It's almost Thanksgiving.
What is Thanksgiving to you? For me, it's about giving thanks for the simple things in life. Good health, happy kids and grandkids, income, a warm comfortable home. I'm pretty basic. I don't need riches and jewelry and cool cars to be happy. Good thing because I'm not rich! I have always found that my happiest moments come from knowing those I love are happy and well.
Of course, I do love a good meal and good food, and love that about Thanksgiving as well. This year I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my daughter and her family, with my son present as well as my two beautiful grandchildren who are the sunshine in my life. We will eat turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce like so many people around the U.S. will be doing. We all have our family favorites. Some people make bread stuffing, some make cranberry stuffing, wild rice stuffing, or in our case a pork sausage stuffing that my mom first started to make quite a number of years ago and has become a family favorite at holidays or any time when preparing a turkey or large chicken that will be stuffed.
Today I offer to you a few recipes that I have made and that I love to eat. They are all recipes that I have made many times over the years, all recipes that my family and I love. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
Here's a recipe that I make for dinner on occasion and has become a favorite. My son's friend who is in the Navy just recently asked me to pass the recipe along to him as he remembers having it at our home a few times and loves it.
Chicken Casserole
Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking pan with cooked, diced chicken. Over this put a layer of broccoli (one bag frozen broccoli steamed and drained). Cover with about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Over this spread one can undiluted cream of celery soup. Prepare one pkg. of Stove Top turkey or wild rice stuffing mix as usual and spoon over entire top of soup. Bake 30 mins. at 350 degs. Serve and enjoy!
Pork Sausage Stuffing
1/2 pound pork sausage meat, fried and drained
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 med. chopped onion
Fry above.
In big bowl mix:
10 cups. cubed bread (Italian or French)
1 clove minced fresh garlic
1 T. each of lemon juice, sage, thyme
1/2 T. salt
1 can Campbells beef consomme.
Mix all ingredients and stuff turkey as usual. This stuffing is SO good!
Copper Country Spanish Rice
Fry 3 large onions and one large green pepper and one stalk of diced celery til soft in a small amt of oleo.
Add 1# ground beef and fry til mixture falls apart. Stir in 2 cups can tomatoes, 1/2 cup uncooked long cooking rice, 1 tsp. chili powder, 2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and 1/4 cup ketchup.
Pour into greased casserole dish, cover, and bake 1 1/4 hr. at 350 degs.
Cottage Cheese Jello
1 pound small curd cottage cheese
1 3 oz. pkg. jello or pistachio instant pudding mix
small can well drained crushed pineapple
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
1 16 oz. can fruit cocktail or mandarin oranges
Sprinkle the dry jello or pudding mix over the cottage cheese. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate.
Ideas: orange jello and mandarin oranges
pistachio pudding mix and fruit cocktail
raspberry jello and fruit cocktail
And for those who love to cook, check out some of the cute aprons we have for sale at
Peacock Cards!
