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Archive for the ‘Thanksgiving’ Category

Here is a great old fashioned cornbread stuffing recipe that will make your Thanksgiving meal different from the traditional bread stuffing.

For cornbread

1 c. yellow cornmeal

1 c. self-rising flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. milk or buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4 c. vegetable oil

For dressing

2 c. diced celery

1 c. chopped onion

2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tbsp. sage

4cups turkey or chicken broth

3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover bottom of iron skillet with vegetable oil and heat in oven for about 5 minutes. (Do not let it get too hot.) Stir together cornmeal, flour and sugar in mixing bowl.

In another bowl, beat together milk, eggs and oil; add all at once to cornmeal mixture and stir just until moistened. Remove skillet from oven and pour batter into it. Return to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from skillet to cool.

Make the cornbread a day before you intend to make your dressing. Leave it out, uncovered, overnight.

Crumble cornbread into a large mixing bowl.

Saute celery and onions in butter until clear then  add celery, onion, sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and mix well. Add beaten eggs and broth and mix until moistened.

Place mixture into a 13″x9″x2″ pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. You can also use this dressing to stuff the turkey, but be sure to roast immediately after stuffing or store in the refrigerator wait until Thanksgiving morning to stuff the bird.

Here is a video that give a totally different corn bread dressing recipe.

The traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of roast turkey, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie. How did this come about? It is thought that the pilgrams cooked turkey during their first celebration in the new world and shared the meal with the local native Americans. the turkey was a common bird, but the first meal was probably venison and not turkey. Another story suggests that they used turkey instead of the traditional English goose to celebrate the event because goose was not available.

Whatever the origin, the Thanksgiving turkey has now become the traditional dish. The most traditional way to prepare the turkey is to stuff it and roast it, but there are many ways that are becoming popular. These include rotisserie cooked turkey, deep fried turkey, and the most interesting, trash can turkey.

The Trash Can turkey is a great alternative to the traditional roasting in the oven bird and can be done out in the yard while your oven is busy with the rest of the meal. It can also be made while camping.

Trash Can Turkey

Before you laugh, just think about the last time that you ate a good turkey! Follow my tips and you will have the prettiest and juiciest turkey on the block! The best part it only takes an hour to cook a 12 lb turkey!!

What you need:

1 Roll of aluminum foil
1 Shovel
1 Pair of Heavy Gloves
1 24 inch wood 2×2 post
1 20 lb bag of charcoal. Use the easy light kind not lighter fluid!
1 Turkey (any size)
2 cans of beer (it makes it moist in the cooker)
1 new metal trash can. The can must be new and then prepared properly…it is easy to do.

Prepare you trash can by building a fire inside and burning off all of the galvanizing. Empty and let cool. Wash ash out of can.

Prepare your turkey. Remove from package, take out giblets. Rub down with vegetable oil, add seasonings like pepper, thyme, sage,salt

Place your wooden post in the ground about a foot deep so that it is sturdy. Wrap with aluminum foil. Place aluminum foil on the ground around the post.

Place an onion on top of the post and then place turkey on top of the onion.

Place one or 2 cans of beer on the aluminum foil around the post and cover with the trash can.

Light coals and let the flames die down a bit then place coals on top of can and around the sides.

Let cook for 1 hour for a 12 lb turkey or 2 hours for a large 24 lb bird.

Uncover and enjoy!

Here are a couple of videos that show variations of the cooking technique.