Asparagus...

1 lb. Fresh Asparagus (snap off the ends)

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Clove of Garlic (minced)

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1/4 C. Milk

1/4 C. Chicken Broth

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1 C. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 C. Crispy Fried Onions (French's)

Steam or boil the asparagus in lightly salted water until desired tenderness. (5 min.) In a saucepan combine soup, garlic, soy sauce, milk, broth and cheese. Heat through. Arrange hot asparagus on a serving dish. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle the fried onions.

(This was a variation of a Thanksgiving green bean casserole. James and I like asparagus and this was delicious.)

Fruit Salad...

2 Apples

1 Large, Ripe Pear (if you can find a good one)

2 Oranges

1 Large Pomegranate

1 Large Banana

1 1/2 C. Miniature Marshmallows

1/2 Pint Whipping Cream (sweetened & whipped)

Whip the cream, sweeten; add vanilla to taste. Set aside. Add to a large bowl apples and pear, cut chunky, oranges, (peeled and cut into bite size pieces.) pomegranate, (open and remove the individual seeds to equal approx. 1 C.) slice banana into bite size chunks. Mix well to get the "orange" juice spread over the apples and bananas. Fold in marshmallows and whipped cream.

(James and I both grew up with variations of this salad. Ours is a combination of what we both liked in our separate salads. We agree that nuts have no place in it. Although a sprinkling of freshly grated coconut occasionally graces the salad on my plate...)

Sweet Potatoes...

4 C. Sweet Potatoes (cut & cooked)
1/2 C. Apple Cider
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Butter
1 1/2 C. Miniature Marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350*. Place sweet potatoes in an 11x7 inch shallow baking dish and pour cider over. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt; mix together and cut in butter with a pastry blender. Spread evenly over sweet potatoes. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with marshmallows and broil until browned. (1-2 min.)

(Made for my first solo Thanksgiving dinner 11/27/08.  Revised for Thanksgiving 2009)

Stuffing...

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (pressed)
1 Large White Onion (diced)
2 C. Sliced Mushrooms (8 oz pkg.)
2 Stalks Celery (sliced)
4 C. Bread Cubes (I use an onion seasoned french bread)
1/2 C. Apple Cider
2 Eggs
1 14 oz. Can Chicken Broth
1 tsp. Rubbed Sage
1 tsp. Ground Thyme
4 C. Mrs. Cubbison's Herb Seasoned Cube Stuffing (10 oz. box)

(Several hours or the night before, cut french bread into small cubes and spread out on a cookie sheet to dry.)

In a large skillet heat oil and saute garlic, onion, mushrooms and celery until tender. In a large mixing bowl place dried bread cubes and pour apple cider over top. Mix well. In a small mixing bowl combine 2 eggs, chicken broth, sage and thyme. Whisk together until well blended. Add Mrs. Cubbison's stuffing to french bread cubes, mix. Pour wet mixture over the bread/stuffing and stir until evenly coated. Fold in vegetables. Lightly stuff turkey and roast. (Or place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350* for 40 minutes.)

(Stuffing for my first solo Thanksgiving 11/27/08. If it was just me eating this I would add chopped apples, pears, dried cranberries and more celery.)

Laura's Cheesy Scalloped Carrots

12 Medium Carrots
1 Onion (diced)
1 Clove of Garlic (pressed)
1/2 C. Butter
1/4 C Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Dry Mustard
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Celery Seed
2 C. Milk
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1/2 lb. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (about 2 C.)
3 C. Soft Bread Crumbs

Cut carrots into 1/2" pieces and boil in lightly salted water until tender. (About 5 min.) Saute onion and garlic in butter for 3 minutes. Add flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper, celery seed and milk. Cook until smooth. Remove from heat, fold in dijon mustard. In a 9x13 casserole dish; layer carrots and 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 of the white sauce. Repeat. Top with crumbs. Bake @ 350* for 30 minutes.

(Laura's carrots are a Thanksgiving tradition. Carrot lovers (me) and carrot haters (James) alike will be able to agree on this delicious side dish.)

Chicken and Dumplings...

1/2 C. Butter
1/2 C. Chopped Onion
1 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/4 tsp. Poultry Seasoning
1/4 tsp. Pepper
4 C. Chicken Broth (2 cans plus a little water)
3 C. Cubed Chicken
3 C. Veggies (crisp cooked fresh; or use frozen: carrots, peas, beans, corn etc...)

Combine for dumplings: (Or use a pkg of prepared refrigerated biscuits)
2 C. Bisquik
1 C. Milk

In ovenproof pot, melt butter; add onion and cook until tender. Stir in flour, salt, seasoning and pepper. Add broth, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken and veggies. Heat to bubbly, stirring constantly. Do not leave on heat or it will burn on the bottom and ruin the flavor. Remove from heat and add dumplings by large spoonfuls into HOT chicken mixture. (dumpling mixture should be wet.) Immediately place pot in 425* oven for 15-20 minutes or until dumplings are golden brown and cooked through.

(Oooohhh...Comfort food at it's best! Some people might call this CHICKEN POT PIE. Yumm...)

Crazy Macaroons...RAW

1 C. Walnuts

3/4 C. Dried Cranberries

1/4 C. Coconut Water

1/4 C. Finely Shredded Fresh Coconut

Prepare coconut. (Pour water from coconut into cup, Shred 1/4 C. from the meat of the coconut. Set aside.) Place walnuts and cranberries in a food processor; blend until chunky chopped. Add coconut water; process until desired consistency. Shape walnut/cran/coconut mixture into balls. Roll in shredded coconut and chill for 1 hour. Makes 8 cookies.

(Created 11/20/2008. I like them...)

Peach Ice Cream...RAW

1 C. Fresh Frozen Peaches
2 Tbsp. Unpasteurized, Live Culture Yogurt
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. Pure Maple Syrup

In a food processor, process until desired consistency.

(The total calorie count for a 1+ C. serving should be about 105 calories. These are pure and natural calories. No chemicals or sugar substitutions. Compare to the Lo-Cal ice creams you can buy and the 1/2 C. serving size they offer. For taste and nutrition, this wins hands down! You won't miss anything if your family is eating ice cream! In fact, your family will ask for this instead of ice cream. P.S. These peaches were off my tree...)

Zucchinetti Marinara...RAW

2 Roma Tomatoes
1/8 Green Pepper
1/8 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Onion (diced)
1/2 Small Carrot (chopped)
2 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme
2 Tbsp. Fresh Basil
2 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano
1 Clove of Garlic (pressed)
1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
1 Zucchini

Place all ingredients EXCEPT zucchini in a food processor and process until desired consistency. Shred the zucchini with a cheese grater onto a plate. Top with the processed sauce. Serves 1.

(If you're eating raw and your family is eating "spaghetti" you won't feel left out with this recipe. That is until they pass the french bread...)

Pumpkin Cake

2 C. Flour
2 C. Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/4 C Oil (replace with 3/4 C. Oil)
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon (replace w/ 2 t. Cinnamon +1 t. Nutmeg + 1 t. Ginger + 1/2 t. Ground Cloves)
1 1/2 C. Pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 60 minutes at 350*. Frost with a cream cheese frosting. Optional, sprinkle with chopped walnuts. (I bake this in a bundt pan. While warm, drizzle with a Cream Cheese Eggnog glaze. 4 oz. softened Cream Cheese, 2 C. Powdered Sugar, 1 tsp. Vanilla, 1/4 C. + Eggnog. Mix well with a hand mixer. Add more eggnog to get to a "glaze" consistency.)

(This is my mom's famous PUMPKIN CAKE. At Thanksgiving of 2005 when we celebrated her 70th birthday, we served this yummy cake in her honor. I baked about 15 cakes and the above italics are my changes or additions. Just eliminate them if you'd like to bake it exactly as Mom would.)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Pies...A Geddes Tradition

Raspberry Topping

1 12 oz. Pkg Frozen Raspberries
1 HeapingTbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Pour frozen berries into a medium saucepan. Before turning on the heat add the cornstarch and sugar. Mix well to coat the frozen berries. Heat berries until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Set aside to cool while making cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 Pint Whipping Cream
1 8 oz. Block of Cream Cheese (softened)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

With a hand mixer whip the cream until stiff. Separately, blend cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold together with the whipped cream. Pour into a baked pie shell. Cover with cooled Raspberry Topping. Chill until firm. Makes 2 pies.

(A beloved Geddes family tradition. Probably the most requested, most traded, most used recipe we have. These pies have become a requested addition to Christensen Thanksgivings. I definitely make mine sweeter than the original... My alterations are in italics, otherwise the recipe is unblemished.)

Apple Pie...

5 C. Apples (uniformly sliced;peeled or not)
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp. Melted Butter
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/3 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1/3 C. Granulated Sugar
1/3 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Put apples in large mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, toss to coat. Add vanilla to melted butter and pour over apple mixture. Stir to coat evenly. In another bowl, stir sugars, flour, salt and spices together. Add to apples and mix well. Pour in unbaked pie crust and top with a top crust. Flute edges together. Slice "ventilation slits" in top crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375* for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350* and bake an additional 55-60 minutes.
(James loves apple pie. I love apple pie. I think we are both agreed that Norma makes the best apple pie in the world...but my pie yesterday, using our very own apples, and my own combination of spices, weren't too bad! :) Use Norma or Sylvia's pie crust recipes and either way you can't go wrong.)

Angie's Apricot Chicken...

Chicken
1 8 oz. Bottle Russian Dressing
1 C. Apricot Preserves
1 Pkg. Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 tsp. Curry Powder

Combine all the ingredients together and brush over chicken. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Baste during baking. Serve over white rice.

(This is a delicious, EASY recipe from my sister-in-law Angela. We like to serve it with sticky rice.)

Chicken Paprika...

1 Cut up Chicken (Rinsed & Dried)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 C. Minced Onion
1/2 C. Diced Green Pepper
1 Clove Garlic (pressed)
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Chicken Bouillion Crystals
1 8 oz Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Heaping Tbsp. Flour
1 C. Sour Cream

Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in hot oil add chicken. Cook chicken for 5 minutes on each side, sprinkle with paprika, chicken bouillion and salt & pepper. Add tomato sauce, cover, simmer chicken for 25 minutes. Remove chicken. Add 1 heaping Tbsp. flour. Sauce becomes like a gravy. Season to taste. Add a little of the hot sauce to the cup of sour cream before adding the sour cream to the sauce. Put chicken back in and heat sauce through, but do not return to a boil. Serve over hot, buttered noodles.

(My favorite birthday dinner growing up. The garlic and bouillion are my additions to my Mom's classic dish. Also, Geddes' traditionally like dark meat, but I usually use chicken breasts.)

Grandma Sylvia's Pie Crust...

3 C. Flour 

1 1/3 C. Lard (Shortening will work) 

2 tsp. Salt 

5 Tbsp. Ice Water 

1 Tbsp. Vinegar 

1 Egg 

 Mix flour, lard and salt with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine all wet ingredients together. Stir into dry ingredients. Handle dough as little as possible. Roll out on floured board. Bake pie shells at 400* for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 large crusts*. 

  (This recipe is the one I grew up with. *My mom was an expert pie maker. It says that it makes SIX crusts! I am sure that my mom could actually get 6 crusts out of it. But with my pastry skills, I got two large very manageable crusts. She always even had enough crust left over to make those yummy little cinnamon/sugar cookies.)

Candy Apple Cider...

2/3 C. Red Cinnamon Candies
1 C. Lemon Juice
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
8 C. Apple Juice
15 Whole Cloves

Melt cinnamon candies in lemon juice over medium heat. Dissolve brown sugar. Add apple juice and cloves. Simmer for 25 minutes to allow flavors to blend and then remove cloves. Serve hot from a heatproof vessel.

(Do not pour the hot cider in your recently acquired deceased Grandmother's punchbowl, unless you are ready to "divy" up said punchbowl amongst your 5 children and have a need to clean up a very sticky mess in the LDS Church Cultural Hall and describe how delicious this cider is to the Enrichment ladies, while they drink... water. Oh well, I still have the cups and this IS delicious.)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1/2 C. Butter
1 tsp. Minced Garlic
1 can Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 Pint Whipping Cream
1 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Chopped, Grilled Chicken
Diced Tomatoes

Mix butter, garlic and soup together, heat until just bubbling. Add cream and cheese, heat stirring constantly until thickened. (Don't let it burn!) The sauce will thicken as it cools. Spread sauce over a pizza dough. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and top with chicken and tomatoes. Bake at 450* for 10-11 minutes.

(The sauce is a Chef Class recipe, it's also good on pasta. The pizza tastes similar to Papa Murphy's Chicken Alfredo Pizza! We're only fans of the tomatoes when they are fresh from a neighbors garden...)

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake...

1 8 oz. Block of Cream Cheese

3/4 C. Sugar

1 C. Pumpkin

1 C. Cool Whip

1 tsp. Vanilla

Your favorite pumpkin pie spices*

Graham Cracker Crust

In a large bowl mix softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Fold in pumpkin, cool whip, vanilla and spices. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill at least 4 hours. Serves 8.

Crust:

11 whole (4 section rectangle Graham Crackers)

1/4 C. Sugar

6 Tbsp. Melted Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs, add sugar and mix together. Add vanilla to melted butter and pour over graham cracker crumbs. Mix well until evenly coated. Press into a 8 or 9" (glass works best) pie plate. Bake at 350* for 6 min. Cool completely before filling.

(*My favorite pumpkin pie spices are 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg)

Oatmeal Cookies...

1 C. Butter
1 C. Brown Sugar, Packed
1/2 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 C. Uncooked Oats
1 C. Raisins*

Heat oven to 350*F. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet and remove to wire rack. Yield 4 dozen.

(This is the recipe for "Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" from Quaker Oats. I have been making them for 30 years and they are still one of my favorites! I like to add a little bit of nutmeg. *I usually replace the RAISINS with CRAISINS. My family likes it when I leave the crazy raisins completely out!)

French Onion Soup...

2 tsp. Olive Oil
1 C. Sliced Yellow Onion
1 C. Sliced Red Onion
2 Leeks (White Part Only - Rinsed & Chopped)
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
4 C. Beef Broth
2 Bay Leaves
1 tsp. Dried Thyme
1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper
4 - 1" Thick Slices, Toasted French Bread
4 Slices Swiss Cheese
1/2 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onions, leeks and garlic. Cook, stirring often until onions are soft. (About 10 min.) Add broth, bay leaves, thyme & pepper. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat the broiler. Toast both sides of french bread until golden brown and crispy. Ladle soup into individual heatproof bowls and top with a toasted piece of french bread. Add a slice of swiss cheese to the bread and cover bread and top of soup with shredded mozzarella. Broil on baking sheet until cheese melts. (1-2 min.) Serves 4.

(Yummy! If you order french onion soup when you go out to eat, you will like this. It creates the restaurant taste of this delicious soup at home. My helpers loved the look of the soup. They loved that they each got their own, personal serving that smelled, heavenly... They just didn't like the name! Onions! EEEWWW...)

Black & White Bean Salad...

2 C. White Beans (Drained;Rinsed)
1 C. Black Beans (Drained; Rinsed)
1 Large Green Bell Pepper (Seeded;Chopped)
2 Tbsp. Chives (Chopped;Fresh)
1 Large Can Mandarin Oranges (Reserve 1 T. liquid)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
Salt & Ground Pepper

Combine beans, bell pepper and chives in large bowl. Drain mandarin oranges reserving 1 Tbsp. of syrup. Add oranges to bean mixture. In a small bowl combine mandarin orange liquid, oil, vinegar and mustard. Whisk until mixed well. Pour over bean mixture and stir to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4.

(I am the only one in my family who likes this...I am also the only one in my family who tried it. It's good! It's not my favorite salad ever...but it's quick and easy, I always have ALL the ingredients on hand and it looks pretty. Grown ups will eat it. Kids will not.)