Holiday Questions and Answers

[femmecreole]

Originally Posted by Schmoodle

Okay, I will be needing these recipes:
Mushroom and wild rice stuffing
Eggplant and shrimp casserole

pretty please

Actually looking at the recipe, except for the bread crumbs, it's pretty SB compliant:



6 medium eggplants
1 pound small shrimp
1 pound white lump crab meat
4 bell peppers
4 medium onions
1/2 cup parsley
3 pods garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup celery
Bread crumbs

Boil eggplants until soft; then dig out meat. Save eggplant shells. While you are doing this, fry bell peppers, onion, celery, and garlic together until limp, then add eggplant meat. Let smother on medium fire till most water is cooked out, then add shrimp. Cook for another 20 minutes, then put all of this in another bowl and fold in crab meat and parsley. Let cool a little, then add enough bread crumbs to be firm enough to stuff shells. Sprinkle a little bread crumbs on top and paprika. Then sprinkle a little oil or oleo on top. Bake till done or brown in 350°F oven. Serves 12.

[dixied]

Originally Posted by Barb0522

The recipe section has several threads for Holiday recipes that we started a few years ago. I make up a big batch of cranberry sauce with Splenda and freeze that and eat it during the year occasionally. It is really good. For Thanksgiving I serve that as well as regular cranberry sauce.

I serve turkey with stuffing made from whole wheat bread, Smart Balance, onions, celery etc. I've made if for years and everyone loves it. By the way, I serve my meal on Friday and have a bunch of people over.

I make my sweet potatoes in the crockpot with Brown Sugar Splenda and then have an assortment of other holiday foods. I still need to plan for this year.

I've already had lunch, but now I'd just about kill for some sweet potatoes. I may stop at the store on the way home.

[Schmoodle]

Actually looking at the recipe, except for the bread crumbs, it's pretty SB compliant:

Thanks Cat. It looks fine for SB to me if you use WW bread crumbs. Looks fantastic actually, and combines 3 of my favorite foods! Definitely trying this!

[cottagebythesea]

Originally Posted by tomandkara

This sounds like a naughty idea. I could eat an entire jar of natural peanut butter in a sitting if I let myself... What are your measurements on this delicacy???

Kara

As much as you want. Seriously, though, I add about 1/3 cup.

[1oftheLuvs]

Kara, Our traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas meals look exactly like yours... (and I'm originally from the Chicago area)

Our families live quite far away, so I think DH and I will just enjoy the holiday together and make the foods as beachy as possible.

Off to look at the Phase 3 holiday recipes.

[tomandkara]

Originally Posted by favepairobluejeans

when I was a kid, my mom didn't like bread stuffing, so we always had a mushroom and wild-rice stuffing that I would think would be Ph3 friendly. It is absolutely delicious. The original recipe called for 100% wild rice, but mom always mixed it up with regular brown rice and only a portion of wild rice since that can be so chewy and somewhat of an acquired taste.

I can get the recipe and post it if anybody wants it.

YES, PLEASE!

Kara

And thanks, everyone, for posting! I love reading what the different menus are!

[phxsunflower]

I loved this post! We will be heading over to the parents house for Turkey day. Big deal this year because 4 of my aunts will be here!! Everyone has great ideas for the special dinner and all but I need like cookie recipes or treat bars. My brothers are already requesting me to bake and I really don't want to unless I can nibble as I go. Is there any special ones that are SB friendly and not outragously expensive to make?

[beachgal]

Darn...I typed up a huge response and then lost my connection as I was posting.

Great thread topic, Kara!

Here's what I do at Thanksgiving. We usually go to my in-laws' in Wisconsin (where they eat the same menu at Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, Kara! ). Since Grandma passed away, it's turned into more of a potluck dinner with more unique contributions (DH's uncle married a Thai girl from the Phillipines and last year she brought wonderful Asian food!).

• DH volunteers to bring the cranberry sauce. He makes it from scratch with fresh berries, orange zest, spices, walnuts or almonds, and Splenda (Kara, I don't think Equal would work if you heat your sauce--but you might try agave nectar or stevia?)
• I eat the turkey as is--white meat without skin--usually it's made in a pretty healthy way.
• I offer to make stuffing and dessert.
• For stuffing, I've made the same recipe for the last two years; it's from Cooking Light and made with sourdough and pear and sausage and everyone loves it!
• For dessert, I make a Ginger-Hazelnut Pumpkin tart. It's really good--I serve it with SF cool whip.
• My in-laws make the traditional green bean casserole; I usually just buy a bag of frozen green beans with almonds and add some Smart Balance. Funny thing is that mine is often gone long before the casserole!
• My SIL makes really awesome winter squash by baking it in a water bath, scraping it out and combining it with butter, salt, and pepper.
• I usually get some whole wheat rolls for myself.

My family lives too far away to get to for Thanksgiving, so I haven't had dinner with them for years. However, a Jell-o mold is a constant in our menu, so if I made dinner at home, I'd figure out how to do the family recipe without sugar and fruit juice. Now that we do a potluck style at my in-laws, everyone fills their plates at the buffet and then sits in another room. This really helps me out--at my parents' we pass the dishes and then they sit on the table, staring at us (and inviting us to "just have a little more..." ). With temptation in the other room, I'm able to focus more on the real point of the holiday--being grateful for our family and friends and spending time with them. (I know, so schmaltzy, but so true...once I looked up from the food, I realized there was a lot I had been missing! )

I find it hard to skip the potatoes, which are my favorite, but as long as I have stuffing, I can cope.

Here's the general menu at my in-laws':

cheese platter
veggie platter
Turkey
stuffing
gravy
real mashed potatoes
green bean casserole
winter squash
7-layer salad (very odd thing but yummy!)
rolls
pumpkin pie made from homegrown squash

Here's the menu for my parents':

Turkey
stuffing (made with fresh white bread...the only time each year we ate it!)
instant mashed potatoes (I *love* these...I grew up on them...my mom made them with sour cream and butter...oh my!)
Cranberry Jell-o Mold
German Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage (this is also served at Christmas, but it's the only thing we repeat)
rollsPumpkin Chiffon Pie (the recipe is from the actress who played the mom on the Brady Bunch and involves melting marshmellows in butter, adding pumpkin and sugar, and folding in meringue. It's very light, like a mousse. My mom didn't like traditional pumpkin pie, so this is what we had! )


Hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving! It's so much fun to read all your menus!

[jenne1017]

I will still be on Phase 1 Way to plan Jenn huh? That's ok, I can do it!

Anyway, it's just DW and I. My sister, brother and nephew are coming the following day down from NY and will be turkey'd out so I won't have to cook again!

So here is what I am planning:

Turkey Breast (only) on a bed of onion, celery and carrots for aroma and flavor.
Mashed Potatoes for DW (I am only cooking 6 taters, to give her some leftovers)
Mashed turnips
Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"
Stove Top Stuffing (which is what DW likes, and what only she will eat that day)
Green Beans
Corn for DW

So I've got turkey, green beans, turnip -- what can I sub for stuffing on Ph1? I don't really care for the stuff and only eat it/prepare it on turkey day. Being that I can't have it, I want it more! But I don't want to cheat at ALL.

Thoughts?

[KO]

Maybe you can saute all the stuffing veggies & assorted meat with some poultry seasoning? to give the flavor without the bread

[KO]

If I use evaporated skim milk in place of heavy cream are the measurements the same?

[Schmoodle]

I'm not sure what you can substitute for stuffing - except maybe a wild rice thing, but not on Ph1.
I've received my assignments. I'll be making:
An appetizer (shrimp maybe?)
Sweet Potatoes (with SB, agave nectar and pecans)
Apple pie/crisp, and a pumpkin custard, both will be SB legal. Others will bring the naughty desserts.
My brother is smoking a turkey, so I may make a second turkey, since we don't all love the smoked so much. More leftovers for everyone!

[Schmoodle]

Kier, I think it depends on what you're using it in, but for most things, yes, I think the amounts would be the same. I use it a lot in cream soups and sauces.

[weezle]

Well, I'm ending up cooking for Thanksgiving this year. My first one. Everyone else has to work. I've never cooked a turkey in my LIFE and I'm a veg-head, so like I have a CLUE. Sorry for the food porn, but it's once a year, and here's what I'm going to be making:

-Turkey (white meat only)
-Mashed Potatoes (FF/LS veggie broth, butter spray)
-Stuffing (FF/LS broth, celery, onion... may see if I can find WW)
-Green Bean Casserole (only half the onion thingies, FF/LS cream of mushroom soup)
-WW rolls with butter spray or Smart Balance (Dad and I call Smart Bal "Crayon.")
-Some sort of cranberry for Mom
-For dessert: Pecan Pie Tarts (at least it's a healthy recipe....)

Oy. I figure if I just have a little of everything I should be ok. I'll definitely be in a carbocoma afterwards because I'm not used to all that, but I tried my best to lower the saturated fat/calorie content of everything we're going to be consuming and lighten it up some instead of having the "regular" version of it all.

Again, it's one day. I'll take the leftovers to my kids who are working that night at the store. What a good boss I am.

[jenne1017]

Oh forgot about dessert! PB Cup it is for me. Maybe I will get a single apple pie for DW (though she only likes the filling)...

I guess there is no subbing for stuffing, lol! 3 veggies and the meat will be good enough, It has to be!