Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving at Casa Collier was a great event we had our family dinner on Friday this year, it was wonderful day full of great food and even better fellowship.  My home was overfilling with love the whole day.  

 

We even had enough tables set up so we could all eat together and a Dessert table full of Cheese Cake, Pumpkin Cheese Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and cookies.   My sister in-law made the pies and they were unbelievable!!! 

There was so much Yummy food to eat!! Unfortunately we were rushing around finishing up the food and setting up the buffet that I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the individual dishes.  Sorry!!

The Monday before Thanksgiving, I was in Publix in a hurry.  They had Turkeys on sale so I knew I was taking one home.  I looked at the price tag and thought wow just a little over $12 what a great deal.  So I put it in the buggy and go about getting all the other things on my list.  It wasn’t until I got home that I realized that I had bought at 23lb turkey.  This thing was as big as my 6 year-old niece.  

I got up at 5:30 to put the bird in the oven.  After cleaning the bird, spreading butter and herbs under the skin, covering the outer skin in oil, salt, pepper & garlic powder and stuffing the bird full of onions, apples, celery, fresh sage, rosemary, basil, garlic and butter, it was ready to go into the oven.  After 5+ hours it turned out perfectly! Unfortunately, Chris started carving the big bird before I got any pics!  Just know that I have a large oval turkey platter that we filled up with white meat.  We had to have a second platter just for the dark meat.

This year I added a few new dishes to our menu. 

Roasted Acorn Squash:Acorn Squash cut into 8 slices, with seeds removed, but skin still on.
In a small bowl I combined softened butter with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
I then placed the sliced acorns in an oven safe dish, spread the butter combination over the slices and baked the squash at 425 degrees for 45 mins. I transferred the squash onto a serving dish and scooped up the yummy caramelized butter/sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan and drizzled it over the squash.   Oh my it was so yummy!!
 

Roasted Orange Veggies: 2 -Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and cut into pieces
5 – Sweet Potatoes peeled and cut into pieces.
5 – Large carrots peeled and cut into small pieces (Carrots take much longer to cook, so I cut them ½ the size of the potatoes and squash)
 Put all ingredients into a large bow.  Pour in ¼ cup of Vegetable oil, 1-2 Tbs of pepper, 3 tbs of salt, 1 Tbs of Garlic Powder, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/8 cup of honey.  Mix well and pour mixture into a oven safe dish.  Roast at 425 degrees for at least 40 mins, shaking or stirring every 15 mins.   Take out once squash and potatoes start to crisp up.  Pour into serving dish, salt and pepper to taste and ENJOY!!
 

Roasted Beets: I suggest that you wear gloves when working with beets, the healthy purple color that makes these a Super food will stain your hands for days!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
4 -6 medium Beets.  Remove the greens and stems. Wash beets to remove any dirt.
You will need a sheet of foil large enough to wrap each beet.
Place beet on foil, drizzle with vegetable oil, salt & pepper.  Wrap up tight in foil.
Repeat for all beets.   Medium size beets will need to cook for 35-45 mins.  Larger beets may take up to an hour. Remove from oven, let cool 10 -15 mins.   Put back on gloves.  Unwrap each beet and carefully peel away the skin with a knife.  Once peeled, slice beets and place on a serving dish.
I promise you once you eat roasted beets, this will be your absolutely favorite way to have them from now on!
 

Forget the Turkey, Dressing, corn, beans, or anything else on my Thanksgiving table.  My Roasted Brussel Sprouts are the most popular dish I make every year.  And it’s really the simplest!  

Roasted Brussel Sprouts:Preheat oven to 425 degrees
You will need 1-2 lbs. of Brussel Sprouts

Trim off bottoms and any spots on outer layers.  I leave mine whole, but you can cut each one in half.  Place sprouts in a big bowl; add ¼ cup of Vegetable oil, 2Tbs of salt and 1Tbs of Pepper.  Pour onto a foil lined cookie sheet or sheets depending on amount of sprouts.  You want a even layer without the sprouts stacked up on top of each other.  Put in oven and roast.  Shake up pans every 10 mins.  Brussel Sprouts are done when you start to see the edges darken (25-30mins) 5-10 mins. Longer for whole sprouts.  Remove from oven, Salt and pepper to taste and serve!!!

One last note about this great day!  I would never have been able to host 16 people in our home without the tireless help of my husband & kids.  CJ started moving furniture out of the sun room early Friday morning to get tables and chairs all set up.  Chris and Christen we going behind me cleaning up my mess as I went about cooking all these dishes. CJ helped me set the table and was very patient with my OCD on plate and candle placement.  And most importantly was the stamina they all had for the hour long dish washing adventure we had once everyone went home!  I am truly blessed to have such wonderful Husband and Kids!!! I LOVE THESE GUYS!!!

 I've got to tell you... there's nothing better than a clean kitchen the morning after!!!