We always go to Branson for the week of Thanksgiving. We have been doing that every year since 2008. It used to be an 8-hour drive, but now we just live a couple of hours away. Even though we are close and can go visit really anytime we would like, we still spend the week there. We stay in a condo and do some of our own cooking. There are certain things that we typically cook. I don’t know if it’s tradition or just lack of creativity. I have included the things that we cook, including Thanksgiving lunch. This is only for a week, and it is just a few things because we have some favorite places that we like to go eat at as well.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Sandwiches
The soup is another one of my semi-homemade creations. I found a recipe I really liked in a soup cookbook, and I modified it so that it was a little easier. I also typically double the recipe when I am cooking for a larger group.
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced carrots (small)
1 cup chopped celery
1 tsp. chopped garlic (I use the jarred kind)
2 tsp. oil
1 pkg. Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
2 cups chicken broth – or more for flavor and “soupiness”
2 cups water
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
Cook the vegetables in the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until they are soft. Add in the Knorr Vegetable recipe mix and stir until well combined. Slowly add in the broth and the water, stirring constantly. You can add a little more broth as needed. I usually do once the noodles are added. Add in the chicken. Bring to a boil and add the noodles. Lower the heat and simmer until the noodles are cooked. I actually like to make this a day ahead of time except for the noodles. I put it in the fridge. The next day when we are ready to eat, I heat it to boiling and put in the noodles (and usually some extra broth) and then simmer until they are cooked. I think the flavors of lots of things are better if they get to “marry” overnight.
We just make cold sandwiches to go with this. We like turkey, ham, and/or roast beef with lettuce, tomato, pickles, etc. Obviously you have whatever you enjoy. Or no sandwich at all! You can just make a meal from the soup. Maybe just add some crackers or crusty bread.
Taco Salad
I wouldn’t exactly call this a recipe either. It’s just some ingredients we like all piled on top of tortilla chips!
Beef seasoned with taco seasoning (we like the Taco Bell version), canned refried beans (once again, the Taco Bell variety), shredded lettuce, diced tomato, diced onion, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos, black olives (and anything else that you like!).
Just cook the meat according to the directions, heat up the beans, and then pile everything onto your chips. You can also serve this in taco salad shells, but we just pile in on the chips and crush everything together.
Gumbo
My mother-in-law cooks the gumbo. I can, but she is the one who taught me how! She starts with two different gumbo mixes. She measures out half of each one and mixes them together and then saves the other half of each for the next time. She uses Louisiana Fish Fry Products gumbo base and Oak Grove Smokehouse gumbo mix. She doesn’t follow the directions on the package! In a large oven-safe dutch oven, place 2 quarts of cold water with the base mixture. Mix it up and then add your veggies. We use one diced yellow onion, two stalks of diced celery, one diced bell pepper, and one package of frozen okra not the breaded kind). Then you add in your meat. We use a couple of boneless, skinless diced chicken breasts (raw) and two to three links of sliced andouille sausage. You can use a mixture of white and dark meat chicken if you would like. Here is the crazy part. We don’t cook it on the stove! Heat your oven to 350 degrees F, put a lid on the pot, and place it in the oven. It needs to cook for 2 to 3 hours. Stir it every 30 minutes or so just so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. You know it is ready when the veggies are soft and cooked way down. It comes out just right every time! As is quite evident, I love semi-homemade cooking!!
Leftovers
Self explanatory and includes leftovers from Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Lunch
We can’t fry the turkey at Thanksgiving since we are out of town, but we can make it taste better! My husband does the turkey. He injects it with Tony Chachere’s Creole-Style Butter Injectable Marinade and also sprinkles the outside with Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. I have linked the instructions straight from their website.
Cornbread Dressing
At Thanksgiving my MIL prepares the dressing. However, I am including my recipe instead since that is the one I have! They are similar. Mine comes from a church cookbook called Happy Times with Home Cooking from First Baptist Church of Leesville, Louisiana. The recipe was submitted by Geraldine Mann, and I have been using it for years. It is a little vague but can be perfected with practice.
Diced celery, green onions, and onion (for a single batch, I use a whole yellow onion, 1 to 2 stalks of celery, and 2 to 3 green onions)
2 pkg. Gladiola/Martha White yellow cornbread mix
2 pieces bread, toasted brown
5 boiled eggs, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
Chicken broth (lots)
Garlic powder, dried onions, salt, and pepper
Get everything prepped and then just mix it all together. My MIL taught me a trick of cooking the veggies in some broth to soften them. It usually takes about a can a broth. Nobody likes crunchy vegetables in their dressing (at least I don’t!). Boil and peel the eggs and chop them up. Toast your bread. Bake the cornbread according to the package directions. Many times I cook the cornbread the day before.
Crumble cornbread into a greased 9×13 pan, leaving some in bigger pieces. Crumble toast on top. Pour the veggies and broth as well as the chopped eggs. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, dried onions, and salt (all to your taste). Stir in the cream of chicken soup and mix together. Start adding in broth until you get a slightly soupy mixture. Be sure everything is wet. Sprinkle heavily with black pepper.
I usually do everything up to this point a day ahead. I cover it with foil and put it in the fridge. I just think it tastes better if you can do this.
The day we are having the dressing, I try to set it out to start coming up to room temperature about 2 hours before I am ready to cook it. When you are ready, bake at 375 degrees without a covering for 30 minutes or until it begins to brown. Cover with foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until it is hot all the way through.
It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s really not, especially if you like homemade cornbread dressing. We serve it with cranberry sauce. You can make some or just use the canned variety.
Green beans
You have to have something green to off-set all the brown, right??!! You can cook fresh or frozen, but we usually just use canned green beans.
My MIL has always made this and the corn casserole. She uses recipes from an old cookbook that she has. I don’t have those recipes, but I have linked some that are almost identical to hers. This recipe from shugarysweets.com uses canned yams, which is what she uses to make her casserole. She has told me that the amount of topping that it calls for you to make is too much in her recipe. I’m not sure about this recipe. I just know you don’t want the topping to be so thick that you have to cut through it with a knife!
As stated above, my MIL makes this casserole. I couldn’t find one exactly like hers because I know her recipe uses whole kernel corn, cream-style corn, and Mexicorn. However, this recipe from unsophisticook.com seems to be just like hers except for the Mexicorn.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
You can make homemade mashed potatoes, and we do so sometimes, but most of the time for a meal with this many dishes, we use pre-made mashed potatoes. We either use Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes or Member’s Mark Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes from Sam’s. These come with two big tubs, which you may or may not need. If you only need one, you can save the other one for Leftover Mashed Potato Soup (see that recipe in a coming menu). The gravy can be whatever you prefer. I recommend Harry’s Turkey Gravy from Sam’s. It is two large tubs of fresh gravy, but you can freeze one of them, if needed.
Fruit salad
My MIL prepares this as well. I don’t think she has any particular recipe. She mixes up some drained canned fruits, adds some sliced bananas, and mixes it all together with homemade whipped cream. You can do whatever you like. This makes a nice light dessert or can be considered a salad. It’s probably not great for you, but at least you can tell yourself that you are having some fruit!
Rolls
This one isn’t rocket science. Choose whatever variety you like. If you have the time, I actually like the Rhodes Dinner Rolls. It’s frozen dough, so you have to plan ahead and you have to have the room in the oven to bake them, but they are SOOO delicious!
I guess at Thanksgiving I don’t have to do too much! I do more at Christmas. My MIL makes this as well!! The linked recipe from lovebakesgoodcakes.com is basically the same as what she uses. Even my son, who doesn’t really care for coconut, likes this cake. It starts with a boxed cake mix, and it’s done in a 9×13 pan, so no layering and frosting.
My husband is always in charge of the pumpkin pie. I can do it, but it’s his thing to do. He follows the recipe on the can of Libby’s pumpkin. The only thing he does differently is that he leaves out the cloves. We don’t care for the flavor of cloves. We do use the name brand pumpkin, but we use the off-brand of evaporated milk. This recipe makes two regular-sized pies or one deep dish pie.
Managing the Mundane 
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