Thanksgiving Dinner

Well this is very long overdue, but here's a recap of our Thanksgiving festivities:

Mom and Dad came in Tuesday night of that week, and we had sub sandwiches from Krauzer's (best subs EVER). On Wednesday, I took them on a tour of New Haven and Yale, mom and I went grocery shopping (plus she bought me some Christmas decor!), and we started cooking the turkey while preparing the casseroles. Then we all woke up at 3 am on Thanksgiving morning to take a 4 am train out of New Haven into Grand Central for the Macy's Parade! We ended up getting a great spot in Times Square, and even though it was very chilly and a lot of waiting, we had a lot of fun. :) Not sure if I would do it again, but now I can say I've done it once! After the parade, we toured NYC for a couple hours with the folks, then came back and had our feast.

Here was our Thanksgiving menu:

• Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes (a la Mr. G)
• Stuffing
• Broccoli Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Cranberry Sauce
• Deviled eggs
• Biscuits (a la Pillsbury)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Crisp

Since I obviously can't put all of these recipes up here (let's be honest; you would never read them all), I'll just put up my favorites, starting with my mom's amazing sweet potato casserole recipe. 

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole:

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups sweet potatoes (or yams), cooked and mashed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• Topping: 
• 3/4 cup crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• marshmallows (optional, but I recommend them!)
• Directions:
• Bake and mash sweet potatoes.
• Add eggs, butter, and spices. Slowly add enough milk until mixture reaches pudding consistency. 
• Pour into greased casserole pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes
• Sprinkle topping mixture and marshmallows on casserole when it comes out of the oven. Return to oven and bake 10 additional minutes.

Mom's Broccoli Casserole:

• Ingredients:
• 2 boxes frozen, chopped broccoli - cooked and drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (just buy shredded cheddar)
• Crackers or bread crumbs
• Directions:
• Cook broccoli 5 minutes.
• Add all other ingredients; mix well.
• Pour into a greased casserole dish.
• Sprinkle bread crumbs or crumbled crackers on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Andrea's Apple Crisp:

• Ingredients:
• 6-8 large apples
• 1/2 box Jiffy yellow cake mix (not sure where to find Jiffy, so we just got Betty Crocker)
• 1/2 cup (or more) cinnamon/sugar mixture
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 stick melted butter
• Directions:
• Peel, core, and slice apples. Place in a lightly buttered baking dish.
• Sprinkle with cake mix, oats, and cinnamon/sugar mixture.
• Layer the apples and dry mix so it makes at least two layers.
• Drizzle melted butter on top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy! :)

The apple crisp recipe is one I got from a friend of Mr. G's mom who gave me a book of her family recipes as a shower gift. It ended up being delicious and a favorite new dessert of ours. 

Here are some photos of the meal:

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please feel free to comment if you have any crazy family recipes to share. :)

Happy cooking!

- Mrs. G