Thanksgiving
Need a last minute side-dish?
A friend asked me to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes for an article in our local newspaper, and they chose the fruit salad that we affectionately call “Mrs. Webb’s Fruit Salad.” It’s been a part of our family for as long as I can remember. In fact, most of our favorite family recipes are actually named after the people who shared them with us. So in case you need an extra side dish, I thought I’d pass along a few of our favorites to you. 🙂
Mrs. Webb’s Fruit Salad
1 can chunk pineapple (drained)
1 can Mandarin oranges (drained)1 can peach pie filing
2 large bananas (may use “fruit fresh” to keep bananas from turning dark)
16 oz. frozen, sliced strawberries
(May also add Kiwis, cut apples, grapes, melons, etc. – but we just usually serve it as is.)
Mix and serve chilled. Beautiful in a cut glass or crystal serving bowl.
Mrs. Steel’s Vegetable Marinate (this is SO good!!!)
Serves 8-10 people
Place in large seal-able bowl:
1 can LaSeur English Peas (drained)
1 can white Shoe Peg corn (drained)
1 can French Style green beans (drained)
1 small bell pepper – chopped
1 med. onion – chopped
1 small jar Pimento
Bring to a boil:
1 cup sugar
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbs. water
Pour the liquid mixture over vegetables when it comes to a boil. Stir together, and marinate overnight.
This will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
If doubled for a crowd, double only the vegetables. The marinate makes plenty for a double recipe. (I double all vegetables except the peas.)
Marinated Carrots (This recipe originally came from our family friend, Mrs. Cook. Early in my married life, I adapted this recipe to use canned carrots instead of fresh ones – making it basically pantry ready. It’s a really pretty side-dish.)
½ cup salad oil
1 cup sugar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. spicy mustard or of mustard powder
1 tsp. both salt & pepper
1 can tomato soup
5-6 cans sliced carrots
1 sweet onion, cut in rings
1 green bell pepper, cut in rings
Mix ingredients (oil through soup) together and heat to melt the sugar. Put carrots, onion and pepper in a large sealable bowl. Pour heated mixture over vegetables, and chill overnight. This keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Baked Potato Casserole (or Mrs. Cook’s Potato Casserole)
The original recipe came from our family friend, Mrs. Cook, and over the years it’s been adapted to fit the size of the table guests and the ingredients kept on hand. I’ll share the original recipe – It truly is delicious!
6 medium white potatoes, cooked, cooled, and mashed (leave lumpy)
Melt: 1/2 stick butter & 2 cups grated chedar cheese in a saucepan.
Remove from heat when melted and add: 3 Tbs chopped green onions, 1 carton of sour cream, and salt/pepper to taste. Mix in potatoes. Pour in baking dish and dot with butter. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about this!
Our other favorite delicious potato casseroleis
New Potato Casserole (or in our house, known as: Shelia’s Potatoes)
1 bag of New Potatoes (or red, or white, or whatever you can find.) 
2 Cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 sticks butter or margarine, melted
1 lb. cooked bacon, crumbled
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 bottle Ranch Salad Dressing
Boil and half or quarter new potatoes. Place in 9 x 13 pan. Top potatoes with chopped green onions. Sprinkle cheese on top. Pour over above all the melted butter. Then top with the crumbled bacon. Cook at 350 degrees until bubbly. On top of hot casserole, pour the Ranch dressing. The trick is hot potato casserole and cold salad dressing.
Maybe one of these favorites will grace your family table this week? Much love to you all~
The best way to keep our sanity and joy during this busy week:
Is to spend time with Jesus before each day begins. 
For many, this will be a busy week full of family, food, late nights, early mornings {and in many cases, family dysfunction}. For others, it will be a week of sadness and remembrances of loss. Because of holiday movies and magazine spreads, we tend to have higher expectations for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day than we do for the other days of the years, don’t we? They are special days. But for those of us who walk with Jesus on a daily basis, every day should be marked by thanks-giving and the celebration of His Life. These higher expectations put undue pressure on us and on those around us… And this should not be.
In fact, a wise friend of mine said about Thanksgiving expectations, “The truth is that people are going to act on Thursday how they act on Wednesday and Friday.” That’s SO true! So, my friends, let’s determine to release ourselves and our loved ones from unrealistic expectations this week, and let’s put our expectations on the ONLY ONE who can meet them: Jesus Christ.
Psalm 39:7 tells us, “And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hope and expectation are in You.” If our expectations are in God alone, He will NOT disappoint.
The question then becomes, “How do we keep our expectations on God and off of others?” The answer: We must meet with Him and be filled with Him each day. And that’s really hard – especially if the house is full of company and the schedules are packed tight. But if we don’t get away with Jesus and seek His filling, our actions and reactions will be full of self, and it will not be good.
One Thanksgiving break, while visiting away from home, I knew I would need God’s filling, so I asked the Lord to help me not miss my time with Him. I did this not because I wanted to check it off of my scheduled “to do” – but because I NEEDED Him and His Strength, Word, and Presence to be within and out flowing from my life. And praise God, with the Lord’s help, I got to meet with Him at the start of every day. He helped me keep my focus on Him, and helped me operate from His filling rather than my own “selfish” nature. And all was well. My heart stayed expectant on Him and my family was released from those unrealistic expectations, to the glory of God!
As I think back on that Thanksgiving, I can’t help but chuckle and hear the background music to “Mission Impossible.” To carve out early morning time with the Lord – especially while sleeping in a room with the rest of your immediate family – may seem like an impossible mission. Therefore, like any “impossible mission,” in order to accomplish it, you have to be “stealth” – and intentional.
Stealth is defined as “moving carefully and quietly, so as to avoid being seen.” This is the goal – having a careful and quiet time with the Lord before anyone else in the room or house sees you!
Here are some tips on making this Stealth Quiet Time work for you.
1. Imagine yourself on a secret mission to meet with Jesus before anyone else awakes, and plan for it the night before. I prepared the things for my QT (Bible, pen, & paper) before I went to bed and placed them, along with a flashlight, under the side of the bed I was sleeping in. Then I prayed for the Lord to awake me before anyone else was awake – and to keep everyone asleep while we met together.
2. When the Lord awakes you – don’t go back to sleep! Thank Him and tell Him “Good morning.” Then ever so gently roll out of bed onto the floor – where your Bible, QT things, and flash light await you. (Be careful not to make a “thud” sound. Grin.)
3. You’re already on the floor, so why not spend some time on your face pouring out your heart to the Lord? Psalm 5:3 says, “In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; In the morning I prepare a prayer, a sacrifice, for you, and wait for you to speak to my heart.” (Amp)
4. Use a devotional guide or the Proverb of the day – something to get a taste of the Lord’s Word, then respond to Him in praise, thanksgiving, and confession. After that, stealthily rise up and walk in the Joy of and obedience to the Lord.
This is a quiet time guide I shared with our Sunday School class. There is a page for each day of this present week. If you need something to guide you in your quick time with the Lord before your busy days begin, this quiet time booklet will help you pour out and fill up with Jesus. Then, when bumped this week, He is the one that will spill out of you.
The result? Sanity and Joy!
Many blessings of the Lord to each of you this week. 🙂
Preparing your Home and Heart for Thanksgiving
{an original post written by my friend, Amy, back in 2008}
O Give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good!
Thanksgiving is one week away. Are you ready? Each year I host the meal for our family. It’s usually around 15 – 20 people. If you are the host in your family, I feel your pain! Do you slave for days and in one short hour, everyone is full, and you are left with a huge mess?
There are oh, so many things that can be done before Thanksgiving Day to make the day more enjoyable for you. The true secret of enjoying a busy holiday lies in the preparation. This week my post is about preparing your food, preparing your table, and preparing your heart.
Preparing your Food:
Sit down and think through your shopping. Don’t be like the people that go to the grocery store everyday during the week of Thanksgiving, and stay so mad at themselves for being so unorganized. Do your shopping on Monday or before, if possible. Make sure you take your list. You don’t want to be near a grocery store after Tuesday afternoon of Thanksgiving week.
Now that you have all of your supplies, make a few dishes in advance. You can make many casseroles and all your pies ahead of time. By doing this, you free up a lot of mess, and a lot of oven space. If you don’t have a double oven, you have to be systematic. You can’t cook everything at once on Thanksgiving Day. So, as the Boy Scouts would say, “Be Prepared.”
Preparing your Table:
Next, think about your table. There are so many stores that have beautiful Thanksgiving paper goods…. What did I say??? Paper Goods??? YES! You bet!!! Your table can be beautiful and easy for cleaning. Not only are we women limited by oven space, we are also limited by dishwasher space. If you absolutely can not bear the thought of using paper goods at Thanksgiving, at least buy dessert plates and cut down on part of the mess.
If you are eating at a table that is not used daily (like your Dining room table), set it before Thursday. As your centerpiece, use something that is low, and won’t have to be removed from your table during dinner. Ex: leaves, pinecones, pumpkins, and gourds. (If you have a Hobby Lobby in your town, right now, all fall décor is 80% off!) Stick a few short candles in the middle of your “fall foliage”, and there you have a beautiful centerpiece that hasn’t broken the bank.
You can even make cute little place cards for all those who will be attending. As you walk around your table placing these cards, you can pray for each person and thank God for their place in your life.
Preparing your Heart:
As the hostess, you have the very important responsibility of setting the tone in your home on Thanksgiving Day. If you are stressed and grouchy, and cook your meal in a begrudging manner – like it’s your greatest inconvenience – then that is the type of day you will have.
You can either poison the day for all the people you love, or you can choose to make your home a haven of thankfulness for everyone to enjoy.
While you clean your house, and prepare for your guests, think about this question: “What am I thankful for?” For me, what I meditate on usually dictates my attitude.
A few of our family traditions:
When our family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner, we usually read a Psalm of thanks then hold hands in prayer. If you do this, some of your guests may not be comfortable with this tradition. But remember, this may be a perfect time to gently share your faith to those you love.
After dinner, while having dessert, we play the Thankfulness Game. I use fake leaves from the store (either silk or paper), and write a letter on each leaf, spelling the word THANKSGIVING. Each person picks a leaf and says something they are thankful for that corresponds with the letter on the leaf.
We started this tradition when our children were very young. And to this day (now my boys are 13 & 16) they still ask if we’re going to play the Thankfulness Game. Sometimes the smallest family traditions mean so much to our children. Often it becomes very humorous, and sometimes it’s serious, but either way, it’s a fun way to have meaningful conversation. (If you’re organized enough, you could keep a list from year to year, and store it with your fall decor.)
So between now and next Thursday, be like a good “Thanksgiving Boy Scout”, and BE PREPARED.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks, Amy! You continue to inspire me in my homemaking. Love you~
Preparing your Home and your Heart for Thanksgiving
Happy Monday, everyone. I was looking through my files on Thanksgiving, and remembered this post from last year. So, I’m reposting it. I wish I could, but I can’t take credit for writing this. It’s a “Frappuccino Fun with Amy” re-post. For other great holiday ideas, look through my sidebar categories and click on “Frappuccino Fun with Amy.”
Hope this blesses you as much as it has me – as we prepare our homes and our hearts for Thanksgiving. 🙂
Jennifer
O Give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good!
Thanksgiving is just over one week away. Are you ready? Each year I host the meal for our family. It’s usually around 15 – 20 people. If you are the host in your family, I feel your pain! Do you slave for days and in one short hour, everyone is full, and you are left with a huge mess?
There are oh, so many things that can be done before Thanksgiving Day to make the day more enjoyable for you. The true secret of enjoying a busy holiday lies in the preparation. This week my post is about preparing your food, preparing your table, and preparing your heart.
Preparing your Food:
Sit down and think through your shopping. Don’t be like the people that go to the grocery store everyday during the week of Thanksgiving, and stay so mad at themselves for being so unorganized. Do your shopping on Monday or before, if possible. Make sure you take your list. You don’t want to be near a grocery store after Tuesday afternoon of Thanksgiving week.
Now that you have all of your supplies, make a few dishes in advance. You can make many casseroles and all your pies ahead of time. By doing this, you free up a lot of mess, and a lot of oven space. If you don’t have a double oven, you have to be systematic. You can’t cook everything at once on Thanksgiving Day. So, as the Boy Scouts would say, “Be Prepared.”
Preparing your Table:
Next, think about your table. There are so many stores that have beautiful Thanksgiving paper goods…. What did I say??? Paper Goods??? YES! You bet!!! Your table can be beautiful and easy for cleaning. Not only are we women limited by oven space, we are also limited by dishwasher space. If you absolutely can not bear the thought of using paper goods at Thanksgiving, at least buy dessert plates and cut down on part of the mess.
If you are eating at a table that is not used daily (like your Dining room table), set it before Thursday. As your centerpiece, use something that is low, and won’t have to be removed from your table during dinner. Ex: leaves, pinecones, pumpkins, and gourds. (If you have a Hobby Lobby in your town, right now, all fall décor is 80% off!) Stick a few short candles in the middle of your “fall foliage”, and there you have a beautiful centerpiece that hasn’t broken the bank.
You can even make cute little place cards for all those who will be attending. As you walk around your table placing these cards, you can pray for each person and thank God for their place in your life.
Preparing your Heart:
As the hostess, you have the very important responsibility of setting the tone in your home on Thanksgiving Day. If you are stressed and grouchy, and cook your meal in a begrudging manner – like it’s your greatest inconvenience – then that is the type of day you will have.
You can either poison the day for all the people you love, or you can choose to make your home a haven of thankfulness for everyone to enjoy.
While you clean your house, and prepare for your guests, think about this question: “What am I thankful for?” For me, what I meditate on usually dictates my attitude.
A few of our family traditions:
When our family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner, we usually read a Psalm of thanks then hold hands in prayer. If you do this, some of your guests may not be comfortable with this tradition. But remember, this may be a perfect time to gently share your faith to those you love.
After dinner, while having dessert, we play the Thankfulness Game. I use fake leaves from the store (either silk or paper), and write a letter on each leaf, spelling the word THANKSGIVING. Each person picks a leaf and says something they are thankful for that corresponds with the letter on the leaf.
We started this tradition when our children were very young. And to this day (now my boys are 13 & 16) they still ask if we’re going to play the Thankfulness Game. Sometimes the smallest family traditions mean so much to our children. Often it becomes very humorous, and sometimes it’s serious, but either way, it’s a fun way to have meaningful conversation. (If you’re organized enough, you could keep a list from year to year, and store it with your fall decor.)
So between now and next Thursday, be like a good “Thanksgiving Boy Scout”, and BE PREPARED.
Happy Thanksgiving!
