Turkey Day Central

The Thanksgiving Day countdown is on!

It has been a very long time since I have had to prepare
 the Thanksgiving Day meal.  Back in the day, we always
 had an open house buffet for Thanksgiving and Christmas
 and I think I did enough holiday cooking for a lifetime!

I've compiled a list of excellent links for everything
 involving Thanksgiving and food inspiration.  

Of course, all of these links would be
 awesome for every day cooking.

Top Turkey Tips from The Food Network

Emeril's Holiday Cookbook . . . free download!

Thanksgiving Handbook from delish.com

Everything Thanksgiving from Martha Stewart

Thanksgiving Recipes from allrecipes.com

Thanksgiving from Better Homes and Gardens

Thanksgiving Recipes from Betty Crocker

Thanksgiving Recipes from Taste of Home

Thanksgiving Center from Kraft

Easiest Thanksgiving Ever by Ina Garten

The Pioneer Woman Thanksgiving

Ultimate Thanksgiving from Tyler Florence

Thanksgiving Recipes from Simply Recipes

Everything about Turkeys from Butterball

Pumpkin Mania

70 Thanksgiving Side Dishes from The Cooking Channel

20 Best Dessert Recipes from Willow Baking

Thanksgiving Treats from Duncan Hines

Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips from Cheap Cooking

Corn Bread for Dressing

Thanksgiving Recipes from Fine Cooking

Turkey Talk from The Cooking Channel

Crescent Chicken Squares

QUICK AND EASY!

This is one of those semi-homemade meals
 from Mr. Food that I love so much and
 yet another use for rotisserie chicken.

Love the clever crust!

Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 20 min


Ingredients:

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped red bell pepper (optional)
1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and 2 tablespoons butter; stir in chicken, milk, and red pepper, if desired. Set aside.

Unroll crescent dough, separating into 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture into the center of each rectangle; bring corners of each rectangle together over chicken mixture, and twist gently to seal.

Place crushed croutons in a shallow dish. Brush chicken packets with remaining butter, dredge in croutons, and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden.

Source:  Mr. Food . . . there is a video recipe on this page

Chicken Pot Pie . . . from scratch

One of my favorite comfort food meals is Chicken Pot Pie.  As a child, I would beg my mom to buy lots of those frozen chicken pot pies for lunch when I was home for the summer . . . and I would eat one every day if I had my say.  I still could!

I've given up the frozen pot pies and have moved up to semi-homemade chicken pot pie, using Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup, chicken, vegetables and a refrigerated pie crust.  So much better than the frozen ones.

Even better is made from scratch chicken pot pie for those days you want to linger in the chicken and make something special.  Semi-homemade is awesome, but made from scratch is super awesome!

Try it when you have some time on your hands for cooking something special . . . make a pie crust from scratch if you have lots of time on your hands.

Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken OR 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove chicken from rotisserie chicken and cube; set aside.

In large saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and garlic; sauté and stir 3-4 minutes. Add celery and sliced carrots; cook and stir 3-5 minutes longer until crisp-tender.

Add flour, salt, pepper, and thyme; cook 2-3 minutes until bubbly. Add broth, stirring well, then add evaporated milk. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.

Add Monterey Jack cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and add peas and chicken. Pour into 2-quart round casserole dish and top with pie crust. Seal crust to edges of casserole and cut slits in top crust to vent steam.

Brush crust with 1 tablespoon milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

Source

Fruit Pies Recipe Guide and more

Fruit pies and tarts are delicious sweet treats that can be as simple or difficult to make as you want . . . the choice is yours!  The fastest and easiest is pre-made refrigerator pie crust with fruit pie filling . . . however, the possibilities are endless.

This post will take you to articles I have found all over the internet . . .

Pillsbury knows how to do fruit pies and they have a ton of ideas and recipes . . . many are quick and easy!

About.com's section on Southern Cooking has all types of fruit pie recipes!

Collection of fruit dessert recipes from The Food Network

"How-to" videos for fruit pies

Collection of fruit pies and lots of tips from Epicurious

Fruit pies and tarts from Food and Wine

Top 10 Fruit Pies from Chew On That

Demeter Clarc on Pies

5 Simple Steps to Fantastic Fruit Pies from Zesty Cook 

Gorgeous pies and tarts for the holidays from Better Homes and Gardens

Impressive fruit pies and tarts made easy 

Gina's pie board from Pinterest