I suppose I'm like any other mother, I've spoiled my children terribly. One Thanksgiving when my children were still in elementary school, I discovered just how rotten they were. I worked extremely late the day before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, because of our work load, I hadn't been to the store to get anything I needed to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. At the time, we lived about 30 minutes away which meant by the time I got off work and made the dreaded trip to Wal-Mart, it was about 9 p.m. before I arrived home. Normally, I make everything home-made. No frozen pies or store bought cakes for my crew...only mom's home-made stuff was good enough for them. Warning for new moms - DON'T ever get in this habit. It WILL bite you on the booty!! Needless to say, this particular Thanksgiving, it bit my tail good. Because of time constraints, I decided to buy some good old Mrs. Smith pies. I took the pies out of the boxes, put the boxes in the bottom of the trash, and took the trash out, so that the kids wouldn't see them. Yeah for me! No one would ever know that they weren't home-made by mom...I mean really?? Who can tell a frozen pie from the real deal? I'll tell you who...EG's Daddy, Farmer Boo, and Baby Chef.
Thanksgiving dinner was great as it always is....until dessert time. Each of my children got a slice of their favorite. EG's Daddy's is pumpkin, Farmer Boo's is sweet potato, and Baby Chef's is pecan. I could see the glimmer of "If I eat another bite, I'm gonna hurl, but there's no way I'm missing dessert" looks they all had as they put the first bite of pie in their mouths. They chewed, looked at each other, back at me. No one said a word. I think to myself "One point for mom. They don't even know the difference. Why have I been busting my tail all these years???" No sooner than I thought those things. Farmer Boo looked at me and said "Did you really think we wouldn't know?"Know what? I ask. "Seriously Mom, we know the difference between frozen and home-made, and if you're gonna feed us frozen, we don't want Thanksgiving." I nearly fell out of the chair, I laughed so hard. I should have known I could never fool my kids. That's been quite a few years ago and I've never made another frozen pie.
My original plan for the month of November, was to try to post a recipe or two every few days that I use at Thanksgiving, so that if someone wanted to try it, they would have plenty of time. Here are a few to get you started. Hope you enjoy!
Pumpkin Bread
3 1/2 cups self rising flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. nutmed
2 cups pumpkin
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
Combine all dry ingredients. Combine pumpkin, oil, and water. Beat eggs and add to oil mixture. Make a well in flour mixture, add oil mixture and stir until well mixed. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" x 5" loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Test with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool on rack.
Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all ingredients well. Pour in 2 quart casserole dish and top with the following:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp butter
1/3 cup coconut (optional)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Mix and spoon on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake for 35 minutes at 350.
Quick Rolls
2 1/4 cups Bisquick, divided
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
Combine 2 cups Bisquick, sour cream, and butter, Stir well. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cupr Bisquick on flat surface. Drop dough by level tablespoons onto Bisquick and roll into balls. Place 3 balls into each of the 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until gold brown. Makes 1 dozen rolls.
Coconut Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1 can Eagle brand milk
2 pkg. frozen coconut
Cool Whip
Bake cake according to directions on box. Heat Eagle brand milk and 1 package of coconut until hot. Poke holes in cake with wooden spoon and pour mixture over cake. When cool and ready to serve, top with cool whip and sprinkle with coconut. Store in refrigerator.
