Some of us are staying put this Thanksgiving and spending the holiday with immediate family and maybe a few friends.
When we think of that Thanksgiving meal, we normally envision elaborate spreads including all kinds of sides and desserts to complement the turkey.
But when you’re only cooking for two to four people, you really don’t need all that much. We sat down with personal chefs Kimberly Harper and Dawn Cameron for some suggestions.
Dawn said her suggested recipes below can also be scaled up for larger groups.
Roast 1/2 turkey breast (single turkey breast of 3-4 pounds should serve 2-4 people)
- Turkey breast – single side with skin on
- 2 tbsp butter, or ghee (room temp)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
**optional: 2-3 tsp herbs de Provence, or dried thyme and rosemary (a blend of the two)
1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Take note of the weight of the turkey breast on the package.
2. For easy cleanup, line a baking sheet or 8” square cake pan with foil (choose something that will fit the turkey breast you bought comfortably. If you use a glass Pyrex dish, you don’t need to line it.
3. Rinse the turkey breast under cold water and pat dry on all sides with paper towel. Use your hands to massage the butter or ghee all over the skin side of the breast. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and optional herbs and rub all over (skin side and other side), evenly.
4. Put the prepared turkey breast in the hot oven for 15 minutes then turn the temp down to 375. Your turkey breast should now cook at 15-20 minutes per pound (so if it was a 3# breast, you will cook for an additional 45 to 60 mins) at the end of that time, you can use a thermometer to check the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, at which point, you should remove from the oven and cover with foil for 10 mins while you set up your serving platter. The internal temp will continue to rise to 165 while you have the meat resting and tented under foil.
5. After tenting the turkey for 10 minutes in which time you have put the vegetables on your serving platter, you can put the turkey on a cutting board and carve slices across the width of the meat, against the grain. Save any juices that run out to pour over the meat once you have arranged it over the vegetables!
Note: These 2 recipes are designed to cook simultaneously. Prepare all the vegetables first and lay them out on the baking sheet so they are ready to go in the oven. Depending on the size of your turkey breast, start roasting that first at 450F, when you turn the heat down to 375, you can put the vegetables in the oven when you have about 45 minutes left of cooking time. That way, your meat and vegetables will finish at the same time.
If you do not have a meat thermometer, your turkey breast is done when the juices running out of it are clear. If you do not see any juice running out by the calculated time, use a paring knife to stab a small hole in the side of the meat away from the skin and see what color juices run out. If they are clear, you are done. If they are obviously pink and opaque, your breast needs more time.
Roast Vegetables (Serves 2-4 with leftovers)
- 1 medium acorn squash, washed, (cutting instructions in recipe notes)
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, washed, chopped into 1-2” chunks
- 2 apples, cored, slice in 4 and then chop crosswise into 1/2” slices
- 2 medium turnip, peeled and chopped into 1-2” chunks
- 1 large onion, outer skin peeled, chop in 4 and 4 again
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
**optional: garlic powder and/or cinnamon (1 TBSP of each)
1. Preheat oven to 375F. If you have a convection option, use that!! (If not, don’t worry)
2. Wash all the vegetables and fruit. For the acorn squash: cut in half lengthwise from stem to pointy end. Use a soup spoon to easily scoop out and discard the seeds and pulp. Cut those 2 halves in half lengthwise again, then turn perpendicular and slice into 1” thick slices.
3. Put all the chopped vegetables and apples into a large mixing bowl that can accommodate them all.
4. Pour some olive oil over the vegetables and use your hand to toss them around…using enough so that they all get a nice even thin coat but are not swimming in the olive oil.
5. Sprinkle about 1TBSP of salt (I prefer sea salt or pink Himalayan salt for cooking) and 1/2 a TBSP of pepper on the veggies and use your hand to mix thoroughly. If you want, you can add garlic powder, cinnamon or both for a sweet/savory taste!
6. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper…this depends on how large your baking sheets are. You want the veggies to be in a single, even layer. Pop in the oven and set the timer for 35 minutes. At 30 minutes, check and see if the edges are starting to caramelize and turn brown. If one side of the baking sheet seems to be cooking faster than the other, no problem (this just means your oven has a ‘hot spot’ so rotate the pan around) and leave in there another 10-15 minutes, check every 5 so your food doesn’t burn to a crisp!! If the bottom seems to be cooking faster than the top, then pull the pan out and use a spatula to flip the veggies over. When some edges are browning, you can check for doneness by using a sharp knife to poke one of the sweet potato chunks and if it slides in easily, your vegetables should all be cooked through.
And for our vegetarian and vegan friends, Kimberly has these two options.
Smokey Cashew Mac and Cheese
- 1-2 whole cloves garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 Cups Raw unsalted Cashews
- 2 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Thyme, dried
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- ½-1 tsp Chili powder
- ½-1 tsp Paprika, smoked
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1-2 tsp Salt
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp Plant-based butter -again tons of great options and it is just personal preference.
- 3 cups Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk –There are a TON of nondairy options. Oat, cashew, almond, soy. It is all a personal preference. I personally like the Extra-Creamy Oat Milk. I like the consistency and feel it holds up well for this dish
- 16 oz macaroni noodles
The key to this dish is the cashews. They need to be rinsed and then soaked overnight. While soaking add 1-2 whole peeled cloves (not bulbs) to water with 1-2 tsp salt. This needs to soak for 8-10 hours. You will see how beautifully they plump up.
If you forget and don’t have 8-10 hours you can also add the salt, garlic, and cashews to a bowl and cover with boiling water. This will reduce the soaking time, but you still want them to sit as long as possible.
When you are ready to start prepping the Mac, preheat your oven to 350 deg and set a pot of water to boil. Make sure you salt the water well and follow instructions given on your pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, drain your cashews, you do not need to rinse. In a vitamix or high-speed blender, add cashews, garlic, onion powder, thyme, nutritional yeast, chili powder, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard and your preferred non-dairy milk. Blend until smooth and add salt/pepper to taste. This will be quite runny. That is ok!
After your pasta is cooked and drained well, pour into a rectangular baking dish/oval chafing dish. Pour the smokey cashew cheese sauce over the pasta and fold in. You may not need all the sauce; you can adjust how creamy you want this. I usually pour the remainder in freezer bags to save for next time I have a craving.
In a sauté pan melt 1 tbsp of butter on medium heat. When the butter is melted through and nice and bubbly add your breadcrumbs and toast for 4-5 min until evenly golden brown. Don’t rush the sauté, keep your heat around medium and watch for the golden goodness.
Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs over your macaroni. Bake at 350 for 30 min.
Let the mac and cheese sit for 10 min before serving.
For any of the spices-this is just a guideline! Feel into it. You want it a little spicier and smokey? Add the little bit more of the chili powder or smoked paprika. Don’t have smoked paprika? Try equal parts cumin and regular paprika. Cooking is personal…make the meal yours!
Roasted root vegetables
- 2 parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthways
- 3 beetroot bulbs, peeled, cut into wedges (hint-wear gloves, you will get pink hands)
- 3 carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch lengths (heirloom carrots are pretty in this)
- 1 turnip, peeled, cut into wedges
- 2 ribs celery (or 1 celery root peeled), cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 or 2 baby fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut lengthways into 1/2 in-thick slices
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 16 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and prep all vegetables. Hint* if you don’t like one of the vegetables above…add something different! Try to keep it in the same root vegetable family and of the same approximate size when chopping for even cooking. Always feel into your cooking. Trust your intuition and follow.
Add all vegetables to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with oil and add salt and pepper. You can use a spatula or your hands, but make sure you mix well to ensure even coating.
Add all to roasting pan and cook for about 45 min. I typically will shake the pan up about halfway through, but not necessary if you forget.
While that is roasting, in a small bowl add red wine vinegar, brown sugar (you can sub agave here if you choose).
After vegetables have roasted for 45 min, take out of oven and drizzle the vinegar and brown sugar mixture over. Sprinkle the fresh thyme and use a spatula to fold all ingredients to ensure even coating.
Roast for another 15 min or until tender.
Dawn Cameron (954) 591-2389 dawn@eatthrivemove.com Follow on Facebook and Instagram
Kimberly Harper The Soulfull Kitchen (912) 661-7714 Bluffton, SC Follow on Facebook and Instagram
