Dinner:
Roast
Sausage dressing (recipe below)
Mashed potatoes (recipe below)
Cranberries
Steamed asparagus
Garden Salad
Rolls (recipe below)
The
1 large hen, prepared (from the store)
1 large roasting pan
A little bit of canola oil
Dressing (recipe below)
* Remove any pieces (gizzards, hearts, neck) from inside the turkey.
* Gently rub the turkey with a little bit of cooking oil.
* Put the turkey in the roasting pan.
* Stuff cavity (both ends) with dressing, loosely.
* Place a meat thermometer in the turkey’s thigh without letting it touch the bone.
* Bake for about 3 – 5 hours, depending on the size of the bird.
Sausage Dressing:
1 lb. pkg. Jimmy Dean pork sausage
1 stalk celery, if desired
½ white onion, if desired
1 large loaf bread, a day or two old
1 tsp sage dressing
1 qt. milk
First, chop up the bread into cubes. It’s really easier if you use an electric knife. Place all the bread cubes in a huge bowl.
Fry up the pork sausage in a frying pan on the stove until brown. Add celery and white onion. (Or you can use onion powder and leave out the celery.) When done, place sausage and drippings over the bread cubes in the bowl.
Add milk, one cup at a time, until bread is moist but not runny.
Stuff the turkey’s cavity with the dressing and bake the turkey as directed. If there is more dressing than fits in the cavity, you can bake it separately later for about a half hour at 350.
MASHED POTATOES
For those of us that live in the 21st century, this is the 21st century way of preparing mashed potatoes.
Peel 1 russet potato for each person at the table. Chop potato into small slices and place in a microwave casserole dish. Cover the potatoes with water and place in microwave oven.
Microwave on high for about 25 minutes, or until potatoes are moist and tender. Remove carefully (dish will be hot). Drain off any excess liquid, and transfer potatoes to a bowl. Mash using potato masher or portable mixer. Add a little bit of milk and butter or margarine, if preferred. (If you wish to make the potatoes less rich, use 1% milk and leave out the fat.)
DINNER ROLLS
INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
6 tablespoons shortening
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
7 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, eggs, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a roll. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.
Makes 24 rolls.
Why these recipes were included:
Several episodes, including “Please Do Not Feed the
Astronauts”, mentioned a turkey dinner, complete with cranberries and
potatoes.