Holiday Meals

[norealityhere]

When I was in Florida last year, my uncle took us to the Publix.
Wow! They had a great selection of prepared dishes and the prices were terrific.
We couldn't get a whole turkey dinner to feed that many in a price that good, anywhere where I live. I'm so jealous!

[Dragonlady]

Speaking of prepared Thanksgiving dishes, I just got the latest Trader Joe's flyer and they have several sides that look really good. I may just suggest that for our downsized dinner this year. The maple roasted sweet potatoes sound especially good. So does the Brussels sprouts au gratin. I'm all for anything that saves some time!

Try TJ's Cranberry Orange relish. It's wonderful and a tradition at our house.

[Critical]

Try TJ's Cranberry Orange relish. It's wonderful and a tradition at our house.

The cranberries is the one thing that is definitely always homemade in our family. My cousin makes cranberry chutney every year and it's to die for.

Since turkeys are so cheap right now, I'm thinking about buying one and just doing my own little turkey dinner a little while after Thanksgiving, just so I can have leftovers! I'll pick some of TJ's relish if I do that

[coltnlasma]

Since turkeys are so cheap right now, I'm thinking about buying one and just doing my own little turkey dinner a little while after Thanksgiving, just so I can have leftovers!

I'm glad you said this.
We're spending Thanksgiving with hubby's side of the family this year; this is silly, but I'll secretly miss having foods cooked the way I "grew up with".
Doing a little turkey dinner sometime later at home sounds just right (leftovers are a bonus). I could eat dressing year-round anyway.

[Gutmutter]

Can you do turkey in a crockpot? I don't have the big pan I used to cook a turkey in. What about in a big soup kettle, but in the oven?

[Columbia, MD]

Gut -- don't know anything about crockpots, and I wonder about the soup kettle, especially if it has non-metal handles.

You can get a disposable turkey pan in the supermarket (bonus: you don't have to clean it when you're done; they come in all different sizes).

Hope this helps.

[AJane]

Can you do turkey in a crockpot?

My MIL has done it. She has an enormous crockpot! I don't know what settings she used, but I'm assuming 8-12 hours on low would do the trick, with some water or chicken broth in the pot.

[norealityhere]

But how would you get the turkey to crisp up if it's in the crockpot?

[Critical]

But how would you get the turkey to crisp up if it's in the crockpot?

I wouldn't. It would be more like a stewed turkey. It would probably be really tender, but if you like the crispy skin, probably not the way to go.

coltnlasma - we always do a traditional turkey dinner at Christmas because the one we have at Thanksgiving is usually a bit un-traditional. I love it, but I also love the way my mom does a turkey dinner.

Since my folks aren't going to be in the country this year and several other family members aren't coming back from vacation until the day before, we're doing a very different dinner this year. I think I may even suggest getting a turkey breast from Trader Joe's with the stuffing already made. We have a stuffing snob in my family, so we'll see how that goes over!

I normally get most of the TG turkey to take home and I actually think I'd miss all the leftovers! I really had some great turkey soup last year with all the stock I made. Our grocery stores have turkeys for under $7 right now. I can never spend enough to get a free turkey fro the grocery store, but $7 is pretty cheap.

[veejer]

I normally get most of the TG turkey to take home and I actually think I'd miss all the leftovers! I really had some great turkey soup last year with all the stock I made. Our grocery stores have turkeys for under $7 right now. I can never spend enough to get a free turkey fro the grocery store, but $7 is pretty cheap.

Critical, could you please post in the Just Recipes thread how you make stock and then soup. I haven't had very good success. Every time that I've tried, I must simmer off too much liquid or something and end up with very little.