Mini Thanksgiving Dinner

After the big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner with my husband's brothers and families we were missing our own adult kids who didn't make it back to Kansas for the Turkey Dinner Day. So, we traveled to Texas to spend the weekend with our daughter and son-in-law in their new home. The kitchen wasn't quite put together yet, and there were lots of things to do besides cook, so we chose a simple Mini Thanksgiving dinner.

The recipe for turkey meatballs included many Thanksgiving favorites - turkey, cranberries, and stuffing/croutons. It was from Good Morning America and quick and easy to make. We added fresh green beans with scallions, sweet potato casserole, tossed salad, and pumpkin bread dinner rolls to the menu.


Oh, and pie - more on the pie later.

Gobble Gobble Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds ground turkey

2 cups garlic croutons or stuffing cubes

1 cup dried cranberries

2 large eggs

¼ cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 teaspoons salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

For the garlic croutons:

1 large loaf stale country bread, crusts removed

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup fresh oregano, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

salt

Directions for croutons: Tear bread into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add garlic and oregano and drizzle with olive oil. Toss gently and season with salt.

Place croutons in a large rimmed baking pan, bake for 20 minutes. Stir and bake until brown and crunchy. 

Directions for Turkey balls: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle the olive oil into a 9x13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside. Combine the ground turkey, croutons, cranberries, eggs, bread crumbs, sage, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

 Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 ½ inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. The temperature should be 165 degrees on a meat thermometer. Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

And the pie - a friend shared a wonderfully rich pie recipe with me and I found it was similar to a recipe I'd had for years and been wanting to try. Its surprisingly easy also, and just as easy to eat (and will add many yummy calories to the day!)


KENTUCKY DERBY PIE

1 cup sugar

½ cup flour

1 stick oleo, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup English walnuts

6 ounces chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons bourbon (optional)

1 unbaked pie shell

    Mix all with a spoon. Put into pie shell and bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until firm on top. Serve plain or with whipped topping or ice cream.

It was a great Thanksgiving. We were grateful to spend it with family and friends.