Gator Pam

Are we talking Thanksgving dinner or Chr-stmas dinner? I have different favorites for each. For Thanksgiving, we make a whole day out of celebrating, from the Macey's Parade in the morning on. About 2:00 I put out a brie with hot pecan caramel sauce as an appetizer to hold everyone until dinner is served around 5:00. I would have to say that is my favorite for Thanksgiving, although I love everything. For Chr-stmas, the standing rib roast itself is my favorite. I rarely make roasts of any kind, especially beef, and a standing rib roast only once a year. However, when we have others coming to Chr-stmas dinner besides the four of us, I really splurge and do a crown roast. Oh man...!

Todah!!

When you make chicken, do you have leftovers? I have tons of recipes for chicken csasseroles of all sorts.

My Target's 90% off Halloween clearance was pretty lame, but I did find the Fuji disposable cameras for 74 cents with the $1.00 coupon inside. I bought 12, and used the $3.00 they 'paid' me to buy them to buy a bag of Milky Way Midnight minis. Mmmm... Fuji camera UPC 07410121855

Jonathan, Costco has kosher turkeys? Which brand? We don't have Costco here in Gator Town, but perhaps if I tell the local Sam's Club that Costco carries them they'll bring some in as well.

The cheapest a frozen turkey goes for here right before Thanksgiving is 29 cents a pound.

What else are you looking for?

If I do say so myself, my home made baked mac and cheese is hard to beat. Here it is a one dish meal, but you can leave out the vegetables if the idea of them don't appeal to you. Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole 1 lb. box medium pasta shells 1/2 cup each minced onion, carrot, celery, green pepper 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 2 TBS chopped garlic 2 TBS olive oil 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup flour 2 cans evaporated (not sweetened condensed) milk 1/4 cup pale dry cocktail sherry or white wine 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. white or black pepper 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 3 cups (12 ounces) grated Sharp Cheddar cheese, divided 1 egg, lightly whipped 1 package Jones frozen Dinner Sausage. (optional, Boca Brand frozen Vegetarian Dinner Sausages work well) Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook macaroni in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish. While the macaroni is boiling, sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until tender. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook and stir for one minute. Gradually stir in milk and then sherry. Add sour cream, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and mustard. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in half of the Cheddar cheese until melted. Pour a little hot sauce into the whipped egg and fold in to temper the egg, then pour the egg mixture into the hot sauce and stir. Pour all of the sauce through a china cap or mesh strainer if you have one. If not, it’s not absolutely necessary. Toss macaroni with 1/2 of the remaining Cheddar cheese and all of the sautéed vegetables. Pour sauce over macaroni and mix thoroughly. Layer sausage links on top of casserole. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses over sausage links and return to oven, uncovered. Broil for 15 minutes, or until sausage links brown and cheese melts. Yield: 6 servings. This is a favorite for me to bring to pot lucks and picnics. For those occasions, I double the recipe and bake it inside my oven safe 6.5 quart crockpot insert. When done, I put it into the crockpot itself, attach the lid lock, put on the thermal cover and transport it that way. If there is an electrical outlet at the location, I take off the thermal cover and lid lock and, using an extension cord if necessary, plug the crockpot in and set it on LOW. If my crockpot had a WARM setting I would use that instead, but so be it. It's a hit everytime!

I have a cluster of pictures on the wall near where I have the tree. I remove the pictures and use the hooks to hang the stockings. If you're not going to pack the stockings full so they're fairly light, I have seen some filled stockings hung on the tree.

My first husband asked me for a divorce over Thanksgiving, 1986. I called my Dad (mom had already passed) to see if I could come home, and found out he had lung cancer. By the time I wrapped everything up to go home, I left on Chr-stmas Eve, 1986.

Ah... That would be kewl!!

:::internet and technology challenged poster here::: What's a 'skin'?

My situation exactly. We have been on a mission the past several years to find FIL the foods of his childhood in Sheboygan, WI. Particularly bratwurst and summer sausage. We've had summer sausage from Usingers shipped, and bratwurst from The Sheboygan Bratwurst Company but neither lived up to his memories. Every year at Thanksgiving I ask him to remind me of the name of the butcher shop he remembers in Sheboygan and do a search to see if they take online, phone, or mail orders. So far it has never given me a hit. It may even be out of business, but when we see him for Thanksgiving I'll ask for the name again and give it another try. If I can't find it again, we'll try another brand of brats and summer sausage. They may not be exactly what he's looking for, but he does enjoy trying the different brands each year. I have to admit MIL usually only gets a card from us. She knows until Paul (dh) finishes school how much we struggle, and would turn around and give any gift we give her right back to us.

My son has a nice furry red and white one with a white thread embroidery of Santa on the red stocking part and his name embroidered in white thread on the white top part. It looks really nice, especially since it's 12 years old. I found it in a special holiday kiosk at the Sawgrass Mills Mall all those years ago. Keep your eyes open, you may see one you like anywhere.

standing rib roast yorkshire pudding broccoli/artichoke casserole mashed potatoes with home made gravy from the beef drippings green bean casserole southern-style green beans (no squeekers here!) tossed field greens salad and tomoatoes with sweet dressing (just simple syrup), craisins, glazed nuts, and mango slices copy cat Red Lobster biscuits

Oh yeah! Those will be in supply a plenty! You may even find them in the dollar stores.

For those with a Super Target, or for those who can find these items in their regular Target, here are some printable coupons. All expire on 11/12/05: $1.50 off Sonoma Seafood Fillets or Stuffed Fillets $1 off any Bakery Pie $1 off Market Pantry Russet Potatoes $1 off any deli specialty Cheese $1 off Hershey's Holiday Kisses $1 off Frito Lay 12-sack Here are some more printable coupons. These also expire 11/12/05. $.75 off Archer Farms Calzones $.75 off I Can't Believe It's Not Butter $1 off Pepperidge Farms Stuffing exp

I have about seven different overnight French toast casserole recipes I rotate for Chr-stmas morning.

tati, can you buy on ebay and have one shipped to you in Brazil? I'm thinking the stock may be gone by the time you get here around Thanksgiving. ebay has a pretty good listing of advent calendars. But, I have no idea what shipping to Brazil would do to the price.

Nice mjmcca! I didn't even try to have the Halloween stuff adjusted, as I figure it most likely will go 75% off tomorrow. However, the Dollar Spot was ringing up 75% off today on the line of old merchandise and I stocked up on the non-alkaline heavy duty Eveready batteries. 2-packs of Cs, D's, and 9 volts, and 4-packs of AAs and AAA's were 25 cents each.

Oh, I had what I hope is good news on another forum today. The Target team member who said seasonal clearance was not going to follow the holiday/seasonal clearance schedule posted in the Newibe Guide above qualified his statement today. He said about 30% of teh Targets will be testing the new method of clearancing the merchandise based on sales, but that the other stores should stick to the schedule posted above. So... The schedule says: Traditional Holiday clearance schedule 50% off day after holiday for three days 75% off fourth day after holiday for three days 90% off seventh day after holiday for 1-2 days. Other than Chr-stmas this is the schedule used for holiday clearance, including Valentine's Day, Easter, Summerville, and Halloween, for at least the last two years So for the Halloween merchandise that would translate to: November 1 - 3 = 50% off November 4 - 6 = 75% off November 7 (and maybe the 8th) = 90% off :::sincerely hoping my Target is not one of the test Targets:::

Also, always check out the Fat Wallet Target Clearance UPC list befroe heading out to Target. Some of the itemns actually have the UPC code that scans listed next to the item. With this list, even if the item isn't on the endcap, you can check and see if it's somewhere in the store and then scan it to see if it has been marked down. and any items with the UPC, you can see if they're marked down in your store before even seeing if the item is on the shelves. Have fun!

According to the Sears website, they pm both local retailers print and online ads, and take an additional 10% off. I'm thinking I may do Sears this yer instead of Wal-Mart...

:::wah!!!::: The pdf link isn't working for me!!

Whoa! Sears PMs and takes off an additional 10%??? I may just do Sears instead of Wal-Mart. The pm'ing policy is posted on the website, and it says they honor both print and online deals for a local retailer...