My Thanksgiving Contribution: Oyster Dressing

Once upon a time I cooked everything for Thanksgiving but now that we live closer to family I am only required to make one thing. I'll allow a moment for your jealous rage...

Good?  OK.

This is my Father's recipe and it's a family one so I'm pretty sure that if he ever finds my blog that I'll be excommunicated from the Doyle brood but it's just too dang good not to share! This is a stuffing but since he's northern it's called a dressing and yes, it does have oysters in it and, yes, it can get a bit yucky to prepare but it is so worth it in the end. Don't you want to be the talk of the table this year?

Well, enough gab... On to the dressing!

*Warning* We do not measure, this is approximate. All the best recipes are ;)
**Double Warning** This recipe is for a large disposable tin pan, it's HUGE. Cut it in half and you'll feed half an army

1 cup celery
2 cups white onion
1 red bell pepper
2 green bell peppers
2 loafs of white bread
3 large bags of seasoned bread crusts (Pepperidge farms is what I use)
10 eggs (yup!)
1 cans of chicken broth
2 containers of fresh oysters
1 softened stick of butter
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375

In a blender blend together the butter, oysters and chicken broth. Set aside.

Chop the celery, onion and bell peppers and combine together in a microwavable container, cover and cook for a 4 mins or until tender and steaming. Set aside.

Lay out all of the two loaves of bread to dry until the pieces feel slightly stiff on both sides (flip if you need to) then tear into smaller pieces and place the bread into a large deep tin cooking pan, add the 3 bags of seasoned stuffing crusts and the celery/onion/bell pepper combination and mix together with hands.

Now add the 10 eggs and mix again with your hands until all the ingredients are moist. Cover the top with Salt and Pepper and then pour on the oyster blend and mix again until completely mixed.

Well that was yucky!

Cover with tin foil and place in the oven for 30 mins or until the sides separate from the walls of the tin and testing the middle of the dressing with a straw comes out clean.


I will update this post with pictures around Thanksgiving!

Gobble 'Til Ya Wobble!
-Kels

Birthday Wreath Tutorial!

My Little Man is turning the big 3 tomorrow (please excuse me while I wipe away tears) so I wanted to make something special for him we could pull out every year so he would know his special day is coming!

Of course I got on Pinterest and searched frantically. His birthday snuck up on my BIG TIME this year. I came across the Birthday wreath. Some people make it with balloons and bows, some with only bows, some with streamers etc. You get the picture. I decided to go with a classic balloon theme.

Here is what you will need:

A wreath (foam or straw, I used straw- remember to keep the plastic on it!)
Floral pins (get a pack of at least 200 at your local Walmart or craft store)
Balloons (You will need at least 200 balloons to make a small wreath)
Optional: pipe cleaner, bows etc.
A LOT OF PATIENCE

I know that this sounds like a lot of balloons. But fear not. You can find packs with a ton in them for super cheap at Walmart.

First, if you purchased different sized balloons you will want to pin the larger balloons on first. Just pin them randomly on the wreath. To pin them pull the balloon in between the floral pin with the neck of the balloon sticking out one side and the head of the balloon sticking out the other.

Next, if you are going to use any pipe cleaners you may want to go ahead and pin some of those on too. I just twirled some around my finger to get that "boing" look, as my son likes to call it, then pinned them randomly around the wreath.

Finally, you will want to go ahead and pin in your smaller sized balloons. Please note, don't try to pin a bunch at once with the same floral pin. You will not get a good effect and the balloons will lay limp. Just pin down one balloon at a time. Be sure to pin them all close together.

Now if you have any bows or ribbon you should go ahead and pin them in.

The last thing to do is to place the wreath upright wherever you will be hanging it. You will want to check for any open spaces and make sure you got the sides covered good. You don't want to see any of the straw on the wreath. You can fill in any spaces with more balloons or pipe cleaners.

I hung the wreath with a pipe cleaner because I don't have a wreath hanger.

And there you go. Simple. Fun. You can use it every year. And it didn't break the bank to make it!

Enjoy! ~ Miranda