This week for The Morning Thing Fave 5, we share our favorite things that happened this week.
and guest (co-host) Joe Rinehart
The Morning Thing Fave 5 for this week!
Thanksgiving Prep – are you ready for the big day?
Are you ready for Thanksgiving??!!! Don’t worry, we found some Thanksgiving Menus for beginners to experts. www.allrecipes.com features a Game Plan for both the Easy Menu and the Advanced Menu. They are a GREAT resources for recipes and SO much more!
Check it out HERE!
| Easy Menu Keep it simple and classic |
Advanced Menu Add new twists to the traditional meal |
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Game Plan for Easy Menu
The trickiest part of preparing a holiday meal is the timing. The key is to make as many items ahead of time as you can, and reheat them on Thanksgiving Day.
1 to 2 Weeks Ahead:
- Make a shopping list; beat the holiday rush.
- Make and freeze Yummy Yam Casserole (omit topping).
2 Days Before Thanksgiving:
- Place turkey in refrigerator to thaw (birds larger than 12 lbs. will require 3 days to thaw).
- Make cranberry sauce.
- Bake pecan bars. Cool completely; slice bars. Store tightly covered with plastic wrap in a cool, dry place.
1 Day Before:
- Toast almonds for green beans in ungreased skillet over med. heat until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl or lidded container. Cook bacon for green beans, if using; crumble and mix with toasted almonds and refrigerate.
- Make mashed potatoes; store in the refrigerator.
- Make stuffing; store in the refrigerator.
- Prepare Pumpkin Cream Pie.
- Set the dining room table. Include serving dishes for gravy, dinner rolls, butter, and green beans, plus serving utensils.
The Night Before:
- Place Yam Casserole in the fridge to thaw.
- Prepare Easy Turkey Gravy; store jar or container in fridge.
Thanksgiving Morning:
- Remove an oven rack, if necessary. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roast turkey as directed. Remove from oven and let stand for 30 minutes before carving.
- Add pecan topping to yam casserole.
1 hour before dinner:
- Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Replace oven rack. Bake the mashed potatoes, the stuffing, and the yam casserole.
30 minutes before dinner:
- Wrap dinner rolls in foil. Place in oven to heat.
- Warm gravy in saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Melt butter for green beans in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook beans until tender. Stir in almonds and crumbled bacon and cook until heated through.
Last Minute Finishing Touches:
- Transfer gravy, rolls and green beans into serving bowls.
- Carve the turkey and arrange meat on a warmed platter.
Game Plan for Advanced Menu
1 to 2 Weeks Before:
- Make a shopping list; beat the holiday rush.
- Make dinner rolls; proof for twenty minutes, then freeze. When firm, transfer rolls to plastic freezer bag.
- Make pastry for pecan pie (use recipe of your choice). Chill dough, then roll out and line a nine-inch pie shell. Freeze until firm. Wrap frozen dough and pan with plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
3 Days Before:
- Thaw turkey in refrigerator.
- Prepare and bake cheesecake crust; cool and wrap with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature in a cool, dry place.
2 Days Before:
- Make chutney.
- Cube bread for stuffing: use a mix of multigrain, rye, and country white bread for Old-Fashioned Stuffing, or make pumpkin bread for Ibby’s Pumpkin-Mushroom Stuffing.
- Bake pie shell (see Perfect Pie Crusts for instructions on blind baking). Cool and wrap with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature in a cool, dry place.
1 Day Before:
- Remove giblets and neck from turkey cavity.
- Brine turkey.
- Make stock out of turkey neck and giblets (do not use the liver for making stock, as it can make broth bitter), celery, onion, carrot, and aromatics.
- Bake cheesecake.
- Bake pecan pie.
- Prep veggies for roasting.
- Toast pine nuts and cook bacon for Brussels Sprouts; store in refrigerator.
- Make stuffing.
The Night Before:
- If you have room in the fridge, arrange frozen dinner rolls on sheet pan and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. (Otherwise, thaw at room temperature on Thanksgiving morning.)
- Set the dining room table. Include serving dishes for gravy, dinner rolls, butter, and side dishes, plus serving utensils.
Thanksgiving Morning:
- Brush dinner rolls with egg wash.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake rolls and stuffing.
- Light coals; prep grill.
- Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and roast vegetables.
- Grill turkey.
1 hour before dinner:
- Make mashed potatoes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rest bowl over pan of simmering water to keep warm.
30 minutes before dinner:
- Collect drippings from roasting pan under turkey. Make gravy.
- Prepare Brussels sprouts.
- Keep stuffing and roasted vegetables warm in a 300 degree F oven.
- Wrap rolls in foil and warm in oven, if desired.
Additional Articles
- Brining Turkey
- Choosing a Stuffing
- See our complete collection of Thanksgiving Recipes.
- Find answers to our Most Frequently Asked Thanksgiving Cooking Questions.
- If things go a bit sideways, get help from Thanksgiving Disaster-Savers.
- Get your eating space looking right with Dining Room design tips from Better Homes & Gardens.
Related Videos
- VIDEO: How to Make Pie Crust
- VIDEO: Making Stuffing
- VIDEO: Making Mashed Potatoes
- VIDEO: Making Cheesecak
All recipes, pictures and tips are from www.allrecipes.com
Elementary students are collecting donations this week for Food For The Hungry
The annual Knox County Food For The Hungry drive is underway. Two local sororities are coordinating collections with elementary schools around the county.
Delta Kappa Gamma is coordinating collections in elementary schools throughout Greater Knox County and with the Knox Learning Center. Psi Iota Xi is coordinating collections with the Mount Vernon elementary and middle schools.
WNZR’s Marcy Rinehart talked with Linda Owens about Delta Kappa Gamma’s commitment and involvement in the campaign. Click HERE to hear their conversation.
Marcy also talked with Cindi Dolittle of Psi Iota Xi about their long-time commitment to Food For The Hungry. Click HERE to hear their conversation.
Want to know more about the 2017 Food For The Hungry Drive? Go to www.foodforthehungrycares.org
The Elementary collection wraps us this Friday 11/17/17.
Food For The Hungry – Working Together to CARE for our Neighbors!
Today is Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day! Celebrate with The Morning Thing.
We all have busy lives. The craziness of our days can lead to stress and anxiousness.
(from www.daysoftheyear.com) Every day is a new lap in the rat race, and sometimes we get so caught up in that that we lace ourselves in a little tight. Things have to go ‘just so’ and if things get out of whack we start to lose our minds a little. Routine and precision are definitely useful traits in certain situations, but Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day reminds us that sometimes, we just have to let go and enjoy the chaos that life brings us with a smile.
How to Celebrate Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day
Well, it all starts with letting go. Relaxing. Stop worrying about every little detail.
Drive casually, don’t rush as you move through traffic, and if someone cuts you off, laugh it off, and continue about your day.
Today is the day to let things that normally drive you up the wall, slide so that you can be free of that pain and that worry. Loosen Up, Lighten Up!
Here are 5 Ways to Loosen Up and Enjoy Life More from www.peopleskillsdecoded.com
1. Get Some Perspective
Whenever something stresses you out, it’s good to adopt a wide timeframe and ask yourself how much that thing will matter as time goes by. How much will it matter one year from now?
The truth is that on a large timescale, very few things truly matter. This is why looking at things in perspective helps you relax and not take minor issues seriously. It helps you focus on what truly matters.
2. Look on the Bright Side Too
One major reason why people take things so seriously is because they look at everything that goes wrong, and they lose sight of all that goes well. They see the cup half empty in any area of life, and this makes it hard for them to enjoy themselves.
So in order to relax and have more fun, you wanna consciously practice finding and acknowledging the positive in your life: your qualities, your achievements, your opportunities, the things you do well and the things worth being grateful for. It doesn’t mean to deny the negative; it just means to see the positive as well. Your happiness will improve significantly.
3. Laugh and Make Fun about It
There is something powerful about laughing at a negative event and joking about it. It sort of tells your mind that the event isn’t that bad after all, since you can laugh about it. And once that idea has entered your mind, it will start finding reasons why, indeed, the event isn’t that bad. So you’ll detach emotionally and feel more joyful.
People who are optimistic and upbeat do this all the time. Because they have this mindset like: “This is what is; I can’t change it, so I might as well enjoy myself while I still can”. And so they do.
4. Work on Overcoming the Deeper Attitude Issues
Typically, taking things too seriously is only a symptom of much deeper issues. Often people who take things too seriously are perfectionists and they can’t tolerate imperfection (their own or that of others). Many times they have visible self-image issues, and often they really lack self-confidence.
Fixing these deeper issues will take some time and require proper guidance.
5. Have a Rich, Active Life
People with a rich, active life rarely take things too seriously. They’re too busy doing stuff. They don’t have the time or energy to dwell on negative events and worry. In a way, you could say that worrying about minor things is a luxury, afforded by people with too much free time on their hands.
So an effective way to stop taking things too seriously is to fill your life with activities and keep yourself engaged. Learn, get a job, pursue your passions, find new hobbies, do some volunteer work, do something. It will keep your mind too busy to worry, and it has many other perks as well, like making your lifestyle more exciting and making you a more interesting person.
This morning, we focused in on laughter as a way to loosen up and lighten up!
Check out these cute kids’ jokes from www.laffgaff.com
Why was the bee’s hair sticky?Because he used a honey-comb.
What noise does a chicken’s phone make?Wing wing.
What kind of bagel can fly?A plain bagel.
Why did the dog sit in the shade?Because he didn’t want to be a hot dog.
Where do hamburgers dance?At a meat ball.
Where do dogs go when their tails fall off?The re-tail store.
What did the paper say to the pencil?You’ve got a really good point.
What did one ocean say to the other ocean?Nothing, it just waved.
How does a train eat?It goes chew chew.
WNZR’s Meet the Team – Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cheerleaders
This week, our Meet the Team spotlight shines on the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cheerleading Squad. We talked with Coach Jill Spearman Macklin about this year’s squad, how the members are involved in community service and some exciting goals for next year!
Click HERE to hear WNZR’s Rachel Rinehart talk with Coach Macklin.
It’s not all about me?
Do you have children? Do you worry about the selfish nature of kids today? Well don’t worry because today we shared some tips from allprodad.com for teaching you kid that it is not all about them. Here are some of the tips we especially likes
Self-absorption eventually saturates everyone around you.
If you have a “me-first” attitude, chances are your children will as well. Instead of immediately going for the easy chair after work, ask your wife if there is something you can do for her before unwinding. When your children see you putting others first, they’ll follow suit
Discuss the value of hard work.
When your children admire someone in the limelight, take time to talk about how much work goes into developing a talent or skill. It can be as simple as, “You know, it takes years of hard work to be able to sing like that.” Or a question, “Do you think it’s more important to be famous than it is to do the best you can with the gifts you’ve been given?” This will help your children begin to recognize the value of hard work versus cheap fame.
Praise your children.
Be careful not to honor shortcuts, cheating, or success that comes at the expense of others. While we applaud our children’s accomplishments, we shouldn’t do so insincerely or indiscriminately. If your child hits a dribbler to the shortstop, praise him for running hard to first base even though he was called out. But don’t make him out to be Babe Ruth unless he really does knock it out of the park.
For the full lest of tips, check out allprodad.com!
The Morning Thing Fave 5 – our favorite things from this week!
Every week, The Morning Thing co-hosts share a Fave 5. This week, the co-hosts are sharing their favorite things that happened this week!
It is National Parents as Teachers Day. Here are some values that parents should teach children before the age of 5.
TODAY IS NATIONAL PARENTS AS TEACHERS DAY.
(from www.nationaldaycalendar.com) National Parents as Teachers Day is observed annually on November 8. On this day Parents as Teachers Organization offers educational services to parents across the country. These affiliates give all parents of young children support, and it also provides information so all children learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential.
The concept for Parents as Teachers developed in the 1970s when Missouri educators noted that children were beginning kindergarten with varying levels of school readiness. Research showed that greater parent involvement is a critical link in the child’s development of learning skills, including reading and writing.
We found an insightful article from www.parents.com
They highlight 5 values that parents should teach their children before the age of 5 (before they head to school).
Click HERE to see the full article.
Value #1: Honesty
Help Kids Find a Way To Tell the Truth
The best way to encourage truthfulness in your child is to be a truthful person yourself.
Value #2: Justice
Insist That Children Make Amends
Value #3: Determination
Encourage Them To Take on a Challenge
Value #4: Consideration
Teach Them To Think about Others’ Feelings
Value #5: Love
Be Generous with Your Affection
How to Help Our Kids Overcome Fear
If you saw the news over the weekend, you know that we have another tragic story to add to our country’s history. A Texas church shooting leaves 26 dead, including 8 members of one family. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the slaughter “the largest mass shooting” in the state’s history and ordered flags to fly at half-staff across the state Monday.
How do we deal with all the emotions that flood our hearts and minds when we see these tragic stories? How do we help our children handle their fears?
We found some wonderful advice from www.faithgateway.com (picture and content from www.faithgateway.com)
The Morning Thing Fave 5 (11/3/17)
Today for The Morning Thing Fave 5, we shared our favorite things that have happened this week!
(and special guest) Joe Rinehart
Rise and Shine 