Meal Ideas for Family Gatherings:

Tacos:

• hard taco shells & soft shells& taco sauce
• meat sauce: ground beef and seasoning
• refried beans
• chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced olives, sour cream, guacamole, chopped onions

Grilled Sandwiches:

• Bread, sliced cheese, ham, sliced pickles
• tomato soup
• chips, fruit, vegetable crudits & ranch dressing or dip

Cold Sandwiches:

• cold cuts (more ham than turkey), egg salad, tuna salad
• peanut butter & jelly
• bread, leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced picks
• cole slaw, pasta salad, baked beans

Broasted Chicken:

• pre-grilled chicken from store
• white rice & brown rice
• hot green vegetable, peas or beans

Spaghetti:

• meat sauce & meatless sauce
• spaghetti noodles
• tossed salad
• white bread, french or bread machine bread

Desserts:

• brownies, rice krispie bars, ice cream novelties, fresh choc chip cookies (from Nestles frig dough)
• strawberry angelfood dessert
• vanilla ice cream & cookies

Salad Bar:

• spinach, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, tomatoes, peas, black olives, sliced cucumber, matchstick carrots, chopped colored pepper, raisins, sunflower nuts, grapes, cottage cheese, chopped hard-boiled eggs

Staples:

• milk, bread, PBJ, mac'n cheese, sliced cheese, spag sauce & noodles, sliced ham, sliced pickles, tuna, mayo, raw vegetables (carrots, colored peppers, cucumber), fruit (bananas, apples, grapes, berries), string cheese, raisins

 MENUS:

Xmas Brunch - 2011

• 2 Egg Bakes [didn't allow enough time to cook so just had scrambled eggs -- better idea anyway!]
• Crock Pot Hash browns [similar to this recipe, but used 1 can cr. mush soup and one can cr. pot. soup, more potatoes, and plain sour cream, and used the 6 qt crock pot]
• 2 pkg of link sausages and 2 thick ham slices cut into pieces, both cooked on grille. [All got eaten, so next time need to increase amt of both. but how, since they took up the whole grille? dunno.]
• breads: corn muffins and frig biscuits, also some dark sliced bread.
• sweet breads: zucchini bread, banana bread, coffeecake.
• fruit: strawberries, kiwi and blueberries [pretty, but out of season fruit. still good]
• OJ, milk, coffee, water

Xmas 2010 Brunch:

• 2 egg bakes, with and without meat (shredded hash browns would have been a better choice than cubed)
• Baked Ham Slice in Orange Juice (good) (Three 1/2 " slices wasn't too much, tho hard to fit in pan, but two 1" slices would have been better. Single recipe using 1 c. of OJ was plenty of liquid.)
• Spinach Balls (nice side with egg bakes) (recipe made 37, I baked 20, there were still plenty leftover)
• Baked French Toast (popular, but very sweet)
• Citrus Fruit Medley (very good, tho less citrus and  more mangoes, pineapple, & kiwi would have been better)
• Refrigerator Biscuits + Joelle's Monkey Bread (always good)
• OJ, milk, coffee, water

Lunch Menu

• Chicken Wild Rice Salad in a half cantaloupe
• slice tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil & drizzle EVO
• frig bread, ie Grands
• relish plate
• Dessert: ice cream and fresh-baked Nestle cookies

Thanksgiving Meal

• Turkey roasted in oven
• stuffing: Stove Top
• gravy
• cranberries
• mashed potatoes recipe
• bread: white machine bread, corn muffins
• vegetables, green beans & corn; squash or sweet potatoes
• corn casserole recipe
• salad: tossed green salad or other
• relish tray: carrots, baby dill pickles, olives, peppers
• pies: pumpkin pie & a fruit pie

To Cook a Tender Free-Range Turkey

Preparation: washed, dried, skin buttered and salted.
Wrapped in large, heavy-duty foil, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, with a can  or two of veggie broth on the bottom inside the foil.
Brown uncovered (foil open) at 350 degrees for 45 mins
Seal foil, lower heat to 300 degrees
Cook slightly less time than charts say; don't overcook.  Bake to165 degrees in breast, 175 degrees in deep part of thigh. 
Let sit for an hour after removing from oven before cutting to keep the juices in

TO REHEAT:

Iverson Method:
Slice and put in large oval crockpot in turkey broth.  Put white meat on one side and dark meat on the other side.  Refrigerate overnight.
Remove from frig 4 1/2 hours before meal; let it warm on the counter 30-40 minutes before reheating.  Reheat on low for 4-5 hours, basting with broth occasionally.

2010  Notes:
A 14# turkey was a bit too small for enough leftovers. Baking it 45 minutes uncovered didn't brown it overly, but then cooking it 3 hours wrapped in foil was perfect.
No need to double the corn casserole recipe.
10# of potatoes was a lot of leftovers, but the bags come in 5#, so good to repeat.
4 small boxes of stovetop stuffing, about right.
Le Gout brand turkey gravy from the Marketplace is good, 2 cans (3# each) if not making any gravy from the roasted turkey.
baked pumpkin with wild rice stuffing was good, but only bake 2 or 3 six inch pumpkins to use for serving.

2011 Notes:
Never-frozen turkey from Whole Foods, butcher said to keep it at 32-35 degrees til using it. 16# turkey was good size.

Menu Items for Sunday Brunch after Shannon & Seth's Wedding on 8-31-08

• Asparagus & Potato breakfast tart  recipe
• Baked Brown rice with egg, spinach & cheese  recipe
• Broccoli & Bacon Egg Strata
• Seasoned Potatoes with parsley & scallion recipe
• Maple & Fennel Sausages recipe
• Morningstar Farms Patties
• Triple Berry & honey vanilla yogurt parfaits, grape nuts cereal for topping
• Assortment of diced, fresh fruit: cantaloupe, grapes, watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries & raspberries.
• Assortment of Bakery Breads: Cranberry Pecan, Tomato/garlic/basil, and Cherry Pistachio
• Apple Butter, Strawberry-rhubarb preserves, butter
• Coffee; half & half, sugar, splenda
• Milk, OJ, Apple juice