Category: thanksgiving

Lisa’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Published on by AlissaLeave a comment

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz can of sweet potatoes (with nothing added); drained
  • 3 tbs margarine cut into cubes
  • 1-2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar; packed
  • 1 cup crushed pecans

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9×13 casserole dish

Directions

  1. Pour sweet potatoes in a large bowl & add margarine, cinnamon, & brown sugar.
  2. Mix with hand mixer until combined.
  3. Pour into casserole dish and use the back of a spoon to smooth out the top.
  4. Sprinkle crushed pecans and extras cinnamon to taste over the top.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes

Serve and Enjoy!

To Make Ahead:

Follow all directions but don’t bake it. Instead, cover & refrigerate. When ready to bake remove from fridge & allow to reach room temp (about 20 minutes) then bake according to directions above.

Restaurant-Style Baked Potatoes

Published on by AlissaLeave a comment

There are so many ways to make baked potatoes- stove, microwave, grill, oven, etc.
Our family loves baked potatoes so I made up this recipe to mimic those we get at a restaurants; it turned out delicious!

Ingredients
– Yukon Gold potatoes (this is what I prefer but really, you can use whatever you prefer) as many as you’ll need
– Olive Oil
– Sea Salt for garnish

Directions
– Preheat oven to 450
– Clean potatoes & dry thoroughly
– Lightly oil cookie sheet
– Using your hands or a basting brush cover the potatoes with a little bit of oil
– Sprinkle sea salt over potatoes

Bake for 30 minutes or until you can easily pierce the potato with a fork.

Serve & Enjoy with your favorite toppings.

Quick BBQ Popcorn Chicken

Published on by AlissaLeave a comment

This recipe is SO easy, it’s perfect for a quick dinner but also for a get-together!

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays brand)
  • 6 cups crushed BBQ chips (I use Lays brand)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375º and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray
  2. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and place on a large bowl
  3. Add the BBQ sauce to the bowl & stir until chicken is well coated
  4. In a large ziplock bag, crush the BBQ chips into desired crumbs
  5. Add 1/2 of the chips (3 cups) to the bowl of chicken and stir
  6. Add the other 1/2 of the potato chips to a separate bowl
  7. Coat each piece of chicken in chip crumbs until fully covered and place on prepared baking tray
  8. Bake chicken until golden brown (about 12 minutes)
  9. Serve with a side of ranch dressing or any sauce! You can even eat them without additional sauce!
  10. ENJOY!

 

 

5 Ways to Keep Kids Happy During Thanksgiving Dinner

Published on by AlissaLeave a comment

For most of us Thanksgiving is a family affair; meaning we get together with our loved ones to eat good food, be grateful for our blessings, and to catch up with those we may not see outside of the holiday season.

Unfortunately though, for some of us Thanksgiving can also mean a time of overwhelming stress. My goal is to bring you a few posts between now and Thanksgiving to hopefully help alleviate some of that stress.

Instead of banishing the kids to a corner or chasing them around the room during meal time, I have a few ideas that could hopefully help make the day a little easier.

5 Tips to Keep Kids Entertained

  1. Thanksgiving Themed Activity Tablecloth
    Last year I put a Thanksgiving themed color-in tablecloth on the kids table with a few crayons at each place setting. They absolutely loved it!
    It kept them entertained for the majority of the meal. You can find similar tablecloths here and here.
  2. Set Out Activity Books
    Department stores & Amazon carry all sorts of Thanksgiving themed activity books. If you have elementary/middle school aged children I would recommend this book. MadLibs are fun and educational activities for kids to do as a group.
    You could tear out a few pages, place them at each place setting with a pen or pencil. Or you could simply have the book near the table for the kids to grab when they want something to do.
  3. Ask Them For Help
    Prepping, setting up, and cooking for Thanksgiving can be incredibly exhausting. Especially if you’re a host like my parents who do the whole meal themselves.
    It’s okay to ask for help and it’s okay to let others help you. Instead of stressing over all of the details and trying to do it all yourself, put the kids to work!
    When your guests arrive ask the kids to collect their jackets.
    If the kids are old enough to pour their own drinks, ask them to see what your guests would like to drink.
  4. Let The Kids Help Set Up
    Ask the kids to help set up the tables.
    If you’re particular about how you want the adult table then ask them to set up the kids table. They’d love it!
    Often times when kids helping they’re entertained and focused.
  5. Give Them Their Own Table Servings
    When I was a kid this was one of my favorite things about the kids table. It always made me feel so grown up!
    If it’s possible, give the kids their own food settings at the table. A small platter with turkey, a dish of a few rolls, etc. They’ll love setting up and arranging how they want their table to look.

 

Extra Tip!Give Them A Craft
The morning of, while you’re cooking and setting up give the kids an easy craft to do. Ask them to trace their hands on construction paper and make turkey’s for each place setting. The older children can help the younger ones with scissors and writing out names. This is a great activity to keep kids of all ages busy!

Deviled Eggs, Deviled egg recipe, egg recipe, hard boiled eggs, hardboiled eggs, hard boiled egg recipe, egg recipe, easter recipe, thanksgiving recipe, easy deviled eggs, paprika, classic deviled eggs, deviled eggs with a twist

Deviled Eggs with a Twist

Published on by Alissa1 Comment

Deviled Eggs, Deviled egg recipe, egg recipe, hard boiled eggs, hardboiled eggs, hard boiled egg recipe, egg recipe, easter recipe, thanksgiving recipe, easy deviled eggs, paprika, classic deviled eggs, deviled eggs with a twist

 

For our first recipe in the Thanksgiving series I thought we’d go with something that is common but easy to make.

Deviled eggs are a often a definite for our holiday meals. We all love them and the recipe we usually use has been shared within our family for years now. This recipe has a slight twist to from our usual version so I’ll also post about the original below.

Ingredients

  • 1 Dozen eggs
  • 1/2 Cup mayonnaise
  • 1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
  • 1 Teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/8 Teaspoon onion powder
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Paprika for garnish

Directions

  1. To hard-boil your eggs place them in a large pot and add just enough water to cover the eggs and turn your burner on high heat. Once your water begins to bowl turn the temperature down a little and let the eggs boil for 15 minutes.
    1. Tip: If you add about a teaspoon of baking soda to the water it will help the eggs peal easier.
  2. Once the eggs have finished let them cool completely and then peel them.
  3. Cut your eggs in half the long way (from tip to bottom) and place the yolks in a medium sized bowl.
    1. Tip: To avoid tearing the egg whites I always gently turn the eggs upside down and the yolk usually slips out on its own. Deviled Eggs, Deviled egg recipe, egg recipe, hard boiled eggs, hardboiled eggs, hard boiled egg recipe, egg recipe, easter recipe, thanksgiving recipe, easy deviled eggs, paprika, classic deviled eggs, deviled eggs with a twist
  4. Using a small fork or a potato masher crush the yolks so that they’re crumbly.
  5. Add in the mayo, parsley flakes, mustard, onion powder, and salt and pepper.
  6. Add the yolk mixture to your egg whites.
    1. Tip: There are many ways to do this, you can add the yolks to a piping bag with a decorative tip, add them to a freezer bag and cut a corner off, or use a small spoon or melon scooper and “plop” them in.
    2. We have found that out of all of these ideas the most effective for us has been the melon scooper or the piping bag options.
  7. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika onto your eggs and they’re ready to go!

Deviled Eggs, Deviled egg recipe, egg recipe, hard boiled eggs, hardboiled eggs, hard boiled egg recipe, egg recipe, easter recipe, thanksgiving recipe, easy deviled eggs, paprika, classic deviled eggs, deviled eggs with a twist

ENJOY!

To follow along with our Thanksgiving series follow us or check back with our original post (:

***** If you’re interested in trying our original recipe simply don’t add the onion powder or parsley flakes. We also usually only add the paprika to about half of the eggs because not everyone in our family likes it.

Deviled Eggs, Deviled egg recipe, egg recipe, hard boiled eggs, hardboiled eggs, hard boiled egg recipe, egg recipe, easter recipe, thanksgiving recipe, easy deviled eggs, paprika, classic deviled eggs, deviled eggs with a twist
Classic Deviled Eggs

Thanksgiving is Coming!

Published on by Alissa1 Comment

As Thanksgiving is quickly approaching we thought it would be a great idea to run a Thanksgiving series for all of our followers.

Thanksgiving has been hosted at our house for quite a few years now and each year we’ve made some little changes here and there in the hopes that the day will go smoother and be less stressful than the year before. So in the next few weeks we will be sharing some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you as well as some helpful tips and decorating ideas. If you’d like to stay up to date with the series follow us and you’ll get notifications in your inbox!

If you have any specific questions related to Thanksgiving send us an email and we’ll be sure to answer them for you! Our email address is cherishedcottage98@gmail.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recipes

  1. Deviled Eggs with a Twist