Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A Few Thanksgiving Ideas

Basil Pesto Turkey
Serves 10-12

1/3 cup Basil Pesto
1/3 cup Roasted Garlic GSO
one 12 - 14 pound turkey, fully thawed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine Basil Pesto and Garlic oil. Remove neck and giblets from cavity and pat turkey dry with paper towels. Tie legs with kitchen twine and tuck wings under bird. Rub Basil Pesto paste all over turkey and under skin. Place turkey on a roasting rack and bake, uncovered, until the thickest part of the breast meat registers 160 degrees, about 2 1/2 hours. Let turkey rest before carving.
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Mashed Potato Casserole
Serves 6-8
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup of half & half
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 Tablespoons Onion & Chive Blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring potatoes (covered with water by an inch) to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Heat half-and-half, broth, butter and Onion & Chive Blend on low heat. Keep warm. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on low speed beat potatoes slowly adding half-and-half mixture until smooth and creamy. Scrape bowl and beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. Pour into a 2 quart greased baking dish. Bake until potatoes rise and begin to brown about 35 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes.

Make ahead ~ The baking dish with the potatoes can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let the casserole sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Increase the baking time by 10 minutes.
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Spinach Artichoke Green Bean Casserole
Serves 8

1 bag Cream of Mushroom Soup Base, prepared as a base according to package directions
1 jar Spinach, Artichoke and Parmesan Spread
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cup french fried onions
 salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine mushroom soup base, spinach artichoke spread, green beans, milk, salt, pepper and 2/3 cup fried onions. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. Sprinkle remaining fried onions on top and bake for another 5 minutes until onions are golden brown and crispy. Let green bean casserole rest for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

1 comment:

  1. That Basil Pesto Turkey sounds so yummy! A friend was just telling me about the onion and chive blend and that she used to sample it and sold out all the time. I've never had it but sounds like I need to! Any other onion and chive recipes?

    ReplyDelete