Thursday, November 25, 2010

Let’s Talk Turkey: Happy Thanksgiving from Cooks Corner with a Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving to friends, relatives and colleagues –near, far and from across the globe—safe traveling and to have fun eating too.

 

(Reprinted From:  “Blog:  A Dietitian’s Perspective” Thanksgiving Sunday, November 22, 2009)

 

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Preparing Thanksgiving dinner is enough of a pressure cooker, never mind having to do math in your head just to get it right.  Here are  some of the numbers to have a safe, worry-free and meaningful Thanksgiving Day dinner. 

 

 

 

 

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Turkey

For turkeys under 16 lbs., estimate basically 1 pound per serving (this accounts for bone weight.)  For larger birds, a bit less is fine;they have a higher meat-to-bone ratio.  However, if your goal is plenty of leftovers, (that turkey sandwich with mayo and cranberry sauce to boot) aim for 1 1/2 lbs. per person whatever the turkey’s size.

 

  • For 8 people:   purchase a 12 lb. turkey
  • For 10 people: purchase a 15 lb. turkey
  • For 12 people: purchase an 18 lb. turkey
  • For 14 people: purchase a 20 lb. turkey

The Thaw

Technically, the safest way to thaw a frozen turkey is in the refrigerator.  Figure about 24 hours per 4-5 lbs. of turkey.  Another method would be to put the turkey is sink filled with cold running-water.  Change the water every 30 minutes, and plan for about 30 minutes per pound.

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LITE ‘n EASY CRUSTLESS PUMPKIN PIE

Ingredients:

  1. 2 Tbsp. water
  2. 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
  3. 2 1/4 cups Carnation Evaporated Low-fat 2% Milk
  4. 1 15oz.can Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
  5. 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar or low calorie sweetener equivalent
  6. 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  7. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  8. Light whipped topping
  9. Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation:

  1. Coat 1” deep-dish pie plate with non-stick Cooking spray.
  2. Place water in a medium bowl; sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand 5 – 10 minutes or until softened. Mixture may be firm.
  3. Bring 1 cup of evaporated milk to boil in saucepan. Slowly stir in hot evaporated milk into gelatin. Stir in the remaining evaporated milk, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract.
  4. Pour mixture into prepared pie plate. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
  5. Garnish with whipped topping and fresh fruit, if desired.

Enjoy!

Makes 8 servings; Adapted from Nestle Carnation

3 comments:

  1. Hey Anthony!
    I made your pumpkin bars on Wednesday. I made several modifications so they didn't turn out as great as I had hoped, but I was happy with them anyway! I made them wheat-free :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great pie recipe, thanks, and thanks for the turkey tips, we are having our turkey on sunday, and he is already in the fridge.

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  3. Dear Gina and Medifast,
    Thank you both for your comments; much appreciated. Glad I could help.

    All the best,
    Anthony

    ReplyDelete

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