My Thanksgiving desserts 2010

I like to make random yummy pies and desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I made Key Lime Pie and Cranberry Cheesecake bars this year to take to my brothers' house (they made the pumpkin pie). Sorry, I forgot to take a pictures of them. The key lime is really good and easy!

CARNATION® Key Lime Pie

This no-fail recipe makes the best Key Lime Pie you'll ever taste. Keep a few cans of Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk on hand for quick baking projects.

Estimated Times:
Preparation - 5 min | Cooling Time - 2 hrs refrigerating | Yields - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared 9-inch (6 oz.) graham cracker crust
• 1 can (14 oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/2 cup (about 3 medium limes) fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 8 thin lime slices (optional)

Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

Crust:
1 yellow or white cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup pecans, chopped (I didn't use them)

Filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

Combine cake mix, butter and egg and beat until crumbly. Add pecans and mix well. Press evenly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes just until crust is set.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and egg until smooth.

In a separate bowl, blend together cranberry sauce and nutmeg. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust. Spoon cranberry sauce in 3 rows lengthwise in pan. Run a knife through the cranberry sauce and cream cheese mixture to form swirls.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until cream cheese mixture is set. Cool and cut into bars.

Turkey-edible art but it wasn't a true success!

Well, I attempted to make the butternut squash turkey for my daughters school class party. I found the idea here. Well folks....it didn't turn out the way I liked it. My cheese kept splitting (and was barely hanging on to the skewer) when I threaded it on the skewers. I tried to warm the cheese, thicker cheese, and I tried the cheese cold--No success. I didn't like this project because of the cheese issue. Then I ran out of steam (and patience) and didn't put on the red pepper "feathers". I guess the only thing I was proud of was the turkey face and red pepper waddle.

Silver lining: My daughter was proud of me as her mommy. In the end, I smiled at my turkey and took her picture with it outside her classroom. Kids are very easy to please and it's refreshing and I need to remember that more often.

Kid friendly Thanksgiving place cards

You can make these easy and fun Thanksgiving place cards on Wednesday when the kids are out of school. Or maybe when the pies are cooking the day before the big day. Check out the details and a big Thanks to Frugal Family fun blog for the great idea

Yummy pear turkey appetizer

Do you need a snack to tide the kids over until the big Thanksgiving feast
(or an afternoon snack in November)? It's a healthy option they can have fun making themselves too. All the info. and photo are from Family fun.com

Ingredients

• Apple
• Clementine or navel orange
• Pear
• Dried apricot

• Peanut butter or cream cheese
• Mini chocolate chips
• Nut (we used a cashew)
• Dried cranberry

Instructions from Family fun

1. Arrange apple and clementine or navel orange slices on a plate as shown, and lay a cored pear half on top.

2. Use scissors to halve a dried apricot, then snip small triangles from each half and tuck them under the pear to form the feet.

3. Finally, use peanut butter or softened cream cheese to attach mini chocolate chip eyes, a nut beak, and a dried cranberry snood.

Owl smores treat

How cute is that OWL!!?

An easy fun fall treat for any age!

All you need is:

• graham crackers
• marshmallows
• chocolate chips
• yellow candy melts
• candy corn

Go to the Living Locurto for instructions !

Turkey sandwiches-literally!

Are ya looking for a fun Thanksgiving snack or lunch box surprise? These sandwiches are sure darling. I am sure your kiddos will gobble them right up. I got the idea and photo from Family Fun.

Ingredients

• Cocktail pumpernickel bread
• Vegetable cream cheese
• DECORATIONS:
• Peas (eyes)
• Red pepper

• Pepperoni
• Cheese
• Cashew
• Slivered almond
• Parsley

Instructions from Family Fun

1. For each sandwich, spread vegetable cream cheese between 2 slices of cocktail pumpernickel bread.

2. For the head, use a small drinking glass or round cookie cutter to cut a circle from another slice of bread, then stick it to the top of the sandwich with a dab of cream cheese.

3. Likewise, add facial features such as pea eyes, a red pepper or pepperoni snood (above the beak), and a pepper, cheese, or cashew beak. Finally, wedge pepper, slivered-almond, or parsley-sprig feathers between the bread slices.

Free Thanksgiving printable coloring pages

I am going to use free Thanksgiving coloring pages to keep the kids entertained while I cook Thanksgiving dinner (or for the car ride to my brother's house)

Go here to print the free Thanksgiving coloring pages

Thankful tree craft-Make as a family!

You can make this darling and simple Thanksgiving tree memo sheet to help your family remember what they are thankful for this season. I bet you have this stuff on hand at home and can make it ASAP! All you need is: scrapbooking paper, wooden clothespins, buttons, and ribbon. Plus, you cut out your own simple leaves and ask each family member to write what they are thankful for. Then clip the leaves to the bottom of the board and put on the fridge for the holiday season. Go to the Amazing Mom site to make a thankful tree craft!

Project Materials:

• Scrapbooking paper, I bet you have it on hand
• Buttons, from your stash
• 4 clothespins, on hand or $1 at the Dollar Store
  
• Wooden letters that spell "thankful", $1 (I got a package of wooden alphabet letters at the dollar store awhile back-Or just write them)
• Ribbon, from your stash or the dollar store
• Leafs (just cut your own and save $$)
  
• Thanksgiving Tree Template

Total: $1-ish and up

Thanksgiving craft and game ideas!!

Are you searching for Thanksgiving crafts for your classroom, Sunday school, home school kids, family fun night, or preschool? Well, you gotta check out this site. There are some neat NEW ideas out there. Enjoy browsing the amazing moms site ! They also have Thanksgiving game ideas too.

Fruit gobbler!

I have butternut squash from the garden that would be perfect for this gobbler. I plan on making this to taking it to Thanksgiving dinner. I think a school Thanksgiving class party would get a kick out of it too. It looks fairly easy to assemble -- and delicious to take apart!

Ingredients

• Bosc pear (head)
• Melon (body)
• Cheese (beak and tail feathers)
• Red pepper (snood, feet and side feathers)

• Raisins (eyes)
• Grapes (tail feathers)
• Bamboo skewers
• Toothpicks

Instructions from Familyfun.com Click for the link

1. Stabilize the melon body by cutting a shallow slice off the rind to form a flat base. Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a Bosc pear head to the melon, as shown.

2. Cut a cheese triangle beak and red pepper snood. Attach both, along with raisin eyes, to the head with sections of toothpick.

3. Cut red pepper feet and set them in place. For tail feathers, skewer cheese cubes and red grapes, then insert the skewers as shown. Pin pepper side feathers in place with toothpicks.

Thanksgiving organization to a "T"!

Ok, I guess I should start thinking about Thanksgiving and not Christmas gifts all the time (I shop all year for Christmas). Here's a great FREE Thanksgiving holiday planning book. It's from Oceanspray.com!

You can print your own Thanksgiving holiday planning book. You check off items from a list of planning pages, menus, recipes and tips. Click the "create book" button at the bottom of the page, and the site will generate a .PDF file containing all the information you requested. Whew that is easy!

They have a nifty November calendar to plan a month in advance for Thanksgiving check it out HERE!Are you cooking this year? I am guest this year and I am excited to bake pies and a side dish. I like doing everything about every other year or so. It's a lot of work but fun work.

Help I don't know how to make pie crusts!

Hallelujah! Crisco® Pie Hotline is coming to my pie making rescue this year (and maybe yours too). I never have made my own flaky pie crusts. I have used frozen ones, made my own graham cracker crusts, or bought store bought Oreo ones.

If you “knead” a little help (like me) in the kitchen this year then call the pie baking experts at the Crisco® Pie Hotline (1-877-FOR PIE TIPS).

A live pie expert will help you troubleshoot and give tips for cutting prep time. They are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET year round. They also have step-by-step instructions, visual demonstrations and award-winning hints and tricks are only one click away at www.crisco.com. Whew, I can go to the site on the weekends!

For the holiday season, the Crisco Pie Hotline has extended hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET from November 15-24 and December 13-23.

If you have a wonderful Thanksgiving pie, Christmas, or pumpkin recipe that you would like to share with me PLEASE by all means do so!!! I am very interested. Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. Thanks, blog friends!