Thanksgiving Crafts and Recipes

from The Idaho Enterprise | November 17, 2022

Thanksgiving recipes

What happened to the turkey that got in a fight? He got the stuffing knocked out of him! How come the turkey didn't eat dinner? He was already stuffed. What's a turkey's favorite Thanksgiving food?

Nothing—it's already stuffed.

All jokes aside, it can’t be Thanksgiving dinner without turkey's favorite pairing- stuffing. There’s no wrong way to enjoy the seasonal staple and if you are ready to try something new, here are a handful of recipes you might want to try to change up your stuffing this year. (Jokes taken from https://www.countryliving.com/life/a28522581/ thanksgiving-jokes/)

BUTTERY HERB STUFFING

From howsweeteats.com 18 to 24 ounces bread cubes, (1.5 loaves of bread, or about 12 to 14 cups) preferably toasted or stale 1 cup unsalted butter 3 cups diced sweet onion, roughly 2 large onions 2 cups diced celery 6 garlic cloves, minced kosher salt and pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2 large eggs a mixture of fresh herbs for sprinkling

Note about the bread cubes! You have options here. Stale or toasty bread works best. The first option is that you can cut 1 ½ pounds of bread into cubes, place it in a large baking dish, loosely tent with foil and let it sit overnight. You can also cut the cubes and put them in oven, toasting them at 350 degrees F until they are like croutons, about 15 minutes or so. Finally, you can buy the toasted bread cubes in bags from the store. It’s your choice! You can also choose the size of your cubes. They can be small or larger for a more rustic stuffing. My mom has always used a mixture of stale and fresh bread. Also, I like to use different kinds of bread (usually two), like a sourdough and italian, and mix the cubes. It provides great texture. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9x13 baking dish (you can also use a larger baking dish or a larger foil roasting pan too!) with melted butter, olive oil or spray with nonstick spray. Place the bread in a large mixing bowl (this may be easier for you to stir!) or the baking dish that you will bake it in. You can also separate this into two baking dishes if it's easier. Heat the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the onion, celery and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper - at least ½ to 1 teaspoon each. Cook until the onions and celery soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sage, parsley and rosemary. Cook for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of stock. Pour the onion celery mixture over the bread crumbs and toss well to coat. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ cups stock and 2 eggs. Pour that mixture into the bread cubes and stir and fold the bread cubes until thoroughly combined. Bake the stuffing for 45 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. If the stuffing is getting too browned, you can tent it with foil. I have successfully made this a day ahead of time and reheated it - it’s just as good! emove the pan from the fridge 60 minutes before reheating it. You can also use this mixture to stuff the bird if you wish! From thepioneerwoman.com 4 cups cubed cornbread 4 cups cubed French bread 1 pound sage sausage 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter 2 cups finely diced celery 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and very finely diced 1 large onion, diced 4 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey stock, plus more if needed 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground sage Pinch of turmeric Kosher salt 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped Spread the cornbread and French bread cubes out onto sheet pans. Let them dry out for several hours and up to overnight. You want them to be crisp/stale. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and brown until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the sausage into a large bowl and drain half the grease. Lower the temperature under the skillet to medium. Melt the butter, then add the celery, rosemary, carrots and onions. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, thyme, sage and turmeric and bring to a boil. Add the bread to the bowl with the sausage and toss to combine. Gradually ladle the broth mixture into the bread and sausage mixture, tossing lightly as you go, until completely combined. Taste and season with salt. If the mixture needs more moisture, you can add more stock as desired. Stir in the parsley and transfer to a baking dish. Bake until golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

APPLE, CELERY AND ONION STUFFING

From rachaelrayshow.com

1 stick butter, divided 5 to 6 ribs celery from the heart, about 2 cups, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 2 large crisp apples, such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp or Macoun, left unpeeled and diced 2 large fresh bay leaves 1/2 cup loosely packed herbs such as fresh parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, finely chopped Salt and pepper 6 cups homemade croutons of stale bread or 1 bag stuffing cubes, sage and onion or traditional Pepperidge Farm brand 1 tablespoon Bell’s ground poultry seasoning 1 quart chicken or turkey stock Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter foams, add the celery, onion, apples, bay, herbs, salt and pepper, and cook to soften 10-12 minutes. Add cubed bread, season with Bell’s and moisten with stock; stir to absorb. Butter a casserole dish with 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining butter and fill pan with stuffing. Use the rest of the butter to dot top. Roast the stuffing 30-40 minutes until crispy at the edges.

SEMI-HOMEMADE THANKSGIVING STUFFING

From fedandfit.com 6-to-10- ounces boxed stuffing mix 1/2 pound breakfast or Italian sausage 1/2 small yellow onion diced 2 stalks celery diced 2 cloves garlic minced 1 teaspoon dried herbs 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 egg whisked 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock 3 tablespoons melted butter Preheat the oven to 375 F. Add the sausage to a large skillet over medium heat and cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned, then remove the sausage from the skillet. Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes, until softened, then remove from heat. Remove the seasoning pack from the stuffing mix, then add the stuffing croutons, sausage, cooked veggies, herbs, salt, egg, and stock to an 8×8 inch pan or other 3-quart baking dish and mix it all together. Press the stuffing into an even layer in the pan, then drizzle the top with butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top of the stuffing is browned and crisp. Let cool slightly, then enjoy.

It’s Thanksgiving day and the house is full of friends and family. The kitchen is busy with the holiday feast well underway and the Macey’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is on the television with a packed schedule of football games to follow. The weather has turned cold, keeping the littles ones inside and with a packed house, things might be getting a little crazy. A few easy, holiday crafts just might be the ticket to keep them entertained and add a little extra holiday cheer.

The kids can make their own fun edible turkeys with a few pantry items like oreos, butterscotch chips, candy corns and frosting. Place two small dots of white icing for eyes, dot the back of a butterscotch chip for a beak, stuff a few candy corns into the oreo filling and add a red line of frosting to the beak to add a gobbler.

With just beads and pipe cleaners, the little ones can make their own easy and colorful Indian corn to decorate the dinner table. Simply twist together four tan pipe cleaners in the middle to create eight half lengths in the shape of a star. Thread the beads on each pipe cleaner, leaving about an inch and half left to twist together to create the husks and tie the ends together.

Let the kids take on the task of creating the family thankful turkey to keep them entertained as well as help everyone count their blessings this year. Start with a turkey body on the wall and add colorful feather cutouts that have written on them the things each person is thankful for. As the turkey feathers grow bigger and more colorful, it will be easy to see just how much there is to give thanks this season.

The Thanksgiving pie won’t keep, but this sweet craft is sure to last for years to come. Out of orange craft paper, cut out triangles for an easy pie shape. Add a little crust on the end by accordion folding a strip of while paper. Top it off with a little white pom pom for the whipped cream and you have yourself a little pumpkin pie. String several of them together and you have