While many people dread Thanksgiving and Christmas because of the effort they have to exert in the kitchen, making a feast that your family will love doesn’t have to be painful. In fact, these recipes offer classic, home-cooked meals without all the hassle, so you have plenty of time and energy to spend relaxing with the family in your home.
Molasses Butter Turkey
Try something else with your small turkey during the fall and winter holidays. This molasses butter recipe is sweet, but not overpowering, and it adds new life to dry turkey with the molasses butter glaze. All you need are:
- 1 10-pound turkey
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1/4 kosher salt
- 1/4 coarse black pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Combine all the ingredients while leaving 2 tablespoons of butter in a bowl with a fork. Remove turkey innards, rinse with cool water and pat dry with paper towel before placing on a rack in your pan. Spread the molasses glaze under the skin and place any remaining in the turkey. Use the lat of the butter along the top of the turkey. Add a cup of water to your roasting pan.
Roast your turkey for approximately 45 minutes, uncovered. After that, cover with loose foil for another 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the turkey is 180-degrees. Remove the turkey from the oven and let stand for 30 minutes while still foil covered.
Apple and Sausage Dressing
You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own bread stuffing, and no one has to know that you used some store-bought items for this one. Gather:
- 1 pound sweet sausage, casing removed
- 4 Rome or Empire apples
- 7 ounces dried fruit mix
- 2 tablespoons sage
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 packages frozen Parmesan garlic bread
- 1 can chicken broth
Cube the garlic bread into pieces small enough for your dressing. Cook your sausage over medium heat, making sure to break it up as it cooks. Add dices apples to the brown sausage and cook for 5 more minutes until tender. Stir in the spices and fruit. Finally, fold in bread pieces and broth to the mixture.
Butter a casserole dish big enough for the mixture and fill the pan. Cover and chill the dressing for up to one day. On the big day, place your dressing into the oven at 350-degrees until it becomes golden brown on top, or approximately 40 minutes.
Hard Cider Gravy
Hard cider gravy is a perfect new recipe to try for autumn holidays, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort. It’s perfect over your turkey, dressing and potatoes. The recipe calls for:
- 1 cup hard cider
- 3 cups chicken broth (less for a thicker gravy)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to tastes
If you’re not a fan of hard cider, you can replace that ingredient with white wine in this recipe.
Remove fat from your turkey drippings and set them aside. Stir cider of medium heat for one minute. Pour the cider and broth into your drippings. In a pan, melt butter of medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and whisk while cooking until golden. Add the broth and cider to the pan and cook until boiling. Simmer until thick and add salt and pepper to taste. If your gravy turns out thick or chunky, you can strain to even out the texture. However, you might prefer the chunky texture, so spoon it on.
Don’t forget to take time to enjoy your new recipes!