Easy Thanksgiving Dinner

Although each region of the country has food unique to their tastes and cultural influence, holiday feasts usually features the same staples. For Thanksgiving, most people expect to enjoy:

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Salad

Rolls

Sweet Potatoes

Vegetable Side Dish

Cranberry Sauce

Dessert

Year after year the family cook (or cooks) labor to add a little pizzazz to the same time-honored recipes. Year after year someone asks, "Why is turkey always dry?" Another might comment, "The turkey wasn't as dry as those rolls." Someone else might add, "Sometimes I wish we could have something a little different."

To which, the cook responds, "If you complain, you cook!" And so another season passes.

There are simple ways to liven up the traditional Thanksgiving dinner while actually cutting back on the time and effort involved. As seasoned cooks know, a little ingenuity and a willingness to try something different can pay huge dividends.

Take the turkey. You can produce a moist, mouth-watering meal using an inexpensive frozen turkey, an oven cooking bag, and a meat thermometer. Prepare your turkey, then follow the cooking bag directions with one exception. Turn your turkey upside down! Put gravity to use and pull those juices down into the driest part of the turkey - the breast.

One precaution, because the turkey is now upside down, the meatiest parts are going to be down low. Make sure you insert your thermometer into a large chunk of meat when checking for doneness. Your turkey is done when the breast reaches 170 degrees.

Green salad is a quick, easy, and nutritious addition to any meal. It is simple to 'up-grade' from the normal all-vegetable salad. Using bagged, pre-washed, pre-torn mixed greens - variegated baby greens look especially nice - you can save time with only a negligible increase in cost.

Purchase one fresh, firm pear for every two bags of greens. Add a bottle of poppy seed dressing (or two for a crowd) and a bag of sugared pecans (or get raw ones and sugar your own - it is a simple, do-ahead task).

Early in the day chop your pear(s) into bite-size pieces and toss with a small amount of lemon juice to prevent browning. Place them in the refrigerator in an airtight ziploc bag. Shortly before serving toss the pears chunks, greens, and dressing (just enough to coat). Sprinkle with a handful or so of sugared pecans. Toss once. Add another pecan handful or so, and your salad is ready to serve.

Rolls are a staple at any holiday gathering. Forego those 'pre-cooked' brown and serve varieties this year. There is an easy way to serve not-to-be-forgotten rolls.

Buy frozen Rhodes Texas Toast Rolls or Rich's Dinner Rolls. A good rule of thumb is one and a half rolls per person. At least 4 hours (longer if your kitchen is cool) before dinner, put your rolls out to rise. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 or 10 x 14 pan (or larger if needed) with non-stick cooking spray. Dust with cornmeal - just enough to barely cover the cooking spray. Place frozen rolls in the pan leaving room for expansion (no more than 8 - 10 rolls per 9 x 13 pan).

If you have an extra 9 x 13 or 10 x 14 pan, turn it upside down on top of your pan of rolls to create a 'tent'. If not, spray the tops of your rolls lightly with non-stick cooking spray and cover them loosely with plastic wrap.

When they have risen nicely, bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. When the hot rolls come out of the oven, brush them lightly with melted butter then sprinkle with herbs (I like parsley, paprika, and dill) or freshly ground pepper or garlic bread seasoning. For best results, serve your rolls hot out of the oven.

Where would your holiday meal be without mashed potatoes? Freshly prepared ones are such a pain, and boxed ones do not taste the same. There is an easier way to make mashed potatoes - and, yes, you can do it well in advance.

Place the whole potatoes (do not peal or chop) in a large pot. Cover with water. Once water comes to a boil, cook the potatoes at least 30 minutes. When they are fully cooked (easily pierced), remove them from the water and allow them to cool to the touch.

Once the potatoes cool, use a paring knife to 'scrape' off the skins. Now you are ready to combine the potatoes with the remaining ingredients - usually sour cream, cream cheese, butter and seasonings. For more detail, here is a sample recipe.

Instead of sweet potatoes this year, why not try Acorn Squash? Not only are they simple, but they can be sweet, or not, depending on your family's taste buds. They require little preparation, can cook in their own shell, can be cooked in the microwave, and one small acorn squash (baseball size) serves two people.

To microwave acorn squash, place the whole squash in your microwave oven (if you are using small squash, you can do two or three at a time - just adjust your cooking time accordingly). Cook about 4 minutes each (3 minutes each if doing two or more). Turn over and cook an additional 3 - 4 minutes each.

Cut each squash in half. Scrape out the seeds and stringy material. Place a ½ tablespoon butter and a ½ tablespoon brown sugar in the seed cavity. Place squash halves back in the microwave open side up for another 2 -3 minutes each (until flesh is tender when pierced with a fork).

Cranberry Sauce, another Thanksgiving dinner staple, can be livened up with very little effort. Instead of opening a can of jellied cranberry and dumping it onto a pretty dish, open two cans and get twice the flavor.

Combine 1 can of whole cranberry sauce with 1 can of drained mandarin orange segments. Add a handful of chopped walnuts. Mix well. Viola! You have an orange cranberry delight which will knock the socks off the old version.

Stuffing, another Thanksgiving staple, is easily updated with a little fruit and a few nuts. Not only will these additions add flavor, they will add pizzaz. To save time, buy a 1 pound bag of stuffing mix without the seasonings. Add the remaining ingredients in this recipe, and you are ready to stuff that turkey or cook it as a casserole.

Why not add some color and cut some fat without sacrificing flavor in your vegetable side dish. Honey Glazed Peas and Carrots are quick, simple, easy, and pretty.

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without dessert. While we all love dessert, it adds a lot of extra work. On the other hand, store bought dessert are so. . .well, obvious. Here are a couple ideas to re-dress a store bought creation so no one will ever know you didn't slave for hours putting it together.

Dress up pumpkin pie with a little 'spiced' whipped cream. Whip together ½ cup heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon and a dash of freshly ground nutmeg. Dollop each slice with whipped cream and sprinkle with a few sugared pecans (used in your salad recipe).

Dress up cheesecake. While few people like to bake cheesecake, many enjoy eating it. To add something special to your cheesecake, try a simple raspberry sauce. In a blender or food processor puree 2 cups frozen raspberries with 1 cup of sugar. Add a splash of blackberry brandy if desired. Strain. Serve over cheesecake.

You are done. Sit back and soak in the praise. Not only have you produced a Thanksgiving dinner to be remembered, but you have done it in a limited time and with less effort!