How does it work?
Families host or co-host a lite Thanksgiving dinner at home on Saturday, Nov. 4 and then bring their students to Grace at 7pm for dessert and a message from God's Word.
What do I do?
You can host student(s) for a Thanksgiving meal at your home. Then go with your guests to Grace Community Church for dessert and a message from God's Word. The Grace program starts at 7PM on Saturday, November 4.
You're also invited to drop off a dessert at Grace North Liberty on Wednesday or Thursday between 1-4:30pm, or on Saturday before 6:45pm. Even if you cannot participate in the Thanksgiving dinner or programming on November 4, you can still bring a dessert.
Can Do Attitude Plan
If you follow this one straight up it may acutally take more time to shop for it than cook it.
It looks like this. It's at a grocery store near you.
Apparently, these are America's favorite, so best to go with those. 😉
Five minutes, you have that kinda time.
Slice and serve. Wanna get real fancy? Dice up an apple and pecans and mix it up, looks like you really did something special.
Ah home style. Just like mom used to make.
MicroMan Plan
Ya know how it always seems like you need two ovens on Thanksgiving to make it all work out? Not anymore.
Serves 4 | Prep Time
Ingredients:
Stuffing:
- 1/2 lb bread cubes, about 6.5 cups
- 1 small carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced sage
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
Turkey:
- 1 kg turkey skin on boneless turkey breast
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced rosemary
- 1 teaspoon minced sage
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Potatoes:
- 4 russet potatoes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- kosher salt
Beans:
- 12 ounces green beans, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the butter, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Place the turkey in the middle of a foil-lined baking sheet and brush generously with the herb garlic butter. In a large bowl, toss together the stuffing ingredients then place around the turkey breast. Peel the potatoes and thinly slice (or use a mandoline). Loosely arrange in the pan, dot with butter and season with salt.
Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the beans with the butter, garlic, and salt and pepper. Add the beans to the pan and bake for another 30 minutes. Check the internal temperature of the turkey with a thermometer (it should reach 155°F, resting it outside of the oven will bring it up to 165°F.) Remove from the oven, rest and tent for 15 minutes. Slice the turkey breast and enjoy!
Thank you to "I am a food blog" for this brilliant recipe.
Serves 4 | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- 8 large carrots
- 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Peel carrots and cut into long thin strips. Set aside. Combine brown sugar, butter, water, salt and cinnamon in a large casserole dish.
Microwave on high until butter is melted (about one minute). Stir to blend. Add carrots and stir until coated.
Cover and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Stir again to blend. Microwave another 4-8 minutes (depending on the thickness of carrot pieces); check tenderness; add additional cooking time until desired tenderness. Then serve!
Thank you to "Your Party Tuned Up" for this recipe.
Makes 3 cups | Prep Time
Ingredients: 
- 4 cups (or 1 12 oz. bag) cranberries
- 1/2 cup water or orange juice
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 tsp grated orange rind
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients in a 3-qt microwave-safe bowl; mix well.
- Cover with wax paper.
- Microwave on high for 5 minutes.
- Stir well; recover with wax paper.
- Microwave another 5-7 mins longer until cranberries pop, the and sauce has thickened.
- Let stand, covered until cool.
- Transfer to serving bowl and chill for 3-4 hours.
Thank you to "Genius Kitchen" for this brilliant recipe.
Low and Slow Show Plan
Sometimes I cook better when I am very far from the kitchen.
Serves 4-6 | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- 1 (5-6 pounds) bone-in turkey breast completely thawed
- 5 stalks celery
- 2 yellow onions
- ~12-15 baby carrots
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 tablespoons butter separated
- 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions:
-
Make sure the turkey breast is completely thawed -- this can take 1-2 days in the fridge so be prepared. It isn't food safe to thaw a turkey in the crockpot. See notes in the post for more details about thawing your turkey breast. Pat the turkey down with paper towels.
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Spray a large crockpot (I use a 6 quart crockpot) with nonstick spray.
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Place the celery at the bottom. Cut one yellow onion into large chunks and add it to the bottom. Add the baby carrots. Pour the chicken broth on top.
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Cut off the skin of the turkey breast (OR leave it on, whatever you prefer -- see last paragraph of blog post for more notes on this)
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Place the turkey breast, breast down on top of the vegetables. Make sure the turkey is elevated on top of the onion/vegetables.
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Cut the other onion in half and place inside the turkey with 4 tablespoons butter.
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Stir together all of the seasonings and rub all over the turkey. If leaving the skin on, make sure to rub the seasonings under the skin.
-
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and, using a pastry brush, brush it all over the turkey.
-
Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 1 hour and then low for 5-7 hours or until the turkey's internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
-
Remove the turkey from the crockpot and turn so it is breast up.
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Start by removing the wishbone and then remove all the other bones. Take the large pieces of meat and slice them.
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To make gravy: Strain everything from the crockpot out into a large bowl (press down the veggies to extract all the flavor/liquid). Measure that liquid (you should have right around 2 cups) and then set aside. In a large saucepan, add 4 tablespoons butter and melt. Whisking constantly, add in 4 tablespoons white flour. Gradually add in the strained liquid from the crockpot, whisking constantly. Add salt, pepper, and any other seasonings needed. Serve warm with the turkey.
Thanks to "Chelsea's Messy Apron" for this perfect recipe!
For a whole slow cooker, turkey check out this recipe from "Practical Stewardship."
Serves 20 as a side dish | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- (3) 10¾ ounce cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
- ½ Cup Milk
- ⅛ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon Onion Powder
- (10) 14.5-ounce Cans Del Monte Cut Green Beans (drained)
- (2) 6-ounce canisters French's French Fried Onions (note- one is mixed in, one is the topping)
- Non-Stick Cooking Oil Spray
Instructions:
- In a very large bowl, add the cream of mushrooms soup, milk, black pepper, and onion powder, whisk until smooth.
- Add the drained green beans, and 1 of the canisters of french fried onions into the large bowl with the soup mixture you just made, and with a spatula, fold everything together, being careful not to break the green beans up.
- Spray the slow cooker with the non-stick cooking spray, and add the green bean mixture to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2.5 hours.
- After cooking time is done, add the other canister of french fried onions onto the green beans. Take the slow cooker insert out of the heating element, and put into the oven (without the lid on!). My oven was set at 350 degrees. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are browned.
- Set the insert back into the slow cooker heating element, replace the lid, and set the slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.
Thanks to "The Magical Slow Cooker" or this perfect recipe!
Serves 10 as a side dish | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- 2 (29 ounces each) canned sweet potatoes
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk I used whole
- 3/4 cup pecan chips
- 2/3 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/4 cup white flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions:
-
Either line your slow cooker with a disposable liner or spray generously with nonstick spray. I use a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe.
-
Drain the sweet potatoes. Add the sweet potatoes, butter, white sugar, a pinch of salt, brown sugar, and orange juice in the slow cooker.
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In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Pour in the lightly beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and milk into the slow cooker.
-
Beat until completely smooth. (Alternatively, you can beat all of these ingredients in a different bowl).
-
Smooth the mixture with a spatula.
-
In a small bowl, stir together all of the topping ingredients. Spread the topping mixture evenly on top of the sweet potatoes.
-
Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2 and 1/2 to 4 hours depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks.
Thanks to "Chelsea's Messy Apron" or this perfect recipe!
Serves 6 | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- 1 & 3/4ths pounds red potatoes
- 1 & 3/4ths pounds sweet potatoes
- Seasoned salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 tablespoons butter separated
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup whole milk half and half, or heavy cream
- heaping 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Optional: fresh parsley or chives Optional: pecans
Instructions:
- Peel the red potatoes (or leave the skin on if preferred, I peeled them) and sweet potatoes. Cut all of the potatoes into equal sized large chunks.
- Spray a large crockpot (I used a 6-quart crockpot) with non-stick spray or use a crockpot liner if desired.
- Place the red potato chunks on one side of the crockpot and the sweet potato chunks on the other side of the crockpot.
- Generously salt and pepper all of the potatoes. Pour the water over the potatoes and shake the crockpot to get the water evenly distributed throughout.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until both the sweet potatoes and the red potatoes are very tender. My crockpot had both tenderized in about 3 and 1/2 hours.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the sweet potatoes into a separate bowl.
- Leave the red potatoes in the crockpot and drain out any liquid (or remove the red potatoes to another bowl, but I like to save a bowl from getting dirty and prepare them in the crockpot!)
- Place three tablespoons butter and the brown sugar into the bowl with the sweet potatoes.
- Using hand mixers, beat until completely smooth. Season additionally with salt and pepper to taste.
- In the bowl with the red potatoes, place the remaining three tablespoons of butter, the sour cream, and the milk or heavy cream (I use heavy cream), and the garlic powder.
- Using hand mixers, beat until completely smooth.
- IF serving the potatoes separately add whatever toppings you enjoy (sweet potatoes: pecans, extra spices, sea salt, etc.) (red potatoes: chives, parsley, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, etc.)
- Otherwise, swirl the two different potatoes together in one large dish and enjoy.
Thanks to "Chelsea's Messy Apron" or this perfect recipe!
Makes about 3 cups | Prep Time
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar (use your desired kind of sugar or sweetener, and add more/less to taste)
- optional add-ins: a splash or bourbon or red wine, orange zest, a pinch of ground ginger, a pinch of cinnamon and cloves, some chopped walnuts, or a splash of vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
Instructions:
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours, or until the cranberries have popped open and the sauce is bubbly.
- Taste and stir in any extra sweetener or add-ins if desired. Serve warm. (Heads up that the sauce will thicken considerably as it cools.)
Thanks to "Give Me Some Oven" or this slick recipe!