It was such a blessing to be with family during the holidays.  Our son was home from college, and we had a great time being together.

We have many blessings!  We’re so thankful for both of our children, son-in-law, grandbabies, my mother-in-law, and our friends.  God has blessed us and is taking care of my husband and I through our job search.  My most precious blessing, though, is my relationship with God.  Jesus is not only my Savior, he is my best friend!

Hi all!   Here’s this week’s questions:

1. What do you do with turkey leftovers?

We eat leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of days and all the white meat is eaten up.  We don’t especially care for the dark meat, however, I froze it last year in several batches.  One winter day, I couldn’t think of what to cook and decided on soup.  On a whim, I decided to use some of the frozen dark turkey and used what I had on hand to add to the pot with it.  This soup turned out to be one of our favorites!!   Here’s the recipe:  Turkey & Vegetable Soup.  I plan to make this soup in a couple of days.
2. How do you make split pea soup?

I don’t, but my mother used to make delicious split pea soup.  She passed away in 2000.  Wish I could have some soup with her today!   I should make some soon only I don’t have her recipe.
3. What do you like on top of your pie?

Depends on the pie.  I like ice cream on top of fruit and pumpkin pies.  Well actually it’s Dreyer’s Low-Fat Vanilla Yogurt Blends – so creamy and yummy! (my husband likes the Fat-Free, and it’s good, too, just not as creamy)  Pecan pies – plain.  Chocolate or banana cream pies – real whipped cream.  ( I like the taste of Cool Whip but when I think of the ingredients it has in it, I lose my taste for it!)
4. What kind of turkey do you usually buy?

I buy whatever’s the best price (or free) which is a frozen turkey.  This year, though, we ended up getting a fresh turkey on sale and then used a $5 store coupon on it, too.  It was delicious!  We think the breast meat had more flavor to it. I cooked it in a turkey bag with the breast on the bottom so the juices could flow into it, so that made a difference too.  I would like to do a taste test between frozen and fresh turkeys cooked exactly the same way, side by side.

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This Friday is “Black Friday,” and we plan to go for the good buys and for the novelty of it.  (I wish they had a different name for it.  I understand why they name it that, but it seems like a name for something dismal.  Haha)   For many years, I never had any desire to go, but then I found out how much fun it was to just go and be with our daughter and friends.   This year, I plan to go with my husband and our son, so this will be interesting and fun as well.

On Friday, we’ll probably be so full from eating Thanksgiving dinner the day before that we won’t want any desserts and definitely not any Swisher Sweets (I didn’t know what those were).  Maybe all the walking around will help us burn off some calories!  However, there is a lot of waiting in long lines before the stores open, and that doesn’t burn off many calories.  Oh, well.  It will be a great time to visit and catch up on things with our son who will be home from college.

This sounds like a fun recipe to make with children:

• 1 cup of your favorite ice cream – NOT ice milk
• 1 cup self-rising flour

Let ice cream set out at room temperature until thoroughly melted, but still cold.  Fold in the flour.  Do not overstir.  Pour into greased muffin tin.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.   Makes 6 muffins.

The first Thanksgiving was a feast of thanksgiving to God for the harvest of food with which they were blessed.

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

(Biblegateway.com)

Stuffing:

• Fritos Cornbread Stuffing

• Laura Bush’s Corn Bread Dressing

Sweet Potatoes & Veggies:

• Holiday Sweet Potatoes

• Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
• Holiday Vegetable Casserole
  

Salads:

• Mother’s Holiday Fruit Salad
• Peach Pie Salad
  
• Raw Cranberry Salad

Desserts, Muffins, & Breads:

• Cherry-Banana Bread (Low-fat)
• Chocolate Chip Pie (Awesome!)
• Company’s Coming Cookies
• Crustless Pumpkin Pie
• Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cookie Dough Safe to Eat!
• Frito Candy
• Harvest Pumpkin Muffins
• Holiday Pineapple Nut Bread
• Oreo Truffles
• Pecan Pie Muffins
• Pillsbury Turkey Sugar Cookies
  
• Pineapple Delight
• Sopapilla Cheesecake

Pie Crusts:

• Graham Cracker Pie Crust
• “Mix in the Plate” Pie Crust

• Never Fail Pie Crust (Make ahead of time)

Appetizers:

• Cheese Ball

• Cheese Log
• Blackeye Pea Salsa
• Olive Garden’s Artichoke-Spinach Dip
• Mixed Nuts with Rosemary & Shallots (serve warm)
• Rolled Chicken and Asparagus
• Sausage Cheese Balls
• Sausage Rolls
• Southwest “Cheesecake” Dip

• Texas Stuffed Jalapenos

Ideas for left-over turkey:

• Brown Rice, Turkey, & Broccoli in Mushroom Sauce
• Campbell’s Country Turkey Casserole
• Turkey and Vegetable Soup
  

This turkey was from when our son was in kindergarten 13 years ago.