A CASUAL THANKSGIVING

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God,

the great King above all gods.”

Psalm 95:2-3

Our casual Thanksgiving was shared with neighbors and friends and of course included lots of herbs and spices plus a few new dishes!!  Our menu included favorites from An Herbal Thanksgiving in 2014 – Herbed Crockpot Turkey Breast, Cranberry Chutney, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole plus Pumpkin Butter.  Our guests also contributed some unique sides such as Creamed Onions and Green Beans with Ham – Yum!

The napkins represent the turkey tail and the favors say “Plant seeds of Thanks & Giving always.”  You can find these cute acorns with toppers that you can download free on Pinterest.  I made my acorns with a Hershey kiss, nutter butter bites (instead of nilla wafer bites) and chocolate chips and sized the topper to fit my bag of 3 when printing.

Enjoy these recipes:

Stuffin Muffins: Cube a loaf of slightly dried bread, add 1Tbs fresh chopped sage and 1Tbs POULTRY PLUS and toss gently to combine.  Sauté 1c finely chopped onion and 2c finely chopped celery in a stick of butter, then combine with bread cubes.  Add 1/2c chicken broth and form into 12 balls and place in a muffin tin.  Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 15 min., uncover and bake another 15 min. or until browned and crunchy on the outside.

Apple Cranberry Green Salad Toss
mixed salad greens
1/2c craisins
1 apple, sliced
2 sliced green onions
1/2c candied toasted pecans
            Toss together salad greens, sliced apples, toasted nuts, craisins and sliced green onions. Serve with raspberry vinaigrette.

Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes: Line 12 muffin cups with paper cups.  Combine 1c crushed gingersnap cookies and 3Tbs melted butter in small bowl, then divide evenly onto bottoms of each paper cup.  Bake at 325 degrees for 3 minutes.  Beat 1-8oz pkg cream cheese, 1c pumpkin, 1/2c sugar, 1tsp pumpkin pie spice, and 1tsp vanilla in mixing bowl until blended, then add 2 eggs and beat well. Spoon into paper cups and bake 20 minutes until set. Cool and then refrigerate.  Garnish with a small dollop of whipped cream.

We’ll be hosting our 1st holiday party next week and plan to use some of the leftover ingredients to make these dips and cheese ball:

Pumpkin Dip: Combine 1c Pumpkin Butter, 1-8oz cream cheese, 2/3c confectioner’s sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Chill 2 hours. Serve with gingersnaps.

Cranberry-Pecan Cheese: Combine 1-8oz cream cheese and 2c shredded white cheddar cheese, then mix in 1c craisins, 1/2c chopped green onion, and 1/4c chopped parsley.  Form into a ball and roll in 1c chopped, toasted pecans.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.

Buckeye Dip: In food processor, combine 1-8oz cream cheese, 1/2c butter and 1c peanut butter until smooth.  Add 2c powdered sugar, 3Tbs brown sugar, 1/4c flour and 1tsp vanilla extract.  Mix in 1 1/2c semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Serve with graham crackers or apples.

                                                                                                                                Joyce