need a cheer up?

Crushed

I was feeling sorta down so I made cranberry sauce for the holiday

I have a turkey thawing , two in the freezer and one is being "baby sat" in  DD#1's freezer She loves it when people see it and think she is going to cook it.  

Beachfan

From what I’ve been reading and hearing, in addition to everything else, there is a shortage of turkeys for the upcoming holidays.  Crushed, you might bo on to something.  You could sell your stored turkeys on the black market at a good profit; maybe throw in a container of cranberry sauce to sweeten the deal.  Just a thought.

jfkoc

so thats 14 containers of cranberry sauce and is that a total of 3 or 4 turkeys?

Crushed

jfkoc wrote:

so thats 14 containers of cranberry sauce and is that a total of 3 or 4 turkeys?

some containers are very small and go with box lunches

but I have 3 more bags of cranberries for emergencies  (family joke is that at one of our parties you bring enough for twice as many people , plus an armored division)  Food is the family "love gift"

Joydean

I can only say wow! Homemade cranberry sauce! Mine comes in a can. But I do cook the turkey and dressing, just one turkey. We have a very small family. 3 or 4, Crushed, you are amazing!

Stuck in the middle

The only thing better than Thanksgiving dinner is leftovers.  Waffles with cranberry sauce for breakfast, yum!

mrl

Hi Crushed,

Looks awesome, can i come for dinner? Haven't cooked since DH passed in July? 

Hungry, just saying...

Michele

jfkoc

here is what we always have.....Cold Duck sparkling wine in honor of my mother,  regular canned cranberry sauce( the king that slurps when taking it out of the can) in  honor of my husband and sweet potatoes from the recipe of a long time famliy cook.

Oh, I will make the stuffing/dressing. My secret recipe? Pepperidge Farm doctored up.

Jo C.

Keep at it Crushed; many great memories have been and are being made.  I love, love, love cranberries and everything Thanksgiving!   I am famous for my turkey dressing, but it takes forever and ever to make.  I do my own croutons and broth, and it is all the other "stuff" that goes into the stuffing that takes a whole lot of loving prep time; but oh, so good.   I cook and prepped for days prior to the holiday, and was always up by 3:00 am on "the day," and always a crowd of guests, 16 - 20 people depending.  LOVED setting that lovely table(s) (in advance of the day) which with multiple large leafs is huge but at times often needed a second table adjacent; always with each place setting having a Sees Candies colorful foil wrapped chocolate turkey above the silver for guests to take home; my absolute joy and satisfaction was watching everyone eat and eat making "mmmmm" sounds as second and third helpings went around the table.

I would make the turkey, the dressing in several casseroles, (I never stuffed the bird due to bacteria risk), homemade cranberries, rich gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, "Aunt Dorothy's Fruit Salad," (you know the one - with mixed pineapple, mandarin oranges, banana, cherries, mini marshmallows, etc. and sour cream mixed - children favorite);  broccoli souffle casserole, and green bean casserole too per demand, fine bakery rolls, and a creamed corn casserole (unique recipe and delicious), some nice wine and whatever else happened to flit through my mind.   Dessert?  Pumpkin, pecan and apple pies and whipped cream or ice cream.  Oh my stars and garters; no one could move for a couple of hours.  Just full tummys on the sofas and chairs groaning and smiling.  Loved that everyone was so happy.  Later that night would find DH and I washing crystal and china but it gave us time to talk and recall all the happy day and how good we felt.  The next day we just lazily collapsed and watched TV and ate left overs.  

Now . . . . two sons are excellent cooks. One son got my dressing recipe and loves it but said it is far too labor intensive.  The other son, out of state continues to make it and the traditional dishes. 

Christmas and Easter and Fourth of July always at our house with extended family too.  Really lots of great memories made and lots of really good food.  We have sadly lost so many members of the family, and others have moved out of state. 

This year, it is just DH and myself.  Won't be doing the big cooking and I will miss all of that, but . . . it is absolutely wonderful that we actually had all those years and all those times I remind myself.  Miss it yes; but grateful to have had all those years.

So; I give :"thanks" for the making and "giving" of memories - put those two words together and it is indeed, Thanksgiving!

J.

jfkoc

Yikes!

In my defense I do set a beautiful table and my stuffing is always ordered in advance...lol

Jo C.

Pretty much does not matter how we do things; it is about the people we love, family tradition and the sharing. I have a friend who goes paper plates and plasticware all the way - another friend orders in her Thanksgiving feast and also uses paper plates, etc., that is right for them and they enjoy no less.  I think it is about the gathering of those we love and the memories that come from those days; each family being unique.

For some reason, this Thread evidently triggered my memory bank for me. 

For me; all of the holidays are joyously ingrained in me.  Do not know what motivates it; it just is.  Every holiday and more has been done at our house - it has enough room and I love it all.  Every holiday carries traditions, food and decorations. . . . etc., etc.  It is such a joyful experience to see everyone happy, enjoying, laughing, engaging, and yes, eating.   Quietly gives me such happiness.  Oh; those Fourth of July gatherings, crazy, funny, laughter, decorations and bunting, and bbq and coolers filled with iced drinks, and a pinata for the children and of course, after dark; safe and sane fireworks with the children being dazzled by the pretty sparkly displays.  The family gathering and party the New Years night when we changed to the new century - what amazing sweet, goofy and fun stuff that went on that night. These shared times are all part of the family memory bank.  Gosh I really do miss all of that.  So many, many memories have been made and I do cherish them like little gems worth far beyond measure.  Some times were larger gatherings, other times they were smaller, but they all had their own way of being warming for the inner spirit.

Crushed will have and is creating fond and smiling memories of "Dad" or "Grandpa" making all the huge batches of cranberries and who roasts 500 turkeys on Thanksgiving, (grin), and who can/could even make pies (hat off to you) and so much more.  All of that will be treasured now and "after." 

Okay; enough of that . . .

J.

Crushed

Ok My favorite thanksgiving Story

DW had a husband -wife team of physicians visiting her at the  system Development center.  I t was the week before Thanksgiving and they were invited to our house for a Friday evening Thanksgiving style dinner
  
They came and there was  turkey and cranberry sauce and veggies and sweet potatoes etc. They turned to DW and said "This is AMAZING ! We were with you in the office all day how do you make this happen? 

DW soaked up the praise for a minute and then said  "You didn't see my husband in the office all day did you?"

 The wife turned to me and said  "you made all this?"   I said "Yes I do all the cooking"  She looked at her husband and elbowed him in the ribs 

I just cooked the first turkey of season and it was delicious.  The key to frozen turkeys is that they need to thaw in the fridge for 4-6 days.   I cooked it "upside down" and it came out great.

jfkoc

Aha...I do know about upside down. 

Still have only cooked two turkeys in my life of 80 years.

Crushed

jfkoc wrote:

Aha...I do know about upside down. 

Still have only cooked two turkeys in my life of 80 years.

:- ) So one thanksgiving I was cooking three turkeys.  First one for homeless shelterr
second for my parents  and a third to take to my in-laws where we would have dinner.

so I put in the first turkey about 7 am, and came back up to DW and asked if she felt "friendly".   So she asked how many turkeys are you cooking ?  I said three.  She said "Ill only feel friendly once so you pick the Turkey!!   I said the first one cooks the longest. 

 Fine she said.  

Fun girl.  I saw her today and remembered the story.

  

jfkoc

LadyTexan

Cranberry sauce is a cheerful thought. Thank you for sharing.

During the holidays, I historically have been hit with the blues. Baking and cooking have never been my thing. When there is any kind of shindig at our home, I opt for paper plates and simple meals. Last year I ordered our Thanksgiving meal from the grocery store. My nearby family celebrated in their respective homes because of COVID.

The week of Thanksgiving, I write a gratitude letter. It includes a recap of the year and what I am grateful for. I send it to family and friends instead of sending Christmas cards. Actively expressing gratitude is one of the tools I use to keep me afloat during challenging times and when I get the blues.

It warms my heart to read about the joy and memories that others are sharing. Please keep them coming.

Jo C.

Story of the Quite Unexpected Not Such A Good Expectation Christmas Eve:

Because I worked fulltime, I usually took time off at Christmas; a week or bit more so I could make it a wonderful warm time for our family and myself too.   Well . . . . this Christmas was a far busier one because I was at the very last of a two year Masters Degree Program and it had been a grind by the end of those two years.   I worked full time days and boggled back at night to university.  Not easy, but it was only two years; not forever.    Well; due to working hard and positioning myself well, I was going to be able to graduate before summer,   I had  been working like mad on on my Thesis; but the University I attended indeed had BIG finals.  Not only did I have a final in each class I was taking, BUT the BIG university mandated final was breathing hotly down my neck . . . . it was to be a two day final that encompassed ALL two years of the entire Masters program; literally every class was up for inclusion in those two days.  Final was all bluebook, hand-written; no multiple choice or T/F; and the questions ranged from two pages to five pages long . . . . oh heaven help me!   The individual class finals needed some study, but they were far more doable and far less scary. 

So anyway; it was Christmas Eve and I had put together the Christmas Eve dinner, table was set, and all was in hand - or so I thought.  Our local son and his wife, our daughter and other son were all to arrive for the evening dinner; our Oregon out of state son and family would get a call from us later to wish the small children a happy Santa visit.   Well; DH said he had to go pick up something at the grocery store for next day's breakfast which he was making, so off he went.  SOON . . . . he came back in . . . .he said there were some gorgeous clouds in the sky and I just HAD to come outside and see them . . . .okay; so dish towel in hand outside I went.  Walked down the walk of the front courtyard and out the gate to the front driveway . . . . OH MY GOSH . . . OH MY GOSH . . . . There stood our dear Oregon son, his wife, their two small children and their 4 month old infant!    SURPRISE!!!!!!!   And all the other kids and other spouse!  An entire crowd!  Everyone clapping and laughing in joy.  

The photo of me; one stunned woman in utter shock standing with dish towel in hands; eyes wide and mouth hanging open . . . it couldn't see my brain spinning for the first half minute - I had not prepared enough dinner nor places at the table, nor food for the children . . .  BEDS and bedrooms and bedding were not ready;  crib and all that folderol not taken down and prepared . . .  AND bless them, they had come for two weeks! Two weeks?  Oh.  I love them dearly, dearly . . . BUT the other side of the coin was I was in the midst of deep, deep study for a couple of remaining class finals and that overwhelming two day final which was coming up right after holiday. So, we did what we needed to do; dinner was good, house had already been all decorated and the children loved it.  Beds got put together and I made adjustments for the next day's Christmas dinner and table . . . all was well but I was still vibrating like a piano tuning fork!  Had a great Christmas with everyone there; so wonderful to watch the children's joy at what Santa had left. ( Son and DIL had mailed down boxes of Santa gifts to local son's house unbeknownst to me of course.)

Yet . . . . two weeks visit!  Children running hither and thither and making their children noise which I usually love to hear; constant knocking on the office door where I was working and studying; adult kids interuptions; it was a lulu of a time; I was exhausted . . . . would I survive for that two day final or would I fail?  Close to tears by that time.

Well; big day came, off I went to the university where all the potential grad students were gathered for that dreadful two days; all grim faced, silent and waiting for the roof to fall in.  It was a hellish final - and yes; questions were up to five pages long and one better hit ALL facets of the question in the blue book answer. I wrote and wrote and wrote till my fingers felt numb. Then after the two days exam . . . . home to wait the weeks until we knew we had passed or not.   Dear heaven, please . . . . after ALL that striving; all the money it had cost, classes after a days hospital "work" for two years and ALL that studying . . . . I did!  I passed!   Holy, holy, holy and THANK YOU!   Don't know how I did it, as that two week visit was really taking attention and time away, but it all worked out.  Just do not want to ever do that again.   My very own personal Christmas gifts - my family surprise (!) AND passing that dreadful, tortuous exam. 

Other than that, nothing else happened . . . . Ha! 

J.

Jo C.

Family and games:  Since we had all extended family holidays at our place, I enjoyed giving a happy experience for everyone for all ages at some dinners as an entire evening or an entire day would be in play. At Christmas, of course there would be pre-Christmas party evenings with those wrapped packages where one drew names for several times and could steal packages from one another . . . but what I loved to do was to wrap a gift for each person and hide them well.  What I would do was write verses that were clues; multiple clues for each person with one clue leading to the next clue and the next and the next before the gift was found.   Upstairs, downstairs, all rooms, in cupboards, in closets, outside in the trunk of a car, across the street at the neighbors house; everyone laughing and laughing while they figured out the clues and hunted hither and thither.  One year one clue that seemed harder to solve was, "Hoover was a President,  Hoover is a dam, if you think hard enough, old Hoover's where I am."  Now for me, that is an easy-peasy clue, but for younger adults evidently not so much as they never experienced "Hoovering" the carpeting.  He finally found his gift in the zippered bag of the Hoover vacuum cleaner in the closet where it was kept.  He laughed like a hysterical hyena when he finally found the gift.  Laughter was indeed the goal. For the small children, the clues would be different, such as:  "Hickory dickory dock - tick tock."  We have a five foot plus tall wall clock in our entry hall.  I left the key in the door and the child would find another clue inside the bottom of the clock which might say . .  . "Crunch, crunch, crunch said the Captain," which led them to the pantry and the box of Captain Crunch cereal in which another clue was found.  You get the idea.  Everyone had such a really good time.  Me too. Easter found me stuffing SO, SO, SO many plastic and paper mache eggs of all sizes from teensy to average to very large; some of them fitting inside others.  They were all placed inside a monstrously HUGE woven basket I had found at a home store.   All adults were in the living room and the huge basket was passed around; each adult could choose ONE egg with each basket pass and could not open it, but could put it inside the decorated bag each had.   After all eggs were passed out and the huge basket empty, then each adult could open one egg at a time going around to each adult. Some eggs contained jelly beans (BUT NO BLACK ONES); some contained chocolate eggs, others contained small gifts which I had hunted in stores over a few months; some contained a dollar bill, one contained a $20 bill.  Some had funny and silly verses written and put in them. Some eggs had multiple smaller egg inside and one opened one after the other to get to the prize . . .BUT . . one egg that had multiple smaller eggs inside opening one after the other to get to the prize . . . HOWEVER . . . the prize was a single black jelly bean - disappointment!  After all the eggs were opened and all stuff found, everyone was laughing . . . then it was my turn to ask "Who got the black jelly bean?"   When the person showed me, they were the winner of the BIG prize; a gift certificate to something special, like a restaurant.   Happy, happy group.  The children had already had their special time with an egg hunt, so they watched the grownups and enjoyed the time. At any holiday dinner, one can buy small gift bags and put a small gift in each bag; just some small thing, but one bag has a very nice small gift inside.   The bags are sealed and placed above each dinner plate at the table.  Well . . . the host has a written story - in this story, Mr. and Mrs. Right and their children are also having a holiday and they must do this and that and run errands going left and right and to see Granny Right, etc.  Every time the host reads the word, "Right," the bags must be passed to the person on the right; every time the host reads the word, "left," the bags must reverse and be passed to the person on the left. It gets funnier and funnier and the bags get to traveling left and right, and left, left, right, right, left, etc. quite fast.  When the story is over, it is the luck of the draw; whatever is in the bag is what one gets and the big winner is by chance.  Also a lot of fun and a lot of laughing. One year had a rather sad turn of events.  We had a pet rabbit for years, he was such a good bunny and lived in the full back yard during the day and he went willingly into his large cage at night.  Anyway; we had Easter dinner at our house and there were about seven young children in attendance.  I planned an egg hunt for the children after dinner with Mr. Bunny in the back yard.   The kids were all excited.   When clearing the table and before the hunt, I looked out the kitchen window and saw Bunny lying quite still under a bush.  He did not move one whit which was unlike him. I quietly called to my husband so no one else could hear.  He went outside to check . . . OH NO . . . bunny was dead!  Omigosh; now what . . . husband removed bunny.  I then made the announcement to the children that the egg hunt was about ready, BUT that the Easter Bunny was way far behind his work on the other side of the world and he had called Mr. Bunny to come and help him, so Mr. Bunny had to go and help, but he wanted the children to have a good time hunting eggs.  Whew!  All went well, but so sad re Mr. Bunny who we loved. I'd love to hear about other games that may have been played at special holidays. J.