Thanksgiving Side Dishes: Noodles

In my family, we always went to my Grandma Hazel & Grandpa Lyle's house for major holidays. It didn't matter which parent we spent the night with, we always wound up at Grandma & Grandpa's house. It was always packed- my mom was the oldest of 4 kids. I am the second oldest of 7 blood related grandkids, and 4 step-grand kids. With the next generation started, at the last family holiday that was held (Christmas of 2004), there were 5 great grand kids.

The house was always packed, like I said. One of the traditional side dishes we have are just plain old egg noodles. My Grandpa always made them- sometimes with delicious homemade noodles, which were thick and tasty, but more often with store bought noodles.

It's a cheap & easy recipe, and tastes oh-so-good, even in left overs. They also make for a great turkey soup base.

Noodles

You'll Need:
1 package of Egg Noodle Pasta- these are usually found in a bag, not a box.
3-4 cans of Broth- I always use Chicken broth, but this year, I'll be using 1 can of Vegetable Broth, as well.

Boil the noodles in the broth- that is very important! The first year I made these, they were tasteless. I had boiled the noodles in water, then strained them, and added the broth. They were horrible!

Once the noodles are tender, put them in a bowl with the broth, and serve up!

Like I said- simple, and cheap to make. This is a side dish I make for all of our holiday meals now.

Thanksgiving Treats Seems To Be Big

Though my little blog has been around less than a month, I have noticed that I am already receiving hits from people doing web searches. Google in particular has really picked up on my posts. The topics vary, but the biggest hit seems to be people wanting to find new Thanksgiving Treats.

Now that Halloween is done, Thanksgiving is the next holiday looming ahead for most people. I've noticed that in often, Thanksgiving is over looked as a plan-ahead holiday, in lieu of people frantically trying to figure out what they are going to do for Christmas. Seeing how many hits I am getting from people looking up Thanksgiving, it makes me smile.

So, in honor of the many wonderful web hits I've gotten from people wanting to find new treats, here area few additions to my growing list of Thanksgiving Treats.

Hot Chocolate-Marshmallow Pudding

What You'll Need:
1 4oz package of pudding mix- any chocolate flavor (white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc)
1 cup mini marshmallows
2/3 cup whipped cream topping.

Prepare the pudding according to the directions, and stir in the marshmallows.
Scoop the mix evenly into single serving size microwaveable dishes.
Microwave on high for 35 secs, or until the marshmallows begin to melt & the pudding is heated through. Stir, and top with a scoop of whipped cream.

5 Minute Triple Layer Cookie Cream Pie

What You'll Need:
Milk
2 4-serving size packages of pudding mix (The recipe calls for Chocolate, but you can mix & match with great results!)
1 tub of whipped cream, thawed, divided
1 pie crust- either graham cracker or Oreo cookie, depending on the flavor you go for.
10-12 sandwich cookies

This pie is super easy, and goes over VERY well.
Mix 1 box of pudding according to directions, and add the 2nd mix in. Do not add extra milk!
Set aside 3 cookies, then break and crumble the rest.
In a bowl, mix half the pudding mix with half of the whipped cream, and the cookie crumbles.
In the pie crust, smooth the plain pudding across the bottom. Top with the cookie, pudding, whipped cream mix.
Top the pie with plain whipped cream. Break the remaining 3 cookies into halves, and insert into the top of the pie. Keep cold until you serve.

Notes:

First off, do not use canned whipped cream- it melts!

When I was first given this recipe, it was called the Oreo Cream Pie. I used chocolate pudding, an oreo crust, and oreo cookies. Over time, I came to realize that the flavors could change easily, by using different types of sandwich cookies, puddings, and crusts. Here are some ideas:

Oreo Double Chocolate: Oreo Cookies, Oreo Crust, Chocolate Pudding & Chocolate Whipped Cream
Strawberry Vanilla: Vanilla cookies, Graham crust, vanilla pudding & Strawberry whipped cream
Oreo 2: Oreo cookies, Oreo crust, 1 box vanilla or Oreo pudding, 1 box Chocolate pudding- for this one, prepare the puddings apart using half the required milk in each package. mix the cookies in with the Vanilla or Oreo pudding OR the chocolate pudding, and layer it.
Butterscotch Vanilla: Use butterscotch pudding, with vanilla cookies & a graham crust.

I'd love to hear more ideas! This pie takes about 5 minutes to make, and there is almost always a little left over mix to dip cookies into. I remember one Christmas eve where the kids and I sat around dipping oreos and watching Christmas specials.

Both recipes are easy for kids to help make, and tasty, kid approved flavors. The pie is a fantastic addition to any holiday meal, and can be done easily, quickly, and best of all, frugally.

Thanksgiving Cookies

As Halloween dawns on us, I am already looking towards Thanksgiving. Over the past few years, my family has started to make our own traditions. In 2003, I let everyone know, gently, that my little family was going to stay home on Thanksgiving, instead of traveling the 70 minutes to my Grandparent's home. My Grandma was very supportive of us starting our own traditions.

In 2004, we went back to doing Thanksgiving with family, and in retrospect, I am glad we did. My Grandma passed away on October 27th, 2005, so 2004 was our last Thanksgiving together. This time of year is hard for me, as her passing was unexpected, and close to Halloween. We said our final good bye's on November 1st, 2005.

From 2005 on, we have had our own, quiet Thanksgiving at home. We go all out, and make a huge meal, and eat off left overs for days. It's far more relaxing than when we were running around, driving all over the place. It's good for us, because we have our own traditions now.

Meanwhile, here are more fun kids recipes for Thanksgiving.

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

What You'll Need:
Fudge Strip Cookies
Melting Chocolate
Large Marshmallows
Yellow Decorating Icing with a Piping Tip
Toothpicks

Optional:
Individual cellophane bags
Twist Ties or Ribbon
Cardstock Tag

1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, or on the stove top- adult supervision required!
2. Lay out several cookies ahead of time, with the fudge side up, and the striped side down.
   
3. Insert a toothpick into the flat side of a marshmallow, and dip them in chocolate, coating all sides.
4. Moving quickly, press the coated marshmallow onto the middle of the cookie, and let it cool there.
5. Once all of these are done, and the chocolate has hardened, use the yellow icing to pipe a square 'buckle' onto the front, like on a pilgrims hat.
6. If you want, you can wrap these individually in a cello bag, and tie with a twist tie, or pretty ribbon. Attach a cardstock tag with a name on it, and these can be used as place setting tags! The Thumbprint Turkey Placecard design would look nice on these.

Pilgrim Hat Cookies 2

What You'll Need:
Fudge Strip Cookies
Miniature Peanut Butter Cups
Yellow Icing
Mini Orange Chiclet Gum, or Orange Icing

Optional:
Cellophane Bags
Twist Ties or Ribbon
Cardstock Tags

1. Using a rubber spatula, spread icing on the top of the peanut butter cup, and set the cup upside down onto the fudge side of the cookie.
2. Using a piping tip, line the outside of the peanut butter cup with yellow icing.
3. Place a chiclet in the yellow icing to make a 'buckle', or pipe orange icing in a square over the yellow icing to form a buckle.
4. If you want, you can wrap these individually in a cello bag, and tie with a twist tie, or pretty ribbon. Attach a cardstock tag with a name on it, and these can be used as place setting tags! The Thumbprint Turkey Placecard design would look nice on these.
   

Pilgrim Hat Cookies 3

What You'll Need:
Chocolate Wafer Cookies, such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
Miniature Peanut Butter Cups
Yellow Icing
Orange Icing

Optional:
Cellophane Bags
Twist Ties or Ribbon
Cardstock Tags

1. Using a rubber spatula, spread icing on the top of the peanut butter cup, and set the cup upside down onto the cookie.
2. Using a piping tip, line the outside of the peanut butter cup with yellow icing.
3. Pipe orange icing in a square over the yellow icing to form a buckle.
4. If you want, you can wrap these individually in a cello bag, and tie with a twist tie, or pretty ribbon. Attach a cardstock tag with a name on it, and these can be used as place setting tags! The Thumbprint Turkey Placecard design would look nice on these.

With all these fun, east to make cookies, your treat will be the most talked about at the table!