{capture the moment}

Traditions

For most it is Christmas, but Thanksgiving has always been my personal favorite holiday.  It's low key, it's a celebration of blessings & family and of course great food! We have a few traditions that I love referring back to each year.  They help make the day so special...
-my antique Liberty Blue China set out to use at the holiday table
-the kids Thanksgiving projects from school as our centerpiece
-watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while dinner is cooking
-crescent rolls from Pillsbury, hot out of the oven
-homemade gingersnaps and pumpkin dip
-jellied cranberry sauce (WITHOUT the whole berries!)
-The kids unique version of grace before dinner
And we added a new tradition this year, and that is deep-frying the turkey!  We had never tried this before and it was delicious!  It is something we will be sure to repeat in the future.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of blessings, family and fun.  What traditions do you celebrate with year after year?  I am always interested to hear what others do, and perhaps pick up a new tradition or to to add to our holiday festivities.  I found a few interesting ideas online that I might add to our list in the coming years.  I have listed them below so perhaps they can inspire you as well. My notes are italicized in brown.

• Cath Edvalson's blog post on her use of a Thanksgiving journal is truly inspiring.
• "Food traditions are always favorites when new tasty recipes are discovered. Get the cooks of the family to look through cookbooks and try new ideas and recipes for side dishes. Put together a holiday cookbook containing all of the successful recipes after they pass the family test." What a fun paper crafting project that could be!
• "If your child can write, have him write the names of family members on place cards. Even if she can't write, she can decorate the cards you write with crayons and stickers and decide who gets to sit where."  These place cards could be saved every year in a special scrapbook entitled "Places Please"; it would document the development of your child's handwriting and who your guests were each year.
•  This article from the Dallas Morning News has some really great ideas.  My favorite is the turkey hunt.  I wonder if there is a turkey print rubber stamp some where out there?!?!
• From Tea Time Traditions, I found this: "When my 4 boys were young, they found many of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes to be not to their liking. We broke with tradition and let each one pick his favorite dish. One picked macaroni and cheese, one corn-on-the-cob, another loved artichokes, and finally brownies for dessert. We still follow this practice now when they come over with their young girls. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without their favorites. Of course, we still have the traditional turkey, ham and have to have stuffing! But no pumpkin or mincemeat pie."  How fun would it be to document what the "favorite dishes" are from year to year.

And last but not least, here is my recipe for gingersnaps & pumpkin dip...
Gingersnaps
Cream together:
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
(I use my Kitchen Aid and allow it to beat for about five minutes to get lots of air into the mixture)
In a separate bowl, combine:
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Add flour mixture gradually to batter in mixture.  Beat until thoroughly combined.  Wrap dough in wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour. 
After chilling is complete, preheat oven to 375-degrees.  Shape dough by rounded teaspoonful balls.  Dip tops in granulated sugar.  Place balls, sugar side up, about three inches apart on pre-heated baking stone (such as Pampered Chef).  Bake 10-12 minutes or until JUSt set.  Remove from stone immediately and cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Dip
In large mixing bowl, cream together:
4 cups powdered sugar
two 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
(I use my Kitchen Aid and allow it to beat for about five minutes to get lots of air into the mixture)
In separate bowl, combine:
30 oz. can pumpkin pie filling mix
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Add pumpkin mixture gradually to cream cheese.  Beat until thoroughly combined.  Refrigerate and store in airtight container.

    

Southwestern Stuffed Chicken

I made my favorite chicken recipe last night.  It has a mexican flair and is to die for.  When we sat at the dinner table, it occured to me that I need to share my top secret recipe with you!  (Sorry, I had already begun cutting up my chicken when I decided to take a photo!) It is based on a recipe I found in Joy of Cooking last year.  I revised it to make it easier to cook and simplify the ingredients.  Add it to your menu plan for the week!  Your family will think you are a gourmet cook!

...

SOUTHWESTERN STUFFED CHICKEN

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry; trim:

4 boneless skinless chicken breat halves

Lay on work surface with smoother side up.  Make an incision about 3 inches long and 2 inches deep in the middle of the thick side to create a pocket.

In a small bowl combine:

4 oz. pepperjack cheese, minced (Cabot is the best)

2 medium jalepeno peppers, seeded and minced (without the seeds they are pretty mild)

diced sundried tomatoes in olive oil (comes in a jar, Delallo is my favorite)

Spoon one-quarter of the filling into each pocket.  Press to seal edges.  Generously season each chicken breast with salt & pepper.  Refrigerate while doing the following tasks.

Combine:

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

pinch of ground red pepper

Rip 4 squares of aluminum foil, lay out on surface.  Crease each one in half diagonally.  Divide the black bean mixture evenly onto the pieces of foil, on one side of the crease.  Top each with a chicken breast.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Fold the empty half of the foil over the chicken to cover.  Fold the edges of the foil togehter all the way around, closing the packet tightly.  Set on a baking sheet (I use my baking stone).  Pierce each packet once with tip of knife to allow steam to escape while cooking.  Bake 30 minutes.  Serve with white rice and lime wedges.

Ice Cream Recipes

We made the infamous batch of homemade ice cream on Sunday. And it was delicious, as always. Per request from many of you, here are the "secret family recipes"!

NO-COOK VANILLA ICE CREAM

Whisk until blended:

4 14oz. Cans sweetened condensed milk

4 5oz. Cans evaporated milk

½ cup sugar

2 ½ Tbsp. Vanilla

8 cups whole milk

Cover & chill 30 minutes. Freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer to air-tight container. Freeze until firm, about 1-1 ½ hours.

GRANDMA’S HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Mix together:

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. Cocoa

1 ½ Tbsp. Cornstarch

dash of salt

Add later:

½ cup water

2 Tbsp. Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

Put dry ingredients in 1 quart dish. Add water, mix. Cook full power in microwave 1 ½ minutes, turning and stirring halfway through. Add butter, cook 30 seconds, or until thick. Add vanilla. If too thick, thin down with a little more water. May be reheated.