Unsure how long to cook a 20-pound turkey?

Stumped about the stuffing?

Unsure how many potatoes you need to make for a large party? 

Ask us! Our kitchen experts are here to help to make your holiday easier.

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Thanksgiving Dinner in 1 Hour (Special guest star - Pillsbury Grands)  

how long do i thaw my 22lb turkey i will bake thursady morning?

melanie92cooks:

how long do i thaw my 22lb turkey i will bake thursady morning?

A little over 10 hours: http://www.bettycrocker.com/menusholidaysparties/all-holidays/thanksgiving/turkey-faq#q5

Seems like every recipe I find for green bean casserole contains mushrooms and this year I will have a guest that is allergic to mushrooms.  How can I replace the mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup and still get the same, delicious casserole?

Cream of Chicken or Cream of Celery might work to replace the mushroom soup.
Also, here is a recipe for your own, homemade Cream of... Soup.
Hope this helps!

Make your Own "Cream of ..." Soup

Whether you want to control the chemicals or the fat, making your own white sauce and flavoring it is cheaper and better for you than those canned cream of whatever soups.

• 2 Tbs butter


• 2 Tbs flour


• 1/4 tsp salt (optional)


• 1 cup milk

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour over it and stir to incorporate. Cook over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the milk.

Cream of chicken

If you want to make a cream of chicken flavored sauce, use half broth and half milk. If you have troubles getting this to be smooth, try heating the milk or broth before adding to the flour and butter. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, barely simmering, for a few minutes until thick.

Cheese sauce

To make a cheese sauce, add grated cheese and stir until melted.

Cream of celery or mushroom

To make a cream of some vegetable soup, saute 1/4 cup or so finely chopped celery, mushrooms, or onion in the butter before adding the flour and use half broth and half milk.

I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for tasty, moist stuffing. You know....the kind your mom/g'ma used to make. I made a turkey & stuffing a few years ago, but I think I must have gotten the wrong kind of bread crumbs 'cause it was dry & didn't hold together well. I'm looking for something w/out a lot of added "extra" ingredients~just your basic stuffing. I saw a recipe earlier that you could make in a crock pot/slow cooker~I love that idea, but like I said...I just want to do the "basic" stuffing w/out a bunch of extra stuff in it. Thanks!

I use two loaves of unsliced stuiffing bread which I make into crumbs in the food processor.   I saute a large onion diced fine and two stalks of celery also diced fine in one stick of unsalted butter.  When the vegetables are softened, I add two cups of low salt chicken broth, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Bell's Seasoning (this a sage mixture), 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper and heat through.   I add the broth/veggie mixture to the fresh bread crumbs and combine well.   I bake this in a casserole dish dotted with small cubes of butter in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes.   You can adjust the seasonings to your own taste.  If you think the mix is still too dry then add a little more stock.   This is about as basic a stuffing you can get.

I agree with everything in the stuffing (dressing) recipe with bread, onions, celery and broth, but I use 2/3 cornbread and 1/3 white bread.  It is the "southern" way!

Here's a basic recipe, without a lot of extras.  The key to making a good stuffing is to make the mixture moistened, but not soggy.  The stuffing will get moister when cooked inside of a turkey.  Generally the consistency of stuffing will be moist, but not so moist that the pieces stick together.  If you like a moister stuffing that sticks together (and are cooking it in a casserole dish), you could add an a few extra tablespoons of broth when mixing.

Hope this is what you are looking for:

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/bread-stuffing/49a415f6-f413-4503-8648-be4765fe031e/

Let me know how it turns out!

Cathy

Hi CateC,

I have attached a couple great traditional recipes for the turkey preparation and one with the turkey and a traditional stuffing which should solve all your problems.

As for the mashed potatoes the general rule is 2 meduim potatoes per person. 5 lbs. of potatoes will make enough mashed potatoes for 12 people so I would say about 8 to 10 lbs for 20 to 25 people depending on how many mashed potato lovers you have. Never hurts to have a little left overs for the next day.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/roast-turkey/925f9e20-4e5d-4b16-a00a-b1b7373ff92a

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/roast-turkey/ec0e12a2-2f7f-4f94-99ba-6ef33eda7c10/?WT.ac=Home_slide_01_111610_main_thanksgiving

Let me know how it all turns out!

MKSAtBettyCrocker