It’s Not Over Yet
Thanksgiving is gone for this year but it’s not over yet. Not as long as there are leftovers in the fridge. Everyone has their own method for using up leftovers. Some refuse to eat them at all, some eat the same Thanksgiving meal over and over until it’s gone, others try to creatively eat them up so their families don’t ban turkey until next Thanksgiving.
We do a little of everything here. First, we try to not end up with too many leftovers by cooking smaller amounts of things. Second, we eat a meal or two of Thanksgiving day menus. Our best way of getting rid of leftovers however is to come up with creative ways to eat them up. In the past we have enjoyed things like grilled turkey & cheese sandwiches, turkey & vegetable stew, turkey chili and turkey quesadillas. This year will be no different, I’ve been searching around the internet and reading through all my cookbooks looking for some good suggestions.
I haven’t decided exactly how to consume these leftovers (I was able to give some to my sister & my parents so we don’t have much turkey left to eat). I am making some stock to keep in the freezer, that will flavor winter soups & stews. I found a few interesting recipes on-line that I might try.
Kalyn’s Kitchen had a delicious looking Turkey & Barley Soup recipe Wednesday that I may try.
Jenny Yu over at Use Real Butter is eating turkey reubens, that could be interesting.
I also found another page devoted to leftover turkey recipes that has some interesting options, perhaps a turkey curry (that sounds good to me!).
Any suggestions? What’s your favorite leftover meal?
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Thanksgiving Day Success
Yesterday morning Mr Chiots and I woke up before the sun to head to Canton to run in the 12th Annual Perry Rotary Turkey Trot. We have been doing this for 4 years now. It’s always a fun race, nothing like starting your Thanksgiving off on the right foot. When you run a 5K you don’t feel so bad for eating tons of turkey & trimmings later that day!
This morning we packed up the car (with all of the food we were taking to my parent’s house) and headed out. It was a crisp 18 degrees on our way in to town, perfect running weather. We stopped in town to meet some friends that were running with us and off we went. By the time we arrived and picked up our numbers, the sun had come out and it was warming a bit. It was the perfect morning for a race (although I do love it when it’s snowing). There’s nothing like running with 1,400 other people to kick of your Thanksgiving day festivities.
After the race we headed to my parent’s house to get the cooking started. The turkey went in the oven, the rolls and stuffing were made, chestnuts and sweet potatoes were roasted. A few cups of coffee were enjoyed (and a quick slice of pie) while everything was baking, roasting and rising away!
I must say it ended up being the perfect meal. Everything was fantastic, from the delicious local turkey to the local green beans & corn my sister brought, all the way down to the perfect turkey gravy, 3 different kinds of squash pie and the wine a friend gave us (a delicious Winter Reisling from a friend’s winery in Indiana), I don’t think there was a better Thanksgiving feast being eaten anywhere in the country!
We still have 2 more official Thanksgiving meals to go to (not counting all the leftover meals), so our festivities are not over yet, we’ll be eating more turkey and trimmings. So how many Thanksgivings do you attend?
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Happy Thanksgiving
Here is an interesting article on the history of Thanksgiving and what kinds of food were consumed back then. It includes a menu of what they would have eaten. It was kind of a forced local and seasonal Thanksgiving back then with no supermarkets.
Our modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasn’t the case at the pilgrim’s feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn’t really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren’t available to the colonists.
The pilgrims probably didn’t have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didn’t have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all.
Regardless of what we eat, we celebrate this holiday as a day of giving Thanks.
What am I thankful for this year?
for the great country that I live in
for Mr Chiots of course (and Lucy and the cats, Samson & Sofie)
for my family and our friends
my health and the health of my family
the local farmers that spend their time growing healthy veggies and raising healthy meats for us to eat
and all of my blog readers of course!
What are a few things you’re thankful for this year?
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I LOVE Polls
I’m a big fan of internet polls. I’m not sure why, there’s just something about them that I get excited about. I don’t know if it’s the instant standings or seeing how you rank with others, there’s just something about them I LOVE! So Mr Chiot’s added polls to my blog. I’m so excited! So take the poll to the right, I would love to know what your turkey plans are for this Thanksgiving (you already know mine).
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Giving Back this Holiday Season: Show them We Care
Princess Mombi posted about giving back during the holidays by getting involved in community service this season. She encouraged all of us to do something to help others. Yesterday morning she posted a terrific opportunity to give back.
The Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes this holiday season for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. For the second year in a row, they’re collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world.
You can make cards or buy cards. I’m planning on using up all the cards I have leftover from my previous year mailings. Their goal is to collect and distribute one million holiday cards to spread holiday cheer and facilitate thanks to these brave individuals and families. Let’s see what we can do to help them reach this goal (we have to hurry, they must be postmarked by December 10). I’m going to commit to sending in 25 cards myself (I already wrote them out last night) and I’m going to try to have my family members and Mr Chiot’s family members all sign some on Thanksgiving for another 50 (for a total of 75).
So what do you think, want to join in? Send out a few cards and post a comment below to let us know how many we can help them cross of their list, if all of my readers send in 25 we could send in over 1,000 cards! Grab your families and spend some time thanking our service members. Make sure you read the guidelines below and mail to the following address:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Card Guidelines
Please follow these guidelines when mailing a card to ensure that your card will quickly reach service members, veterans and their families. Every card received will first be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working in one of 16 sorting stations around the country.
All cards must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Cards sent after this date will be returned to sender.
Participants are encouraged to limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a larger quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope or postage.
Please ensure that all cards are signed.
Please use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
Please send cards as opposed to long letters which delay a quick review process.
Please do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
Please do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
All cards received may be used in program publicity efforts, including appearing in broadcast, print or online mediums.
To find out other ways you can support and encourage the men and women that defend our freedoms every day visit: America Supports You
