I need a fabulous turkey recipe!?

[bustinloose]

I've hosted Thanksgiving at my house once, for about 7 people total. This year, I think I bit off more than I can chew because I invited my husband's whole family to dinner at our house! It can be upwards of 30-40 people! I would like a wonderful Thanksgiving turkey recipe that would make their heads spin. Any ideas? Also, any other side dish recipes would help greatly too. Thanks!

 

[riversconfluence]

Turkey divan is wonderful. My Mom made it. Yum.

Do you know you can do all the turkey work in advance? Brine your turkey, cook it, cool it off and slice it and freeze it. Save and freeze the juice, too, to make gravy. So the day of, you can concentrate on other things.
If you want, do one small turkey for show and carving, then bring out your creation.

I just had my first brined turkey last year, my goodness was it juicy and flavorful! It was hard to do, but Alton Brown showed how on his show, and if you have an extra refrigerator, so much easier.

Side dishes for turkey would include:
sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.
carrot and raisin salad
mashed white potatoes and gravy.
stuffing, you can make it plain, or add things like mushrooms or oysters. I use stove top, it really is good!
my aunt always made broccoli cheese and rice casserole
ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli
3 cups instant rice
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups water
1 (16 ounce) package processed American cheese, cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Cook broccoli and rice according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and 1 1/4 cups water. Gradually stir in cheese until melted. Be careful that the cheese doesn't burn.
3.Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and saute celery and onion until soft.
4.In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, rice, soup and cheese mixture, celery and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5.Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, until bubbly and lightly brown

carrot and pineapple and lemon jello salad is pretty and really good
Ingredients
1 (6 ounce) package lemon flavored gelatin mix
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
4 large carrots, shredded
Directions
1.In a large bowl, prepare the lemon gelatin according to package directions using reserved pineapple juice in place of some of the water. Refrigerate until thickened, about 1 hour.
2.When the gelatin has thickened, stir in pineapple and shredded carrot. Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours

corn casserole my aunt made one with saltines, there are several kinds
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2.In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
3.Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown


any kind of cranberry concoction.
glazed carrots
love 7 layer salad . Mine is
in order starting at the bottom of a big straight sided round dish/container:
one head of lettuce, cut bite size
one head of cauliflower, cut bite size
one bunch of broccoli, cut bite size
a pound of crisp fried bacon crumbled
one red onion, cut into thin rings
small pouch of mozzarella
1/2 cup of parmesan
one small sack of frozen raw peas.
2cups of miracle whip, spread
one half cup of granulated sugar
Layer it all. Put it in the refrigerator overnight, just before serving, stir, it makes its own dressing, and gets creamy and gooey as it warms up with the air while stirring.


I make green bean casserole, but I saute mushrooms and onions, and add bacon to the green beans and mushroom sauce. this goes over really big.