Thanksgiving Week! And-a Breakfast Casserole!

It's finally Thanksgiving week! Yay!! I can't believe it's finally here. I've been planning this week for ages, and now that it's here, it's time to put the plans into action.

I have a full week ahead. The kids are in school today and tomorrow. I'm off today, but may have to work tomorrow. I'm not sure yet. So, today on the agenda is lots of cleaning...our bedroom is basically clean but needs a big de-cluttering...and our bathroom is pretty bad...but it's small, so it won't take too long. A little tidying up around the rest of the house and it should be in pretty good shape. Wednesday I'm sure I'll be helping Mom get ready for that massive crowd that comes to her house-usually around 40. I have about half that many at my house. I am making the dressing for both houses this year, so I'm planning on doing that on Wednesday. I'll also make the Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Cake on Wednesday. The recipe for that is from Paula Deen, and it is a keeper!! (You'll have to scroll down a little for the recipe) I'll also make the BLT dip and the cranberry spread on Wednesday so that the flavors can marry. Then, Thursday morning I'll pop the hams in the oven and get them ready. Shouldn't be too much for one day!

On Friday, when the rest of the world is shopping, I'll be cooking!! Details on this later!

Here's the breakfast casserole recipe. It's so good, and if you don't have homemade dressing left over, you can use the packaged stuff. It's really good with that, too.

Breakfast Casserole
Leftover dressing to fill the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, or use a boxed mix, prepared according to package directions
1 pound breakfast sausage, crumbled and browned
12 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put dressing in the bottom of a sprayed baking dish, then layer the sausage and 1 cup of the cheese on top of the dressing. Add salt and pepper to eggs, then pour over the sausage and cheese. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about an hour, until the eggs are set. If the cheese on top starts to brown before the eggs are done, cover with foil and continue to bake.

Once you make this once, you'll think of all kinds of yummy variations...put a can of green chilies in the eggs and top with hot pepper jack cheese or Monterrey Jack. Or, use some Italian herbs, like basil and oregano, and top with mozzarella cheese. The variations are limited only by your imagination!

I like to serve this with biscuits or croissants, jelly and butter, and fresh fruit. Add some coffee and juice and you're set!

Next post: Cranberry Cups and the rest of my plans!

Cornbread Dressing

I do believe I could eat cornbread dressing with every single meal. I love the stuff...and it's even better the next day, so I like to make extra. Sometimes I even make a small "extra" pan of it and keep it hidden until the next day...but don't tell anyone!

This is my own adaptation of a basic, old southern recipe. I rarely measure anything, but I'll guesstimate for you!!

Cornbread Dressing
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 T. butter
1 pan of cornbread, cooked, cooled and crumbled (cornbread recipe to follow)
5 slices of white bread, set out to dry a couple of hours, then finely crumbled
1 sleeve saltine crackers, finely crushed
4 eggs
1 quart chicken broth
2 t. poultry seasoning (or to taste on all seasonings)
1 t. sage
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
Butter for greasing the casserole dish, or use non-stick cooking spray

Saute the onion and celery in the butter until tender. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a very large bowl, combine the crumbed cornbread, the crumbled white bread and the crushed crackers. Add the eggs and use the chicken broth to moisten the mixture. Stir in the cooled veggies and the seasonings. Add more broth if necessary to get it to the consistency you like. I like mine just a little "soupy" when I put it in the oven, so that it stays nice and moist. Butter or spray a large casserole dish...I use a 10x13 baking pan. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees about 60-75 minutes. (Don't overcook or it will dry out.) This is good hot, but it's also good served at room temperature, so you can make it early in the day.

I'm sure you could stuff a turkey with this...we don't do that at our house, we just cook it in the pan. Also, this freezes like a dream, and actually seems to get better in the freezer. Freeze it before baking, just be sure to wrap it very tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil. Then, put it in the fridge the night before you want to bake it and let it thaw, then pop it in the oven the next day. It also freezes well as leftovers, if you happen to have any left over. We always eat it before I can freeze it.

My sweet neighbor, Cissy, doesn't put eggs in hers, and it works great. She's the one who introduced me to the freezing it idea. She makes her dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving then freezes both pans. Then during the busy cooking time, she has that much done. She's one smart cookie!!

Next post-a great breakfast casserole that uses up any of the leftover dressing you might have!

Gratefully,
Cathy

Quick Old-Fashioned Corn Relish

I think this is a beautiful addition to a relish tray. I'm not sure if I'll be making the relish tray for my Mom's house, but I know I will for my house on Saturday. I think this will be so pretty in a small crystal bowl. When Lynn and I married we got a bunch of beautiful crystal bowls and platters. I use them for every holiday. I am not in favor of "saving" the good stuff-I never really understood what you're saving it for. If you can't use your pretty dishes on Thanksgiving and Christmas, when will you use it? I use mine for New Year's, Valentines, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th...you get the idea. I even use them for Tuesday night hamburgers at home sometimes. And if we have guests, I always use the nice stuff. Ok, enough lecturing. Here's that corn relish recipe...and it would even be pretty in a styrofoam bowl if that's your style!

Quick Old-Fashioned Corn Relish
1/2 c. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. celery seed
1/4 t. mustard seed
14 t. hot pepper sauce
15 1/4 oz. canned corn, drained
2 T. green pepper, chopped
1 T. pimento, chopped
1 T. onion, minced

Combine the first 6 ingredients together in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes; remove from heat and set aside to cool. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl; add vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate. Makes 1 2/3 cups.

I hope you enjoy it!
Next post-Cornbread Dressing-oh, yeah, baby-now we're getting to the good stuff!!

Grandma's Dressing

Well, ok, this is not my grandma's dressing, it's from Gooseberry Patch's Flavors of Fall book. I like it with a grilled or baked chicken breast. It would never work in our traditional family (both sides) as the "main" dressing, but it would be a nice side. Or, it would be great with left over turkey slices, if you have any left.

Grandma's Dressing
1 T. plus 1 t. salt, divided
3/4 cup long-cooking rice, uncooked
1/2 cup raisins or sweetened dried cranberries (or a combo)
2 onions, chopped
1 T. butter
1 t. sugar
1 t. pepper

Place water in a saucepan according to rice package directions and add one T. salt; bring to a boil. Add rice; return to a boil for 10 minutes. Stir in cranberries and/or raisins and remove from heat. Saute onions in butter until golden; mix into rice mixture. Add sugar, remaining salt and pepper. Stir well. Remove from heat and cool. Serves 4 (but is easily doubled or tripled).

Easy, peasy, lemon squeezie! Enjoy!

Gratefully,
Cathy

Pumpkin Cobbler

Here's a great Thanksgiving recipe. It has all the flavors of a pumpkin pie, as well as the Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Cake I posted a while back, but with a slightly different texture. It's good!!

Pumpkin Cobbler
3 eggs, beaten
15 oz. can of pumpkin
12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 t. ground ginger
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 T. vanilla extract
18 1/2 oz package yellow cake mix
1 1/4 c. margarine
1 c. chopped nuts

Mix the first 8 ingredients together; pour into an ungreased 13"x9" baking pan. Sprinkle cake mix over the top; drizzle with margarine. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes; top with nuts. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Makes 15-18 servings.

This is good with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Even Cool Whip is pretty good on it!

I hope you like it!

Thankfully,
Cathy

Glass mugs

I've had several questions about the glass mugs you see in the cider post. I shouldn't tell my secret source, but since it's you, I'll tell you...Dollar Tree. Yep. Dollar Tree, as in $1 each. See why I got 10?! Gotta love a good bargain!

What bargains are you thankful for today?

Gratefully,

Cathy

BLT Dip

Here's another great little appetizer that is so easy to do. I love this stuff, and have been known to even serve it for breakfasts and brunches. I've made it every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve since I found this recipe!

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo
1 jar bacon pieces
1 can petite diced tomatoes or 1 diced fresh tomato, both seeded and drained
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix the sour cream and mayo together until well blended, then stir in the bacon, tomatoes and seasonings. Stir well, then put in a serving bowl and refrigerate until serving. I don't know why it's called BLT, because there is actually no L, but you could certainly shred some lettuce and sprinkle in...that would be good!

Serve with club crackers or chunks of French bread! Good stuff!

Next Post: Pumpkin Cobbler-oh, yeah, baby!