Green Bean Casserole

This is always served for Thanksgiving Dinner, everyone just loves this casserole.

Green Bean Casserole

2 (10 3/4-ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Golden Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cans cut green beans (drained)
1 Large French's French Fried Onions

1. Mix soup, milk, soy, black pepper, beans and  2/3 fried onions in bowl and pour into  13 x 9 pan or 3 -quart casserole dish.
2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes
3. Stir. Sprinkle with remaining fried onions on top and  Bake 10 minutes.

Makes 12 servings

TIP: Use 2 (16 to 20-ounce) bag frozen green beans, 4 (9-ounce) packages frozen green beans or 3 pounds fresh green beans for this recipe

Cleaning and Preparing Fresh Green Beans:

Wash fresh green beans thoroughly in clear, cool water. Lift beans from the wash water and leave garden debris behind. Rinse again.

Break off the end (the top and tail) as you wash them. Leave whole or cut into desired lengths. Beans can be cooked whole, cut crosswise, diagonally or French-cut. If you want sweet tasting, crisp fresh beans, cut them as little as possible. The recipes I will post next will use can string beans, I just wanted everyone to know how to prepare fresh sting beans.

I am featuring my family traditional Thanksgiving Dinner recipe for our vegetable side dishes featuring fresh greens and string beans and a traditional Green Bean casserole for my daughter it her favorite

Today let's talk Greens,

 COLLARDS GREENS

Ingredients
1 pound smoked turkey tails
5 bunches collard greens - rinsed, trimmed and chopped (4 bags of *pre-washed greens
2-3 cups water (just to cover the meat)
5 cups chicken stock or (low sodium chicken stock in the can or cartons)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar (artificial sweeteners)
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Preparation:
In an extra large pot, bring smoked turkey tails and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 hour.

Immerse greens in a sink full of water and wash well to remove sand and grit. Lift out, drain water, fill sink, and repeat the procedure approximately 3 or 4 times to ensure they are clean and free of sand, grit and insects. Cut out the thickest part of stems that runs down the center and coarsely chop the greens.

Increase the heat under the smoked turkey tails to medium-high; add about 1/3 of the greens to the pot. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, until wilted. Add remaining greens in two more batches, until all the greens fit into the pot.

Stir in the broth, garlic, vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally about 2 hour or until the greens are tender. When done taste and adjust **seasoning.
smoked turkey tails and cut meat from bones. Dice and add back to the greens. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving bowl. If desired, pass the juices (also known as pot liquor) for dipping cornbread.

*wash your pre-washed greens just one time, yes they need to be washed because no respectful soul sister would just dump a bag in the pot.
** If it need a little salt, this is the time to add the salt.

. Candied yams are a staple of Thanksgiving dinners everywhere, Let's get cookin'

This is one of my grand kids favorite dish for the holidays. After the Yam or cooked, I place them  into a 9 x 13 inch pan and Sprinkle  1 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows over the top and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) about 10 minutes until golden brown and serve warm. 

CANDIED YAMS

Ingredients:
5 pounds yams (or sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into large bite-sized chunks
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
DO NOT ADD WATER

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, place potatoes. Top with butter, cinnamon, vanilla,lemon juice and sugar, cover and simmer, for 35 to 45 minutes until tender. Gentle stir throughout cooking, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Mixture will thicken slightly as it cools. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Tip:
If sauce looks very liquid, removed the potatoes, as they are fully cooked, and simmered the remaining liquid with the cover removed until it caramelized and then poured it back over the potatoes.
DO NOT ADD WATER

ROAST TURKEY

Let's get Roasting!

Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on a v-shaped roasting rack, breast-side down and pat dry with paper towels,use a shallow roasting pan (If you use a deep roasting pan, you wind up steaming the meat). 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Thoroughly rinse the turkey, and discard the brine mixture.
2. Brush the turkey with 1/2 the melted butter. Place breast side down on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 onion, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1 sprig of thyme, and the bay leaf. Scatter the remaining vegetables and thyme around the bottom of the roasting pan, and cover with the chicken broth
3. Roast uncovered 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (185 degrees C). Carefully turn the turkey breast side up about 2/3 through the roasting time, and brush with the remaining butter. Allow the bird to stand about 30 minutes before carving.

To prevent the meat from drying out, loosely cover with a thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on the inside to prevent sticking. The last hour or so, remove the foil and turn the turkey to brown the breast.

Baste, baste, baste.

Don't rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. The turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 180 degrees F. If you are not prepared to use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the turkey and the stuffing in the bird, that is okay but the stuffing should be cooked outside the turkey," I always cook my stuffing outside of the turkey".

Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with the aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve.

If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.