THANKSGIVING 2000
Our oldest brother Lew always brings the cranberries because he says "You must have Cranberries with your Thanksgiving Meal!" Mom thanks he choose this dish because it is the easiest to make. He just opens the can and places it in a pretty bowl.

Christina likes sweet potatoes so Mom is trying to teach her how to make this dish, but as of yet this has not happened. Mom even made this dish for Christina to take to a Thanksgiving Party at her work. Christina did bring a Strawberry Cake that she insisted she stayed up all night baking, and just used the HEB cover because it was the only thing she had at home to bring it over in!

Robert bought a wonderful Vegtable Steamer Deluxe for Dad "Craig" last Christmas, so he and his new bride Lexi shucked the corn and placed them in the steamer. Then he made his favorite desert. - Chocolate Pudding Pie. This is an easy recipe. You buy a graham cracker crust and instant pudding. Mix the Pudding with Milk and beat for 3 minutes and place in crust. Serve with whip cream. Robert is now a bartender so he added something to the pie this year to make it For Adults Only.

Bradley's favorite is Green Bean Casserole. He could eat this by himself, so he doubles the recipe and shares half! This recipe is listed below. Brad and his girlfriend Rebecca made their favorite desert Cheesecake with cherries on top. This year they made the box kind, but they are talking about making a Cheesecake from scratch next year!

Jennifer and her friend Crystal took over the kitchen late Thanksgiving eve. Jennifer had decided to make Easy Pizza Brownies from Hersheys Cocoa. Crystal was laying on the floor reading the recipe as Jennifer mixed the ingredients. It was fun to watch, but when they were through the floor was covered with chocolate chips and flour!

Jonathan and Jamie help Dad make the fruit salad, which is always a favorite.

Mom makes Cornbread Stuffing and likes to bake the 24+ lb Turkey in an oven bag. She says it is easy and the Turkey is so moist. Clean up is great too. She bakes the turkey on High for 1 hour than turns the oven down to 200 degrees all night and takes it out about an hour before the meal.

THANKSGIVING 2001
We went to our cousin's home (April, and her husband Chris). Those there were Aunt Diana, Grandma, Lew, Christina, Jeff, Brad, Jennifer, Jonathan, Jamie, Mom, Dad, and Jasmine joined us later! Aunt Diana made the turkey, dressing, potatoes, and gravy. Grandma made the Potatoe Salad, and Lew brought the Fritoes to go with the Potatoe Salad! He also brought cranberries, drinks, and cream cheese and picante dip, Christina brought Rolls, Mom made Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potatoes, and Fiestive Dip in Carnival Squash bowl.

For desert we had Pumpkin Pie, Peacan Pie, Chocolate Cake, and Pina Colada Cheese Cake. We had so much food that we declared a 3 day feast! HA HA!!!

Our Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

MENU
Easy Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoe Cloud Bake
Fruit Salad Deluxe
Friendship Stew
& Butter Cookies

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
Directions: Cook frozen beans according to package directions; drain. (Or, drain canned beans). Combine the beans, mushroom soup, milk, pimiento, lemon juice, and pepper; stir in half of the onions. Turn into a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more. Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients 2 9oz. pkg. frozen cut green beans or 2 16oz. cans cut green beans 1 10 3/4oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1/4 cup milk 2 tbs. chopped pimiento 1 tsp. lemon juice 1/8 tsp. pepper 1 3oz. can French-fried onions

SWEET POTATOE CLOUD BAKE
Work time 10 minutes - Total time 1 hr
2 large cans (16 oz each) yams
1 can pineapple chunks
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar or molasses
3 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 tsp ginger
chopped pecans (optional)
Beat above ingredients together, place in baking dish and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
In top of double boiler combine
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
and 5 Tablespoons of water
With an electric mixer at medium speed, beat this mixture 6-8 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to stiffen. Remove from heat. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla extract. Continue beating about 10 minutes, until icing is shiny, holds stiff peaks and is soft enough to spread but firm enough to hold its shape. Spread on top of Sweet Potatoes and bake for 10 more minutes. Cool. Your can garnish with chocolate if desired.

FRUIT SALAD DELUXE
1 Pt. Whipping Cream (We like the real stuff, but you can buy Cool Whip)
1 Tsp. sugar added to above Whipping Cream
2 cans Peaches (We buy the large size)
2 cans Fruit Cocktail (same size as Peaches)
You can add Coconut, Pecans or Bananas if you desire

FRIENDSHIP STEW
Each child or adult brings a vegtable to add to the stew (carrots, celery, corn, potatoe, green beans, tomato, onion). These are cleaned, cut up, and added to a bouillon broth. The stew is simmered overnight in a slow cooker. The Friendship Stew is served to the friendly Pilgrims and Indians the next day when they gather together to give thanks for good food, good health, and good friends.

Festive Dip

Try this easy appetizer idea. Hollow out either an acorn or carnival squash. Fill with your favorite Dip and place squash on center of a large serving plate. Place carrots and chips around your vegtable bowl.

I found this wonderful Dip recipe at Family Fun.com. It is best if made ahead of time and refrigerated. It was the last thing I made on Thanskgiving day as guests were arriving they found me in the kitchen making this cute centerpiece to nipple on while we waited for the last guest to arrive.

(Copied from familfun.com)

While the real bird is roasting, you can present your guests with this turkey. It's made out of bread and vegetables, and filled with clam dip.

TURKEY BREAD

Ingredients

1 round bread loaf
1 oval French roll
2 carrots
1 red pepper
2 raisins
1 zucchini
1 summer squash
Skewers and toothpicks

Directions

Cut the top off the round loaf and slice the resulting oval in half (these halves will become the bird's wings). Use toothpicks to attach a half to each side. Then hollow out the center for dip.

To make the head, cut an "X" in the roll and insert a carrot tip for the nose. To make the wattle, cut red pepper to hang around the carrot nose. Use toothpicks to attach the head and raisin eyes.

To make the "feathers," slice the zucchini, summer squash and remaining carrot lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slabs.

Push bamboo skewers through the middle of these slabs. To make them look feathery, use a small knife to cut jagged edges and carve lines on the surface. Stick the "feathers" into the turkey's tail. Serves 10 to 12.

CLAM DIP:

Lobsters, clams and mussels might seem like delicacies to us, but to the pilgrims they were as common as macaroni and cheese. This mild, easy-to-prepare dip features minced clams (or quahogs)--a staple of both the pilgrim and Wampanoag Indian diet.

Ingredients

1 16-oz. container sour cream
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 6.5-oz. can minced clams, drained
1 bunch scallions, chopped (optional)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
Crackers or vegetables for dipping

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Open and drain the minced clams and mix into the sour cream. Add the scallions and red pepper, if desired, for more color and a chunkier texture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 3 cups.