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Turkey Veggie Platter
This would be so much fun for the Kids Table at Thanksgiving Dinner. Serve with homemade Ranch Dressing. Yum!
“Chicken” loaf (or Patties/Meatballs)
This is a great holiday loaf for all your vegetarian/vegan friends. It is easy to make, and has a great presentation. If you make it as patties, try them with tarter sauce.
1 bag Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chicken Strips, thawed and cubed.
1 16 oz. block firm tofu, drained and rinsed.
3 TBSP nutritional Yeast Flakes
1 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 ½ c. Special K cereal (or Rice Krispies)
1 c. Soda Cracker Crumbs (Whole Wheat ones work well too)
1 small onion or one bunch of green onions (all the white and about 2 inches of green)
2 tsp. Celery salt
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 tsp. parsley
Rinse tofu, break into about 8 pieces and put into a food processor with the onion (unless you’re using green onion), Yeast Flakes, soy sauce and seasonings. Puree. Put diced chicken strips, (chopped green onion if applicable), Special K and cracker crumbs into a large mixing bowl, pour the tofu mixture over and stir until evenly mixed. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and spoon mixture in, smoothing the top so its slightly higher in the middle – shaped like a loaf of bread would be. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Allow to chill at least 2 hours, or even overnight. Slice, lay on a oven safe platter and reheat for your meal, about 20 minuets.
If making patties, form the patties (2″ diameter, ½” thick) instead of putting the mixture into a loaf pan. Place on a baking sheet coated with non stick cooking spray and bake for 20 minuets. Serve immediately.
This dish goes well with mashed potatoes, Vegan Chicken Gravy and Savory Butternut Squash, and any other Thanksgiving Day items you enjoy.
The Children’s Table
One of my favorite traditions for Thanksgiving is the Children’s Table. It’s a table decorated just for the youngest members of the family – say 10 years old and under. In our house, Thanksgiving Dinner takes place around three or four o’clock in the afternoon. Needless to say, if the kids are not occupied with activities, waiting for dinner to be ready can be a challenge!
At the children’s table, I like to provide activities, decorations, and more just for the kids! Here are some ideas you might like to use:
- Cover the table with brown paper (such as paper grocery bags cut up or packing paper) and provide crayons for the kids to decorate their “tablecloth.”
- Have the children make the center piece, place cards, and napkin rings. Then, they can help set their table and make it pretty!
- Provide Thanksgiving coloring sheets and crayons or markers.
- Offer easy to assemble crafts such as Pilgrims hats and Bonnets or Native American Headdresses.
- Have the children decorate place mats that you print. Cut them out and glue to orange or brown construction paper. Then decorate the table with them.
- Make fun turkeys for kids to take home after dinner is over.
- Don’t forget to provide some fun desserts for the kids, too!
Make this Thanksgiving a day the kids won’t forget!
Spool Pumpkin Craft
This is a sweet and simple idea. I think you could use these little pumpkins at each place setting on your thanksgiving table – maybe take home favors or even use them as place cards. You could do these with your children as part of your homeschool, too!
These little pumpkins are frugal, too! Check out the tutorial over at I Can Teach My Child.
Creating and Preserving Thanksgiving Memories
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. Families around the country gather to spend the day together, eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and yet each famiily has its own traditions and its own unique ways of interacting with one another.
If you are like me, you enjoy setting a pretty table, creating delectable foods to enjoy, and making the day a real treat for your loved ones.
Why not take the time to take good photos of the table, or the food, and of the family gathered together around the table, in the kitchen, or piled on the couch around the football game? Once the photos are developed you can have lots of fun and create a memory book or layout of your Thanksgiving Day.
1. Recipe Memories. Does your grandma always bring the stuffing? Or maybe Aunt Martha has a legendary Chess Pie. Maybe a new recipe you tried has now become a hands down favorite. Make a Thanksgiving Recipes Scrapbook. Take a picture of the dish. Ask your Grandma to handwrite her recipe for the stuffing on a pretty Autumn recipe card. You will forever cherish her handwriting and the recipe can be passed down from generation to generation! You can print free recipe cards from www.alenkasprintables.com.
2. The Thanksgiving Table. After you have set the table ever so carefully, added your final touches, snap a photo at a couple of different angles. You might even want to focus on certain details like place cards or your Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers. When doing your layout, add a list of your menu, a sample place card, and any other special mementos.
3. My Favorite Things. Create a list of all your favorite things about Thanksgiving. My Favorite Pie, My Favorite Smell, My Favorite Sound, My Favorite Activity, etc. You might even ask your husband and children to add their own lists.
4. I am Thankful For… You can create a layout of different photos, i.e. photo of the family together, one of the table, one of the food, etc., and make a bullet style list of your blessings.
5. Scarp an Activity. Why no preserve the fun of the Thanksgiving football game, or maybe your family likes to play a particular game after the meal every year. Those are memories that will mean the most long after everyone has forgotten that the green bean casserole burned, or that the pumpkin pie was out of this world yummy.
6. Record the Past. Sometimes we don’t have photos of memorable family gatherings. But you don’t need a photo to create a great scrapbook page! Record a favorite story or stories of your Favorite Thanksgiving or Dad’s Thanksgiving Football Fumble. Whatever it is, you should record the memory for your children and future generations. People don’t tell stories the way they did years ago. Children learn a lot about where they come from when they hear stories of family members that perhaps are no longer around or won’t be when they are old enough to remember.
7. Mama, the Cook. Ask your husband to take candid photos of you whgile you prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Or sneak around the kitchen while your own mother/ family member cooks! Take lots of photos to ensure that you have plenty of usuable ones. Record the memories of your apron and about the bowl you always use to make cornbread stuffing and about where you got the recipes you use today. Photos of you covered in flour may not be your idea of a flattering shot, but just make sure that you dress neatly, do your hair and makeup and smile a lot! Your children will love photos of you in the kitchen the way they remember you.
8. The Day After. Why not scrapbook about the day after? Lots of families go on their mego shopping sprees each year on the day after Thanksgiving. Why not make it even more memorable by taking photos of the vent. You could even plan a party for the evening with Thanksgiving leftovers and some additional easy snack recipes.
9. Thanksgiving Titles and Quotes.
- Give Thanks
- Turkey Day
- Tom Turkey
- Pumpkin Pie and Me
- Count Your Blessings
- Thanksgiving Memories
- Thanksgiving and Football … Oh My!
- American Pie
- Gobble, Gobble
- Little Turkey’s
- My Favorite Thanksgiving
- From My Table
- Let’s Get Stuffed!
- Pass the Pie
- Thanksgiving Traditions
- Happy Harvest
10. Scrapbooking Freebies. You can visit the following sites for more ideas, printables, and freebies:
Tips for Teaching Your Children to be More Thankful
As the mother of five children, I have realized that children are not always as thankful as they should be. In fact, children can be downright greedy at times and you may wonder how it was possible that you gave birth to such a selfish creature.
So, how do we, as moms, teach our children that life is not always easy and they should be thankful for all that they have and that they should appreciate what others have done for them or given them? Here are some easy ways you can incorporate being thankful in your everyday life.
1. Model Thankful Behavior. This may seem like an obvious one, but how often do you remember to say thank you when someone does something for you? How often do you tell your children how thankful you are that have a warm home, or a full fridge, or even a friendly pet? We should be thankful for all things in this life. Tonight as you sit together at the dinner table begin a new conversation with the words, “I am so thankful for …” even if all you can think to be thankful for is the fact that your family is together. And remember to be thankful all year round – not just during the holiday season!
2. Let Your Children Contribute. Kids like to feel they are contributing something worthwhile to others. Whether it be helping you set the table, or baking cookies for a neighbor, or raking leaves for an elderly person, children will be more thankful if they feel they are helpful to others. A good lesson can be learned from volunteering time at a local soup kitchen or other charity. It never hurts for children to realize there are others who are less fortunate than they are.
3. Don’t Bombard Children with Too Much Stuff. Kids are like sponges. They will grab up as much stuff as they can. Has your child ever had a case of the GIMMES? Once they get it, it can be a hard task to change their selfish attitude to one of thankfulness. One word: PURGE! Give excess to the needy.
4. Keep a Family Blessings Journal. Record happy events, fun memories and other notes on Friday evening after supper. From time to time reread the entries.
