Saturday, November 30, 2024

A Filling Family Feastfest

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. FRIG II is groaning with leftovers. The Pony carted home a box full of food for warm-up meals after his upcoming two days of Not-Heaven delivering post-holiday mail.

Let's start with a picture of the first dish I prepared, on Wednesday. It's the roasted vegetables.


Mmmm. They made the kitchen smell delicious! All holiday-y. You can't see the baby carrots and wedges of onion underneath, but some potatoes are peeking through. I had to give the carrots some private time in the oven, to make sure they got done. The onions and potatoes are fine with the time it takes the bacon to cook. 

That's my big roaster pan. There was a smaller roaster pan filled the same way. Its entirety was shipped home with The Pony. He loves his "vinchtables." I start with a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Then pour in the baby carrots and toss them around. A drizzle of Worcestershire sauce, then I shake some powdered Hidden Valley Ranch dip over them. The carrots had about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. I cut up the onions and golden potatoes during that time. Then added them, with their own Worcestershire drizzle and dip powder. Laid the bacon slices across the top. Put the lid back on and baked for another half hour before flipping over the bacon and giving it 15 minutes more.


There's my plate. I also love those vegetables. And the 7 Layer Salad.


Hick needed a platter! He had stuff hanging off his plate. He and The Pony enjoy the Stove Top Stuffing. I am not a fan, but would eat it if there was nothing else. Hick had Wild Turkey and Shasta Diet Cola. Looks like bartender Pony forgot to top off the ice when Hick came to the table.


As usual, The Pony had his own pan of Sister Schubert's Rolls. He's a Breaderton as well as a Butterton. Kerrygold, of course. The Pony is no fan of peas, so made his own salad. That's from a bag mix, with red onion and shredded cheddar added. He forgot to dice the boiled egg, so had it on the side to take bites. The Pony makes little sandwiches with ham and cheese, using the rolls. He had Raspberry Tart wine, which smelled delicious. And a Sprite.

I didn't take a picture of the desserts. They were just from the grocery store display. We had quite a variety, half of which went home with The Pony. A "cherry pie" Danish for Hick. A selection of mini donuts. A triple chocolate cake. Some vanilla and chocolate mini cupcakes.

All this typing has worked up an appetite for some leftovers!

8 comments:

  1. Our Thanksgiving dinner has become even more simple with time. It's just my husband and myself, so roasted the free turkey from his work, cooked up potatoes for mashing, made dressing/stuffing using the Pepperidge Farm Herb croutons, and baked prior to the holiday, butternut squash. Gravy, of course, for the mashed potatoes, but my husband sometimes (with leftovers) will put gravy over the turkey and dressing and put Kerrygold butter on his potatoes. Dessert was a me made pumpkin pie. I loaded that pie up with cinnamon and nutmeg and a decent amount of ginger plus premixed pumpkin spice and I still felt like it needed some more spice. I never go by the measurements on the can, because that is nowhere near enough spice for me. It was still pretty good with a nice dollop of whipped cream. Yeah, it's obvious one will not lose weight eating this way, but it is only for Thanksgiving. I rarely make gravy or mashed potatoes, except for the holidays. The butternut squash is much tastier to us than yams and is naturally sweet so no need for marshmallows or brown sugar. Simple fare. Biscuits from Pillsbury - buttermilk, I believe. Don't tell The Pony, but we are not fans of Sister Schubert's rolls. Had them once and never again. I do not make my own rolls or biscuits, and Aldi doesn't have a lot of roll choices so went with the explosive can and they were good. I sure wasn't going to ask my husband to go into those crazy, busy stores, on his way home from work, just to pick up rolls that were probably sold out anyway. It was good and lots of leftovers, of which we have already had, yesterday and will likely do so again today. Have a great rest of your weekend. Poor Pony with the holiday mailings starting. He has my sympathy. Ranee

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    1. No Sister Schubert's? I feel faint! The Pony brushes the tops with butter (Kerrygold!) as soon as they come out of the oven. Such a treat! I eat them stale and cold as the days go by!

      I envy your turkey. Hick decrees ham. Your pumpkin pie sounds good. Hick usually likes it, but specifically told me he didn't want pumpkin pie this year. I used to make mashed potatoes, but my kids had a fit, because they weren't like their daycare lady served them (from a box of flakes!).

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  2. The dinner looks wonderful. I loved presentation of the deviled eggs. I have never thought to put sliced olives. They look perfect for the holidays. Green & red are perfect for a Christmas dinner.

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    1. I love the salty kick the olives give the deviled eggs. Their appearance is just a bonus.

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  3. Oh yes! Your ham looks delicious. As well as everything else. As for leftovers, I'm still breakfasting on microwaved dressing. SWMBO made a massive dish of it, considering that there's only the two of us. But it's wonderful, especially for breakfast. Like you, it seems, I love leftovers!

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    1. Enjoy those leftovers! My mom would have made a dressing sandwich! Maybe not for breakfast...

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  4. I'm going to try roasting my vegetables with bacon next time I roast anything. I sent the picture with an explanation to two of my kids, the ones who love roasting stuff..

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    1. The bacon grease adds a nice flavor to the vegetables, and then I have the bacon itself to put on top of the 7 Layer Salad. Plus some extra for sandwiches, or for Hick to have with eggs later.

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