Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s the time of year when we get together with our families and friends and show our love with food! Make sure that this Thanksgiving you are showing how much you truly care by making some mouth-watering, amazing dishes.
I have rounded up some of my favorite Turkey Day recipes so you can spoil those you love.
Heritage Turkey
Ingredients: (based on a 12 pound turkey)
- Turkey. For a Heritage turkey, allow 2 pounds of uncooked turkey for every person. This will yield enough cooked meat for Thanksgiving dinner and leftovers the next day.
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed with a knife until powdery
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, plus extra sprigs to stuff in turkey cavity
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
Directions:
Remove turkey from refrigeration 1/2 hour before cooking. Preheat oven to 350 and set the oven rack in a low position. Remove the innards (neck and giblets) from the cavity of the turkey and set aside.
The neck can be roasted next to the turkey or simmered in soup. The giblets (heart, liver, gizzard) can be sautéed in a little butter or oil and eaten as a separate meal or snack. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cool water and pat dry. Combine melted butter with fennel seeds, parsley, salt and pepper. You can also add minced garlic if you like. Drizzle the melted butter over the entire turkey. You can also loosen the skin, pull it up and rub some of the butter directly onto the meat.
Add broth to roasting pan and set bird in the pan, preferably elevated on a rack, breast side up. Insert a meat thermometer straight down through the thickest part of the breast – if you have an instant read thermometer, do not leave it in the bird; insert it later to check the temperature. After an hour, check the bird.
If the skin is getting too dark on top you can cover it with aluminum foil for the remainder of the cooking time. Roast until the meat registers at 160 –165 degrees, basting occasionally with pan drippings.
As a general rule of thumb, a 12 pound turkey typically takes around 2 1/2 hours to cook. A 15-25 pound bird can take 2-3 hours and a 25-30 pound bird can take 3 – 3 1/2 hours.
Once the thermometer hits 160, remove the bird from the oven and let rest with a loose covering of foil for 20-30 minutes before carving.
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/heritage-turkey-and-mashed-parsnips/#ixzz3K1XlnTkb
Best Ever Paleo Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
21 Nov 2014 by SimoneMiller in Recipes
Can’t you almost smell it? Everyone’s got that one Thanksgiving dish, right? The one that has to be on the table. If missing, you get all pouty and you might even sulk, because whoever spent the past four days cooking neglected to take the time to make the dish that you look forward to all year.
The nerve.
For me, it’s stuffing. I don’t even really care what animal is at the center of the table. I’ve never gotten all that excited about squash or sweet potatoes. Mashed potatoes (or mashed cauliflower for you low-carbers) are always delicious, but it would be a gross exaggeration to say that I get excited about them… But stuffing, Paleo Thanksgiving Stuffing, now that I get excited about and that’s no exaggeration. Some things are worth a bit of prep. This stuffing is definitely on that list. This is the Perfect Paleo Thanksgiving Stuffing: Sweet, Savory, and Meaty.
Best Ever Paleo Thanksgiving Stuffing
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 cups diced bell peppers
• 4 cups (about 1 pound) diced mushrooms
• 2 cups diced apples
• 8 oz fresh cranberries
• 1 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)
• ~ 2 T duck fat, bacon fat, butter, or coconut oil. (I used duck fat)
• 1 T fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 T fresh thyme, minced
• 2-3 leaves fresh sage (or 1/2 t dried)
• sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup chicken or turkey stock
• 2 T coconut flour
Prepare all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350°.
1. Melt about 2 teaspoons of your fat of choice in a large cast iron or stainless skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the pork and cook until it just browns, 3-4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Pour off excess liquid from your skillet and add another teaspoon of fat.
3. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions. Saute until golden brown and soft, 6-8 minutes. Add to the bowl with the pork.
4. Add another teaspoon of fat, and saute bell peppers for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
5. Throw in yet another teaspoon of fat, turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the mushrooms. Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
6. To the large bowl, add the apples, pecans, cranberries, herbs, and a good pinch of salt.
7. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, chicken or turkey stock, and coconut flour. Add a pinch of salt if you’re stock isn’t salted.
8. Pour the liquid into the large bowl and mix.
9. Pour the whole thing into an oven safe casserole and bake for one hour.
10. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating. It will firm up a bit.
Why on earth am I making you sauté all of the vegetables separately?
For two reasons:
It’s a lot of stuff, you probably don’t have a pan that fits it all.
If you cook it all at the same time, you’ll wind up steaming, not sautéing.
Plus, it’s more satisfying once you get to mix them all up in a big bowl.
Holiday Brussels Sprouts and Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes
November 20, 2011 by Sarah 40 Comments
I have several holiday recipes on the blog that you can find here, here, and here; but what’s wrong with a couple more! My family and I will be traveling to visit my wonderful in-laws for Thanksgiving, so I thought I would come up with two fun side dishes that I can make and share while we are there. Both are scrumptious and I’m looking forward to making both again in just a few days!
Holiday Brussels Sprouts
3 tablespoons grass fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved and then cut into strips
½ cup walnuts, chopped
½ cup dried unsweetened cherries, chopped
2 teaspoons raw organic honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet saute the onions in the the butter, ghee or coconut oil until they start to brown and carmelize. Add the sliced Brussels sprouts and cook until the just become tender. Add the diced walnuts and cherries and cook for another minute or two and remove from heat. In a small saucepan melt the honey, add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and whisk together. Pour the dressing over the Brussels Sprouts and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 5-6.
Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes
5 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
12 -15 whole cloves of garlic, peeled (cut the bigger ones in half lengthwise)
3 tablespoons coconut oil or bacon grease
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400. In a large mixing bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and garlic with the oil, cinnamon, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes evenly in a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time. Serves 5-6.
Whole9 Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce
Serves 8-10. While we normally don’t recommend using fruit juice or dried fruit as a substitute for sugar, some added sweetness was necessary to offset the serious tartness of the fresh cranberries. We’re okay with figs and apple juice as a sub for sugar in a special occasion dish like this. However, make sure your guests know that our more traditional sauce is still pretty tart in flavor! The flavors do meld with time, and this sauce tastes even better the second day – which means you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge. This was so amazingly good, we put it on everything this week – eggs, baked Alaskan cod, even our burgers.
Delicious and pretty on your plate, our cranberry sauce is sure to be a hit!
Ingredients:
- 2 – 12 oz bags of fresh (not frozen) cranberries
- 1 cup of 100% pure apple juice (no added sugars)
- 1 large navel orange, washed
- 10 dried black mission figs, very finely chopped (make sure you cut the stems off)
- A dash or two of each: nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves
Directions:
- Place the cranberries, apple juice, figs, spices, and ½ cup of water into a covered saucepan on medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a low boil for 10 minutes (until the cranberries “pop”), and turn down to low heat. Simmer (still covered) for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Squeeze the juice from the orange into the sauce, and finely grate the orange zest (use the whole orange peel!) into the saucepan.
- Keep on low heat (simmer) for another 15 minutes. Store in airtight container in fridge until ready to use. Serve cold for the best flavor.
spiced and spiked slow-cooker apple cider
This is the perfect holiday treat to enjoy on a rainy eve, while you are all bundled up indoors!
Ingredients
2 quarts organic apple cider or organic unfiltered apple juice
1 orange, thinly sliced
4 cinnamon sticks
6 allspice berries
10 whole cloves
3 star-anise
2 inch pieces of ginger, cut into slices
1 cup dark rum (optional)
- Place all ingredients in a slow-cooker and cook on high for 2 hours.
- Strain mixture, add rum (if using).
- Garnish with orange slice and star anise. And Serve!
– See more at: http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/2012/12/17/spiked-and-spiced-slow-cooker-apple-cider/#sthash.t4DXH9qx.dpuf
