Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon the past year and give thanks. I often find myself giving thanks for the love of my family. The recent events have brought us all a little closer to our loved ones.
As you sit around the dinner table this Thanksgiving, take a little time and remember those lost in the tragedies that occurred at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Also it is a good time for reflecting on our lives in general, and what makes us happy and loved.
One of our favorite dishes all year round is a fruit or berry cobbler. It fills you with warmth and goodness, and it's fairly quick and easy to make. First you mix up the crust, put it in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Then mix together the fruit, sugar, cinnamon and butter cut up into chunks. Pour a third of a cup of water over that and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve the cobbler warm with ice cream for an mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmm good dessert!
Great Grandma's Fruit Cobbler
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 3 cups fruit (e.g. peaches, berries, apples, etc.)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/3 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the crust ingredients and press into a 9 x 13-inch greased pan.
Place the fruit over the crust, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the sugar on top of the fruit evenly, add the cinnamon, then chop up the butter and spread out over the top. Pour the water over the top of everything and bake about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Yields: 8-10 servings
- Preparation Time: 1 hour
If you are looking for something to do with your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, I recommend Howard's Leftover Turkey Soup. It will warm your insides. First, prepare your leftover turkey by slicing off all of the usable slices for sandwiches, hot turkey dinners etc. and freeze. Then put the bones in a large stockpot with 6 cups of water, cover, and simmer until the remaining turkey falls off the bones, approximately 2.5 hours. If you lost water due to the boiling process, you can add a bit more water. While you are waiting for the meat to cook, chop up three large carrots, three stalks of celery, and one medium onion. Lightly fry the onion in butter to a golden brown.
Remove the meat from the bones and making sure to get all of the small bones. Strain the broth to remove any bones that might have fallen off during the cooking process. Shave approximately 3 to 4 cups of turkey and return to the stockpot, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add most of the stock back to the pot, reserving some for later, and simmer 10 to 20 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until done. You may want to add noodles or rice to this, but if you do, be sure to add more of the stock or water. If you like a little thicker soup, then don't add the extra water.
Howard's Leftover Turkey Soup
- 3 to 4 cups shredded/shaved turkey
- 3 large carrots (chopped)
- 3 celery stalks (chopped)
- 1 medium onion (chopped and sautéed in butter)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Rice or noodles (optional)
Cut off all of the good meal meat off the bird. Put the big bones in a large pot with 6 cups of water and simmer for 2.5 hrs, adding water if needed.
While simmering, cut 3 large carrots and 3 celery stocks, cut up a med. onion. Sauté the onion in butter to a golden brown. Remove what meat is on the bones. Shave or shred-up about 1/8 -1/4 lbs. of turkey. Add salt and pepper to taste. First drain out all broth from pot and clean out the small bones. Put broth into pot and add turkey meat bring to simmer 10 -20 min.
Add onions, carrots and celery, and cook until done.
You may add rice or noodles. Rice will thicken up the soup so you may want to keep some broth aside to thin it out.
- Yields: 8-10 servings
- Preparation Time: about 3 hours
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!