Did you drop the turkey on the floor and cook and serve it anyway?

Unfortunately I am boring my only confession I can think of is .... I have never tasted green bean casserole. It's true I have never been to a Thanksgiving meal where it was served. Every year I think I should make that but I never do.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

It's nasty! Well, I don't like anything made with canned soups. I only like from scratch. so maybe that's why......nasty!! No confessions, other than I only eat a VERY small amount of food every year, becauuse I could never eat much at one sitting. I watch other people eat mountains of food and I feel that I am missing something....like I should be doing that, too. lol

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Only I will add I never ever used the any of the already made or easy to make stuffing never ever ever yuck only homemade always. I too never ever the string bean dish either and while my mom and mother in law always served the cranberry stuff I never do it looks so slimy and wet yuck again. GG I am with you I have seen people eat so much where they put it I will never know , and then all the desserts too much in one day for one stomach. However sadly Thanksgiving to me is a wonderful family food oriented Holiday and between Halloween and Christmas is gets lost very sad. OOps almost forgot as a person who does any eat any meat or fish I have heard of the tofu Turkey again yuck yuck and more yuck. OH well fun post.. Peace to all. Catherine

I make my own green bean casserole, just making the sauce out of a thickened vegetable bouillon. I've served it several times and it's disappeared fast. I've never told anyone and no one ever said it was weird or tasted funny.

We have an invitation go to DIL famly's house for Thanksgiving but I don't think we're going to go. I'm a vegetarian and would either have to take my own food, or go hungry. I'd rather stay home alone with DH.

Well since me and my daughters are vegetarians as well , it really is not a problem with so many sides dishes. However this year we are all apart me and my dh will go with youngest dd Caitlin to her boyfriends parents home for dinner. Tommy is going to his ex girlfriends home with some friends and Hope is going to her new boyfriends family home in Conneticut for Dinner. Either place there will be side dishes. As vegetarians I am not happy with all the Turkeys that are served, but in the end and for my peace of mind I have to let go and let people enjoy what food they choose to eat which my husband and son will be doing. Peace. Catherine

I have never eaten green bean casserole either!
I did get a lovely burn trying to take one out of the oven last year though.....grrrr...
The thought/sight of condensed mushroom soup is enough to make me avoid it. I had promised my cousin I would try it but once I opened the cans of soup, It wasn't gonna happen!

on the cranberry sauce, my mom always makes it from scratch and we eat it warm. YUM!!

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Oh I did and I am sure so many others as well cooked the turkey with the bag still inside , the bag that contains all the other meat parts and stuff did that I believe 2 times long time ago... and while we are a bit off EGGNOG disgusting just the thought and I could gag, however again I know alot of people who love this stuff.. Peace. Catherine

Lucy, I'm glad that works for you, but I have trouble even finding side dishes that I'll eat. They use broth to mash the potatoes and broth and/or sausage in the stuffing (that was inside the bird). The cheese and pepperoni on the trays touch each other. And there are marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. Besides the fact that everyone wants to comment about what you are/are not eating...or make disgusting vegetarian "jokes". I'd rather stay home.

I realize that I'm extremely picky, but I figure I'm old enough that nobody can tell me what to eat any more. My dad, who is 84, still tries...but I don't listen to him.

Am I the only one here who really likes green bean casserole? I think it's better to use the frozen green beans (A LOT less sodium). Yes, the cream of mushroom soup does look a little nasty right out of the can, but mixing in the milk makes it creamy. Anyway I did think that maybe substituting the cream of chicken soup might be better and I may try that this year.
Also, love the yams/sweet potatoes. My mom always put butter and marshmallows on them after they were cooked and it is so yummy.
Also, LOVE eggnog, but you really need to dilute it with milk, otherwise way too rich for me.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Not sure this is a confession, but it was a mistake while 300 people were waiting to eat Thanksgiving dinner I was cooking at a church. My sweet friend always helped me every year, she was such a doll. I had all the turkeys baked, the stuffing ready, green beans and mashed potatoes. Everything was done and in the warming ovens, I had the beautiful golden gravy on the stove. All we had to do was pour the melted butter over the huge pans of pumpkin dump cake, put them in the oven and wait for the people to show up. My friend was assembling the dump cake, I was washing the huge vat we used to make the mashed potatoes, and I heard her say "wooo hooo! This smells like Thanksgiving, I smell the sage!" I thought.....there is no sage in the melted butter, why does she smell sage.....then it hit me. Did she pour the gravy over the dump cake instead of the butter? As I rounded the corner, she realized what she did and bless her heart, she started to panic. She poured the gravy over the cake.

We had about an hour until people were to show up, and honestly I never panic when there is a food mistake. So we dumped the cakes, washed the pans and I grabbed graham cracker crumbs from the church pantry, some cans of food service pudding and the whipped cream we had for the dump cake. I used the melted butter and some sugar with the graham crackers, made a crust, poured the pudding on top and topped it with whipped cream. I used a can of turkey base I bought for back up and made another vat of gravy. Problem solved! I had never had chocolate pudding from a can but this was really good, no one missed the dump cake and enjoyed the emergency pie.

I haven't catered in a few years, but when I see my friend out shopping she still talks about it. While we were making the emergency pie, there was this little old lady, probably in her late 80's, walking around in the kitchen and she wanted to go ahead and bake the cakes - she thought the gravy would add a savory flavor to the cake. I nixed that, there was no way it would taste good. And I remember while we were assembling the pies, this lady took the pumpkin dump cake mixture, strained off the walnuts, rinsed them and took them home with her. I'm frugal, but not THAT frugal!

I tell ya, I sure don't miss catering all those Thanksgiving dinners. I spent 10 years cooking every Thanksgiving and Christmas at churches and schools and by the time I finished I didn't even want to cook at home. These last 4 years I've just cooked for my family. It's such a relief.

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Catt
~ Mirror Mirror on the wall, I am my mother - after all! ~

Great story Catt! I wonder how that pumpkin dump cake tasted? (Maybe not all of her taste buds were in check!). I am going to make your pumpkin dump cake this year. Everyone will love it!

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I just don't like any recipes made with canned soup. We grew up on food made from scratch and it stuck...lol

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Freer no one should be making fun at you, because you like so many others choose to be a vegetarian. For me I eat some of the stuffing only if it does not contain any meat and only if some of it has been cooked outside the turkey. Again I love the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips love them, little green peas or carrots or string beans. I also love love stuffed mushrooms and with all that and salad there is plenty. Again I am with you no salad that has any meat in it. Right now I have been on avacodo craze been eating alot and hearts of palm and olives do not ask me just cannot get enough of it lately. If anyone were to make fun that is down right disrespectable and should never be tolerated not nice at all. Being a vegetarian is a personal choice and should be respectable. Like I said I enjoy cooking dinner and having guest and I purchase the meat and serve it, again my company their choice but at this point in my life I will defend my rights as long as my rights are honored and I cannot change people and for the sake of my peace I go with the flow. I know I am doing what is right for me and glad my daughters have followed in my footsteps I am very proud of them. Sorry Freer you received a hard time. It should not be that way, thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday filled with many wonderful foods for all to enjoy and be with family and friends that is the most important factor here for sure.. Peace. Catherine

I refuse to make that casserole because every year for EVERY holiday my mom made it. I have had enough GB casserole to last the rest of my lifetime.

My only confession is when I was first married (1st hubby) and we had his entire family over to our new house for turkey day...it was my first one hosting. Well, the turkey came out looking picture perfect, but when I went to take out the stuffing, out came the giblet bag and neck too. Of course a few of his sisters were in the kitchen when that happened......so naturally I didn't live that one down for a long time!

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

Well, I guess my confession would be that I LOVE green bean casserole. The last few years, I've made Alton Brown's version, which is made with fresh everything. It's definitely much better and I totally love it. The first year I went to Thanksgiving at my MIL's house, I was sad because she didn't have it. Since then, I always bring it.

I did drop the turkey on my first Thanksgiving, too. I was probably 19 and cooking for my friends. Who knew the turkey was going to be SO heavy and slippery????? I also had to call my mom at 4:00 in the morning to ask her how to remove the little bag inside. lol... No way was I sticking my hand in there to get it out. Things have certainly changed...

I like your story, Catt. I can just see it.... "sage????? why is she smelling sage??? uh oh!!"

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Kim

Speaking of GB casserole, here's my confession.

We were heating up the last minute things like rolls and covered the pan of GB casserole with foil so it would stay warm. I left the kitchen for a minute and when I came back the foil had a puddle of yellow on it. One of the cats had gotten on the counter and peed on the pan.
I took the foil off, smelled it, tasted it, no signs of pee in it. Yes I served it.

Ok anyone want GB casserole now

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

OMG the cat peed on the dish of food! That's beyond disgusting!

I'm making that Alton Brown recipe! I found it on line and watched his video! Doesn't look all that hard...just delicious!

It's gross to think about but it really had no signs that any pee got in it.

Maybe I'm just jaded after working in food service for over ten years. Really if everyone saw what goes on in restaurant kitchens you would never eat out again. Just know that restaurants are in the business to make money and they will serve anything before they even consider throwing it out.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

MATTNCATT....hope you read this.

I cooked a turkey tonight that had been in my freezer nearly a year. I bought two last year since it was so cheap, and still had one in the freezer until tonight. I plan on buying two turkeys next week and again freezing one. Any heck, cooked the turkey in my roaster (which I think I prefer to the oven) and I didn't realize that I put the bird in upside down until it was time to carve it. To my surprise, the bird literally fell apart because it was so juicy. I really do think that Catt is onto something with positioning the turkey upside down. I know for a fact that I am going to do this again on Thanksgiving when I cook another one.
Well, that's my pre-Thanksgiving blunder that turned out just fine!

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I will say this and not to offend anyone here on the boards but I have gone back to the old fashion way of cooking long long time ago when my kids were born, what I mean is that I only buy all fresh veggies as well nothing in the can, I make my own tomatoe sauce thanks to all the fresh tomatoes and fresh basil and garlic from my neighbors and I never what ever meat I will cook for my dh or my son I buy it that day. I used too buy say 2 or 3 meals at a time meat wise and keep 2 in the freezer or even in the refregerator sp??. no more epsecially chicken or chop meat it would turn brown or smell. I just do not trust the meat from the supermarkets any more I only buy my meat from my butcher it is so much more fresh. I have of course gotten more educated of course becuase of me being a vegetarian and also because of all my sons stomach problems and really it has made a huge difference in the taste in the foods we eat. That is the way we were brought up when we were younger my mom purchased everything the same day. There is a huge difference in canned carrots and fresh carrots the taste is all what it is about nothing is added just the carrots plain and fresh again my choice. Peace. Catherine

I've read that cooking a turkey upside makes it juicier, but it isn't as pretty.

What great posts you guys!
Catt I am curious as to how the cake would have tasted with gravy in it lol

Kim I might check out the Alton recipe and see how I feel about it.

Cat pee that is funny and gross at the same time.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

"And there are marshmallows on the sweet potatoes" what does that have to do with vegetarian??
My step daughter is a vegetarian and she eats that...

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Be careful what you wish for.....

It's probably the gelatin in the marshmallow which is made from animal.

Yes it has gelatin which is made from boiled hooves, hides, and bones. Marshmallow fluff on the other hand does not contain gelatin.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I choose not to eat marshmallows because I just plain do not like them it has nothing to do with being a vegetarian at least not for me. There are alot of people who are pure vegens and who will not eat anything made from anything made from anything that came from a animal I do not go that far. I drink milk, I eat butter I eat eggs so on and so forth I just do not eat meat or fish . Peace. Catherine

I guess I'm a pretty strick vegetarian. I'm not a vegan, so I do eat diary products ~ but I stay away from anything with broth or geletin in it. It's hard to order soup at a restaurant, because they almost always use chicken broth as a base for potato and broccoli soup and most others.

Freer I am not a vegan either however my eldest daughter is which is much harder but I am very proud of her , I do however stay away from the broth as well I should have made that clear as well. I only use vegetable broth and make all my homemade pure vegetable soups that need no chicken or beef or any meat stock or fish stock at all. Thanks freer for sharing. Peace. Catherine

And they will tell you it doesn't have a meat base because they don't care and figure you'll never know the difference. Often things will have bacon in them too.

Funny story: I was recently in So Carolina and we kept seeing the signs for "boiled peanuts". We asked around and found this is a local treat made by boiling peanuts in shell with salt and sometimes Cajun spices. We found a stand and explained we were from out of state and wanted to try the peanuts. I ate one and my friend said "they're pretty smokey what kind of spice do you use?" I almost vomited when the lady said "we boil them with ham hocks nobody else in the state but us does that". I calmly said "I haven't eaten meat in 11 yrs" They apologized and said "there's not many people around here who don't eat meat".

It NEVER occurred to me to ask if there was meat in boiled peanuts. I won't make that mistake again. From now on if I don't know for sure I'll ask.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I was born & raised in SC and have NEVER heard of putting ham hocks in the water as the peanuts are being boiled. What part of SC were you in??

Fun facts for you about boiled peanuts:

On May 1, 2006, Gov. Mark Sanford signed a bill, H.4585, making boiled peanuts the official snack food of South Carolina.

The process of boiling peanuts also draws antioxidants from the shells. The boiled peanuts have four times the antioxidants of raw or roasted peanuts.

They are served in other countries as well: India, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Salvador, Bahia, China and Vietnam

So if you can find them WITHOUT the addition of the ham hock "flavoring", PLEASE give them another try!! They are AWESOME!!

I don't like boiled peanuts. I only like(love) roasted .....I like them very brown, too.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Well, we all like different things just as we see things differently! Growing up in SC, there was nothing like hot boiled peanuts on a cold winter afternoon! YUM!!

Ewww, ew...ew....I don't like boiled peanuts either. Dh and I tried some many years ago on our first trip thru Tennesee, and omg...tasted like warm nothing. LOL I don't know how else to describe it, there wasn't much flavor. Dh liked them tho.

__________________

Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

I remember once being told by an in law how delicious boiled peanuts were and then actually tasting them...GAG!

Like I said, it all depends on what one likes! Plus, it depends on if they were cooked properly because many people do not season them enough.

While I think that they are YUMMY, I would NOT want to eat crawfish from Cajun country! They look like GIANT bugs!!

To get this back on topic: My Thanksgiving confession is that I forgot the giblets inside of a turkey a long time ago. Nothing like what happened to a few of you!! :O)

I always stop for boiled peanuts when we are driving down south. I've never had any boiled in ham hocks....ewwwwww! I also pick up a case of canned boiled peanuts. They are not near as good as the frest ones, but they'll do until I travel again.

Back to the vegetarian thing...I'm shocked at how many innocent looking things have gelatin in them, including pop tarts, chip dip, and most yogurts. A lot of snack foods ~ like Little Debbie sort of things "may have animal fat" (as one of the ingredients). I read everything before I'll eat it.

It's also funny how so many people are gagging at the green bean casserole but when I take it anywhere, it's one of the dishes that is always all gone!

My confession is that I dread thanksgiving with my in-laws. They are all skinny, picky people who hardly eat a thing. I am overweight and feel like they are looking at me like I'm such a fat pig. I can't wait to leave and try to lay low with my glass of wine until its all over. This year I am considering pretending I am sick and sending my family off to dinner without me. I've been married 20 years.

That's my confession.

Omg leagra I am dearly sorry to read your post , no one should ever make you feel bad about yourself sweetie I sincerely offer you a big hug to please enjoy your food, thanksgiving is a wonderful family food oriented holiday spend reflecting when the Pilgrims landed in America and how the Native Americans Helped them . Please enjoy and do not let your in laws ruin the wonderful Holiday for you peace always. Catherine

My family likes giblets in the gravy. My sister in law loves them and will eat all of them. Now I put 2 pounds of chicken livers in the gravy so that everyone can have "giblets". My sister in law wants to know where I buy the turkeys that have all those "giblets".
She is also the sister in law that will skim off all the cheese from the top of a macaroni and cheese casarole (sp) and eat it all.

Man, that is a bummer!!!!! DH's sister and her family are quite small, as well. It makes me feel kind of funky, but don't let it get to you!!!! Everyone is different. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Kim

You can also purchase the giblets and turkey necks from the butcher. You special order and they will save them for you when they cut up the whole turkeys to sell as parts.
I just had someone order 7 necks for a special order at my store.

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-Kristi

I love Green bean Casserole. We pretty much have it at every thanksgiving with my family...My husbands family does not make it though.

My only confession is that my FIRST year making a turkey for me,my husband and my Mil and Aunt ,I Left the Giblet/neck/organ bag in the turkey. LOL! I was told to take it out but I looked and there was no bag so I Stuffed the bird and threw it in the oven. I did not Know that there was cavities to be stuffed at both ends thus the one end that HAD the Organ bag was left as it came. teeheheehee.Thankfully it was a Paper bag and since it was very wet and juices continued to flow through them they stayed wet and just cooked there. It did not effect the flavor of the Bird at all but to this day my MIL brings it up at Family dinners occasionally. Not a huge mess up but its one that will always be remembered.

Edited to add another lil story...

I had to totally Unstuff the Bird one year because as I was washing my hands after stuffing the Bird I realized my Engagement ring was GONE from my Finger! We ended up finding it IN the Bird too! That was Funny too..Everyone got a good laugh at my expense.LOL!

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