We had our Thanksgiving dinner over the weekend, and it was wonderful.  Our meal preparation was a family affair,  we all helped with chopping, mixing, whisking and the dreaded clean up.  We each had our favorite parts, the overall winner was the  pumpkin pie, yummy!!  Check out our menu!!!

Organic Turkey: 12 pound oven roasted

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp sage

1 tsp thyme

Combine all ingredients and rub between skin and breast meat before you place it in the oven.  Baking time and temperature are based on how big your turkey is.

Squash, Kale, Pear Dressing

4 tbsp olive oil

3 large shallots

2 cups of broth, low sodium

1 pound kale, chopped

1.5 cups chopped pecans

2 cups chopped leeks

3-4 unpeeled diced pears

2 tbsp sage & thyme

2 cups peeled chopped winter squash (butternut, buttercup, acorn, or sweet mama)

Juice of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 325.  In saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and add 1/2 the shallots and cook until tender.  Increase the heat to high and add the kale, 1 cup of broth and pecans. Cover and steam for a few minutes, then remove lid and allow the broth to cook off.  Set aside.  Using the same pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the rest of the shallots and leeks, saute until tender.  Add pears and squash and the pecan kale mixture.  Stir in the herbs.  Pour into an oven proof casserole dish, add remain broth, mix well and cover.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup honey

1 cup orange juice

Peel of 1 large orange, without the white stuff & sections cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 tbsp dried rosemary

3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Combine cranberries, honey, orange juice and peel in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil. Continue to cook over medium heat until the cranberries begin to pop.  Then simmer for about another 10 minutes.  Add rosemary, orange segments and pomegranate seeds and cook for another few minutes.  Transfer to a glass storage dish and chill.

Oven roasted green beans

4 cups of washed fresh green beans

4 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chopped almonds

4 cloves of garlic minced

Preheat oven to 375. Place green beans in a cast iron skillet.  Add olive oil, almonds, and garlic and toss. Bake until beans wilted but still crisp, about 40 minutes.

Pecan Pie

Crust

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter cut into pieces

1/2 large egg

Filling

3 large eggs

2/3 cup honey

2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp oil

4 oz of dark chocolate, the darkest you can find, melted and cooled

2 cups lightly toasted pecans

Crust:

Place flour, powdered sugar and salt in your food processor, blend.  Add butter until the mixture crumbles, then add egg.  Press into a greased pie pan and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. Coat a piece of foil with cooking spray and press into pie crust. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until golden. If the edges begin to burn, cover them with foil.

Reduce temp to 350. Mix together eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and chocolate. Spread pecan over pie crust and pour chocolate mixture over the top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until filling sets up.

Serve with fresh whipped cream. YUMMM!!!

Pumpkin Pie or Pudding

Use the same crust from above, or another of your favorites.

Filling:

3 cups pumpkin filling, we prefer fresh pumpkin to canned

3/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1/4 tsp cloves

3 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups of scalded milk or almond milk

Mix in order and pour into your pie pan.  Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then 40 minutes at 350.

If you don’t do crust, make it as pudding instead.