Vegetable Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
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3 cup onions, diced (or a combination of 2 cups onions diced and ½ cup frozen minced caramelized onions)
2 ½ cups celery, diced
2 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
2 bay leaves
Thyme
Sage
3 cups shredded turkey
6 cups turkey broth
1 cup Long grain and wild rice blend
To make a creamy soup
2 cups Rice milk (or your preferred milk)
1/2 cup Potato Starch (or your preferred thickener)
Dice vegetables , then sauté over medium heat until onions are transparent and celery and carrots are cooked through. Add in seasonings to taste. Then stir in shredded turkey and turkey broth. Bring to a boil, then add in rice. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is fully cooked. Remove bay leaves. Serve as is for a clear broth soup.
For a creamy soup, reduce recipe to include 4 cups turkey broth, then add 2 cups of rice milk or your preferred milk. In a separate jar mix together potato starch and cold water. Seal with a lid and shake well to combine (this is called a slurry). Slowly pour the slurry into the soup and stir over medium heat until thickened.
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This is a really easy way to use up the small bits of meat leftover from Thanksgiving dinner. After carving the turkey, I remove all the small bits of meat off the bone and freeze in 3 cup proportions until I’m ready to make this soup. 
Vegetable Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Thanksgiving Checklist
Thanksgiving Checklist
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I love Thanksgiving dinner. I generally make enough to provide leftovers for several days as nothing seems better than a a full Thanksgiving meal followed by pumpkin pie each night. As there is so much to do in the kitchen along with visiting family that same week, I try to spread out the cooking as much as possible. Here is my checklist for the month.
Sometime during the month of November
Make bread cubes, then freeze
Make pie crusts, then freeze in pie pans
Order a range free, nothing added turkey
Freeze extra pieces of celery, carrots and onions for turkey broth
The Monday before Thanksgiving
Pick up turkey and extra legs or wings for turkey broth
Two days before Thanksgiving
Make turkey broth from the extra legs (for stuffing and gravy)
The day before Thanksgiving
Chop celery and onions for stuffing
Bake pies
Prep vegetable tray and vegetable dip
Place turkey in brine solution
Thanksgiving day
Cook turkey and make gravy from drippings and broth
Cook stuffing
Mash potatoes
Whip heavy cream for pies
Flaky Pastry Crust
Flaky Pastry Crust
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2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces, then chilled*
1/4 cup shortening, chilled
6 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water
Cut your fat into small pieces, then chill in the fridge. Mix all dry ingredients together, then cut the fat in quickly with a pastry cutter or by pulsing in a food processor. When you are finished some of the fat should remain as pea sized lumps with the rest reduced to the consistency of coarse crumbs. Be careful not to over mix. 
Slowly add the water--just drizzle it in--and watch closely as you work it in with the edge of a spatula or continue pulsing. It should still look dry. Press down on the dough with a spatula, if the balls of dough stick together you have added enough water. If it didn't, add a little more water and mix quickly. Test again.
Divide the dough in half to make single crust amounts. Wrap the dough up by placing a portion of it on a piece of plastic wrap. Using the wrap, instead of your hands, push the dough into a flat disk. By making a flat disk at this point you make it a little easier to roll out. Refrigerate this for an hour or more to allow the dough to rest (the dough at this point can be stored in the fridge for 2 days or frozen for 6 months).
Remove from the fridge and roll out between two sheets of wax paper, then carefully transfer into pie crusts. These two steps require extra care and practice, for additional information on how to roll out a crust, please refer to the Joy of Cooking cookbook.
If your pie recipe requires pre-baking (such as for a custard pie) preheat oven to 350 F. Line pie crust with parchment paper and rice or beans to weigh it down. Bake for 20 minutes with weights. Remove weights, then bake an additional 10 minutes or until just golden. Cool completely.
*For a dairy free option, an additional 1/2 cup shortening can be substituted in place of the butter.
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This is my favorite pie crust. The butter adds flavor and the shortening adds the flakiness. For Thanksgiving I make these pie crusts, roll them out, place them in the pie pans, then freeze until the day before Thanksgiving when I bake the pies. Recipe from the Joy of Cooking.
Stuffing
Stuffing
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1/3 cup butter or olive oil
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
¼ cup fresh sage, finely chopped (3 tsp. dried sage can be used as a substitute)
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
8 cups dry bread cubes*
3/4-1 cup chicken broth or milk
Preheat sauté pan over medium heat, then melt butter in heated pan. Saute celery and onions seasoning with some of the sage, salt and pepper. In a large mixing bowl, combine celery, onions and bread cubes. Season with remaining sage, pepper and salt. Moisten with ¾ cup chicken broth or milk. Taste cubes and add additional seasonings if needed. Continue to add more liquid until all bread cubes have been moistened being careful to not make the cubes soggy.
Spread stuffing into a greased 9x13 pan, cover with tinfoil. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour with tinfoil, then 30 additional minutes without the tinfoil.
*For bread cubes slice any stale bread and cut into medium size cubes. Place in a shallow dish and leave uncovered on counter until bread is dry. Store in an air tight container in freezer until ready to use. My favorite bread for stuffing is my Perfect Sandwich Bread recipe. I make two loaves a few weeks before Thanksgiving, then cube them to dry. Once dry I store them in the freezer until Thanksgiving Day.
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Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Growing up my Dad was always in charge of making the stuffing and I loved to watch my Dad cook. I have many fond memories of my Dad sneaking in more butter to the stuffing each year and helping me test the bread cubes as he added more milk teaching me how to get the perfect consistency of moisture and crunch.
I love the smell and flavor of sage. It’s my favorite herb and I have several sage plants through my yard to keep me well stocked with their flavorful leaves. If you have a sage plant, just snip a large handful of leaves Thanksgiving morning (even if there is snow on the ground, then leaves are still just fine) to add to the turkey, gravy and stuffing. It really does make a big difference to use fresh leaves.
Basic Pan Gravy
1 TBSP onions, minced (optional)
4 TBSP butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
Fresh sage, finely chopped (or dried sage)
Salt
Pepper
This gravy takes place after cooking, in the same skillet in which you cooked whatever you are making gravy for. After roasting chicken, there are golden bits of meat and juices left behind in the pan that are rich in flavor. By using these browned bits along with chicken broth, you create a flavorful gravy to serve with your meal.
Remove roasted chicken from pan and place in a low heated oven to keep warm. If there is fat left in the pan, pour off all but 4 TBSP of fat. Turn the heat under the skillet to medium high and add the onions and sage. If there wasn’t any fat left in the pan, then add 4 TBSP of butter. Cook, stirring and scraping, until the onions are soft and the bottom of the pan is clean (2-4 minutes).
Add ¼ cup of flour and mix well with the butter forming a paste. Continue stirring and allow the flour and butter mixture (the roux) to cook until it is brown (2-4 minutes). It’s very important to cook the roux for 2-4 minutes to cook out all of the flour taste. If you skip this step your gravy will taste like flour. By cooking the flour, it develops a soft nutty flavor that adds depth to your gravy.
Slowly add your chicken broth until you reach your preferred thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
If your gravy turns out lumpy: If you add the broth too quickly, your gravy may become a little lumpy. If this happens, simply poor the gravy into a blender or food processor and blend for a few seconds. You can also use a hand held mixer or an immersion blender.
Variations
*Add ½ cup of minced vegetables (shallots, mushrooms, celery, carrots or a combination).
*Substitute milk or half and half for half or all of the chicken broth.
*Use fruit juice in place of some of the broth (I use a few tablespoons of lemon juice or orange juice).
*Add additional minced herbs or ground spices at the beginning or end of the sauce making process. Those added at the beginning will become better incorporated, those at the end will retain more flavor.
*Add chopped or crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce in place of or in addition to some of the stock (this is my favorite when served with beef).
*If using milk as part of the liquid, add 2-4 oz. of shredded cheese.
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This is a staple that can be used in hundreds of recipes. It is very versatile and easy to adapt to whatever you are serving. Try to always take advantage of the browned bits and juices leftover from cooking any meat. I love the taste of sage with chicken so I always add it to my gravy but you can use the same seasonings you used in your meat to add additional depth and flavor. Even if you haven't sauted or roasted meat, you can still make this gravy/sauce- just follow the same directions in a clean saute pan. Your gravy will have a little less flavor because it won't have the browned bits but it will still be really good.
At least once a week I steam several vegetables, sauté or roast some chicken or beef, then make a gravy to serve over the meat and vegetables. It’s quick and easy. Use this technique after cooking a roast, steaks, pork chops or chicken. Variations inspired from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.
Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie
1 can (29 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cloves
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups (24 oz) milk (or a combination of milk and heavy cream)
2 unbaked pie shells
Mix pumpkin puree, sugar, salt and spices together, then add beaten eggs. Slowly mix in milk until well combined. Pour into pie shells and bake at 425° F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F and bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
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My dad is famous for making all the pies for Thanksgiving each year. I loved the yearly debate (that still takes place today) on how many pies we can all consume in one week. If it was my dad’s choice there would be enough pies for each of us to have a whole pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I loved watching him roll out the pie crust dough and mixing all of the fillings. This is the recipe he has used for years that everyone loves.
For the past several years I have skipped the Pumpkin Pie due to the evaporated milk that is always added. Finally I got brave and started looking for alternatives and it turns out plain milk or a combination of milk and cream work perfectly!
If you are making pies for a holiday and are short on time, you can premix a few of the ingredients ahead of time. I like to make pumpkin bread a week or two before Thanksgiving, then while my pumpkin and spices are out I measure out 29 oz. of pumpkin and mix it with the sugar, salt and spices. Then freeze until the day before I make the pies. Just thaw the mixture in the fridge for a day. With as much baking as there is for Thanksgiving, it’s nice to have a few shortcuts.
Recipe adapted from the original Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
5 large potatoes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth
2 TBSP minced fresh chives
Scrub and quarter potatoes; place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add enough salt until the water tastes a little salty, and then add garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain. In the bowl of a mixer, mix on a low speed with a flat paddle until smooth, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and chives, and beat on a medium speed until all broth is absorbed, about 30 seconds. Scrape bowl with spatula and exchange flat beater for a wire whip. Whip on high for 2-3 minutes.
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I admit I’m not a huge fan of mashed potatoes. I like them and eat them, but they are never my favorite part of a meal because they seem so bland. I’ve experimented adding a few different things to my potatoes to make them a little more flavorful and really like this recipe. The broth adds more flavor than the traditional recipe of adding milk. I also love the light hint of garlic and chives mixed in with the potatoes- these really are good. 