Turkey Tettrazini

A standard after-Thanksgiving use-up-the-leftovers meal. The base of this dish is a standard roux.

1 small onion, finely chopped
4 T butter
2 T turkey drippings
4 T flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups of cubed leftover turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked spaghetti

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add turkey drippings. Heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Turn the heat to low. Add flour one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition. Once all the flour has been, turn heat up a bit until flour/butter mixture bubbles, then slowly add chicken broth (amount of broth can be adjusted to make sauce thicker or thinner). Once all the broth has been added, allow to come to bubble and stir until any lumps disappear. Add turkey and heat on medium until turkey is heated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Or, mix with spaghetti, pour into greased casserole, cover with bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tapioca Pudding

A standard dessert and comfort food that both Mom and Grandma made was tapioca pudding. They both used the recipe that was right on the Minute Tapioca box -- usually the variation that used meringue to make it nice and fluffy. It was served warm or cold.

There was always a box of Minute Tapioca in the cabinet. Besides making pudding, tapioca works well as a thickener in pie fillings.

Mom's Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Hors d'Oeuvres
Clam Dip and Chips
Shrimp Puffs
Brie with Bremer Wafers

Soup
Vichysoisse

Salad
Tossed Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Relish Tray
Sweet Gherkins
Olives
Pickled Watermelon Rind


Main Course
Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Sage Stuffing
Creamed Onions
Glazed Carrots
Green Beans Almondine
Candied Yams
Cranberry Sauce

Dessert
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Whipped Cream
Mints

Chicken Quarantine

This started out as a recipe called "Chicken Florentine" but one of my brothers misunderstood what my mother had said, and with great indignation exclaimed, "you are feeding us something called Chicken Quarantine??"

The name stuck.

This is not quite a true Florentine, since broccoli (more palatable to us when we were children but still a green vegetable) was used. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken. This was a favorite of all six kids.

Spread about 2 cups of diced cooked chicken and bag of frozen broccoli florets in a 9x13 baking dish.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 cans of Campbells soup (cream of chicken and/or cream of celery work well) with about one cup of mayonnaise or sour cream. Mix in 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread soup mixture over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

diet Coke Chicken

I got this recipe from my friend Dot years ago. She was born and raised in Mississippi and her "mama" made this for her. My mother met Dot on her trips to Hawaii, and Dot made this for her once. I think her mother probably used regular Coke, but Dot adjusted it to diet Coke because that's what she had on hand, and so that's how I make this too. This is good, ol' fashioned Southern white trash food at its finest... Diet Coke Chicken Spray a 8" square glass baking dish with Pam. Arrange boneless, skinless chicken breasts in pan (4 fit nicely, or use bigger dish for more). Squirt a blob of ketchup on each chicken breast, then top with a thin slice of onion. Pour about 1/2 can of diet Coke on top, about 1/2 inch in pan. Bake at about 350 for 30-40 minutes, basting with a spoon occasionally, until chicken is done and sauce is a little bubbly. Pour remainder of diet Coke over ice, splash with rum and garnish with lemon. Drink while waiting for chicken. Mmmm Mmmm Good.

Pasta Skillet with Ham and Broccoli

Mom made this dinner often -- it had all the food groups in one meal, and was great for making a little bit of meat stretch to feed a lot of people. She would ask for the "ham ends" at the deli, and get a great reduced price on those. Its a great mid-week dinner because it cooks up fast and requires very little prep work. Serve with a crusty bread and a salad if you wish.



Ingredients

2-3 T of oil

1 small onion, diced

1 box of pasta (such as rotini), prepared according to package directions

1 bag of frozen broccoli florets

1 cup of diced ham

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In large skillet, heat the oil. Saute onions until translucent. Add ham and broccoli, then turn heat to low, cover, and let heat for about 10 minutes, or until broccoli is heated through. Add pasta and toss (you may need to add a little extra oil if needed.) Mix half the parmesan cheese into the pasta mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Rehoboth Beach Waldorf Salad

The summer before I started high school, Mom and her friend Ann rented a cottage at Rehoboth Beach, and the ladies and all us kids (six from our family and Ann's four) all spent the a very casual week at the beach while the dads stayed behind and worked. So that they would have to cook as little as possible during vacation, we roasted a big turkey on the first day. After that, variations of turkey leftovers were served. On the evening that Diana Spencer wed Prince Charles, we planned to visit the neighbors down the way, who had a small black and white television so we could watch the wedding. Before going, the moms put out a "wedding" buffet spread. That night, the turkey was made into a cool and summery Waldorf Salad:

Waldorf Salad
4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 cup of seedless grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup of walnuts -- toasted in the oven for about 10 minutes, then coarsely chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup cooked turkey (or chicken) diced
enough mayonnaise to hold it all together
salt and pepper to taste

Adjust ingredients to your liking. To serve, arrange some pretty lettuce leaves in a bowl, then add the Waldorf salad, and sprinkle with paprika.