RECIPES: Thanksgiving Dinner!

If you're looking for a list of recipes for a complete Thanksgiving meal (at least what our Thanksgiving meal was this year) that doesn't require a whole lot of work...then you've come to the right place! I decided to post them all together in one post instead of making separate posts for each one. 
Note: This was dinner for four people plus leftovers. 

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(left to right, top to bottom) Reame's frozen egg noodles, mashed potatoes, cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, French onion dip with chips, candied yams, banana cake bread, Stovetop stuffing, whole cranberries, Heinz turkey gravy, SteamFresh corn, store-bought pumpkin pie, strawberry whip dream, turkey breast, Hawaiian Rolls, Stouffer's mac n cheese

Pressure Cooker: (Frozen) Turkey Breast

Ingredients:

7 lb young turkey breast with bone and skin, frozen 
1 can chicken broth

1 tsp poultry seasoning

3 tsp celery flakes

1/2 tsp garlic salt 

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp onion powder

Directions: 

1. Remove turkey breast from the wrapper. Remove gravy packet using hot water and set aside. Pat the turkey dry and place in the pressure cooker. 

2. Mix all of the seasonings together and then rub all over the turkey. 

3. Pour chicken broth into bottom of the pressure cooker pot. Add the turkey.

4. Lock the lid. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. 

5. Allow all of the pressure to naturally release completely.  

6. Carefully remove the turkey from the pressure cooker, carve, and enjoy! 

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans cut green beans, drained 
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 cup French fried onions 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
2. Thoroughly mix green beans, soup and milk. Top with French fried onions. 

3. Spread into 2 qt baking dish (mine is 7" by 11"). 
4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until onions are a dark golden color. 

Cornbread Casserole (recipe from my Grandma)
Ingredients:

1 can cream style corn  

1 can whole kernel corn, drain  

8 oz sour cream  

1 large egg

1 box cornbread muffin mix

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
2. Mix all ingredients and pour into an 8"x8" baking dish. 

3. Bake for 45 minutes.   

Candied Yams
Ingredients:

40 oz can of Bruce's Yams, drained

1/4 cup butter, sliced into pieces 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

2 cups mini marshmallows 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

2. Spread yams in an 8" by 8" baking dish. Evenly distribute butter over the yams. 

3. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the yams and butter. Cover with a layer of marshmallows.

4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until marshmallows have browned on top.  

Strawberry Whip Dream
Ingredients:

6 oz strawberry Jell-o mix (not sugar-free!) 

2 cups very hot water

1 3/4 cup cold water 

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

16 oz sliced, fresh strawberries (plain, no syrup or sugar added) 

Directions: 

1. Pour hot water into 3 qt baking dish. 

2. Stir in Jello-mix until completely dissolved.  

3. Stir in cold water. 

4. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove and use hand mixer until Jell-o is very frothy. 

5. Stir in Cool Whip until nice and smooth. 

6. Fold in strawberries. 

7. Return to refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve (I left mine in overnight). 

Now...I like to take shortcuts wherever I can...especially when I'm preparing such a big spread. With some things, I just don't want to do more work if I don't have to. The Reame's egg noodles, Stovetop stuffing, Heinz jar of turkey gravy, Bob Evans mashed potatoes, Stouffer's mac n cheese, and Steamfresh corn are all prepared according to the package. The French onion dip is simply a package of Lipton Onion Soup mix stirred together with 16 oz of sour cream. Oh and the banana cake bread recipe I've posted to my blog before. You can find the recipe here. :) 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Almost Thanksgiving!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow! I keep saying it, but the year really is going by so fast. But then at the same time, it's also seemed like a really long year. 

We're just having Thanksgiving dinner here at home this year. Despite not gathering, our loved ones near and far are always in our hearts! And I do think once the pandemic has subsided (at least once a vaccine is developed) we will have a family gathering where we can all come together again in one big group. But until then, we will continue to love at a distance! <3 

But, just because we can't gather, that doesn't mean we can't eat! In 2018, it was just Johnny and I here at the house. Johnny's kids are adults with their own families so they've often had other plans either at their home or with their spouse's families. So in 2018, his daughter celebrated Thanksgiving at their house the Sunday before and we went over there. Then on Thursday my kids went to have dinner with XH's family so Johnny and I just enjoyed a huge Thanksgiving dinner for two (and plenty of leftovers!) and then Johnny made an appearance at his son's gathering as well (I had a work deadline and couldn't make it). 

our feast at home in 2018

So, this year we'll pretty much be doing the same thing for dinner tomorrow. We'll be having: 

- Turkey 

- Mashed Potatoes

- Reames Egg Noodles 

- Turkey Gravy 

- Corn
- Stuffing
- Candied Yams 
- Green Bean Casserole 

- Cornbread Casserole

- Cranberry sauce
- Macaroni & Cheese 
- Dinner Rolls 

- Pumpkin Pie 

- Banana Cake Bread 
- Strawberry Whip Dream

This will be the first year that Johnny isn't waking up early to put the turkey in the oven. This year, I decided to just get a turkey breast AND I'm going to cook it in the pressure cooker. :) I was late deciding exactly what I wanted to do this year. I got most of the groceries for dinner ahead of time, but was waiting to decide if Johnny was going to pick up a whole turkey or not. Finally I just placed a Walmart pick-up order Tuesday morning...and of course there wasn't a same-day timeslot available. :P So I got the notification that my order was ready...but no turkey breast! They were sold out of that and toilet paper. :P So I ran over to Dillons on my way to pick up the Walmart order and luckily they had plenty of turkey breasts to choose from. But I suppose it worked out...because this way I could make sure that I picked up a big one. Walmart listed the turkey breast as 2.5 to 10 lbs (big difference!) and there's no way to add a note about what you want (they should really consider adding that). Anyway, so I grabbed a 7.68 lb turkey breast at Dillons. And since it's frozen and tomorrow is Thanksgiving...if I cook it in the pressure cooker, it doesn't matter if it's still frozen. ;) Not only that, but it frees up the oven for other things without a turkey cooking all day long. 

I'm also cheating and using Bob Evans mashed potatoes that I can heat up in the microwave along with the large container of Stauffer's macaroni and cheese in the freezer that we were going to have for a different dinner and I forgot about. :P So...that one is basically to just get it out of my freezer! Oh and I'm also using the jar of turkey gravy that Johnny likes because I'm not that picky about turkey gravy...plus I always love a good shortcut. ;) Oh and the cranberries...Johnny always just uses the canned ones. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's the only one who eats it. lol ;) 

The green been casserole I'll bake in the toaster oven and the cornbread casserole and candied yams I'll bake in the oven. Then the stuffing will be on the stovetop with the gravy. I usually make the Reams egg noodles on the stovetop, but I'll probably just make them in the crockpot...pretty simple that way. 

I bought the pumpkin pie from Walmart. I don't eat pumpkin pie and nobody else is picky enough to turn down pumpkin pie even if it is store-bought. ;) And I actually remembered the ReddiWhip in the Walmart order I picked up today. I also decided last minute that strawberry whip dream sounds really good. I can't find where I put the exact recipe from my grandma OR exactly what she called it on the recipe...but I think strawberry whip dream sounds like an awesome name. ;) It's basically strawberry Jell-o, strawberries, and whipped cream. It's SO yummy. Hopefully it'll turn out since I'm just winging it. ;) I'm going to make that tonight so it's in the fridge for a good long time before eating. I'm also going to bake two loaves of banana cake bread today as well. Everything else I'll make tomorrow. 

I'll make a post after Thanksgiving with all the recipes from our Thanksgiving meal. :) Until then, everyone stay safe and have a happy Thanksgiving! 

Weekends don't last long enough!

There never seems to be enough time on the weekends to get everything done. And as the weather gets colder, the amount of things we can get done outside gets more and more limited. Johnny has been doing so much work outside though! Up until 2019, Johnny owned and operated his own swimming pool service and repair businesses (for almost 30 years!). So he really didn't have much time to devote to projects at home...because if the weather was nice, he was doing pool work. So we've finally gotten around to some things that were long overdue. Still...the list of things still to do seems never-ending. Welcome to home ownership! :P 

One of the biggest projects to tackle has been the front porch. Our house was built about 20 years ago, and whoever poured the raised cement slab did not do a great job. And if I remember correctly, they'd already fixed it once...either shortly before or after Johnny bought the house 15 years ago. But...the porch started to sink on the front side again, so the porch was at an angle about 6 inches shorter than the back. And with the ground settling, the front steps (also cement) started slanting down as well. The last estimate we got for having someone else repair it, was like $6k and that was at least 7 years ago. So...as a temporary fix for now, Johnny used a floor jack to raise the porch and then used some cinder blocks and filled it underneath with expanding polystyrene foam to hold it in place for awhile. Now we have no more funhouse porch! :P We still have to get the bricks along the top step put back, but we've made a lot of progress! We'll have to figure out a more permanent solution for the entire front porch area, but this will work for now. 

I had to replace the heating element in the dryer AGAIN. I tried to just replace the entire housing that came with the heating element and thermostats, but somehow the part that was sent was about an inch too long. After two whole days of trying to maneuver that thing to fit, I gave up and put the new parts in the old housing and returned the housing to Amazon for a refund. Ugh. And a few weekends ago, Johnny cleaned out the dryer vent and ducts and replaced the outdoor vent as well. So hopefully the dryer will last a little longer now. I'm tired of taking the darn thing apart. :P 

My computer was also having issues again. It shouldn't be that surprising, considering I bought this computer back in 2013. I've replaced the bottom shell, the DC jack twice and the WLAN card three times now. While I was replacing the WLAN card again this time, I decided to go ahead and upgrade the RAM as well so I'll hopefully have better performance. I'd just replace the whole laptop...but I really, really love the keyboard on this computer. And considering I use my laptop for transcription work...the speed at which I can type depends largely on the keyboard. Johnny has basically an upgraded and slightly larger version of my laptop (Dell Inspiron), and I absolutely hate his keyboard. The subtle differences are enough to throw my words per minute way off. So...hopefully my laptop will keep going at least a few more years. 

Ashlyn had a pretty good end to the first term of her Sophomore year. Her report card showed a lot of improvement over last year so hopefully she can keep up that momentum! :) Since Johnny is considered high risk for complications of Covid-19, we're trying to limit exposure as much as possible. So Ashlyn has been doing remote-only so far. There have been several cases already through the high school, so I'm glad we made that decision. 

Bozley just keeps growing! I haven't weighed him lately...since it requires me holding him on the scale and subtracting my weight. He's getting too big for me to hold very long! :P His coat is getting more feathery spots on his front legs, chest, tail, and butt. I'll be taking him to the groomer again in the next few weeks for a thorough bath, sanitary trim, and trimming the fur on his paws...still no need for an actual haircut yet. This week he finally learned how to catch! We're still practicing, but before he wouldn't even open his mouth and everything would just bounce off his nose. :P  He's also started grabbing his leash and bringing it to us, which I think is adorable. :) I can't believe he'll be 6 months old already in a few weeks! This picture is one of my favorites...taken just a day before he turned 5 months old. 

Dinners have been pretty boring lately. I made spaghetti...which we have once a week or every two weeks. And then a couple days ago I made vegetable beef soup in the pressure cooker. Oh and before that, I made tator tot casserole. One of the funny things I've noticed about Johnny and I coming together later in life, is that we each have our own way of making certain things. For example, Johnny puts green beans in his tator tot casserole with no cheese...and I make it without green beans and with condensed cheddar soup on top before I put the tator tots on. So...I made a half and half pan. ;) Obviously I took the picture before I finished putting all the tator tots on. Oh and if you're wondering, the hamburger is just mixed with 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of celery. I also cook the tator tots first for about 10-15 minutes before I put them on top so they don't get soggy. 

We need to start getting our groceries for Thanksgiving dinner! We'll just be having dinner at home this year...especially with Covid19 spreading the way it is right now. And I'm excited for yummy food and a bunch of leftovers! My mom is also going to be making me some meatballs and cheesy potatoes for my birthday sometime in the near future...which I look forward to every year. So I'm excited about that! :) 

How is it already November?!

I've been so busy lately...mostly with work. I've been relying on the old system to find files lately. I just prefer the way the queue is laid out with more information about the files so I can get a better idea of what I'm going to be working on. I picked up a 63-minute file due on October 15th and it was very clear audio...which doesn't always happen. Then I happened to see two more files in the queue for the same case that were due on October 16th so I grabbed those 105 minutes. Then when I was done with those, I found another 44 minutes for the same case due on the 27th and then another 137 minutes due on the 29th. And last night I completed another 146 minutes for the same case that were due this morning. So that's almost 500 minutes of pretty good audio all for the same case...my favorite kind of work! :) I really love my job and the freedom it allows our family. I'm so happy that I found this opportunity. :) 

Since I'd been so busy with work, the girls helped out with dinner a couple times last week. Tuesday night, Aubry made chicken fajitas for the first time...and she did a great job! And Ashlyn helped by grating the cheese, shredding the lettuce, and making the guacamole. Then Wednesday night Ashlyn made cheesy chicken broccoli and rice for dinner...which is her favorite. Then Thursday I made chicken and noodles in the crockpot. Mmm! Perfect for the cold weather we've had lately. And since it just cooks in the crockpot all day...I still had plenty of time to work! :) 

I also had a birthday almost a week ago. I'm in the last year of my 30s now! It seems pretty crazy that I'll be 40 next year. Overall, my 30s have been pretty good...so hopefully the 40s will be even better! :) Johnny, Ashlyn, and I went over to my grandparents' house here in town for dinner (Aubry had to work) and we had a lovely time. It was pretty funny...the TV happened to be playing in the background and 60 Minutes came on with the election interviews. We started watching it and talking about the candidates, politics, coronavirus...just all sorts of things. I've always been a Democrat and while I was growing up, my grandpa was always a Republican. But now...we were all pretty much on the same page about everything. It feels a lot like both sides have become pretty radical as of late...while the majority of us are in the middle thinking, "What the hell is going on?!" So while there has been so much division in the current political climate...it's very refreshing to see Democrats and Republicans actually coming together. :) Grandpa asked me if I ever thought I'd be spending my birthday watching 60 Minutes and talking politics...and I can definitely say I didn't see that coming. ;) But it was really a wonderful evening and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Johnny and I also saw my other grandma this weekend. She was needing some help moving a trailer and lawnmower to her house so we got that done for her. I say we...but I mostly just stood around with Bozley and grandma while Johnny drove the trailer and backed it in where it needed to go. ;) Grandma loves to see Boz and he was such a good boy. He still won't ride in the backseat while we're in the car. :/ He only wants to ride in our lap. He did wonderful in my grandma's truck with the bench seat though! 

Johnny has also been busy working in our yard on the weekends. We have had several elm trees and mulberry trees randomly growing next to the house and our fence. They just keep growing back! But Johnny has been working hard getting them cut out at the roots and treating them at the roots so hopefully they don't keep growing back. This year we also had several pokeweeds randomly show up in the front bushes and by the lilac bush in the backyard. Those things can get HUGE! I also read that they're poisonous to the animals so I'm glad Johnny was able to get them all out. 

I still can't believe it's November already. This year has gone by so fast!