Thanksgiving this year takes place on Thursday November 28th. Hear what teachers around Lively Middle School do for Thanksgiving traditions and even get some favorite recipes!
What are your favorite Thanksgiving Traditions?
“Our family tradition is to gather together and watch football before and after we eat, and then get seconds and thirds while we watch the Cowboys!” said Principal Melissa Rodriguez.
“The day after Thanksgiving, my family makes a huge pot of turkey soup! My brother and I will put ghost peppers into ours (the 3rd spiciest pepper in the world),” said 6th grade English Teacher Gregory Van Genderen.
“My dad organizes a 5k in our neighborhood and we all get to to walk it with him.” said 8th grade Science Teacher Mallory Warrix.
“My family and I always make turkey and stuffing to honor our grandfather, who passed away in 2015, because it was his very favorite meal of the year. When we sit down to dinner, we all share fond memories of him and what he brought to our family. It’s always so fun to hear the stories and laugh while remembering how funny he was!” said ESL Teacher Sheri Guess.
“Having home made stuffing, rum cake and monkey bread,” said SPED Inclusion Teacher Elizabeth Spivey.
“We make ornaments after our thanksgiving meal and exchange with others in the family to add to their tree,” said 6th grade Math Teacher LaTash King.
“My favorite memories from Thanksgiving are centered around being in the kitchen with my mom and sisters. I always love Thanksgiving because Creamed Turkey is my absolute favorite meal and we always make it after Thanksgiving. It’s perfect for the leftover turkey. If I ever get the chance to have a say in what my last meal would be, this would be it. I only get it a few times a year around the holidays but I absolutely love it. I also love the Sour Cream Apple Pie which we usually make every year,” said Journalism teacher Jennette Everett.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes?
Mrs. King’s Famous Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients for the crust:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening, chilled
1/3 cup ice water
Ingredients for the filling:
3 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (Louisiana yams), scrubbed
8 tablespoons butter, melted (1 stick)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Directions:
1. Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough. Roll out the dough into a 12- to 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the excess dough to make a 1/2-inch overhang around the edge of the pan. Fold the dough over so the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute the edge of the dough. Pierce the bottom of the dough about a dozen times with a fork. Freeze the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the inside of the piecrust with aluminum foil. Fill the foil with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake until the exposed dough looks set and is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Lift up and remove the foil with the weights. Continue baking the piecrust until it looks dry on the bottom, about 10 minutes more. (If the piecrust puffs, pierce the crust with a fork.) Transfer to a wire cake rack.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Pierce each sweet potato a few times with the tines of a fork. Place them, in a spoke pattern, on the turntable of a microwave oven. Cook on high (100%), turning the sweet potatoes over after 4 minutes, until they are tender, 8 to 10 minutes total. Let cool for a few minutes.
5. If necessary, return the oven temperature to 375°F. Using a kitchen towel to protect your hands, split each sweet potato and use a spoon to scrape the flesh into a medium bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes—you should have about 2 cups. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat in the melted butter. Add the sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and beat on low speed just until the sugar is dissolved. Spread the filling evenly in the pie shell. Place the pie on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking until the filling is set and doesn’t jiggle when the pie is gently shaken, about 30 minutes more. Transfer the pie to the wire rack and let cool completely. (The pie can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)
7. Whip the cream: Freeze a medium bowl until it is chilled, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. Whip with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream forms soft peaks. (The cream can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. If it separates, whisk until thickened.)
8. Slice the pie and top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream.
Ms. Everett’s Creamed Turkey
**The below recipe serves 4 people. Cut recipe in 1/2 for only 2 people. Although I will tell you, you will want leftovers, so feel free to make more than you need!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of flour
4 cups of evaporated milk
2 chopped turkey breasts (leftover bits of turkey from a big Thanksgiving Turkey works great!)
2 packages of Pepperidge Farm Pastry SHELLS (1 person usually eats 2 shells — 3 if you are really hungry)
Salt and Pepper (as desired) – I don’t use but others do.
Directions:
You’ll start by preheating the oven and putting the pastry shells in the pre-heated oven (they take about 20-25 mins to cook). Follow Directions on Package. Oven MUST be pre-heated.
You’ll be making a basic white cream sauce while the pastry shells cook. If you start at the same time, then the sauce should be ready when the pastries are done.
- Melt 1/2 cup of butter in a pot.
- Slowly stir in 1/2 cup of flour mixing it with the flour so it doesn’t burn. You’ll end up with a paste in your pan.
- VERY SLOWLY stir in Evaporated Milk (4 cups). You’ll want to do this very slowly — so that it evenly mixes — otherwise you’ll have clumps. Maybe 1/4 cup at a time.
- Simmer over a medium heat. STIRRING CONSTANTLY. You don’t want it to burn – so you must stir.
- It will gradually thicken. Once the sauce has thickened, you’ll add the chopped turkey.
- Continue to stir for about 5 more minutes to heat the turkey all the way through.
- Serve sauce over pastry shells. Garnish as necessary.
Ms. Everett’s Sour Cream Apple Pie
1 pie makes about 6-8 slices depending on how you cut the pie. You’ll want big slices!
Ingredients:
1 pie shell (unbaked)
1 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons of flour
1 egg
3-4 cups of green apples (6-8 green apples depending on the size)
For the topping, you’ll also need:
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of flour
1/3 cup of butter (cold)
Directions:
You’ll start by Pre-heating oven to 400°.
- Peel, core and cut up apples into thin slices. You will want enough apples to pile high in the pie pan as they will cook down.
- In a small bowl, Beat together the sour cream, sugar, vanilla, flour, salt & egg until smooth. Then stir in apples until they are coated in mixture.
- Pour into unbaked pie shell. Be sure to protect the edges of the pie shell with aluminum foil to keep them from burning.
- Bake 25 mins in the 400° pre-heated oven.
- While the pie is in the oven, make the topping. Blend the brown sugar, flour and butter into a crumble with a dough blender. I usually make extra topping with about 1.5 ingredients as everyone loves the brown sugar topping.
- After 25 minutes in oven, remove from oven and sprinkle with the topping. Remove aluminum foil from the edges and bake for 20 minutes longer.
- Enjoy! If you want a real treat, eat a slice while it’s still warm with vanilla ice cream!!!
Must store the pie in the refrigerator and it will be good for several days, but it likely won’t last that long!
Paw Paw’s Cornbread Dressing – Ms. Guess
Bake two pans of cornbread and one pan of biscuits. It is best to bake the cornbread and biscuits about two days ahead of time and cut the cornbread into pieces and put the cornbread and biscuits in a large bowl covered with a dishtowel and let them dry out.
When you are ready to make the dressing, crumble the cornbread and biscuits in a large pan. Add 4 eggs, chopped onion (1 or 2), salt and pepper to taste. Save enough of your turkey broth to make giblet gravy and use the rest of the broth for the liquid in the dressing. Make dressing pretty soupy. If you don’t have enough broth, you can use water. Bake covered in 350 degree oven until set (approximately 1 hour). Uncover and brown top.
Jimmy Dean’s Sage Sausage Stuffing
“Jimmy Dean’s Sage Sausage Stuffing is my favorite,” said AVID Teacher Yasemin Florey.
You can find the recipe here: https://www.jimmydean.com/recipes/dinner/sage-sausage-stuffing/
