Thanksgiving-2007.com

I have never cooked thanksgiving dinner in my life?

What (and how) can i cook a healthy thanksgiving dinner? My fiance and I live together and i'd love to make thanksgiving dinner for him! yes but HOW do i make some of this stuff like the turkey, im always afraid to cook meat cause i was never taught how to cook, i really can't afford to take cooking classes at the moment...but I don't want to kill anyone with my cooking ;)

Public Comments

1. just do the turkey breast instead of the whole thing. mashed potatoes w/o the butter and use low fat milk...and steamed veggie....
2. make turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn. ohhh, and dont forget the gravey!
3. We often have Turkey Drums, they have more taste than breast and one is generally enough for an adult, unless they are big eaters.
4. try this site - it has lots of easy to follow directions. http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/CookingSchool/
5. we always have roasted turkey from the oven with stuffingmix inside, jellied cranberrys, pumpkin pie, brousle sprouts, corn, mashed potatos, turkey gravy, home made rolls but then again we feed 6+
6. I hope you figure out how to do it and good luck.
7. I was in this same position years ago. We bought a butterball turkey at the grocery store. It has a little thing on it that pops out when the turkey is done. We just followed the directions on the package and it came out fine. We made stouffers stuffing seperately. It wasn't fancy but it tasted good and it was fail-proof! Good luck! Try not to sweat it too much and remember, if you totally screw up you'll all have a 'remember the Thanksgiving you .....' story for years to come!
8. First, don't make a whole turkey, just make a turkey breast. You can get them pretty readily this time of year. I will help with the healthy, but I don't approve of a healthy thanksgiving : ) Generally I use butter, but I will help. Season the breast with salt and pepper (top and bottom), under the skin put some fresh herbs, thyme, sage and bay will probably do it. Rub on some olive oil. Bake according to your package directions for about 10 minutes less than the required time. Then tent the turkey meat for 15 minutes before you serve it. Although I must say that butter is better. For the mashed potatoes simply peel and quarter the mashed potatoes. Start cooking them in COLD SALTED water. When they are fork tender take them out, drain and add back to the pan. This is healthier than the regular potato but still tastes good. In a plastic cup add a crushed garlic clove and about 1 cup of fat free half & half. Mic this on low for 3 - 4 minutes. You just want the cream to get warm and the garlic flavor infused. Don't add the garlic to the potatoes. Then mix the milk, with butter (I can't say margerine, but okay if you have to : ) salt and pepper to taste. For stuffing, make a mix. It's a pain trying to toast all that bread to rehydrate. Just add a little bit to it. Perhaps some cooked turkey sausage, sauteed onions, cranberries, etc. Whatever you like. Just make sure that you don't use too much of the additives. Cook it according to the directions. I love green bean casserole, and would highly suggest this. It's a time for thanks, thanks I am still alive after eating this food for 32 years : ) Instead though, generally at least once a week I make this. I use fresh green beans that I sautee them in olive oil salt and pepper. Then I top with toasted almond slivers. It's still really good, but not green bean casserole. They only take about 5 minutes to sautee. As for a bread, instead of buttermilk biscuits, get a really good grain bread. There are a ton out there. Make sure it's fresh and warm. Of course have the butter with it. If you don't have a good whole grain bakery near you check your freezer section. Pepperidge farms makes frozen breads you just heat that I really like. As for gravy, I can't figure how to make this healthy. I suggest buying a low fat version. Hope this was helpful. We aren't really healthful thanksgiving eaters. I nixed the mac n cheese, fried fish, biscuits, etc.
9. My sister in law let me in on her secret- she cooks her turkey OVERNIGHT in low oven (250-300), and it flat falls off the carcass. second.. I have a ton of old cookbooks that I never use anymore, since God invented google. Start early, just put the dish name that you want in google and relax while you browse. Thus, you can have your menu all lined up well ahead of time. Last, my tip for lumpless gravy of any kind- have small amount of liquid in the pan/skillet... put in your flour by a few spoons at a time... until you have a huge paste... THEN add liquid back in, to thin the paste to your liking. Many people try adding the flour to large amount of liquid (where there is more liquid than the flour/ thickening stuff) and it always will lump. The magic ingredient for any dinner is, of course, love... if you make mistakes, you'll laugh about it in years to come.