Here’s one woman’s picks for your Thanksgiving table this year

Thanksgiving meals evolve over the years. They go from huge, traditional family meals to smaller ones or to restaurant meals.

As a child, I remember my grandmother and great-grandmother cooking for several days getting ready for Turkey Day. One day, they would bake pies or make cornbread for the dressing, congealed salads came next and then the day before, they would make dressing, sweet potatoes and, of course, the turkey.

Since today is four days before Thanksgiving, home cooks will want to put the frozen bird in the refrigerator to start thawing. No one wants an icy turkey for Thanksgiving, allow one day of thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey. Remember to keep turkey in its original wrapping and to place on tray in the fridge. There is still time to thaw a 12-16-pound turkey.

Now that the turkey defrosting is under way, start planning what sides, salads and desserts to serve with it.

When it comes to sides, some are simply necessary for me. Cornbread, not bread, dressing is a must, as is a low-sugar sweet potato casserole, congealed salad or fruit and a vegetable dish. Of course, my granddaughter must have mac and cheese.

This year is decidedly different for my family: for the first times in 26 years my daughter will not be here, sad for me, but exciting for her. My granddaughter and I will be joining church friends for Thanksgiving, which means I must make a side or dessert or two instead of the whole meal.

Today is our church’s Thanksgiving meal. Again, I am doing nostalgic favorites. I like to use old recipes for the holidays because they are rarely used today. Whatever is old is new again. I make a low-sugar blueberry gelatin salad that my late mother-in-law made at Thanksgiving or Christmas. It is sinfully easy and delicious, only requires 15 minutes to make. My pastor, like myself, is diabetic, so I always make something sweet that we can enjoy, too.

Another casserole that dates to the ‘50s is a mixed vegetable one that uses either frozen mixed vegetables or cans of mixed vegetables along with a can of whole kernel corn. It is an oldie with its use of cream of chicken soup, white Cheddar cheese and Ritz crackers. Instead of the “A Man, A Can, A Plan” cookbook, this is a woman, cans and a plan. Prep time only takes 15 minutes, another plus.

For dessert, I am doing a German chocolate cake that I have not done for seven years or so. I was thumbing through my cookbooks and saw a picture of the cake and decided to make it. This one is easy, too. It takes 30 minutes baking time and 30 minutes cooling time.

Today, here are my three picks to take to two Thanksgiving meals, one today and one on Thursday. Enjoy!

Blueberry gelatin salad

2 packages sugar-free (3 ounces each) cherry gelatin

2 cups boiling water

1 can (15 ounces) blueberries, drained or 1 pint of fresh blueberries

1 package (8ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar substitute (I like Splenda; others prefer stevia)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, stir in blueberries. Pour into an 11-by-7-inch dish, chill until set.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and sour cream; mix well. Spread over the gelatin layer, sprinkle with pecans. Chill several hours or overnight. – From Yvonne Yeager and me

Mixed vegetable casserole

2 (15 ounce) cans mixed vegetables, drained

1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn

1 small onion, diced

1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese

36 buttery round crackers (Ritz), crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the mixed vegetables, corn, onion, soup, mayonnaise and cheese. Mix well and spread mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with cracker crumbs.

Bake about 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly. – From www.Allrecipes.com/

German chocolate cake

4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup water

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

3/4 cup butter

5 large egg yolks, room temperature, beaten

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Icing:

1 teaspoon shortening

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

Line 3 greased 9-inch round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper and set aside. In small saucepan, melt German chocolate with water over low heat; cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in 4 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into cream mixture, fold in remaining whites.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, in a small saucepan, heat sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting oven over each cake layer and stack the layers.

In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake. – From Taste of Home magazine