As the weeks came closer to Christmas we learned that it would be best to just stay at our house. I'm glad we did! It was a little weird since I can remember only one dinner (and that might have been Thanksgiving) that we stayed home. I was quite proud of myself though it was taking forever. Having worked the night before I was tired but determind. So worth it!
Matt asked for a old fashion Thanksgiving meal for Christmas. All these years we have been together and I just now learn that he doesn't like ham. I thought he did! Hahaha! Anyway, I asked him to give me a list of what he wanted and I would make it happen. So turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls and apple pie were my challenge. I really wanted to make my mom's rolls but Matt came up with a good point. "You have your plate full and there's no one here to empress, take shortcuts where you can." So I bought the rolls and gravy then added stuffing to the list. Oh, and apple cider. Matt may not like it but I've been craving this stuffing since we had it add his sisters' house.
I wasn't that impressed with the turkey but it wasn't the turkey's fault or the recipe's, it was mine. It had to be in the oven for 30 minutes then four hours more at a lower temp covered. I forgot to tell Matt to cover it so it burned all the skin. Still tasted good which it nice, I was worried. Plus, it's the four of us eating this turkey for a month. I was going to go for just turkey breast but it was the same price as the 16 lbs turkey I bought. I like dark meat so might as well. Plus, it will give me a chance to find some recipes for cooked turkey!
The sweet potatoes were so easy to make! I even liked them! There were mixed reviews on it. Some said it tasted awesome, others said it was more dessert like, and others said it was the worst thing ever. Well, we thought it was awesome! I will add more potatoes next time, I was unsure because it was using cans and I was using fresh. Seriously try this one! I did cut the flour down to about a half cup. That was one of many people's tips.
The stuffing was easy but time consuming. I will add a little more chicken broth to the stuffing that is not being cooked in the bird and I might go for a spicy sausage next time. Other than that, yum yum! Make sure you grab a big deep pan though. I started with a big skillet then switched to a deeper one. Even that was difficult to mix in.
The apple cider was so yummy! I went by a recipe from a book that came in my spices I got for Christmas (Thanks Kim and Angie!) and I made it in my new crockpot (Thanks Hubby!) Perfect warm drink to sit back and relax with.
The potatoes are no biggie, regular mashed potatoes but the apple pie.....OH MY GOSH! First off, I forgot to put butter with the apples, please don't do that. I added some white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, and some lemon juice. Tasted good but needed some butter. The crust on the other hand......WOW! I made a vodka pie crust. Seriously, go for it, try it! You will thank me and America's Test Kitchen. It turned out PERFECT! I don't own a big food processer so I just mixed it with a pastry blender.
So that was our Christmas meal, hope yours was just as tasty!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Roast-Turkey-and-Gravy-2/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Sausage-and-Apple-Stuffing/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thanksgiving-Sweet-Potatoes/Detail.aspx
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=11482&extcode=M**ASCA00
*you might need to sign up to read the pie crust recipe....trust me, it's worth it!*
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