Dear Readers,

Today our family celebrated Jim’s birthday, and it was grand! Family came home and all of our sixteen children were here except for Janelle and her husband, Paul, who had traveled to Portland, Oregon, to be fair and spend time with Paul’s family for Thanksgiving. They alternate every other year, so we look forward to next year and having them here.

Brianne and her husband took Jim and me out for Jim’s birthday breakfast at the Max, where we talked for four hours! Meanwhile, back at the house, Kyler and Kelsey cooked homemade turkey pot pie from the Thanksgiving leftovers. It turned out great. And of course, Jim also chose to have his favorite dessert—German Chocolate Cake and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

Check out the pot pie recipe below for a tasty way to use up your leftovers.

Take care!

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1½ c. frozen peas and carrots, thawed under cold water

5    Tbs. butter

5    Tbs. all-purpose flour

¼   c. chopped onion

½   tsp. salt

¼   tsp. pepper

1¾ c. turkey or chicken broth

⅔   c. milk

3    c. diced cooked turkey

pastry for 9-inch two-crust pie

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Drain peas and carrots; set aside.
3. Heat butter in 2-quart saucepan over low heat until melted.
4. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper.
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat then stir in broth and milk. Place back on heat; heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
6. Boil and stir 1 minute.
7. Stir in turkey and vegetables.
8. Prepare pastry.
9. Roll ⅔ of the pastry into 13-inch square; ease into ungreased 9-inch square pan.
10. Pour turkey mixture into pastry-lined pan.
11. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square; cut out designs with small cookie cutter.
12. Place square over filling; turn edges under and crimp.
13. Bake until golden brown, about 35 min.

Yields: 6 servings.

Thanksgiving is wonderful day to pause and reflect on the many blessings that we have and realize we have.  It is also a day to reflect and give thanks on the many blessings that we take for granted, which include the many freedoms we take for granted each day, and the many gifts we have that come to us in a variety of packages.

The difficult challenge is to stretch our comfort zone to return our thanks and share our blessings with others in our all too busy lifestyle.  Thanksgiving is a great time to take time and analyze how we can spend time giving to others in our daily lives and to those in our local communities and global communities.

Keisha made a pecan pie for our Thanksgiving dinner, and it was great. Following are the recipes she used. This pie crust is now our favorite!

Best Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1  c. all-purpose flour

7  Tbs. cold salted butter

¼ c. ice water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift flour into mixing bowl.
3. Using large holes of a hand grater, grate butter into bowl with flour.
4. Lightly blend butter and flour with your fingertips until texture is like coarse cornmeal; be careful not to overwork dough.
5. Add ice water and blend until thoroughly incorporated.
6. For dough into ball, and place on floured surface; roll out dough to ⅛-inch thick, adding flour as necessary.
7. Place 8½-inch pie pan face down on dough, and cut dough to fit, leaving a border of about 1 inch.
8. Line pie pan with dough, trim edges, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Yields: One 8½-inch pastry shell.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

3    eggs

1    c. white sugar

1    c. dark corn syrup

2    Tbs. melted butter

1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

⅛   tsp. salt

½   c. darkly roasted pecans, ground

1    c. med. pecan pieces

¾   c. pecan halves

1    unbaked 8½-in. pie shell

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare pie shell; set aside.
3. In electric mixer, add eggs and beat on high speed until frothy, about 1 minute.
4. Add sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, salt, and ground roasted pecans; beat on medium speed until well blended.
5. Stir in pecan pieces; pour filling into prepared pie shell.
6. Spread pecan halves on top filling, and press lightly.
7. Bake for 40 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees F., and bake until filling is brown on top and crust is light golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Yields: One 8½-inch pie.

by Karen Jean Matsko Hood

Dear Readers,

Each year I plan to get ahead for Thanksgiving so that I can spend more relaxation time to actually be with my family instead of racing around like a chicken with its head cut off. Each year I do not quite reach my goal.

This Sunday we decided to plan recipes to make and pull out of the freezer on Thanksgiving. My mother always made homemade pie crust and squash pie for Thanksgiving. It is delicious and freezes well, so please be sure to check out the recipes below. I’m sure your family will love it, and it is also more colorful and festive than the traditional pumpkin pie. The pie crust recipe below is also excellent–extremely quick and easy, and it makes the most wonderful flaky crust.

Wishing you all the best in the upcoming holiday season,
Karen

Easy Flaky Pie Crust

• 1.5 cups plain flour, not self-rising.
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/6 cup cold vegetable shortening (1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 1/4 cup cold water

Mix together the flour, sugar and shortening. Don’t make it too smooth or uniform.

This delicious recipe comes from the Desserts section of the Huckleberry Delights cookbook. Huckleberry Delights is a unique cookbook full of recipes that you and your family will enjoy over and over again. Recipes have clear, simple directions and are accompanied by a collection of poems, folklore, and history that add to your enjoyment and knowledge. Huckleberry Delights comes in several formats, including a bilingual English-Spanish version, a Christian version with selected Bible verses, a large print edition, and a journal that can be used to record your own thoughts and recipes. To order this wonderful cookbook, click here.

Apple Huckleberry Crisp

Our family loves all kinds of crisps. This one is a terrific combination of apples and fresh huckleberries. It is a great dessert that is best served warm with ice cream.

Ingredients for filling:

1  tsp. canola oil
4  Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1  Tbs. lemon juice
1  tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ c. sugar
1  c. frozen huckleberries

Ingredients for topping:

1  c. rolled oats
⅓ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
4  tsp. canola oil
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1  tsp. orange juice

Directions for filling:

1. Lightly oil 11 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with canola oil.
2. Mix sliced apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar.
3. Press into baking dish and sprinkle frozen berries on top.

Directions for topping:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, and orange juice.
3. Sprinkle over top of apples and berries in dish.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until apples test done.
5. Remove from oven, and cool in pan on wire rack before cutting to serve.

Yields: 20 to 24 servings.

Take 4-6 stems of fresh lavender, or 2 four-inch pieces of fresh rosemary, and submerge in a one-pint jar of honey. Screw the cap on tight and put in a sunny window for two weeks. Every day or two, invert the jar several times. Taste after two weeks and see if the herbal flavor is strong enough for you. If not, repeat for one more week. You may remove the herbs before using the honey, or leave them in.