Independence Day

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Today is Independence Day in the United States, which commemorates her declaration of Independence from the British monarchy on July 4, 1776.  
We'll be heading to my BIL's home where he has food on the smoker and some fireworks later. I'm bringing a watermelon to enjoy as it will be cold and refreshing on this hot day. 
Whichever way you choose to celebrate be it a picnic, barbeque, baseball game, staying home, or a family reunion I hope that you will be safe and enjoy yourselves.  
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thanksgiving Day Menu

This past week I've posted several of the recipes I use to create our Thanksgiving Menu each year. I hope you've enjoyed reading the recipes and where each one came from. 
I've decided to place them all on one page, so they can easily be found. 
Thanksgiving Day Menu
Turkey or Ham Cornbread Dressing Mashed Potatoes Sweet Potato Casserole Broccoli Casserole Brussel Sprouts Cranberry Relish Relish Tray Deviled Eggs Crescent Rolls
Desserts Pumpkin Pie Pecan Pie Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Jello Salad
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Thanksgiving Day Recipe Series ~ Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Ingredients:
2 eggs 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup butter, melted 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 1 cup chopped pecans 1 (9 inch) pie shell
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In large mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy.  Add flour, sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended.  Blend in melted butter.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove from oven.  Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.  Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Thanksgiving Day Recipe Series ~ Broccoli Casserole

This is another tried and true family favorite recipe. 
I found this recipe in a Ronald McDonald cookbook in the early 1990s.
It's an easy recipe to make and delicious. 
Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients:
2 packages or 1 bag chopped broccoli 1 stick butter, divided 8 ounces Velveeta cheese 25 Ritz type crackers or 1 sleeve crackers
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook broccoli and drain well. In a small pan heat half the butter and all of the cheese over low heat, until creamy. Add to the broccoli and place in a buttered casserole dish. Melt the other half of the butter. Crumble the crackers until fine and add the melted butter.Mix well. Sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Thanksgiving Day Recipe Series ~ Cornbread Dressing

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Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

2 pans cornbread
2 - 14 ounce packages Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix
1 bunch celery
1 onion
2 sticks butter
2 packages onion soup mix
12 cups chicken broth - can use 3 boxes (32 ounces each) or  6 cans (15.5 ounces) 
Sage

Directions:

I start making dressing by baking two pans of cornbread. I make my cornbread by adding four cups of cornmeal to three to four cups of buttermilk and then baking that in a 375 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes. I don't use the cornbread mixes, but use 100% cornmeal as I do not care for the flour mixed in with my cornbread. 

Cornbread (Makes one pan, double to make two pans for dressing)

Ingredients:

2 cups white cornmeal

1 & 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pam type spray to coat pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place oil in your cooking vessel and place in oven to heat for a few minutes.

Place cornmeal, buttermilk, and egg in bowl and mix together.

Remove pan from oven and pour hot oil onto cornbread batter and stir the oil into the batter.

Spray cooking vessels with cooking spray and add batter.

Place in the oven and cook for 25 to 35 minutes or until done. 

This will make one pan of cornbread and I make two pans for dressing.

I use an eight inch round cake pan to make my cornbread. 

If you want to leave the egg out of this recipe that is fine as we are just going to crumble the cornbread up to add to the dressing. 

Allow cornbread to cool completely.

While the cornbread is cooling, I chop up the celery and onions and saute them in a skillet with butter until the vegetables are soft. After the cornbread has cooled, I take my largest mixing bowl and crumble the cornbread into the bowl. I then add the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix and stir well. Then I add the celery, onion, and butter mixture along with the onion soup mix and a little bit of sage (approximately one tablespoon). 

After that is all mixed together well, I start adding the chicken broth. You can use homemade or store bought. I add enough to make sure the dressing is well moistened. This makes a very large batch and what I usually do is put some in a 9 by 13 inch pan to bake in the oven for that day and then put the remainder in the freezer for another day. I bake this in a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, uncovered. 

This is a tried and true family favorite recipe used by three generations in my family. When I was growing up, my grandmother worked for Pepperidge Farm and this was just one of several Pepperidge Farm products that graced our holiday tables down through the years. 

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

WFD ~ Easter Sunday Dinner

Woke up early this morning to put a Rump Roast in the Crock-pot along with some carrots, which I bought at Sam's Club this week. Sam's sells five pound bags of carrots for $2.98, which works out to 59 cents per pound an unheard of price in any grocery store here. Served mashed potatoes (loss leader this week - 10 pound bag for $2.99) along side the roast, and served Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. Made two gallons of sweet iced tea for drinks (55 cents per gallon - I use decaffeinated tea bags, so higher cost than regular tea bags). Total cost of dinner was right under $20, which is not bad for a holiday dinner considering Christmas or Thanksgiving dinners can sometimes cost three times that amount.