Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves creating the perfect virtual Thanksgiving dinner.


I sure do miss my MIL's homemade rolls! And she always served shrimp cocktail as an appetizer.

And my Dear Mom sure made good pumpkin pie and wonderful brown sugar glazed carrots.

I remember eating the leftover prepared pumpkin pie filling cold, like soup. More than once Mom put a jar in the fridge and labeled it "POISON" so no one would mess with it!

So, I will load up my virtual plate with:

• turkey (mostly white meat)
• gravy
• NO cranberries!
• my SIL's dressing/stuffing (no organ meat)
• Pink salad (made with Cool Whip, cottage cheese, pkg dry rasp. Jello & raspberries -- YUMMO!!!
• glazed carrots
• some hot Parkerhouse rolls

And pumpkin pie for dessert.

*drool*

Mmmm...can't wait for Turkey Day!!

Turkey, of course
MIL's wonderful dressing recipe
White Potatoes
Gravy
Candied Sweet Potatoes, my mom's recipe
Applesauce
Cranberries (homemade and canned)
A green veggie, probably asparagus
Corn
Jello (family tradition)
dinner rolls
Wine
Sparkling Grape Juice for those who don't imbibe

Cheesecake
Pie

I miss my Mom's cooking so much. MIL could cook up a storm but it's not always just the cooking that you miss....it's the people and their "ways" that you miss the most. At least I do.

Here's what I'd have....all made by Mom of course:

White meat turkey
Homemade giblet gravy
Homemade cranberry sauce
Homemade mashed potatoes
Homemade dressing (soooooo good!)
Green bean casserole
Broccoli & Cheese (with rice) casserole
Silver Queen Corn
Homemade yeast rolls (my sister always made those)
Watergate Salad (coolwhip, pistachio pudding, pineapple tidbits, pecans)
Applesauce cake
Pumpkin Pie
Sweet, sweet tea!

I'm hungry!!

Turkey, baked by my daighter
Dressing, sorry folks it's a box mix but stuffed into the turkey
My jello salad is orange jello salad, jellow powder, cool whip,
cottage cheese, drained pineappleand drained mandarin
oranges, pecan pieces and mini marshmellows
sweet potato and marshmellow, my recipe
mashed potatos. We used to make then from real
potatos but it is just to hard. But extra butter in the
instant!
Cranaberry sauce
Green beans, my recipe
home made rolls, Texas Roadhouse
home made noodles with vut up turkey and broth in it
giblet gravy, I can never get it right
pecan, pumpkin, apple pies with cool whip
fresh ice tea
top it all off with some Tums!!!!!


When we are all settled then we have a birthday party for my youngest grand daughter, complete with cake and ice cream!


We used to make the real mashed potatos but my kitchen gets really hot, my brother in law insists that they are left lumpy and others don't like it that way. My husband has got quite good at doctoring the instant recipe that it tastes as good as the real thing. We have time to enjoy each others company more if we just do instant in the microwave.

Ohhhhhhhhhh......I'm full all ready. But come turkey day, here goes:
Beforehand my MIL used to make stuffed dates with either cream cheese or peanut butter, then rolled in sugar. A basket of assorted nuts....other than us, of course.
Roast turkey, white and dark meat (I prefer dark)
Stuffing -- scratch, but I like Stove Top too
REAL mashed potatoes
Mashed reutabeggas (sp?)
Whole and jellied cranberries
Home-made giblet gravy
Green beans
Corn
Creamed onions
Celery, carrot sticks, olives, etc.
Parkerhouse rolls and butter
Pumpkin and Apple pie
Ice cream, Whipped Cream
Wine, water, coffee, tea

Just a little of each and lots of leftovers!!!

Everybody's menu sounds great! There isn't much I don't like unless you hide oysters in your stuffing...YUCK!!

Roast Turkey (duh)

Mom's homemade stuffing and gravy

Real mashed potato

Mashed winter squash with a dash of maple syrup and a big dash of butter

Jellied cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray, no cheap substitutes)

Hazel's Salad (GREEN jello, cool whip, pineapple, marshmallows, cream
cheese, etc.)

My Aunt Mary's cranberry-nut bread

Both black and green olives

My former mother-in-law's dinner rolls (my kids got buns and rolls mixed up and called them bunny rolls)

Cole slaw

Mom's apple pie with a piece of Cabot sharp cheddar

And then a slice of chocolate cream pie
or
Maple Syrup Gingerbread with real whipped cream

(and a couple of Tums)

Turkey breast smoked over mesquite wood
Jack Daniels Tipsy Sweet Potatoes (look it up and try it some time...you will not be disappointed)
My wife's Green Bean Casserole
My mom/sister's fruit salad medley
Mashed potatoes (from real potatoes, not flakes)
My dad's cornbread dressing
Chateau Ste Michele Vineyards Reisling

For Dessert:
Pumpkin pie with cool whip on top
Egg nog with a splash of Buffalo Trace bourbon

I see I am the only one using the instant mashed potatoes. That's OK, my kitchen is cooler! I don't like peeling 10 pounds of potatoes, dicing them and then boiling, draining and mashing them!

I haven't decided whose house I'm coming to for leftovers -- I'll let you know soon, tho!

What's in your cheesecake pie?? I make one that I've made since the 4th grade. Cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice & I alternate between blueberry, cherry and strawberry topping.