Cryin In My Water...

My friend, Karen has "Cryin in my water music- because I don't drink beer" on her blog. I think there is a song about "cryin a tear in my beer for ya dear"... :) Any way I guess this is my "cryin a tear in my water (also because I don't drink beer) post. I'm feeling rather blue- the empty nest syndrome always hits harder at holiday times. Basically I'm just missing all of the kids and the grand kids- it's just me (and mom) and the "yard man" left. I guess I could have gone to Stillwater, to help Annie cook- but too many cooks spoil the turkey :) I could have gone on the 14 hour road trip with Ashley, Daniel, and Jaden, but there would not have been enough room in the car :) I could have gone to Highland with Alison and Micah, but 1 mom on a holiday is enough :) I could have gone to Cape Town, but after a 24 hour plane trip- there might not even be Thanksgiving there :) I could have gone with Sam and Audrey to St George, but I can already hear Audrey exclaim, "awkward!" Or I could have gone to Denver to see my brothers, but I'm not very good at the turkey "bowling" thing. (Similar to the turkey bowl, but real "bowling".)
Its funny- when the kids were younger, it seemed like we were all alike. We ate the same foods, we did the same activities, we all thought alike. Then as they each got older- their own personalities began to appear. They began to be influenced by other people and other families and other activities. Now they each have their own likes and dislikes, their own activities and other families to spend time with. Which is exactly the way "the plan" works. They are only ours for a brief time, then its time to start families of their own and its just "me and the yard man" left. And that's okay- as long as everyone "blogs in" :) so we still feel connected even with the actual distance between us. And did I tell you that the "yard man" does a great job ? :) He also did the dishes and his usually Thanksgiving job- of taking all of the turkey meat off the bones :)
Life is still good.

Fourth Child- Third Daughter

(Before you look any further- my disclaimer is that, "If I'm going to get into trouble, I might as well do a good job of it :) Audrey, Alison, and Ashley are all together in Utah for the next few days- this post should prove to be interesting to them and to "their guys" :)

Alison was my only hope of one of my girls being interested in fashion design, sewing, and the dress business. Things were going along fairly well- at one point it even looked like she would have a fashion design degree and work at my store. Then... along comes Micah and snatches her off to Utah :) While Alison and I still have an interesting connection in the dress business, she is not here in Houston working at The Silver Hanger- she is in Utah working for Beautifully Modest. (the next best thing)

Alison is an interesting combination of Ron's personality and my personality. While the other kids might tend to favor more of Ron or more of me- Alison is an even split of us both. She is a rare combination of athletics, intelligence, and creativity.

Alison has two famous childhood stories. (sorry Alison, but I have to tell)

When she was about 4 years old, she and Audrey were playing together in our family room. Alison decided it would be fun to jump off of a book case. When she landed on the hard floor she broke her elbow. She always claimed her broken arm was Audrey's fault for not catching her when she jumped.

Later, when Alison was alittle older and learning to ride a bike, she was good at getting started but not good at stopping. We had lots of trees in our yard, so when she wanted to stop, she would ride straight toward a tree- jump off the bike and let it crash into the tree. I think she also tried that same technic with the riding lawn mower :) When she sent pictures back from her mission of her on a bike- we thought, oh no- don't let her ride a bike, she will need a tree in order to stop!

Audrey and Ashley introduced Alison to a wonderful young man, who was one of their neighbors in Highland. Their wedding was a great family event last June. What a cute couple! We love you Micah, oh and you too, Alison :)

Recipe

Sweet potato and apple casserole.
4 med. sweet potatoes, 2 granny smith apples, 1 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 3 T. flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. butter, 1 c. chopped nuts. Cook potatoes and slice-either pierce the potatoes and place on foil covered baking sheet- bake at 400 for 1 hour- cool, peel, slice. Or peel and slice, then boil for a few minutes until almost soft. Peel and slice apples. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Place apple slices in the pan- put potato slices on top of apples. Stir together orange juice, sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour over apples and potatoes. Sprinkle with nuts, dot with butter. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes. (For those of you who might want marshmallows, add those and return to oven- just until brown :) This makes 12 servings- I am going to do "half" of everything for us. Plus I will use the splenda sugar instead of the real thing :) You could also add pineapple- either crushed or tidbits- drained. (Or use the pineapple juice instead of the orange juice).

Getting Ahead of Myself

Since I'm still learning this "blog thing", I didn't realize that when I save a draft and post it later- it doesn't go to the top. So for those of you watching the "titles" to see a new post, I actually have three new things- this one, the Ada Faye one, and the talking turkey one. I don't know if anyone else is enjoying the blogs- but mom and I are having a great time! Everyone is keeping us well entertained- we love the sense of humor that radiates in our family :) ILY all LT

Last But Not Least

Alison was the last one to check in and she is the only one of us that might have the most similarities to Ada Faye Wilson. (Yes, Audrey gets the prize- we will try to send the mummified turkey to her :)

Ada Faye was born on Sep.7, 1905. She married Paul Harkness in January of 1926. They had two children, Donald Lee and Ruth Ann. She died in 1970 at the age of 65. She lost her battle with throat and lung cancer. So to most of you she is great grandma. One of my rather unusual memories is eating frosted flakes and cinnamon toast at grandmas house. Who knows- maybe Arika Faye is the one who most resembles Ada Faye.

Lets Talk Turkey

If you are just checking in and did not read the post called, "Turkey Bowl Dilemma"- read that one first and then come back to this one. Two other disclaimers here- 1. I did not know how to cook when I got married either- it has all been trial and error. (luckily not too many errors:) And my main man loves everything I cook :) :) Okay almost everything :)

2. I'm sure that I will offend the "make it from scratch cooks". (the trial part of 'trial and error')

So the short version of this post would be- just go goggle "turkey" and I'm sure that you'll find more info. than you ever wanted to know about turkeys :) Now for my personal opinions- what ever they might be worth.

I don't really think there is much difference between the expense turkeys and the cheap ones. Thanksgiving dinner really is a very economical holiday meal. In the store I found everything from $.39 a pound to $2.99 a pound. (Audrey if you've got the money- go for the $2.99 a pound- already cooked turkey- just thaw, heat and eat:) I expected the fresh turkeys to be more expensive than the frozen, but they were about the same. (Except, no $.39 ones, but between $1.29 and $1.99 a pound) Fresh, can just be kept in the refrig- no thawing. The frozen turkeys just need to be in the refrig. for 1-3 days, to thaw, while still kept cold. A quicker method is to put the turkey in a sink full of cold water (turkey still in plastic bag- remember you asked for details :) You will need to turn it over several times and maybe change the water, if it gets warm. Don't thaw the turkey at room temp. (like just setting in the sink or on the counter without the cold water) Using this method probably only takes a few hours (but don't quote me on that) The best method is in the refrig. with a tray or towel under it. You will be able to tell when its thawed- soft to squeeze. And probably a puddle in the frig. (hehe) unless wrapped in really good plastic with no holes. When you are ready to cook- unwrap the turkey- remove the paper bag of giblets from under the skin flap and take the neck out of the inside. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to that point. (One of my early trial and errors was not knowing those paper bags were there and cooking the whole thing :) The next step is to get a 'good grip on that bird' and rinse it inside and out in the sink, by holding it under running water. You will probably only drop it a couple of times :) By doing these first couple of steps- you will quickly determine if the turkey is completely thawed or still frozen on the inside. (In fact rinsing the inside will help thaw that part if still slightly frozen) Place the turkey in a shallow roasting pan. I have a black roaster pan- but an 8x12 cake pan will work- 0r an aluminum roaster pan (just be careful with the aluminum one, it will be flimsey with the weight of the turkey). Most directions say to brush the entire outside with veg. oil- simple way- spray it with 'Pam". Cook in an oven temp. of 325 degrees. A 12-14 pound turkey will take about 3 to 3 3/4 hours- unstuffed. (I don't recommend putting the stuffing inside the bird- see comments later on stuffing). Each turkey will have specific directions on the package or inside the wrapper. There are also plastic 'Oven Bags' that you can use, when cooking the turkey. They claim to be the easiest way to the "juiciest, most tender turkey". The directions are on the box.

A few other random thoughts- using a meat thermometer, really is a good idea so that you know the internal temp. of the turkey. (I bought the honeysuckle turkey that has the "pop up" thermometer already in it.) (Call me for details on the meat thermometer if needed)

I used to spend hours 1.cooking giblets, 2.peeling potatoes, 3.making pie crust, 4.drying bread crumbs and chopping celery/onions/mushrooms etc. At least I am wiser now-

1. My homemade gravy comes straight from the Campbells soup can. That way I can get low fat, low sodium (if I want it), always creamy texture, tastes good etc. They also had a canned turkey gravy that is fat free and cholesterol free. My gravy will be a can of turkey gravy, a can of chicken soup, and a can of mushroom soup. (add enough milk or water or both, for what ever thickness you like) I know one of the uses for the 'giblets' (which means inner turkey parts, like heart, liver, and gizzard) is to flavor the gravy. But have you actually tasted those parts? (Sorry Ron and Grammy, but those parts get thrown away) When I thought very carefully about my feelings for gravy- I realized that I had a tramatic experience when I was in high school trying to make traditional gravy by thickening the turkey drippings- it was not a pretty sight nor was it anything that tasted good! I just can't do the thickened meat fat gravy :)

2. 'Idahoan' instant potatoes taste great. Instant potatoes used to taste like the cardboard box- but these taste like the real thing, only much simpler. Just heat water, stir in potato flakes and serve. Also comes in lots of flavors, or you can add more "fatting stuff" to them- like cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and bacon. (Just think- you could top all that with thickened turkey fat gravy. hehe)

3. The refrigerated or frozen pie crust turns out good every time. My favorite is the refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crust. It is usually with the refrig. cookies, pudding etc. Just unroll and bake. We will be having sour cherrie turnovers and pumpkin cake for dessert. Remember always use real Cool Whip- no Dream Whip allowed :)

4. Homemade stuffing just doesn't taste as good as Stove Top. And they have already done all of the bread drying and veg. chopping. Make it with chicken broth rather than with water, if you want. I am going to try mixing a box of stove top with a box of cornbread stuffing. I'll let you know how that works.

One last thought- fresh or frozen green beans are better than canned. But remember on your way to the freezer isle- the fresh ones would have to be washed, cleaned, and cooked. The frozen ones just pop into the boiling water or microwave :)

One more last thought- I do have a good recipe for sweet potato, apple casserole. I haven't found a good substitute for the real sweet potato yet. I still peel those and make ahead of time. (And sorry Audrey but no more marshmallows, those went out when the 'low carb-low sugar" came in.) I will hunt down that recipe and give it later. (Ashley, I will also look for pork chop recipes)

Good luck- ya'll know how to call and ask questions :)

The Turkey Bowl Dilemma

So here is the dilemma of the Thompson girls- (and a few family secrets for Sam)- every Thanksgiving, I would get up early, while everyone else was sleeping and put the turkey in the oven. About mid morning, Ron and the girls would all go off to play "turkey bowl" football and soccer with the guys. About mid morning , I would finish all of the dinner preparations. The turkey would be cooking and I would be peeling potatoes, making stuffing, green beans, gravy etc. I usually made the jello and the pies a day or two before. Anyway...
Ron and the girls would get home about noon, take showers, and sit down to Thanksgiving dinner about 1:00 pm.
Just like magic, everything would be cooked :)
Annie had an interesting comment last night, she said,
"It is pretty obvious what talents the Thompson girls got from Ron- lots of athletic skills. They must have some hidden talents from mom." My comment then was "It's just that those hidden talents are still hidden" :) So after three phones calls this weekend- "Mom how do I buy a turkey?" and "Grandma how do I thaw out a turkey?" and "Mom, we have company coming, how do I cook a turkey? And be specific, I need details."
Check back in later today. We will TALK TURKEY!