Thanksgiving

Beloved:

      I love, love, love Thanksgiving.  Ben is bringing home two international students for the whole break.  Mariah invited friends.  Some combination of our usual family and friends will be here, some for the day and some for a night or two.  I’m extra anxious to snuggle the new baby of Louisville friends.   In all we’ll have five kids ages 6 and younger..   Netnet* is in her element!  

     If I’m not working, and sometimes when I am, I’m thinking about food. Groceries, recipes, and menus swirl in my head constantly.  I doodle notes to myself everywhere.  Kroger was out of pie crusts (I can hear my crust making friends sighing now!) and won’t get any more pie pumpkins. Sam’s will have the crusts and I’ll call Musgraves about pumpkins. It’s not lost on me that I bake fresh pumpkin in a pre-made crust but this is how I roll.  

     I bought a twenty pound turkey.  Last year’s sixteen pounder provided no leftovers thereby fuddling my Friday Saturday plan.  Below is a recipe from a super website Mariah found on Pinterest.  It’s on myAfter Thanksgiving Use Up The Leftovers menu list.  I intend to drain and dump in the leftover green beans and all the relish tray vegetables along with the regular ingredients.  

     By Saturday afternoon the house will be quiet again and I’ll be exhausted, probably with a sermon to finish.  But happy to have such grace in hand.  These years fly by.  No time ago I was the young bride at Myra’s house.  She and Elsie and Frieda ran the kitchen.  The fourth sister, Ethel, was there but don’t remember her cooking.  The memories are vivid but the days are gone.  As will be my own, me in my kitchen.  Maybe they’ll laugh and say, she was a good cook but she couldn’t make a pie crust to save her soul.   I’m okay with that.  

 I pray the holidays find you joyful.  If not, I pray they find you peaceful.  ~ peace and prayers, pastor annette

     
Chicken/Turkey Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

- 4 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts, not frozen
- 2 cans diced tomatoes (not drained), 14.5 ounce (I love Hunt’s fire-roasted tomatoes)
- 2 can black beans (drained), 14.5 ounce
- 1  onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced  
- 2 limes, juiced  
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped  
- 3 14.5 ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth (I will use turkey broth)
- 1 tsp EACH of salt and pepper (or to taste)
~ Hot sauce to taste, (I used about 1 tsp and mine wasn’t especially hot, just a little warm.)


The regular directions:  Literally, dump everything except the cilantro into a large pot, even the raw chicken.  I was suspicious at first but it works.  Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low and keep it at a slow boil for 25 minutes.  After 25 minutes, take the chicken out of your pot with a fork and put it on a separate plate.  Cut into the chicken to make sure it’s cooked all the way through, then using two forks (or a knife and a fork) shred your chicken. Once shredded, put back in the pot and add cilantro. Mix together, and serve!

When using leftover turkey however, obviously cook time is greatly reduced, just long enough to blend flavors.  I plan to dump it all into a crockpot as I clean up after the meal on Thursday, put it in the fridge and then turn it on the lowest setting Friday morning.  I’ll put a sticky note above the crockpot telling them where the garnishes are. People can just eat whenever they want.  

Garnish ideas - more cilantro, lime, avocado, or Greek yogurt mixed with lime juice (tastes like sour cream).  I like the tiny little tortilla chips on the store aisle with salad dressing

*Netnet was coined 26 years ago by my oldest niece who considered Aunt Annette too cumbersome.