Perhaps a wreath with a teddy bear dressed in red, white and blue may be appropriate at this time.

Traditional Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing & Homemade Gravy Recipe

2008-11-18T11:22:00.008-06:00

For the Stuffing:

½ cup whole chestnuts or dried if you can’t find whole
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and minced
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 cups stale bread, cubed
1 ¼ cups chicken broth
¼ cup butter, melted
Olive oil
Salt (sea salt is preferable)
Pepper

1 10 lb. turkey

For the Gravy:

2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
Corn flour
Chicken stock
Butter

Directions:

The Night Before:

If possible, the previous night, or at least one hour before cooking, prepare your turkey. Remove any giblets and rise well (inside and out) with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Generously rub turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and place back in refrigerator until time to cook.

The Next Morning:

Preparing the Stuffing:

To roast the chestnuts, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375F oven. Let cool for 10 minutes and then peel and chop.

Do not turn oven off as it will need to be preheated for cooking the turkey.

In a large pot over low heat, heat the olive oil then add onions and celery. Sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft. Stir in crushed garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme and apple and sauté for a further 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in egg, then add chestnuts and bread. Toss mixture well. Stir in warm broth and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preparing the Turkey:

Remove turkey from fridge and loosely stuff the neck cavity with chestnut stuffing, fold the skin under and secure in place with a toothpick. Then loosely stuff the main cavity, making sure to leave room for expansion and the air to flow through.

Then prepare your roasting pan. Use a large roasting pan and at the bottom add two roughly chopped carrots, onion and celery. Place the rack over the vegetables. Now place your turkey, breast side up, on the rack. Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake, uncovered, at 375F for the first 30 minutes, then baste and reduce oven temperature to 325F. Continue basting turkey every 25 to 30 minutes. The cooking time should be approximately 20 minutes per pound of turkey, which would be about 3.5 hours for a 10b turkey. To check if the turkey is cooked pierce the thigh bone, juices should run clear without any pink. Also use a meat thermometer on the thickest part of the thigh. The temperature should show 180F. Turkey should be golden and crispy on the outside too.

Remove the turkey from roasting tray and reserve juices for gravy.

Tip: For extra added safety, I like to remove the stuffing from turkey once turkey is cooked and bake on a separate dish for approximately 10 extra minutes.

For the Gravy:

Mash the vegetables in the roasting tray, then push all ingredients through a sieve. Discard any remaining vegetables or fat. Place the sieved liquid in a saucepan and simmer over low heat. If you don’t have enough liquid then add 1 cup or more (depending on how much gravy you need) of chicken stock; you can also add a couple of tablespoons of butter.

In a small bowl add two tablespoons of corn flour and mix with cold water (about ½ cup) until all lumps dissolve. Slowly add a little of this mixture (tablespoon by tablespoon) to the saucepan, stirring well after each addition and allowing time for gravy to thicken. Keep adding corn flour/water mixture until gravy thickens.

Tip: You can also add a couple of tablespoons of red wine to the gravy or Madeira for a richer taste. The alcohol will dissolve during the cooking process and children will be able to have the gravy.

3 Fun Family Thanksgiving Ideas

2008-11-15T15:49:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving is always a fun time of celebration and eating with your family. Here are some ways to make Thanksgiving even more fun for your family this year.

Thankful cards

Make a card for each family member that will be your guest for Thanksgiving this year. On each card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.

Recipe books

A few months before Thanksgiving, write a list of each family member. Beside their name, make a note of their best dish. Call each member and ask for a copy of that recipe, plus one or two of their own favorites that they’d like to share. When you have all the recipes ready, compile them into a booklet and print them, using your computer and printer. (You can also use professional services, if you wish, to make a longer-lasting recipe book.) After your guests all arrive for your Thanksgiving dinner, give them each a copy of your special recipe book.

Mini family scrapbooks

Gather family pictures, if you don’t have many pictures, take them to a local copier and have extra prints made. Purchase mini scrapbooks at a scrapbook supply store, along with stickers, markers and various scrapbook supplies. Create miniature family scrapbooks, using one picture per page. Write what you are thankful for, in relation to each family member, on their designated pages. On Thanksgiving Day, give a copy of your mini family scrapbooks to each family member as a memento.

The History of Thanksgiving in America

2008-11-01T16:57:00.004-05:00

When people think of Thanksgiving, most remember the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians at Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims first arrived in America on December 11, 1620, not prepared for the winter they were to face. Out of the 102 who arrived on the Mayflower, forty-six of the people died during the first few months. Despite the devastation, they had a good harvest, partly in thanks to the Indians who lived nearby.

They had a traditional British Harvest Feast in thanks to God for surviving and the blessings of provisions that would see them through the winter. In contrast to our modern Thanksgiving menu, they actually had more meat than vegetables, including venison, fish and wild foul, which may or may not have actually been turkey. They probably didn't have much in the way of desserts, as they didn't have a lot of flour or sugar on hand. They probably had some fruits and corn. Instead of pumpkin pie, they probably had boiled pumpkin. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days.

Thanksgiving was not an annual event in the U.S. for many years. In 1623, there was a drought and instead of having a celebration, the Pilgrims held a prayer service. When their prayers were answered the next day, they invited their Indian friends to join them in another Thanksgiving observance.

June 20, 1676 was celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving in Charlestown, Massachusetts. However this was very different than the first Thanksgiving. This was to celebrate a victory over the Indians. Another victory, this time over the British, was celebrated in October of 1677 by all of the thirteen colonies. George Washington established the first national Thanksgiving day in 1789, however not everyone thought it was a good idea, including Thomas Jefferson.

It wasn't until 1863 that what we know as our modern Thanksgiving came into being. Sarah Josepha Hale decided to promote Thanksgiving in her magazine, Boston Ladies' Magazine and in Godey's Lady's Book. She also wrote letters to different governors and presidents. Abraham Lincoln finally established Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November. The date was changed a few times (to the third Thursday), but in 1941 was finally established on its current date, the fourth Thursday in November.

Over the years, it has drifted away from its original focus on being thankful. It has become a day to eat and watch football. While those aren't bad things, it is good for people to take the time to actually be thankful for their blessings.

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2007-11-30T20:38:00.000-06:00

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Thanksgiving Leftover Quiche

2007-11-22T11:51:00.002-06:00

This is a quick easy quiche that you can make from Thanksgiving leftovers. It’s great for those office parties and after Thanksgiving get together.

Ingredients:

5 large eggs
2 1/2 -3 cups leftover stuffing or half of a 6 oz package bread stuffing mix, prepared according to package directions
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup diced cooked turkey
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Beat one egg and add stuffing to it. Press this into the bottom of a deep pie dish or a quiche pan if you have one, it will serve as a mock-crust for your quiche. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the stuffing-crust. Layer in the turkey, onion, mushrooms in any order you wish. Beat remaining 4 eggs in a small bowl. Stir in the half and half. Season with salt and pepper to your tastes. Pour egg mixture evenly over the layers in the pan. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let it stand and cool for about 15 minutes to firm up before cutting and serving.

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Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers

2007-11-22T11:51:00.000-06:00

After a big Thanksgiving meal, many people end up with quite a bit of extra turkey. Nibbling on leftovers is fine, but here are some additional healthy ways to use that leftover turkey.

Sandwiches
This is our family favorite. Simply slather mayonnaise on your favorite bread and add turkey. Enjoy! Of course, you can make this sandwich fancier by using toasted garlic bread, or adding some seasonings to the mayonnaise. You can quickly whip up some gourmet style mayo by adding some of the packet ranch dressing mix to it.

Instead of regular old sliced bread, make turkey sandwiches with fresh or chiabata bread for a different taste.

Open Faced Turkey Sandwich
Start with some really good toast. Rub a little garlic or butter on it if you’d like. Then, lay slices of turkey on it and cover with gravy. Heat up some left over stuffing and stick it in the toaster oven or your regular oven to give it a nice little crust and dinner is ready.

Turkey and Rice Soup
Use the leftover bones from the turkey and throw them in a large stock pot. Cover them with plenty of water and add some onion, celery, carrot and salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and boil for about 45 min. Strain out the liquid, return it to the pot, add some rice and leftover pieces of turkey. Add any vegetables you like as well and cook until the rice and veggies are tender.

Turkey Enchiladas
You can fix turkey enchiladas just like you would chicken enchiladas with your favorite sauce, tortillas and cheese. Just shred the turkey, and heat it with some cheese and enchilada sauce. Spoon the mixture on flour or corn tortillas and roll them up. Place the tortilla rolls in a greased baking dish and top with more enchilada sauce and plenty of cheese. Then bake them up until the cheese is nice and bubbly. They are a great way to use turkey in something that has a completely different flavor.

Turkey Wraps
Tired of turkey sandwiches? Use a tortilla instead. Pile on lettuce, raw veggies and plenty of turkey. Top with some ranch dressing and roll it up for a portable lunch or snack. Another fun idea is to mix shredded turkey with a little mayonnaise, some chopped apple, grapes and a few walnuts for a turkey salad wrap.

Turkey Salad
Make a gorgeous, colorful salad, using all the vegetables you can find in the store. Add sliced turkey to the top and add your favorite salad dressing. Or make a turkey Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, turkey, parmesan cheese, croutons and Caesar dressing.

Turkey Chili
Shred your leftover turkey and cook it along with beans, tomatoes and your favorite chili seasonings. Of course you can also toss in any leftover veggies like corn or green beans and cook them right along with the rest of the chili ingredients. Serve with cornbread.

Thanksgiving Leftover Pot Pie

2007-11-22T11:44:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package (9 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
3 cups cooked turkey
1/2 cups country or baked ham
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) canned cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cup milk, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Instructions:

Cook onion, sliced carrots and celery with a little bit of vegetable oil in the skillet under just tender. Stir in the spinach and pour it all into a shallow baking dish (at least 3 quarts or bigger). Spread the chopped turkey and ham cubes evenly over top of everything in the dish. Next, in a medium mixing bowl blend together undiluted soup, 1 cup of milk and ground pepper. Pour this evenly over top of everything in the dish. Now mix together the flour, grated cheese, butter (or margarine) and remaining milk until nice and smooth. Pour this over top of everything in the dish. Bake 45 minutes to one hour at 400 degrees F. The top will be golden brown when done.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T13:58:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Crafts for Children - Pilgrim Hats

2007-11-20T17:38:00.001-06:00

At Thanksgiving time, you should take a moment to tell your children about the Thanksgiving story, but perhaps a better way to spark a conversation is to have your child make a pilgrim hat with you while you tell them about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Plus, when you make a cute pilgrim hat, your child or children can wear it at Thanksgiving dinner for a little bit of authenticity. There are a lot of ways that you can make a pilgrim hat for either a boy or a girl.

Here are some ways that we found.

Girl's Pilgrim Hat

To make a girl’s pilgrim hat, take an 11” x 17” piece of paper and fold it half length ways. Unfold it so you can see the crease. Fold up one side of the paper so the edge is even with the crease. On the other side of the crease, cut two slits evenly spaced going almost all the way to the crease. Punch a hole in each end of the folded half of the paper. Cut two pieces of ribbon about 15 inches long and tie one end of each ribbon through the holes. The folded section will be the brim of the pilgrim hat and then the ribbons can be tied under the chin. Where you cut your slits, you need to bring them together and staple together to form a bonnet.

Boy's Pilgrim Hat

Making a boy’s pilgrim hat is much easier! All you will need here is a paper plate, some black paint, glue, and construction paper. Start by painting the paper plate black and let it dry. Cut out the center of this pilgrim hat leaving the outside rim about two inches thick. Cut a piece of construction paper about 8 inches by 8 inches. Tape this into the circle you cut into the paper plate. You need to be sure that this piece sticks out as much as possible, but you also want it to be secure. Out of a piece of white paper, cut a 2 inch by 8 inch rectangle and glue it on the black paper where it meets the paper plate. Cut a rectangle shape out of yellow construction paper and glue it to the middle of the white strip as a buckle.

There are lots more patterns you can find to make a pilgrim hat for either a boy or a girl. We are willing to bet that if you think about it, you might even be able to come up with ideas of your own! Just think about what a pilgrim hat looks like and then utilize the supplies you have on hand.

Pecan Muffins with Cherries

2007-11-20T17:18:00.000-06:00

Breakfast, snack or dessert these are good any time of day!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
1 small jar Maraschino cherries, drained
1 package (8 oz) finely ground pecans
Pecan halves
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Cream the butter and sugar together well. Mix in beaten egg yolk, flour, baking powder, cherry juice and egg whites. Grease the muffin pan or line with papers. Sprinkle finely ground pecans into each well or cup. Put in a spoonful of dough, a whole cherry, then another spoonful of dough on top of the cherry so that the cherry will be in the center of each muffin. Sprinkle more ground pecan on top and place a sliced pecan half on top of each muffin, more if you want more on top. You can place several pecan slices in the shape of a flower on top for a decorative look. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Remove from muffin pan to wire racks for cooling. Sprinkle finished muffins lightly with powdered sugar.

AuGratin Carrots and Onions

2007-11-20T17:12:00.000-06:00

Everything is better AuGratin and this delicious side is no exception!

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs

Instructions:

Mix together carrots and onions in a pot. Add enough water to cover, and a dash of salt if desired. Bring to a broil. Cook until tender, but still firm (about 5 to 10 minutes) Drain. Spread a layer of carrot and onions in the bottom of a baking dish. Next layer about half of the cheese. Layer more carrots and onions, then the rest of the cheese. Melt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine in a saucepan.

Gradually add flour to the butter and blend well until smooth. Slowly add the milk and continue to stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Pour the sauce over the layers of carrot onion and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Thanksgiving Poems

2007-11-20T16:49:00.000-06:00

The First Thanksgiving

When the Pilgrims
first gathered together to share
with their Indian friends
in the mild autumn air,
they lifted the voices
in jubilant praise
for the bread on the table,
the berries and maize,
for field and for forest,
for turkey and deer,
for the bountiful crops
they were blessed with that year.
They were thankful for these
as they feasted away,
and as they were thankful
we're thankful today.

Author Unknown

The Little Pilgrim

Cranberries dripping down my chin
Have stained my pilgrim suit.
I ate too much Thanksgiving day
But I don't give a hoot.

I slurped a pile of dressing,
Gobbled down a turkey thigh,
Dribbled messy cranberries
Devoured some pumpkin pie.

Within me on this special day
It's a thankful heart that beats.
For all the things that I enjoy
But mainly for the eats.

Author Unknown

Giving Thanks

For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

Author Unknown

'Twas the Night of Thanksgiving

2007-11-20T16:18:00.000-06:00

'Twas the Night of Thanksgiving
By Unknown

'Twas the night of Thanksgiving,
but I just couldn't sleep.
tried counting backwards;
I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned, the dark meat and white,
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation.

So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
Till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground!

I crashed through the ceiling,
floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding
and a handful of pie;

But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees,
"Happy eating to all... pass the cranberries, please!"

For more Thanksgiving information check out :
http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/thanksgiving.shtml

Pumpkin Pie Cake

2007-11-20T00:50:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 (29 oz) can solid pack pumpkin

1 ( 12 oz) can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 1/1 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 box (18 oz) yellow cake mix

1 c. melted unsalted butter

1 c. chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and spices in mixing bowl. Pour into an ungreased 13 X 9 pan. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the top. Drizzle the melted butter over the cake mix and sprinkle the pecans over the top. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until cake is set in the center. Cool to room temp and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Pumpkin Pie

2007-11-20T00:40:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 (29 oz) can pumpkin

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie shells

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together well. Pour into pie shells. Bake for 10 minsutes. Turn oven down to 325 degrees and bake for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into center of pie comes out clean. Serve with whipped topping when cooled.

Teaching your Kids to be Thankful

2007-11-20T00:36:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to teach your kids about being thankful. Here are some ideas to teach your children how to appreciate the blessings in their lives.

Giving Thanks Placemats

The goal of this craft is to create a collage filled with drawings and pictures of all the things your children are thankful for. Cut photos from magazines, or print some photos from your computer. Older children can write captions under the photos or draw their own. Be sure to put the child’s name and the year on it.

If you make this collage from two standard letter size pieces of construction paper taped side-by-side, you can take the completed collage to a copy shop when you’re done and have it laminated. It then becomes a placemat that you can use every Thanksgiving for years to come.

Thankful Paper Chain

Another way to remind your children of their blessings is to create a paper chain. This is similar to a regular paper chain – where you cut strips of paper and connect them together as loops, but there’s one difference. You write on the strips of paper before you connect them. Write the things you are thankful for with your children. For instance, “Grandma plays games with me” or “My teacher is nice". The fun part of this activity is to make the chain as long as possible – showing all your blessings. If you’d like to keep this up during Christmas, just use green and white paper.

Thanksgiving Tree

This is another take on the idea above and works really well if you have several kids in the family. Get each child to trace their hand on yellow, red, or brown construction paper. Cut out the hand shapes and write (or have the child write) what they are thankful for on the hand shape. Cut a tree trunk shape out of brown construction paper. Glue it on a large piece of poster board. Let the kids add their hand shapes as leaves above the tree trunk, turning it into a beautiful fall colored tree.

Thankful Book

This idea is similar to the others, except it’s more of a keepsake. Purchase a photo album or scrapbook kit and make a “blessings” theme. Add photos of loved ones, including stories about why they are special to you. Also, include pages of your favorite foods, favorite stories, favorite movies and all the other things that make you happy. Any time your kids feel down, you can open your blessing book to see all the reasons you have to be happy – and thankful for the blessings in your life.

Planning the Perfect Thanksgiving Party

2007-11-20T00:34:00.001-06:00

Start Planning Early

Nothing can spoil a Thanksgiving party more than a burned-out hostess. So, be sure to start planning your party well in advance, make a master list of what needs to be done and when, and start cleaning and preparing ahead of time. Purchase non-perishable items the week before your event. Don’t forget to buy the turkey early as well. It will take several days to thaw in the fridge. If you have room in your freezer, you can purchase the turkey and other frozen items weeks ahead of time.

Delegate the Turkey

A great way to entertain the men is to put them in charge of the turkey. This may be untraditional to some, but in many areas of the country, the men are in charge of deep-frying the turkey. There’s nothing quite as entertaining as watching a group of men standing around a vat of boiling peanut oil, discussing the turkey. Plus, it gives you more freedom to enjoy the party.

Plan activities

Board games are always fun for kids and adults. Get everyone laughing with the newest game. Or buy a DVD-style game like Scene-It and gather around the TV for some trivia. Of course old family favorites would be a bit hit as well. Dust off that old edition of Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly and get everyone playing.

Just for the Kids

Set up a craft table for the kids. Set out coloring pages (if you can get some Thanksgiving ones, that would be great). You can find lots of coloring pages online. Just print a few of them for each child. That should keep them busy while you prepare the rest of the food. Lay out pieces of orange, brown, and yellow construction paper and show the kids how to make a turkey. Or have the kids make pilgrim hats out of black and white construction paper.

For the Adults

One of the staples of Thanksgiving is football. Oftentimes the men gather in the living room to watch the game. One way to keep the party lively is to give them a football and send them outside to toss it around during commercial breaks. This can really get the men talking and having a great time. And, ladies – don’t be shy. Jump right in there with them.

Turkey Soup

2007-11-19T21:24:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 Turkey carcass
4 quarts water
3 large onions, finely chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
1/4 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pint half-and-half
3 cups cooked turkey, diced
1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven cook the carcass and water to make 3 quarts of stock. Remove any bones and save the meat. Strain the stock and set aside for later.
In a saucepan combine the celery, carrots, onions, rice and 1 quart of the stock. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large Dutch oven or stockpot melt the butter and add in the flour and heat until it is bubbly.
Add the remaining 2 quarts of stock and the half-and-half; cook and stir until bubbly. Stir in the vegetable mixture made earlier and also add the turkey and seasonings to taste. Heat soup slowly until heated through.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece – Create Something Unique

2007-11-19T21:19:00.000-06:00

Your centerpiece is the main decoration on your Thanksgiving table. Make it special with these ideas. Of course these decorations will also look stunning if you set them on a counter or the mantle over the fire place.

Fall Vegetables
Begin with a pumpkin and gourds. Loosely arrange them on the table or mantle. Set a natural-color candle on each side of your display. Finish your free form art center piece by sprinkling colorful fall leaves all over and around your center pieces. Make sure they are not too close to the candles, of course.

Fall Leaves
Simply find a large glass bowl and fill it with beautiful fall leaves. Set a candle on each side of the bowl to showcase the leaves. Then, cut leaf shapes out of construction paper and use them as place cards. Of course you could also press small leaves, and glue them to a plain white place card.

Floral Display of Abundance
Make a dried floral arrangement from fall flowers. Gather some of the plastic sticks that the florists use to hold notecards. Stick them into the floral display, but put photos of the things you are thankful for in them, instead. Or, if you don’t have photos, just write words on notecards and display them in the floral arrangement. Some words you may start with are “family”, “friends”, “food”, “laughter”.

Carve A Pumpkin
Yes, you heard right, carve a pumpkin. Of course you don’t want to go with the traditional jack-o-lantern design here. Instead carve some geometrical designs, or some flowers, leaf-shapes etc. on your hollowed out pumpkin. Add a candle inside the carved pumpkin and light it just before your guests arrive.

Pumpkin Candle Holders
Get some small pumpkins and hollow out enough room on the top of the pumpkin to stick a candle in it. Group of few of these candle holders together for a festive center piece. Finish your candle arrangement with a few pieces of native corn placed around your pumpkin candle holders. Give the arrangement more dimension by using different size pumpkins and candles. Use some scented candles to give your room that Holiday smell.

Are you feeling inspired yet by all these ideas? Dig through your Thanksgiving supplies or take a stroll through your local craft store and you will come up with your own versions of these suggestions, or even a creation all of your own.

Thanksgiving Decorations

2007-11-19T11:19:00.001-06:00

Decorating for Thanksgiving adds an element of warmth and fun to your home. The best thing is you don’t have to go overboard or put a lot of time or effort into this. Use a few of the suggestions below, add some fall colored throw pillows or blankets to your couch, light a pumpkin scented candle and your whole house will have that special Thanksgiving feel to it.

Yard Display
Decorate the front yard with a wooden scarecrow, turkey or sign. For a little color, plant a few mums, either in the ground, or in pots and planters.

Mantle Display
The mantle over your fire place is the perfect place to decorate for Thanksgiving . For a simple display, arrange some pumpkins or decorative gourds on the mantle along with a few candles. A fall garland or wreath is a nice touch above the mantle.

Fall Flower Arrangement
Stop by your local florist for some flowers in yellow or orange. Arrange them in a vase along with some greenery.

Pumpkins and Corn
You can make a beautiful fall arrangement by setting out some miniature pumpkins and ears of corn. Look for yellow and purple varieties of corn for an authentic Thanksgiving feel. Scatter them across your dining table, or arrange them in a bowl for a nice centerpiece.

Thanksgiving Wreath
Purchase or make a simple grapevine wreath and decorate it with fall leaves and miniature pumpkins. Add a nice bow and hang it on the front door. A Thanksgiving wreath is a great way to welcome your guests in.

Display Kids Artwork
Not only will your home be beautifully decorated, but you’ll be building your children’s self-esteem at the same time. Buy a few inexpensive frames and set them out or hang them on the wall. This is of course also a great way to display your child’s artwork year round.

The First Thanksgiving
There are quite a few ways to incorporate the first Thanksgiving in your decorations. Create a small scale version of this special occasion by setting out a few figurines of pilgrims and Native Americans. Complete the scene with a small table, some turkeys and miniature trees to show that the first Thanksgiving took place outside.

Cherry Cinnamon Soup with Dumplings

2007-11-19T11:16:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

4 cups red tart pitted cherries; canned, frozen, fresh
2 cups water
1/4 to 1-1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dumplings -
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of salt
1 cup milk

Instructions

Place water, sugar, cinnamon and cherries into a large saucepan and bring to a boil, cooking until the cherries are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on tartness of cherries adjust the amount of sugar.

Dumplings:
Combine baking powder, salt and flour; stir in the milk. Drop the dumplings by teaspoonfuls into the soup. Cook covered for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dumplings appear fluffy. Serve the soup hot.

Thanksgiving Smoothie

2007-11-19T11:13:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 can (16 oz.) cranberry sauce
1 bag (16 oz) frozen unsweetened peach slices, partially thawed
1 container (6 oz) vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Add everything in blender and blend until smooth.

Thanksgiving Crafts to Do With Children

2007-11-19T02:39:00.000-06:00

Spending time creating Thanksgiving crafts with your kids can turn a holiday that isn’t quite as exciting as getting Halloween candy or Christmas gifts into a fun kid’s day!

Turkey Apple
Turkey apples are a fun craft to make with the kids as well as a healthy snack. You will need an apple, 6 toothpicks, 1 large and 5 miniature marshmallows as well as some raisins and one piece of candy corn for each turkey.

Set the apple stem up on a flat surface. Stick a toothpick in the top part of one side of the apple. Add the large marshmallow to the top of the toothpick. Decorate the face of the turkey with two raisins as eyes and stick the candy corn in upside down into the marshmallow to make the beak.

Thread each of the remaining toothpicks with 3 raisins, and then top it off with one of the miniature marshmallows. These will be the tail feathers of your turkey. Stick the 4 toothpicks evenly spaced on the opposite side of the top of the apple.

Corn Collage
Cut a basic corn shape out of yellow construction paper. Tear little pieces of yellow and purple tissue paper and crumble them into little balls. Glue them on the corn shape to represent kernels of corn. Cut leaf shapes out of green construction paper and glue them behind your ear of corn.

Pilgrim Hat
You need a large paper grocery bag and some construction paper in black and yellow for each child. Fold the rim of the bag over to make a brim for the hat. Then cut a large strip of black construction paper and tape or glue it around the hat. Cut a belt buckle shape out of the yellow construction paper and glue it to the belt in the front of the hat.

Turkey Handprint crafts
This craft is a family tradition in many homes. First, outline your child’s foot once on a piece of brown construction paper. Then, outline her hands twice on red or yellow construction paper. Cut a beak out of orange construction paper.

Of course, if you visit craft stores like Michaels or online craft supply stores, like Oriental Trading, you’ll find thousands of craft ideas for your kids. Oriental Trading offers foam leaves, felt Pilgrim hats, quilts in fall colors, foam turkeys, stickers, craft kits and more.

Thanksgiving - Setting the Table

2007-11-18T20:51:00.001-06:00

When hosting Thanksgiving dinner for friends and family, the food is of utmost importance. However, if you serve the most decadent meal on paper plates –your delicious meal will taste less than spectacular.

It works both ways. If you invest some time and effort into decorating your Thanksgiving table –your overcooked turkey and undercooked beans will be less noticeable as well.

Tablecloth

Bring out the good linens for your guests. If you don’t have a Thanksgiving tablecloth, you can use some Thanksgiving or fall themed fabric. There are even some very nice looking fall and Thanksgiving themed disposable table cloths available.

The Dishes

The type of dishes you use is up to you. If you are mostly entertaining adults and this is a fairly small get together, it may be a good idea to use your fine china. On the other hand, if you are entertaining a large crowd and have lots of kids in the mix, opt for disposable dishes, cups and cutlery. Clean up will be much easier and you don’t have to worry about dishes breaking.

Buy some orange or green cloth napkins. You can find these reasonably-priced at most discount stores. They will add a nice “holiday” touch to any table.

Thanksgiving Themed Centerpiece

If you don’t plan on putting all the food on the table, and you have the room, create a Thanksgiving themed centerpiece. This can be something as simple as a bowl of miniature pumpkins, gourds and native corn, or a fall flower arrangement. If you have a cornucopia, fill it and lay it on the table, allowing some of the corn and pumpkins to roll out of it.

Little touches make a big difference. You could scoop out a pumpkin and serve dip in it. Use mini pumpkins with names written on them as place cards. Turn an apple, some toothpicks and a few miniature marshmallows into a turkey. Start by setting the apple on a flat surface. Insert a toothpick with a large marshmallow on one side. Add some raisins as eyes. For the turkey’s tail, add four toothpicks with a miniature marshmallow on each end to the other side of the apple. Voila – a turkey for each guest that also makes for a fun and healthy snack.

Set the table the night before to free up time during the big day

If you set a nice table, arrange for most of the food to be set out on a separate table, buffet-style. Consider getting hotplates, crock pots etc to keep food warm while it is sitting out.

How To Cook The Perfect Turkey

2007-11-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

The turkey is the central element of any good Thanksgiving meal. An otherwise perfect meal can be ruined by a dry, overcooked turkey. Since this isn’t something we cook on a weekly basis, it’s not easy to pull off the perfect turkey…try the following tips and the recipe below.

Start with a quality turkey. Yes, you can find off brand turkeys for quite a bit less, but keep in mind that a lot of the pounds you will be paying for will be saltwater that was injected in the turkey. Go ahead and buy the good stuff – You’ll be glad you did when you get all the praises for that delicious bird you fixed.

Thaw the turkey slowly in the fridge. Keep in mind during your planning stage that this will take several days. Doing this instead of submerging the bird in water is much gentler on the meat, resulting in a more tender finished product and is also much safer.

When you are ready to cook your turkey, remove the neck, giblets and anything else that may be stuffed in the chest cavity of your bird. Take some paper towels and pat your turkey dry.

Set it in a large roasting pan. If you prefer the breast meat on the dry end, place the turkey on its back. For moister breast meat, turn the turkey breast down.

Cut up a peeled onion, 3 stalks of celery and a few carrots. Big chunks are fine, since these vegetables are just for flavor. Stick them in the body cavity. They will infuse the bird with flavor as it cooks.

Melt a cup of butter in the microwave. Use a turkey baster to baste the turkey with butter. Don’t use all of it, just enough to get your turkey covered. Sprinkle the turkey with salt, pepper and any other seasonings you like.

Cook the turkey in a 325 degree oven.

Baste it every 30 – 45 minutes with the juices that collect in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Here are some general guidelines for how long your bird should cook:

8 to 12 lbs. 2 ¾ to 3 hrs.
12 to 14 lbs. 3 to 3 ¾ hrs.
14 to 18 lbs. 3 ¾ to 4 ¼ hrs.
18 to 20 lbs. 4 ¼ to 4 ½ hrs.
20 to 24 lbs. 4 ½ to 5 hrs.

Or cook until temperature on meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees (check in the thickest part, and in a couple different places) Don't overcook or it will be dry, but do make sure it is done.

Avoiding Thanksgiving Stress

2007-11-18T20:47:00.001-06:00

Are you getting stressed just thinking about the Holiday season approaching? There are quite a few reasons why Thanksgiving may give us the jitters. From the stress caused by having to plan a 3-course meal for 20+ people to being questioned again by your aunt when you will start having kids or why you’ve gained 10 lbs. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to reduce this kind of holiday stress.

Plan as much ahead of time as you can...

From getting an early head count to planning the menu well in advance, you’ll feel much better knowing that you have at least one part of the day under control.

Lists are your best bet to avoid getting stressed out. Keep a master list of everything you need to do, along with smaller daily to-do lists and of course grocery lists. And then of course there’s the “Honey Do” list, which brings us to…

Ask For Help

Get your family to help clean and get ready for the big day. They can run errands for you, help set the table, decorate and cook along side with you.

Ask every guest to bring a single dish. With everyone chipping in it will quickly add up. Ask those family members and friends who are “culinary challenged”, to bring some chips, drinks, or even napkins and paper plates.

And, get them to help clean up afterwards.

No one expects you to handle everything on your own. If you try and feel frazzled, they’ll feel uncomfortable and won’t enjoy the day as much.

Are you worried about getting drilled about the same questions?

Practice in advance how you’ll answer those questions. If you know you’ll get questions about weight gain or your husband’s lost job, prepare yourself in advance with answers.

Practice your answers to some of the questions you’ll be getting. If you can repeat the answers out loud enough before the event, you’ll feel more confident answering them when the time comes.

If you still feel uneasy about the event, tackle it with a friend or hang out with a likeminded family member. Or have a secret signal with your husband for “help” so he knows to come rescue you.

Family Thanksgiving Meal - 4 Step Plan

2007-11-18T20:38:00.001-06:00

The family unanimously decided that you are in charge of the Thanksgiving meal this year. Can you pull it off? Yes, with a little bit of planning ahead of time, you can throw a great family Thanksgiving get together without stressing or staying busy for weeks.

The key is advanced planning...

Step 1: Make A Guest List.

It’s next to impossible to determine how much food to buy and cook without knowing how many mouths you will be feeding. Contact friends and family early and request they RSVP by a certain date. Follow up with them in the weeks before Thanksgiving to make sure you know who is and isn’t coming. Plan for at least 2 extra guests – more if you are entertaining a larger crowd.

Step 2: Plan the Meal

Once you know how many guests you’ll have, then the fun begins. You get to dream about food. Of course there are the old standbys like ham and turkey that you will probably be preparing, but there’s so much more to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

First, contact family members to find out what they can each bring. That will help you to adjust your menu plan accordingly. Take note of everyone willing to bring a dish – even if they aren’t sure yet what to bring.

Make a list of Appetizers, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Breads, Salads, Soups, and Desserts. What would be your favorite Thanksgiving meal of all time?

Do you have anyone with special dietary requirements? Perhaps your Uncle Stan is diabetic or Aunt Sally is allergic to peanuts. Be sure to keep their needs in mind while you’re planning. Try to offer some lighter, lower calorie alternatives to balance out some of the “heavier” traditional dishes.

Step 3: The Master Plan

Once you determine what you’ll be serving, it’s time to break it down into manageable tasks.

Contact the people who didn’t know what they wanted to bring and assign them a dish. If you’re short on desserts, ask them to bring one. If you dread making mashed potatoes, see if they wouldn’t mind bringing them. Anything you can’t delegate will be up to you to make of course.

Now, you know what everyone else is bringing, you can make a grocery list and a timeline of the items you’ll be cooking.

Take a little time and sit down to make your grocery list. Keep recipes handy so you know exactly what you need. Don’t forget some of the spices you only use a few times a year (like sage). What tools (like a disposable roasting pan) are you going to need to prepare the meal? Don’t forget to stock up on extra napkins and paper towels. If you are planning on using disposable table clothes, plates etc. make a list of those items as well.

4. Get as much done as early as possible.

Did you know you could even freeze some mashed potato recipes weeks in advance? It’s true! Get started early on the shopping of non-perishable items for the party. Cross items of your master-shopping list as you get them.

Pumpkin Soup - Version 2

2007-11-18T17:46:00.001-06:00

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns

Instructions:

Bring chicken stock, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic and peppercorns to a boil, stirring well. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Puree using food processor or your blender, easier if you work in small batches. Put back on the stove and bring the pureed soup to a boil again. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Slowly stir in heavy cream. Serve garnished with your choice of garnish, fresh parsley works nicely.

Pumpkin Soup - Version 1

2007-11-18T17:39:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups water
2 cups mashed cooked squash or pumpkin
1 can (8-1/4 oz.) tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

Instructions

In a large saucepan melt butter and saute onion, green pepper, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf until tender but not browned. Next add the pumpkin, water, tomatoes and bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Combine milk and flour in a small mixing bowl then stir into the soup. Add the salt and pepper and cook soup over medium heat stirring often until it comes to a boil. Serve with a little parsley sprinkled on top.

Thanksgiving Crafts For Children - Placemats and More

2007-11-17T21:50:00.001-06:00

If you want to find some cute Thanksgiving crafts for children, there are many places you can go to on the Internet and elsewhere. Your local library is likely to be chock full of books that focus on Thanksgiving crafts for kids. Look in the children’s section or ask the librarian to direct you towards books like this. But the easiest place to find Thanksgiving crafts for children is on the Internet. Many web sites are dedicated to Thanksgiving crafts for childrens.

Here are a few of my favorites sites:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

http://www.familycrafts.com/

http://www.allcrafts.com/

http://www.kaboose.com/

Here are some Thanksgiving crafts you may want to try with your own children.

1. Make some cute placemats for your Thanksgiving dinner with either construction paper or poster board cut into rectangles. The poster board will be more durable. On a piece of red and orange construction paper, trace around your child’s hands with their fingers slightly splayed out. Cut out a circle from brown construction paper and place it on top of the fingers. You have the body of a turkey and turkey feathers. Glue the turkey to the placemat, draw on a face, and have your child write “Happy Thanksgiving” around the turkey. He or she can also add some color to the placemats and decorate it however they like.

2. Make place cards to show where your guests should sit at for Thanksgiving dinner. These are super easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids and can really make your table look festive – especially when you pair them with the home made placemats. Use construction paper or poster board and cut out rectangles that are about 5” x 7”. Fold them in half length ways and have your child write your guest’s name on the front. You can find printable leaf cutouts on the Internet. Let them cut them out and glue to the place cards. They can use crayons or markers to decorate the cards as they desire.

3. Here's another creative turkey. Have your child trace their hands onto a piece of construction paper or white paper that they can later color. Cut out the shape and cut off the thumbs. Take a paper tube (toilet paper or paper towel) and cover it with brown construction paper. Glue the hands to the back of the tube. Cut a peanut shape out of construction paper for the turkey head and glue to the front. Use some red construction paper or red felt for the wattle and glue into place along with some wiggly eyes, and you are done!

There are so many others that you can try out and even modify for other seasons if you like. There is no better way to bond with your child and spend time with them than by crafting together, so find a stockpile of Thanksgiving crafts for children you can pull out and do when the urge strikes you.

Thanksgiving Crafts For Children - Turkeys

2007-11-17T21:37:00.001-06:00

Just as with any holiday, many people like to decorate their homes and finding Thanksgiving crafts for children to make is a great way to make those decorations and it will allow you to spend some great quality time with your child. There are tons of ideas for Thanksgiving crafts for children available just by searching on the Internet.

Here are a couple of fun ideas that I found:

1. You can make a cute Thanksgiving turkey from a pine cone and some construction paper. What you will need is a pine cone – preferably the “fat” kind, some orange, brown, and red construction paper, some wiggly eyes, an acorn, glue, and scissors. Start by having your child place his or her hand with fingers slightly splayed down on each color of the construction paper and trace around it – fingers and all. If they are old enough, have them cut out their hands. If they are not, you can do it for them. These hands will be the turkey’s feathers.

With the pine cone lying horizontally, put glue in the openings near the fatter end and carefully arrange your child’s handprints inside. Let dry. Glue the acorn onto the front (skinny) end of the pine cone. This part works best with a hot glue gun! Glue on the wiggly eyes to the acorn and cut out a wattle from the red construction paper. Glue just under the eyes. Let glue dry completely and you are all done!

2. A stained glass turkey. This project is easy for even young children and it looks great when it is hung on a window where sun can shine through it. You will need brown paint, a paper plate, brown, orange, and red construction paper, tissue paper or cellophane, and glue.

Cut five or six large feathers from the brown construction paper and about one inch from the edge, cut out the inside of the feather. Apply glue around the edge of the feather and then lay on top of the tissue paper or cellophane. Trim around the edges. Paint the paper plate brown and attach the turkey feathers. You can either draw on a face or cut out the face parts from construction paper.

These are only a couple of ideas for Thanksgiving crafts for children that you can find either on the Internet or in books about arts and crafts. The thing about Thanksgiving crafts for children is that making these projects can teach them about creativity plus, you’ll get to be with each other, which is the most important part of all!

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

2007-11-17T01:03:00.001-06:00

Ingredients:

5 cups 1/4-inch thick peeled sweet potato slices
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Sprinkle potato slices with rosemary. Add garlic, salt to your liking, and oil. Toss slices in oil and seasoning. Spread evenly in a baking dish. Cover with lid or foil, and bake at 400 degrees F for 25- 30 minutes. Remove covering and turn potatoes over. Bake another 5 - 10 minutes uncovered or until potatoes are tender and top is a nice golden brown color.

Potato & Cheese Gratin

2007-11-17T00:39:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

3 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups Havarti cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chicken flavored bouillon
3-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch dish and set aside.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the dish. Sprinkle with black pepper and 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon. Next add 1/3 of the cheese and 2 tablespoons flour. Continue in this manner, adding 2 more layers.

Combine heavy create and remaining 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon in a bowl. Pour mixture over the potatoes and place in oven.

Bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender or top is golden brown in color.

Thanksgiving – Its History and Celebrations

2007-11-17T00:30:00.000-06:00

By Arindam Bose

Introduction to Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside to give thanks, traditionally to God, when the harvest season comes to an end. It is celebrated in different ways and at different times in different parts of the world. While Thanksgiving is a holiday in the United States and celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, it is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada. . It is, however, not a major event in the United Kingdom where it is also known as the Harvest festival. On this day, family and friends assemble for a feast to celebrate their good fortune, relax and relish each other’s company. Turkey is the main item in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The day also marks the unofficial beginning of the winter holiday season.

History

Thanksgiving is one of the oldest festivals celebrated throughout history. We have learnt of ancient tribes making offerings and preparing feasts to thank their gods and seek their favor. In ancient times, the Greeks, the Romans and the Jews too had similar festivals to appease their gods and goddesses of harvest. It is believed that in the United States, Thanksgiving was originally a harvest festival held by the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in 1621. During the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims held a three-day feast in celebration of their bountiful harvest following their arrival in North America.

Although George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, president Thomas Jefferson later dismissed the idea of having a national holiday of Thanksgiving. However, in 1863, president Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. Finally, in November 1941, Thanksgiving was specifically sanctioned by a joint resolution of Congress as the fourth Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving meal

Things have changed a lot since the first Pilgrim harvest feast of 1621. Items in the first Thanksgiving meal were believed to be wheat, corn, barley, peas, wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans or wild turkey), fish (bass and cod) and five deer brought by the Native Americans. This tradition continues even today in the form of the Thanksgiving dinner, in which people eat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn in some form or other and different vegetables and side dishes. The dessert is usually pumpkin pie or pecan pie.

Thanksgiving in different parts of the world

Although the dates of celebration are different, Thanksgiving in Canada is much the same as it is in the United States. In the United Kingdom, Harvest festival is celebrated in late September or October and special services of Thanksgiving are organized at local churches to honor the day. Jewish people throughout the world celebrate Sukkot, a festival of thanksgiving that lasts nine days. The Chinese observe thanksgiving as The Festival of the Autumn Moon, or Zhong Qui held on the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. In the state of Kerala in India, the harvest festival is called the Onam. In Lithuania, the thanksgiving tradition involves the creation of a boba (meaning old woman) from the last sheaf of grain at harvest time. It is believed that keeping the boba until spring keeps the spirit of the crop alive until replanting begins the next year.

This article is written by Arindam Bose for http://www.ecard4all.com/. Webmasters are free to include this article on their site provided they keep the content and the resource box intact.

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Top 25 Thanksgiving Quotations

2007-11-17T00:16:00.000-06:00

By Danielle Hollister

"It is therefore recommended ... to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor ..."
-- Samuel Adams, father of the American Revolution on November 1, 1777 (adopted by the 13 states as the first official Thanksgiving Proclamation)
"Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
-- Aesop's Fables
"Thanksgiving is possible only for those who take time to remember; no one can give thanks who has a short memory."
-- Anonymous
"One act of thanksgiving made when things go wrong is worth a thousand when things go well."
-- Anonymous
"Thanksgiving is a circle of memories."
-- Anonymous
"Thanksgiving is a time for remembering and appreciating the special people in our lives. Our home is warmed by the love of family and friends."
-- Anonymous
"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?"
-- Erma Bombeck
"My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor."
-- Phyllis Diller
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Who does not thank for little will not thank for much."
-- Estonian proverb
"Your friend is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving."
-- Kahlil Gibran
"There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day . . . is the one day that is purely American."
-- O. Henry
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
"An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day."
-- Irv Kupcinet
"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow."
-- Edward Sandford Martin
"Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings."
-- J. Robert Moskin
"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."
-- E.P. Powell
" Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."
-- WT Purkiser
"Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
"Great as the preparations were for the dinner, everything was so contrived that not a soul in the house should be kept from the morning service of Thanksgiving in the church."
-- Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe
"How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child's personality. A child is resentful, negative—or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people."
-- Sir John Templeton
"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."
-- Henry Van Dyke
"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor."
-- George Washington in his first Presidential Proclamation
"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."
-- H. U. Westermayer
"And let these altars, wreathed with flowers And piled with fruits, awake again Thanksgivings for the golden hours, The early and the latter rain!"
-- John Greenleaf Whittier

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

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Pumpkin Mousse

2007-11-16T19:10:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 package (4-serving size) butterscotch instant pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1 container (8 oz) whipped topping

Instructions

In a large bowl whisk the milk and pudding mix until thickened. Next add the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pumpkin and continue to whisk until blended.

Save 1/4 cup of the whipped topping for garnish and fold the rest into the pudding mixture.

Refrigerate for an hour or until the mousse is set. Top with remaining whipped topping for garnish.

Giving Thanks

2007-11-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

By Colin Joss

Thanksgiving is not just a holiday to get together with friends and family to hang out, share a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and watch "the game" together-although these can certainly become favorite traditions for you and your loved ones.

But thanksgiving is, first and foremost, a time for giving thanks. Families and friends often gather together to give thanks through one or more thanksgiving prayers in order to express their thankfulness. Whether or not you and your family have taken the time to give thanks or say grace at your Thanksgiving mealtime before, you can always "spice up" or renew your traditions by adding Thanksgiving prayers to the upcoming and each Thanksgiving holiday to come.

There are many different ways in which you can use the tradition of Thanksgiving prayers, as well as different specific Thanksgiving prayers you can pray together. For example, you can all hold hands around the table, bow your heads, and have one family member pray a special blessing over the meal and give thanks for all the many blessings the family shares; you can take turns, one by one, expressing one or two things each person is individually thankful for; you can collectively recite Thanksgiving prayers, psalms, or poems together (perhaps some that have been passed down from previous generations, or others that someone has selected and written out); or you can write your own beautiful and heartfelt Thanksgiving prayers and recite them on your own or have everybody read them together.

You can use Thanksgiving prayers whether you and your family are overtly religious or not. Remember, Thanksgiving, although a holiday celebrated by Christians and other religious folk who pray and give thanks to someone (God) in particular, is a time when anybody and everybody can give thanks, in general (not necessarily to someone), for all the blessings and good things in their lives. You can choose to focus on what you're thankful for rather than to whom you're giving thanks.

If you don't want to write your own Thanksgiving prayers or have everybody at the family individually share what they're most thankful for, you can use traditional, common, and popular Thanksgiving prayers. There are many found on various websites dedicated to Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving traditions, and Thanksgiving prayers, psalms, and poems. If you're a Christian, and even if you're not, you can thumb through the Bible and find a huge variety of verses and passages on thankfulness, particularly in Psalms of the Old Testament. Some popular passages in Psalms used for Thanksgiving prayers include Psalm 46:1-3 and Psalm 50:14-15. Other parts of the Bible make great resources for Thanksgiving prayers, such as the books of Philippians and Ephesians, particularly Ephesians 4:6-7.

Here are a few Thanksgiving prayers and poems you can consider:

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The Best Things in Life are Free

When we count our many blessings;
It isn't hard to see that life's most valued
treasures are the treasures that are free.
For it isn't what we own or buy
that signifies our wealth.
It's the special gifts that have no price:
our family, friends and health.

(Author Unknown)

Colin Joss is the owner of http://www.thanksgivingthanksgivingonline.com/ - a site dedicated to hints and tips for family fun at Thanksgiving.

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Fun Thanksgiving Ideas for Kids

2007-11-16T15:32:00.000-06:00

by Mila Sidman & Alice Seba

Thanksgiving is a special time of the year. It is a time for families to get together and celebrate everything they have to be thankful for. Help make this Thanksgiving extra special for the kids by trying one of these fun Thanksgiving ideas:

Thanksgiving Crafts - Make cornucopias out of construction paper and fill with dried berries, twigs, leaves and other autumn findings. Use them as fun thanksgiving decorations.

Thanksgiving Treats - Bake a thanksgiving cake by following a simple cake recipe and decorating in a Thanksgiving theme. Cupcakes are always a big hit too.

Thanksgiving Memento - Help your kids make a special thanksgiving scrapbook where you can keep a record of each Thanksgiving. Give them a disposable or digital camera for older kids and let them take snaps of all their relatives during the dinner. Add the pictures to the scrapbook along with little snippets of how they felt that day, decorations and anything else that will bring back memories of this special holiday.

Thanksgiving Baskets - The holidays are a great time for giving and while you're giving thanks for everything you have it's good to teach the kids that there are many others who are less fortunate. You can start a holiday tradition of making baskets to take to your local shelter or elderly home. Fill the baskets with practical items as well as a few goodies. Decorate them and add a little card for that special touch.

Find more Thanksgiving Ideas and help with all your favorite holidays at http://www.holidayideasformoms.com/

Article Source: http://www.thewahmshack.com/articledirectory

Easy Sage Stuffing

2007-11-16T04:46:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth
6 cups cubed bread, toasted (French or Italian bread works well)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon orange peel, grated
2 teaspoons sage, freshly minced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup celery, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2-quart shallow casserole dish and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Next add the celery and onions. Stir for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add sage, salt, pepper and orange peel. Stir until well blended. Next ad the cubed bread pieces and gradually add the broth and stir constantly until the bread has absorbed the liquid.

Place into casserole and bake for 30 minutes or until the stuffing is lightly browned.

Brown Turkey Gravy

2007-11-16T04:38:00.001-06:00

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 ounces ground turkey
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water

Instructions

In large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for one minute. Now add the ground turkey and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until it is very browned and dry.

Move the turkey mixture to a large saucepan. Add in the poultry season and broth; let simmer for 30 minutes over medium heat. Pour the mixture into a strainer and throw away the cooked turkey.

In a small bowl combine the flour and water until smooth: add the mixture to broth and cook over medium low heat,stirring occasionally for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Roast Turkey with Maple and Orange Glaze

CranOrange Biscuits

2007-11-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
Grated peel from 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1 cup flour

Instructions

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, salt, baking powder and flour: add orange peel. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add milk slowly while using fork to create a slightly sticky dough. Add cranberries.

Using as little flour as possible, roll dough out onto a floured surface until 3/4 inches thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake biscuits for 15 to 18 minutes or until they are golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Thanksgiving Turkey Crafts For Children

2007-11-15T22:16:00.001-06:00

When we think of Thanksgiving, the symbol most often associate with it is the turkey. There are many turkey crafts for children that your child can make with a little help from you. You do not have to be an expert crafter to make them look great and they will not take a lot of time or money to create. You can make it a holiday tradition, too, and you might find that your child will look forward to craft time, year after year!

Here are a couple of ideas for you to try:

1. This easy turkey craft just takes a pine cone, some orange construction paper, glue, scissors, and some wiggly eyes. Trace your child’s hand onto the construction paper with fingers slightly splayed. You’ll need two of these. Glue them to the back of the pine cone with the fingers pointing out (to resemble feathers). Glue on the wiggly eyes and make a wattle by cutting a small triangle out of the construction paper and gluing just below the eyes. That makes a cute turkey craft that will be a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving table décor!

2. Another cute turkey craft for children is to make a side view of a turkey again using your child’s hand. Paint the child's hand and thumb brown and the other fingers different colors; red, yellow, green, orange, etc. Press the child’s hand on a piece of construction paper to make a turkey print. After it dries, the children can use the thumb as the head and add a wiggle eye and color a red wattle. Add feet at the bottom. When the paint has dried, write this poem below the turkey:

This isn't just a turkey, As anyone can see.
I made it with my hand, Which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love, Especially to say,
I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving Day!

There are many other turkey crafts for children you can come up with. Look around on the Internet for "turkey crafts for children" or just use your own imagination. You might be surprised at what you can come up with if you think about it!

A Good Thanksgiving

2007-11-15T17:22:00.000-06:00

By Marian Douglas.

Said Old Gentleman Gay, “On a Thanksgiving Day,
If you want a good time, then give something away.”
So he sent a fat turkey to Shoemaker Price,
And the shoemaker said, “What a big bird! how nice!
And since a good dinner’s before me, I ought
To give poor Widow Lee the small chicken I bought.”

“This fine chicken, oh, see!” said the pleased Widow Lee,
“And the kindness that sent it, how precious to me!
I would like to make some one as happy as I—
I’ll give Washerwoman Biddy my big pumpkin pie.”
“And oh, sure,” Biddy said, “’tis the queen of all pies
Just to look at its yellow face gladdens my eyes.

Now it’s my turn, I think; and a sweet ginger cake
For the motherless Finigan children I’ll bake.”
“A sweet cake, all our own! ’Tis too good to be true!”
Said the Finigan children, Rose, Denny, and Hugh;
“It smells sweet of spice, and we’ll carry a slice
To poor little Lame Jake—who has nothing that’s nice.”

“Oh, I thank you, and thank you!” said little Lame Jake;
“Oh, what beautiful, beautiful, beautiful cake!
And oh, such a big slice! I will save all the crumbs,
And will give ’em to each little sparrow that comes!”
And the sparrows they twittered as if they would say,
Like Old Gentleman Gay, “On a Thanksgiving Day,

If you want a good time, then give something away.”
____________________________________
From: A Treasury of Verse for Little Children, edited by M. G. Edgar, illustrated by Willy Pogany. This book, America, was published in New York by the Macmillan Company in 1923, and the copyright was not renewed, so it is now in the public domain.

Apples and Pears - Spiced and Warm

2007-11-15T17:20:00.001-06:00

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 vanilla bean
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup water
1/2 lemon, sliced
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
5 pears, quartered and cored
5 small Granny Smith apples, quartered and cored

Instructions

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Next scrape out vanilla seeds for the vanilla bean and place it all into the pan with the water, lemon, brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon stick. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about 1 minute. Set aside.

In a slow cooker add the apples, pears and butter mixture; stir until all ingredients are blended well. Cover and cook on low head for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Be sure to stir every 30 minutes. Take out the vanilla pod before serving.

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Crafts For Children

2007-11-15T14:28:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is all about pilgrims and Indians, so it can be a great idea for you to find some fun pilgrim crafts for children to create for decorations at this special time of year. The pilgrims came over to America on the Mayflower to find a new world where they didn’t have to worry about religious persecution, and creating pilgrim crafts with children is a great opportunity to not only spend quality time with them but also to tell them about the Thanksgiving story. Your child is never too young to know about the holidays we celebrate and why we celebrate them.

If you need some ideas for pilgrim crafts, there are many websites that have ideas for you to try. When we did a Google search for “pilgrim crafts”, I found hundreds of web sites that are easy for children of all ages.

Here are a couple to start you off...

1. DLTK has a fun pilgrim craft to make out of a toilet paper roll and an easy to download and print template.

Here is the link for the template you will need to make the pilgrim: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/images/bpilgrim2.gif.
Have your child cut out the template pieces and color them. The large rectangular piece goes around the toilet paper roll. You can probably figure out where the rest of the pieces go. Have your child glue the pieces on and you will have one of several cute pilgrim crafts to decorate your house.

2. You can also make some fun pilgrim crafts out of a paper plate and some construction paper. This craft also lets your child experiment around with mixing paint colors. You will want to start by trying to make a flesh colored paint. Take a little bit of red and mix in 2 to 3 times more yellow and then add white until you have a flesh toned color. You may want to use this moment to ask your child what they think will happen as you add colors and see what answers they have. What a great learning moment!

After you have mixed your paint, use it to paint a regular paper plate for your pilgrim crafts face. When the plate is dry, have your child draw on a face. Make the face smiling or funny to make it extra unique. Use some black and white construction paper to make a pilgrim hat and use some yarn to make some hair. Glue it all together and you have some great pilgrim crafts faces to decorate your home!

Roast Turkey with Maple and Orange Glaze

2007-11-14T15:52:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

1 10 pounds turkey, thawed
1/2 cup water
vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 to 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare turkey for roasting being sure to remove any packets from cavity. Place turkey in a shallow roasting pan and add water to pan. Brush turkey with oil and cover loosely with tin foil. Roast for 1-1/4 hours, remove the foil and roast for another hour.

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the maple syrup, chili powder, orange juice, salt and pepper. Brush or poor the glaze over the turkey. Roast for 35 to 45 more minutes until turkey is golden brown and temperature has reached 170 degrees. Remove from oven and cover with tin foil, let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place turkey on platter and then skim the fat from the roasting pan. Place the pan on stovetop and pour in 3/4 cup chicken broth. Release the browned bits on the bottom of the pan by using a spoon. In a small bowl, combine the flour and remaining 1/4 cups chicken broth. Pour into roasting pan and cook over low heat stirring constantly until it is slightly thickened. If gravy becomes too thick add more water or broth.

Brown Turkey Gravy

10 Thanksgiving Quotes to Celebrate The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

2007-11-14T15:31:00.001-06:00

Author: Noel Jameson

Ready for some Thanksgiving quotes? I don't mean the "I'm thankful for my Nintendo Wii" or the "I'm thankful for my new car" quotes that we hear all too often lately. I mean some real Thanksgiving quotes that remind us of what we really have to be thankful for.

Here are 10 Thanksgiving quotes to celebrate and ponder.

1. "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." ~ H.U. Westermayer

2. "Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." ~ Edward Sandford Martin

3. "There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." ~ O. Henry

4. "You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled." ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

5. "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

6. "We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction." ~ Harry A. Ironside

7. "It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful 'in general.' It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general." ~ Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

8. "It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast." ~ W.
J. Cameron

9. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." ~ Cicero

10. "Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men, but be careful that you do not take the day and leave out the gratitude." ~ E.P. Powell

This Thanksgiving Day, let's remember what we truly have to be thankful for. Let's take a good, hard look around us and realize that while we may not have everything we want, what we want is not always what we need. Let these ten Thanksgiving quotes remind you of the true meaning of this great American holiday as you celebrate with friends and family.

About the author: For more holiday quotes, check out Famous-Quotes-And-Quotations.com, a website that specializes in 'Top 10' lists of quotations in dozens of categories.

Acorn Squash with Apples

2007-11-14T01:17:00.000-06:00

This recipe sounds complicated and fancy to your guests but it's really easy!

Ingredients:

2 large acorn squash
3 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut in 1/2" pieces (about 4 large apples)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:

First cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds. Bake these halved squash in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. While those bake, get out a mixing bowl and mix all the remaining ingredients together for the filling. Fill the hot squash and return to oven to bake for another 30 minutes at 350 degrees F

Ta-da! A colorful, pretty and delicious filled squash.

Kids Craft: Fall Leaf Placemats

2007-11-13T23:11:00.001-06:00

by Rachel Paxton

Making placemats from fall leaves is a fun activity for kids of all ages. Even toddlers will have fun collecting leaves and creating their own placemat. For this craft you will need:

Roll of contact paper
Fall leaves
Scissors

This activity is very inexpensive. The only item you will have to buy is the contact paper, and you can pick this up for about $5 a roll. One roll will make many placemats.

Have your kids go out in the yard and collect some fall leaves. Have them look for a variety of colors and shapes. If the leaves are dry you can use them right away. If they are wet, let them set on a piece of newspaper to dry before you start the craft project.

Before you sit the kids down cut some pieces of contact paper into the shape of placemats. I used the width of the contact paper for the width of the placemat so I would only have to make one cut for each placemat. You will need two pieces of contact paper for each placemat. You can make the placemats any size you choose.

After the contact paper is ready, sit your kids down at a table and have them spread out the leaves in the center of the table. Give them a piece of contact paper with the backing paper removed. Let them arrange their leaves on the sticky side of the paper. After they are happy with the arrangement of their leaves, take another piece of contact paper and carefully lay it on top of the leaves so that the sticky sides of both pieces of contact paper are together. Carefully use your hands to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles. You won't be able to get them all out, but don't worry, a few wrinkles will not be noticeable when you are done.

When you are finished you can use the scissors to trim around the edges to make sure they are all even and straight. This is an easy project that can be completed in about an hour. Remember the younger the child, the shorter their attention span, so if you are making very many you may end up finishing them yourself! My toddler boys spent about 15 minutes on theirs and they had a great time.

Don't forget to proudly display your fall leaf placemats on your Thanksgiving table!

Photos of fall leaf placemat project:
http://www.crafty-moms.com/fall-leaf-placemat.shtml

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com or Creative Homemaking.

Healthy Holiday Eating Tips

2007-11-13T14:36:00.001-06:00

Healthy eating during the holidays isn't easy. The time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day has to be the hardest few weeks to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle or any diet for that matter. We are constantly tempted by sweats, treats and just way to much food in general. I would like to share a few tips with you that have helped me in the past to stay on track between now and the end of the year.

Make sure you eat before you go to any holiday gathering. You know you will be tempted by all sorts of unhealthy but yummy foods. Make sure you don’t go overboard by eating something that is good for you before you go. Try to make sure you are not hungry when you arrive, or you will be much more tempted to overeat as well.
Drink some water before you go and alternate higher calorie drinks like alcoholic beverages, eggnog or hot chocolate with water while you are at the holiday party. Drinks can have a lot of hidden calories in them, so watch out. Diet sodas are another good option.
Fill you plate with some “good “ foods first. Pick some raw vegetables, but go easy on the dip. Turkey breast, and lean ham or pork roast are other good choices. Don’t forget a nice plate of salad with a low fat dressing and some fresh fruit for dessert.
Don’t cut your favorite holiday treats completely out. If you don’t allow yourself the occasional small indulgence, you will be much more likely to break down and binge on all those cookies and treats. The key is to enjoy small portions or bites of your favorite foods. If you have a soft side for chocolate chip cookies then go ahead and indulge, but limit yourself to one a day or every few days. Of course the same applies if you prefer cheesecake or gingerbread men.
Eat several small meals a day. This old tip holds especially true during the holiday season. We tend to skip meals and indulge in one large holiday dinner with the entire family. Don’t starve yourself all day. Get some snacks in and most importantly start your day with a good, healthy breakfast. You will be able to enjoy your holiday more by stabilizing
your blood sugar. You don't want to spend the day being grumpy from not eating for hours, or be the first ready for a nap after overeating.
Use the busy shopping season and burn some extra calories. If you are heading to the mall, park a little further away, or take your time and do a round of window shopping all through the mall before you buy. Every few extra steps that you take count. Just don’t reward yourself afterwards with food. For extra motivation to get more walking in, consider wearing a pedometer. See http://www.walkingofftheweight.com/ for more information on walking and using a pedometer.
Take some time to relax. The holidays can be a very stressful season if we let them. Many of us (including myself) tend to overeat or medicate ourselves with food when we are stressed. Work in some extra time just for you. Sit in front of the fire with a good book or your favorite magazine, go get your nails done, take a bath or go for a walk. Do whatever works for you to calm you down and help you distress.

Above all, enjoy the holidays and remember they are not only about food, but more importantly about family spending quality time together. Treat yourself to some new holiday candles, listen to your favorite Christmas tunes, or go for a drive through a lit up neighborhood this year. Have fun during this special time of the year and enjoy that occasional cookie.

Happy Holidays!

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Thanksgiving Centerpieces - Crafts For Children

2007-11-13T13:13:00.001-06:00

Nothing makes a Thanksgiving table look more festive than a hand made centerpiece for your table. No child is TOO young to participate in crafts. Of course, you will probably have to help them a little bit with the details, but even young children can make a centerpiece for the table that you both can be proud of.

You can make a lot of free Thanksgiving crafts for children with supplies that won’t cost a lot of money.

Paper Bag Turkey

You will need a brown paper bag of any size, scissors, newspaper, glue, a red balloon, some wiggly eyes, two large grocery bags, and a large rubber band. To make the head, stuff the bottom of the medium-sized bag with balled-up newspaper. Twist the top of the bag to form a long, skinny neck. Glue the wiggly eyes and the balloon wattle onto the face. For the turkey's body, use one large bag. Snip a hole through the front of the bag an inch from the bottom and fit the neck into it. Then, stuff the body two thirds full with newspaper. Close the top of the bag with the rubber band. To make tail feathers, cut four large half-circles from the remaining bag and then glue them in layers to the back of the body.

Spice Scented Pinecones

Our next Thanksgiving centerpiece craft is really simple. Gather together several pine cones. Make a thin glue by mixing 1 part white glue with 1 part water. Have them use a paint brush to completely coat the pine cones with the glue. Mix together spices like ground ginger, ground cinnamon, or ground nutmeg. Have your child roll the pine cones in the spice mixture and allow to dry. Then place them in a festive basket and place on your table.

You can find all sorts of other ideas for Thanksgiving centerpiece crafts for children online. Do a Google search and then find ones your child can complete and be proud of!

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Recipes

2007-11-13T02:00:00.000-06:00

Four Pumpkin Recipes for Fall
by Rachel Paxton

Fall is a great time to try out some new pumpkin recipes. There's nothing like the smell of fresh baked pumpkin bread or cookies in the kitchen! You have to give this pumpkin cornbread a try.

__________________________________

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

2 eggs, beaten slightly
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup chopped cranberries
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and pumpkin, mixing well. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the batter and add the pumpkin. Stir in cranberries. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour.

_______________________________________________________

Pumpkin Cupcakes

3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin

Combine butter and sugar, beat in eggs 1 at a time, sift in dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into greased cupcake pans. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

_______________________________________________________

Pumpkin Cornbread

1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups corn meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated

Cooking Instructions:

Heat milk, butter, and sugar in saucepan to melt butter. Put pumpkin in a bowl and add milk mixture. Add corn meal, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir to blend. Add salt and egg yolks and stir in. In another bowl, beat egg whites and fold in batter. Grease an 8 inch square pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

_______________________________________________________

Pumpkin Cookies

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup cooked pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts

Cooking Instructions:

Mix oil, sugar, egg, and pumpkin together and add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

_______________________________________________________

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at creativehomemaking.com.

Thanksgiving Decorations

2007-11-13T00:49:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Decorations
By Sean Carter

Set in a season of beauty and bounty, Thanksgiving decorations witness the brilliant Fall shades of red, orange, brown, golden and amber. It would indeed be unwise to think that Thanksgiving decorations are limited to the theme of turkeys and Pilgrims and cornucopias. While these are perfectly there and make wonderful decorations on Thanksgiving, you can touch up your Thanksgiving décor with the many beauties that Autumn offers. You can set up a bright and warm decoration with the Autumn leaves, flowers, pumpkins, harvest-colored table spreads or curtains, nuts, acorns, berries and more. Now here are some ideas for your Thanksgiving decorations which might initiate the creative genius in you:

•Pumpkins halved, hollowed-out and filled with fruits would make a wonderful centerpiece and are sure to woo your folks' most ardent attention on Thanksgiving.

•You can fringe the window sills or the doorway with miniature gourds and pumpkins. Orange, green and white pumpkins when arranged in a row make a good show of Thanksgiving decorations.

•Thanksgiving wreaths are known to be very good decorations too. This looks festive when hung at the entrance and is warm enough to welcome your friends and folks heartily in. Create your wreath as creatively as you can. Use flowers, leaves, berries etc to make a bountiful Thanksgiving coronal.

•Streamers made with alternating Fall leaves and flowers add a special touch to any Thanksgiving decoration if hung or placed artistically on table-tops or ceilings.

•For the tapestry and upholstery, it's always good to stick to the Autumn shades. And silk fabrics are better choices when it's a Thanksgiving decoration in agenda. So choose burnt orange curtains with a silk finish, have an amber-colored table linen or spread out a yellow-ochre carpet to effuse the season's brilliance.

•Prepare wheat sheaves tied up with orange silk ribbons and place them at the corners of your room on Thanksgiving to give a rustic flavor to your Thanksgiving decorations.

•A cornucopia placed on the mantle is a warm thought as always. But how about complementing the warmth with a bit of shine and sparkle ? Place a few long slender candles in a cluster near the cornucopia and watch how it enhances your Thanksgiving decorations. You can also strew a few nuts and acorns sporadically around the candles.

· For the Thanksgiving table, prepare Thanksgiving-themed table-mats and napkins with handmade papers. Draw your own designs on them or just color them with the vibrant Fall shades.

•A pillar candle spiraled with a golden ribbon and placed right at the middle of the Thanksgiving table would look just fine, isn't it ? You can make this piece look more elegant by setting a bunch of cranberries or a few pinecones at its base. And with this wonderful Thanksgiving decoration, you can't help feel warm and snug all over when the turkey sizzles in its radiance !

Decorations and decorative ideas are galore when it comes to this beautiful holiday of Thanksgiving. Anything makes good Thanksgiving decorations if put up with a dash of creativity. Even dry Autumn leaves, twigs, sticks and branches look good indoors if the creative genius in you is at liberty. So let loose the best bit in you and sweep over your friends, folks and beloved with your Thanksgiving decorations !

Sean Carter writes on holidays, Thanksgiving Day and world events. He also writes on family, relationships, Christmas, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry and writes for 123greetings.com. He is an active blogger at Thanksgiving Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_Carter
http://EzineArticles.com/?Thanksgiving-Decorations&id=352225

Pumpkin Bars

2007-11-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

ICING:

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions:

Get out the big mixing bowl and beat together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Combine the dry ingredients, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add this to the pumpkin mixture and beat together well. Pour your mixture into an ungreased jellyroll pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

Recommended Frosting:

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla. Add just enough milk to help get a nice spreading consistency.

Thanksgiving Crafts for Children

2007-11-12T19:18:00.001-06:00

When looking for ideas for Thanksgiving crafts for children, you are limited only by your own imagination and creativity. You can find all sorts of ideas for children’s Thanksgiving crafts on the Internet. But don’t just let it stop there. Take and modify the crafts that you find and make them entirely your own. When you allow yourself to be creative, you will find yourself coming up with all sorts of ideas for Thanksgiving crafts for children – especially when you allow yourself to think “outside of the box”.

For example, a child’s hand print can easily turn into a turkey’s feathers. A foot print can be a turkey’s body. Craft sticks can also be turkey feathers. There are lots of ways you can turn regular house hold items into ideas for children’s Thanksgiving crafts. Try a couple of these for your next Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Because Thanksgiving is a time for us to be thankful for the blessings we have been given throughout the year, so one of the great ideas for children’s Thanksgiving crafts that we found can be a center piece for your Thanksgiving table. Get a decorative bowl or basket and put some florists foam in the bottom of it. You’ll need some construction paper. Either draw freehand leaf shapes or find a template on the Internet. Here’s one place I found: Kaboose.com.

On the leaves, have your child write “I am thankful for” on each leaf and decorate as they want. Glue or staple the leaves to craft sticks. When your guests arrive, have each of them write something that they are thankful for and then place the sticks into the foam. Then place the basket on your dinner table. Between dinner and dessert, have everyone read one of the leaves that is not their own and then try to guess who wrote it!

Edible Turkeys

Another of the cute ideas for children Thanksgiving crafts we were able to find are edible turkeys. To make one turkey, you need two Double Stuff Oreo cookies, some candy corn and a chocolate covered raisin (Raisinettes). Open one of the Oreos. The side with the filling will be the base of the turkey. Eat the other part! Take the other cookie and stand it upright in the filling. Stick pieces of candy corn in the filling of the upright cookie for feathers and place the raisin in front of the body for the turkey’s head.

There are many ideas for Thanksgiving crafts for children on the Internet that are fun and easy to do and can provide for some real quality time with your child as you craft away!

Thanksgiving Traditions and Memories

2007-11-12T17:47:00.001-06:00

by Rachel Paxton

Family and tradition. Isn't that what the Holidays are really all about? The holidays are the one time of the year that families come together and create memories that will stay with them throughout a lifetime. Children who don't get to spend time with their grandparents, aunts,
uncles, and cousins are really missing out on an opportunity to form a bond that only close family ties can create.

I love to learn about how other families spend their time during the holidays. Some of people's fondest memories are from visiting with friends and relatives during the Thanksgiving holidays. I have put together some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions that people have submitted to the Creative Homemaking web site.

Jeanette...My favorite memories are of my mother's family gathering at Grandma's house. The holiday did not begin until everyone got there. We often played cards or other games. The most fun is when we would go for a long walk in the country. This would include whomever wanted to go, and would always be an adventure.

Bethany...We rotate homes every year for Thanksgiving. Whoever's house Thanksgiving is at makes the turkey. Everyone else generally brings a vegetable, dessert or salad. Grandma always makes the dressing.

Mrs. Lee...Every holiday we always would write one thing we were thankful for on our place cards.

Shelly...One of my favorite holiday memories is the gathering of my mother's family at her aunt's farm at Thanksgiving. I remember gatherings including five generations with relatives we only saw every couple of years, but with whom we shared a common ancestry and a common faith. These bonds allowed us to become reacquainted with one another over the course of the day and gave an almost hallowed meaning to the phrase "family ties". Even as a child, I knew my actions reflected on my family, and I would never do anything to bring dishonor to my family. Those family bonds are absent for so many people these days.

Ginger...Each year my husbands family (most of them live near) get together for the Thanksgiving meal. Each family brings a part of the meal (decided by the hostess)
and we give thanks to God and enjoy each others company. It's a great time to catch up.

Kathy...Making the center piece with my children when they were little we used to go gather liquid Amber leaves and press them between two pieces of wax paper with some scrapped crayon and name tags also in with the leaves. The kids always looked so forward to this and we kept this up for many years now we make different kinds the kids are older so now we bake together instead which is a lot of fun. Having Thanksgiving at our home is tradition we
love.

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For recipes, tips to organize your home, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit
Creative Homemaking .

Latkes (Hanukkah Potato Cakes)

2007-11-11T23:44:00.000-06:00

These traditional Hanukkah potato cakes are also a favorite breakfast food for many people.

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, peeled and quartered*
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup oil for frying

Instructions:

Bring a large pot full of water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook about 15 minutes until firm, but tender. Shred. *(Just start with a bag of shredded potatoes or shred up some leftover baked potatoes from last nights dinner)

In a saucepan mix garlic, butter and milk and bring to a boil. Next stir in the shredded potatoes, ham and cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook to a dough-like consistency. Time to fry them up! Heat your oil in a large skillet. Drop a spoonful of the mixture in the hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides. Great as a side dish with dinner or for breakfast with a slice of toast and some orange juice. You can vary the ingredients to your liking. For example use sausage instead of ham, mozzarella instead of cheddar, vegetables instead of meat, etc. Try different combinations and see what you like best.

Planning for Those Holiday Meals

2007-11-11T16:17:00.000-06:00

By Teresa Ruddock

It is that time of year again when everyone begins to think and prepare for the large family dinner parties.

If this is the year that you have been chosen to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for the entire family you may be feeling overwhelmed. But, as long as you prepare and have everything ready beforehand, your dinner could be that special wonderful meal and will turn out to be a joyous time to remember for you and your family.

Start planning your Thanksgiving dinner around Halloween. Yes, that is correct about one month in advance. You will need to choose what recipes you plan on serving. You will have plenty of time to scout for new recipes and maybe try a few on your family. You may wish to order either a turkey or ham that has already been prepared or you may prefer a fresh turkey to a frozen one. A fresh turkey does have a better taste than those frozen ones and they are easier to prepare, so go with this option if you can.

Go through your pantry and see what you have in the way of spices and flavorings that you may need to prepare some of your favorite dishes including all of those unique dessert and cookies that everyone loves. If you do not have everything that is in the recipes, write a list and begin to shop. Yes, it is fine to shop for your holiday meal three weeks before it is time to cook. If you wait until the last minute to find out that you are out of brown sugar, you may get to the grocery store and find out they out also sold out. So, plan ahead and have all the ingredients you need ahead of time, except for the items that can perish like the turkey. You can even order your fresh turkey from the grocery store and tell them the day you will pick it up. If you buy frozen, it will need to thaw in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours before roasting.

About two weeks before Thanksgiving, check to see that you have your china ready and any other eating utensils and serving trays, cleaned and ready for use. At this time you can also decorate your home with all the colorful and unique holiday decorations. This is also the best time to get out the card table or add a leaf to your dining room table. You do not want to wait until Thanksgiving Day to prepare your home for your family. If you need to, you can even rearrange your furniture to accommodate the guests.

A couple of days before the dinner party, you can begin to prepare things like the vegetable tray, the cheese balls, or other appetizers that will be able to last a couple of days. The day before Thanksgiving, you can bake all of your pies, cakes, cookies, and other yummy treats. Now, on the big day you can roast your turkey or bake your ham. And begin to set things out such as appetizers.

Now, all you have left to do is wait for your family to arrive and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner.

Teresa Ruddock is editor of a number of websites including http://www.247cookware.com/ and http://www.greenteahealth.info/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_Ruddock http://EzineArticles.com/?Planning-for-Those-Holiday-Meals&id=80856

Thanksgiving Coloring Pages

2007-11-11T03:07:00.000-06:00

You can find lots of Thanksgiving coloring pages on the Internet that are free to download and print from your computer.

Use your favorite search engine – I prefer Google – and type in “Thanksgiving coloring pages”. The search engine will come up with several places where you can find Thanksgiving coloring pages.

Pick out the ones you like, print them out and let your child go wild!

Here are a few web sites that have Thanksgiving coloring pages to get you started:

KidsSoup.com

First-School.ws

FreeColoringPages.com

ColoringCastle.com

FreePrintableColoringPages.net

Kaboose.com

ColoringPage.net

Apples4Teacher.com

You can also use Thanksgiving coloring pages as templates for craft projects you may want to do. They can be used to follow as a diagram for some type of craft or incorporated into a collage or picture that you want to display on the holiday.

Have your child color several different ones and then make them into placemats. Just glue the picture onto a larger piece of paper and you have a placemat. To make them even more durable, you may want to laminate them too. Laminating machines can be purchased quite inexpensively these days or most office supply store offer lamanating services.

Then enjoy the creation and the holiday as well!

Indian Pudding

2007-11-11T03:05:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

1 quart plus 1 cup milk
1/2 cup Indian meal (aka cornmeal)
1 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoon butter
*Ice cream

Instructions:

Bring a quart of milk to its boiling point but do not go into rapid boil. Combine the cornmeal with 1/2 cup cold milk and add this to the hot milk stirring very well! In a baking dish blend together molasses, sugar, eggs, salt, cinnamon, ginger, butter and remaining 1/2 cup of milk. Add the cornmeal mixture to the baking dish spreading out evenly. Bake for 3 hours at 300 degrees F. Serve while hot and with ice cream on the side.

Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids - Placemats

2007-11-10T23:57:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids - Placemats

Kids love to make crafts, and making Thanksgiving crafts gives them a chance to share their artwork and creativity with everyone who will be present at your Thanksgiving dinner. Imagine your child’s delight when they sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with the family and everyone has one of their Thanksgiving placemat underneath their dinner plate!

The best part about making Thanksgiving crafts is that you can let you or your child’s creativity just run wild! All it takes is some construction paper, some crayons or markers, and you are well on your way! If you want your Thanksgiving crafts to become keepsakes a laminating machine can be purchased relatively inexpensively at most discount stores or you can have it done at most office supply stores. When you laminate your Thanksgiving placemat, your guests have something they can take home with them to remember a great holiday!

When making Thanksgiving crafts, you and your child’s imagination is the only thing that you need other than paper and something to write or draw with. Try making a border of turkeys along the sides and then filling in the center with things that you are thankful for. These things could be general things or specific things depending on your family situation. Maybe you are thankful for grandpa still being around for another holiday. Maybe you want to pay homage to the troops who fight for our freedom every day. When you are making Thanksgiving crafts, the sky’s the limit and it can spark many deep conversations with even the smallest child!

Once you have made your placemat, be sure it is dry and then decorate your table with these handmade beauties. If you are using a laminating machine, be very sure that the whole mat is dry before you laminate it. You don’t want your Thanksgiving crafts to be ruined just because you didn’t wait long enough before the ink dried on the paper!

Thanksgiving placemats are great party favors for your dinner guests to take home. After all, what is Thanksgiving other than a big celebration (party) giving thanks for everything that we have and everything we can expect. When your guests are able to take home a Thanksgiving craft memento of the amazing Thanksgiving celebration that you put together, they are sure to remember not only the event but the fact that you and your child took the time to help them put what is important at the top of their life list.

Seven Ways to Cut Calories and Stress at Thanksgiving

2007-11-09T00:33:00.000-06:00

by Constance Weygandt

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, increased stress and overeating are a part of life in our society. Due to increased stress levels, we are more likely to eat for emotional reasons. The smells in our homes, on Thanksgiving day, stir up childhood memories of happy times spent with family and friends. This can be a wonderful time of the year and with a few tips, we can manage both emotional needs and caloric intake.

Have soup as a first course. There are many soups which you can prepare, days in advance, and heat through just before Thanksgiving dinner. One of my favorites is a pumpkin soup. I use pumpkin puree as a base. I substitute condensed milk for cream and flavor it with allspice and ginger. You can add a little nonfat sour cream and some sliced almonds for garnish, if you like.

Have an extra slice of turkey. Turkey is packed with nutrition and lower in calories than most other meats. Just don't eat the skin. Instead of having one portion each of yams, potatoes and stuffing - have an extra slice of turkey. Allocate your yams, potatoes and stuffing so that together they equal one portion.

Try a simpler yam recipe. Instead of the yam casserole with marshmallows, pineapple and all of the extra calories, try a baked yam this year. If you cannot do without the extra sweet, slice yams in a casserole dish. Add a little water and sprinkle with real maple syrup. They are sweet and delicious but less calories.

Try a green bean salad. Instead of the traditional green bean casserole, (You all know the one I'm talking about.),try a green bean salad. A simple one uses drained, canned green beans, a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a few slices of fresh garlic. It adds a nice, tart touch to the dinner and is less calories.

Try to reduce sugar amounts in recipes. Cut the amount of sugar, called for, in fruit pie recipes by one third to one half. I've always done this and prefer the taste. Start with one third less and see if it is to your taste. I get compliments on my pies, regularly. The sugar will not be missed.

Try alternatives to heavy fats in recipes. For a pumpkin pie recipe, use an egg substitute and condensed milk instead of eggs and milk. Try using nonfat sour cream and one half the butter normally used in your mashed potatoes. In your stuffing recipe, add a little less butter and a little more chicken broth.

Cook only your favorite foods. Do you really need to prepare all of the dishes you made, last year? Decide which traditional dishes you really can't do without and make them. For me, it is the stuffing that my dad made, before me, and my grandmother made, before him.

Follow as many of these tips as you like. If you choose only a few, you will be decreasing your caloric intake and stress. Balance the more traditional, higher calorie, dishes with some of the simpler, lower calorie, dishes. By choosing not to make every dish that your mother or grandmother used to make, you will be creating less stress for yourself. Involve the whole family in the decision making of what is to be served and the preparation of the meal. Reduce the calories and the stress. You will be thankful for it.

Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information on Thanksgiving or stress reduction, visit her website at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com

Article Source: http://www.ladypens.com

Caramel Pear Cake

2007-11-09T00:19:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of cloves
1/2 cup milk
1 can (16 oz) pears -drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup brown sugar -packed
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup water
Ice cream or whipped cream

Instructions:

Mix up the main dry ingredients first (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves) then add milk and continue to mix until smoothed. Stir in the pears and pecans. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. In a small mixing bowl mix the brown sugar, butter and hot water. Pour this mixture over the batter in the casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. Serve alamode!

Taking Your Thanksgiving Dinner to the Next Level With Unique Recipes

2007-11-08T18:04:00.000-06:00

By Colin Joss

When you think about Thanksgiving recipes, what comes to mind? Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Pumpkin Pie. Corn. Stuffing. Burritos. Wait a minute. Burritos? That doesn't seem to fit in! But what if your family loves burritos? Thanksgiving doesn't have to just include the traditional recipes. With a little imagination and the input of the rest of your family, you can choose great recipes that everyone will enjoy, regardless of the foods are "traditional."

First, think about what your family likes to eat best. During Thanksgiving, you should be giving thanks for the food you enjoy together. Why not prepare the foods you enjoy? If you and your family do no care for turkey, there's no need to spend all day roasting a bird. You can start off with the traditional menus and replace certain items or you can start from scratch to make an entirely new menu. The more you love the meal, the better your Thanksgiving will be. Trying sitting down as a family with as many of the people who will be attending the dinner as possible. Share Thanksgiving recipes and ideas at what you'd like see on the table.

When making your Thanksgiving meal plan, however, it is important to include foods from all food groups. A traditional Thanksgiving meal has recipes that include all the major vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins that we need to lead a healthy, balanced life. If you're going to be preparing a non-traditional type of meal, make sure that your recipes include options for all food groups as well.

Also, think about your Thanksgiving meal in terms of courses. You should include a lighter course or dish to start. Salads and soups make good options. The main course should include an entrée and side dishes. The entrée is usually a meat dish, but don't be afraid to think outside of the box-a vegetarian or pasta dish can work well too. Lastly, don't forget about dessert! Pumpkins, apples, and other fall fruits are great when you're coming up with recipe ideas.

Keep in mind the preparation that comes with the Thanksgiving recipes you choose. A turkey traditional takes a long time to thaw and cook, but with a turkey, you can stick it in the oven and simply check on it as you're preparing other dishes. However, some entrées must be prepared closer to the time of the dinner. It can be difficult trying to make entrées, side dishes, appetizers, and desserts all at the same time! Make sure that the timing works out or that you have lots of helping hands in the kitchen. When possible, prepare dishes, at least part of the way, ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate.

The bottom line? Thanksgiving isn't about the specific foods you eat. It's about spending time enjoying a meal with your family and giving thanks for the good foods and company that you have been provided. Consider unique dishes and recipes this Thanksgiving if that's what will make your family happiest.

Colin Joss is the owner of http://www.thanksgivingthanksgivingonline.com/ - a site dedicated to hints and tips for family fun at Thanksgiving.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colin_Joss http://EzineArticles.com/?Taking-Your-Thanksgiving-Dinner-to-the-Next-Level-With-Unique-Recipes&id=764983

Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts For Children

2007-11-08T14:20:00.001-06:00

It is never too early to start children with fun art projects, which is why you need to get some ideas for arts and crafts for Thanksgiving. Even these little guys can create fun arts and crafts for the Thanksgiving holiday that can decorate your home. Arts and crafts for children's Thanksgiving projects are not as difficult as you might think because most children in can use scissors, glue, and color.

Here are a few we are fans of:

Thanksgiving Card

All you need is a piece of construction paper and fold it in half. Have the child trace his or her hand on the front of the card. Let them color the thumb brown which is the turkey’s head. This is a side view, by the way. The fingers are the turkey feathers and they should be multi-colored. Have them draw on an eye and a red wattle. On the inside of the card, have this poem pre-printed and let them paste it in:

This isn't just a Turkey
As anyone can see,
I made it with my hand
Which is part of me.
It comes with lots of love
Especially to say,
I hope that you have a very
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!

Thankful Tree

Here is another great arts and crafts project for Thanksgiving that will take a little time to prepare but will be very special for the big day. Go outside and find a small twig with a few branches still on it. In an empty, clean soup can, pour in plaster of Paris and stick the twig into the center. Let dry. Have several leaves available that are cut out of construction paper. Every morning, have the child write something they are thankful for and then hang from the tree. If you start this out at the beginning of November, by Thanksgiving Day, you’ll have a great table center piece!

Get together a lot of ideas for arts and crafts for children at Thanksgiving. If you are a teacher, try a few different ones each year. If you are a parent, you have new ideas from year to year. Either way, you will have some great crafts you can count on as your child grows up because your child can still make them at any age, they just look better and better as time moves on!

Sweet Potato Pie

2007-11-07T11:23:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:

2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and drained
4 tablespoons margarine, melted
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 9" pie shell, baked
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

Mash together your cooked sweet potatoes with melted butter or margarine. Whip in eggs, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. When well mixed add in the milk and vanilla. Pour it all into your baked pie shell and heat in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees F. It's done when the center is somewhat firmed up. Scatter chopped pecans over the top of the pie before serving.

Thanksgiving Pilgrims Started A Classic Tradition

2007-11-07T10:47:00.000-06:00

By Gail Leino

What could be more timeless than Thanksgiving Pilgrims as a decorating motif for this uniquely American holiday? Other countries have a similar fall banquet custom but this one is filled with the history of our country's founding.

Thanksgiving pilgrims are attractive on cakes, candles, table cloths, plates and napkins. Together with the cornucopia they form the most common symbols of the fall harvest. Theirs is a slim form that celebrates what has become the homage to gluttony. Statuesque forms dressed in simple 17th century garb and typically pictured with a hunting musket; they adorn tables that bear little resemblance to that austere past.

It is for this reason that the Thanksgiving Pilgrims are often pictured in comic or satiric rather than always completely serious effigy. Their harsh existence is a distant memory to the American tables that they now adorn. Just as the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving celebrated their bountiful harvest, Americans now use their image as a reminder of how the nation has prospered since its humble beginnings.

Now a fun and happy occasion, the Thanksgiving pilgrims can be carefree and comically depicted. A typical rendition allows a turkey to stand between the hunter and his musket preventing dinner. Another possibility is the image of the pilgrim wives preparing turkey TV dinners in a microwave. Anachronisms abound in the rich tapestry of imaginative renditions of the tongue-in-cheek Thanksgiving pilgrims.

Of course formal dinner parties call for the more austere image of Thanksgiving pilgrims. Wooden carvings of their tall beleaguered forms stand in stolid virtue on simple country kitchens while their porcelain counterparts adorn formal dining rooms in mansions. Practical hostesses will probably opt for disposable party goods with either the more serious or the comic versions of Thanksgiving pilgrims depicted. These are easily thrown out and replaced preventing cleaning or storage issues.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com/), using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has a huge selection of free party games, coloring pages, word find, word scramble, printable baby and bridal shower activities. Thanksgiving Party Games (Thanksgiving-Party.com), holiday party planning tips, recipes, menus, printable activities and free coloring pages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino http://EzineArticles.com/?Thanksgiving-Pilgrims-Started-A-Classic-Tradition&id=348953

Joe Froggers Cookie Recipe from the Mayflower

2007-11-05T23:21:00.000-06:00

From DJ Sartin

A friend sent me this recipe a couple years ago and we loved these cookies, so we always have a plateful out during the holidays, and these too make a great gift to take to others.

Mary says they were a favorite of the Mayflower voyagers and the generations that followed them. The "Joe Froggers" were stored in barrels on ship for months sometimes. Yet they were always soft and tasty. Their 'keeping' power was said to be due to the rum!

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

3/4 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon salt

7 cups flour

2 cups dark molasses

1 teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon ginger

1/4 cup rum (more if desired)

Instructions

Cream shortening and sugar until light. Dissolve salt in water and mix with rum. Add baking soda to molasses. Sift flour with spices. Add liquid ingredients alternately with flour mixture to creamed mixture. Stir well between additions. Dough should be sticky. Chill overnight. In the morning, flour board and rolling pin. Roll dough 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with cutter (each cookie should be the size of the inside of a coffee cup.) Space two to three inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven from 10 to 12 minutes

These even work well for sending as gifts through the mail as they stay moist and yummy a long time! I sometimes add a glaze, or add some goodies like raisins, dates or nuts to the batter before baking.

Make a great dessert by crumbling over yogurt. Yummy with just a glass of cold milk. Or sandwich with a hunk of melty dark chocolate between them.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

2007-11-05T22:58:00.000-06:00

by Angela Billings

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it and if your like me you need a list to make sure you get it together in time and with less stress than most major events cause the cook. I hope you will find the tips below very useful in your holiday preparation.

1. Write out your menu

Thanksgiving dinner probably isn't the best meal to try a new main dish out on your guests so I recommend sticking with your families favorites for this special meal.

2. Find Recipes

If you will be using recipes that you are not familiar with it is a good idea to have these recipes looked up and copied off so you can get to them easily.

3. Guest List

Make out your guest list and invite them in a timely manner so you will know who is coming. Make sure you know of any food allergies and likes and dislikes of guests.

4. Side Dishes

Guests sometimes like to help with the meal by bringing side dishes and desserts so be sure to ask what they will be bringing so that you will not have duplicate dishes at the dinner table.

5. Shopping List

List all the ingredients of the items on your menu and then go through and mark out the items you already have and then transfer the other items to your grocery list and look for sales of these products at the grocery store.

6. Make Room

Clean out your refridgerator and pantry cabinets to make room for the extra recipe ingredients you will be adding in order to cook your meal.

7. Clean Counters

Remove all the extra clutter from your cabinet tops that you will be working on. It will make the meal preparation a lot less stressful if you have room to prepare it.

8. To Do List

Make out your own list of things to get done before the dinner such as cleaning out a closet for guests to hang coats and hats, make sure you have enough chairs for your company, etc. and be sure to check each item off your list as you get them taken care of.

I hope these tips will help you have a somewhat stress free Thanksgiving dinner. My last and best tip is to Thank God for all that you have!

Angela Billings is founder of Home and Family Ezine where you will find great homemaking tips and ideas. Subscribe to the free mailing list and receive a free Thanksgiving Journal download. http://www.homeandfamilyezine.com/newsletter.html

Article Source: www.ladypens.com

A Different Green Bean Dish

2007-11-04T23:25:00.000-06:00

Were you put in charge of the green bean dish this year?

Spice it up!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
1 cup water
2 pounds frozen green beans
Seasoning salt to taste

Instructions:

Sauté the garlic and onion until tender. Add sausage to skillet and brown all over. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Now add the green beans. Cover, reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 30 minutes until green beans are ready. You may need to add a little more water about half way if it starts to get low. Season to your tastes.

3 Thanksgiving Decorations Kids Can Make

2007-11-04T22:29:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday and a perfect time to make some holiday crafts with your children.

With the following crafts, your home can be decorated for your Thanksgiving celebration.

1. Hand Turkeys

A familiar project at this time of year is for a child to trace around his or her hand and then turn the drawing into a turkey. The thumb is the head and the fingers are the tail feathers all displayed. The tail feathers on a wild turkey are brown, but they are iridescent, catching light and appearing to be multi-colored. This is why children color the tail feathers in bright colors. The turkey's head has a red colored wattle under the beak. Be sure to draw this in order to make the hand turkey look like a turkey. Add skinny legs and bird feet. When done, the children can cut out the turkeys and hang them on the wall. It's really cute to make a whole flock of these turkeys in the sizes of all the hands in the family.

2. Turkey Door Decoration

Make a brown construction paper body and head of a turkey. Now make a large number of colored feather shapes. Each family member writes on a feather something he or she is thankful for before attaching as part of the turkey's tail. Repeat until all the feathers are used, and hang the turkey on the front door to greet visitors with a message of gratitude. Make a sign to accompany the turkey that says "Be thankful!" or "We're thankful for you!" or whatever you like.

3. Fall Colored Paper Chains

Children love making construction paper chains. To further decorate the house for Thanksgiving, let them make a paper chain in fall colors as one of their holiday crafts. Using 9 by 12 inch construction paper, cut the paper in half across the long side and cut the halves into one inch thick six inch long strips. Use a stapler to attach the ends of the strip into a circle. Loop the next strip into the circle and staple it. Continue the process alternating colors of brown, red, yellow, and orange. When the chains are long, you can drap them along the ceiling or stair rail. You could also have the children write something they're thankful for on each strip of paper before adding it to the chain.

By making holiday crafts to decorate the home, you can make your Thanksgiving day special. The extended family, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. will be pleased to see the holiday crafts the young ones have made to decorate the house and make it cheerful for their visit.

Pumpkin Pull Apart Cake

2007-11-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Get out that big ole' mixing bowl and combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and spice. Pour into your greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix over top of the mixture. Sprinkle, don't stir. Drizzle melted butter over it all and top it off with a handful or two of chopped walnuts.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F or until toothpick comes out of center clean.

Best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Family Thanksgiving Traditions

2007-11-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

By William Smith

Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on the past year, getting together with family and of course, eating a big 'ole turkey until you feel stuffed yourself. In fact, according to the National Turkey Federation, over 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

Many of us have Thanksgiving food traditions ranging from deep fried turkey to green bean casserole to sweet potato pie, but there is often more to Thanksgiving than a good looking bird. Many families have adopted other traditions that are passed from one generation to the next.

Here are some fun Thanksgiving tradition ideas that will surely delight your family.

1) Have each person generate a "What I'm Thankful For List." You could go around the table before the big dinner is served so that each person can say aloud what he/she is thankful for or you could have each person write their list down on sheets of paper so that they can be hole-punched and stored in a 3 ring binder. Throw in some photos of everyone at the Thanksgiving celebration and the binder can serve as your Thanksgiving family memories book.

2) Watch the NFL football games on TV with beer and snacks of course. Watching the Detroit Lions and/or Dallas Cowboys is considered by many to be as much a part of Thanksgiving Day as the turkey. Better yet, gather the family in the yard or local basketball court to have a Thanksgiving game of your own.

3) Watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving." Released in 1973, this heart-warming film shows the misadventures of Charlie Brown as he tries to throw together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for all of his friends. Snoopy and Woodstock step in to save the day. One fun idea would be to make and eat all the foods Snoopy served like toast and jellybeans.

4) Go to tree farm and pick out the family Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. You could mark it for delivery a week or two later to make sure that it won't dry out before Christmas.

5) Make a wish on the wishbone from the turkey. Let two people from the family grab on to each end of the wishbone and pull while making a wish. Whoever gets the larger piece (the one with the head on it) will have his/her wish come true. Be sure not to share your wish with others or it won't come true!

6) Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV with your family. For almost 80 years, Macy's has celebrated Thanksgiving and called forth Christmas with their big parade in New York City. The parade features huge balloons, bands, beautiful floats and of course, Santa Claus.

7) Volunteer at a local shelter to serve or at Meals On Wheels to deliver the Thanksgiving Day meal to those less fortunate Americans.

8) Make a Thanksgiving craft or hostess gift for the cook(s). This is a great project to do with the kids.

9) Get up bright and early the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping. This is especially fun for the women in the family. Known as "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year with sales and early bird specials at many retail stores.

10) Draw names for Christmas presents. Many large families draw names for the annual Christmas gift exchange and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to figure out who is buying a gift for whom.

Don't have time to make a Thanksgiving gift yourself? Visit http://www.holiday-gifts-gift-baskets.com/Thanksgiving.html to see our large selection of ideas. Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets has gift baskets, desserts, gourmet food and more for your next Thanksgiving get together.

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