Happy Thanksgiving

Last year, my husband and I started what we hope will be a Thanksgiving family tradition in our household for years to come. We decided to keep a list of what we are thankful for throughout the month of November and then, no matter what our holiday plans are, have our own little Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving where we'll share everything on the list with each other. Last year I just stuck a sheet of paper on the refrigerator and we added to the list as we were led. This year, being motivated by pinterest, I decided to get a little crafty and made a countdown calendar. We wrote one thing we were thankful for on a piece of paper and stuck it in the slot for that day. 

Here were some of the comments

Can you find C's contribution? For some reason "my wife" and "our son" didn't make it in the picture. But don't worry, they where in there :)

For dinner, I decided to do a little southwest spin on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We had chili-lime rubbed turkey breast with chipotle cranberry sauce, chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and cornbread. For dessert we had egg and nut free apple-cranberry crisp. 

Everything turned out great and we had a wonderful time looking through our thankful list and comparing it to last year's. I'm really looking forward to when C can write out his own comments :) Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Below are the recipes for the turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes and crisp. The green beans were just sprinkled with lemon juice and salt and the cornbread I have listed in a post called "The First Flavors of Fall". 

Chili-Lime Rubbed Turkey Breast

1 skinless turkey breast (about 2 - 2.5 lbs)

1 t. chili powder

1 T. lime juice

salt

1/2 t. cumin

Place turkey breast in a roasting pan and rub the spices over the top. Drizzle lime juice over turkey. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 1.5 - 2 hours or until done. Top with cranberry sauce (except for your toddler's).

Chipotle Cranberry Sauce

1 T. canola oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup port wine (or grape juice)

1/4 t. ginger

1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries

1 t. grated lime rind

1 minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes. Add sugar, water, wine (or juice), ginger and cranberries. Bring to a boil . Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until cranberries are popped. Remove from heat and stir in lime rind and chile. 

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes  (the only way I've ever gotten my husband to eat sweet potatoes!)

6 medium sweet potatoes (unpeeled)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 T. finely chopped chipotle chilies, canned in adobo sauce

1 t. adobo sauce

1/2 t. salt

3 green onions

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp. Combine the pulp, butter, chilies, adobo, salt and green onions in a food processor. Reheat to serve. 

Cranberry-Apple Crisp

6-7 large apples, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

1 t. grated lemon zest

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup honey

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

Spray an oval 14 x 9-inch casserole dish with baking spray. Combine the apples with lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cranberries and cinnamon in a large bowl, and pour the mixture into the prepared dish. 

To make the topping, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, honey, cinnamon, salt and melted butter. Stir until crumbly. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle the topping all over the apple-cranberry mixture and place the dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Serve hot with ice cream.