How To Create The Easiest Thanksgiving Dinner Ever

Quick & easiest Thanksgiving dinner for eight


Even if you've never made a turkey or only have one child-free arm to stir the gravy, our step-by-step plan will make you seem like a Thanksgiving pro. The secret: Prep most of your dishes the day before the meal so you can focus your energy on the turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Our delicious menu feeds eight adults and a couple of young kids, but feel free to buy a bigger turkey and double the side dishes if your family is larger. Then gobble up all the compliments!

Grocery list for the easiest Thanksgiving Dinner

Make grocery shopping a snap. Print this organized list of everything you need to make our complete Thanksgiving menu and take it with you to the store.

Produce

• 1 bag celery stalks
• 2 shallots
• 1 bunch sage leaves
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 bunch parsley
• 2 lbs. green beans
• 5 large oranges
• 3 pkgs. (10 oz. each) cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 8 sweet potatoes

Dry Goods

• 1 pkg. (12 oz.) seasoned whole wheat croutons
• 6 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1 container (12 oz.) honey
• 1 bottle cinnamon
• 1 bottle (17 oz.) balsamic vinegar
• 1 bottle canola oil

Baking

• 1 box (18 oz.) cake mix, yellow or white
• 1 can non-stick cooking spray
• 1 lb. box powdered sugar
• 1 box cornstarch

Meat

• 1 pkg. (12 oz.) nitrate-free turkey bacon
• 15 lb. turkey

Dairy

• 1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta
• 1 stick butter
• 1 container (6 oz.) plain Greek yogurt
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

FEEDING AMERICA ~ How they fight hunger...

The second annual Ameriprise National Day of Service will be held on November 18, 2011.

Ameriprise Financial and Feeding America are proud to join together again this holiday season to help fight hunger in our communities.

The second annual Ameriprise National Day of Service will be held on November 18, 2011 as more than 6,000 Ameriprise executives, employees and financial advisors will be collecting, sorting, and packing food at Feeding America member food banks and hunger-relief agencies at nearly 90 food banks in 44 states across the country.

In addition to their tremendous volunteer efforts, the Ameriprise Financial Challenge provides a 1:1 match up to $500,000 (four million meals) in support of Feeding America’s Thanksgiving appeal to provide food to the millions of Americans at risk of hunger, including nearly 20 million children and nearly three million seniors. The campaign runs from September 6 through November 30, 2011. Learn more about the program on the Ameriprise Financial Challenge page. 

Feeding America is pleased to partner with Ameriprise on this important mission, to provide the gifts of food, comfort and hope to the millions of families who need our help this holiday season.

For more information on the event happening tomorrow please go to the following site:

http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/our-partners/promotional-partners/ameriprise-volunteers.aspx

American Censorship Day!

Today, Congress holds hearings on the

first American Internet censorship system.

This bill can pass.

If it does the Internet and free speech will never be the same.

Join all of us to stop this bill.

If this law passes, sites like Tumblr and Facebook could be shut down for letting users post freely. Join the protest to stop it.

Website Blocking:
The government can order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users.

Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users:
It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook.

Chaos for the Internet:

Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn't be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.

For more information on Internet Censorship Day please visit:

http://americancensorship.org/

Home Of The Free, Even Banshee!

Here's To Your Freedom, Banshee & All Dogs!

Every year about this time, we begin to once again ponder the meaning of FREEDOM. What does it stand for? Have I, you, our nation lost most of our freedoms as so many believe today?

This captivating piece features Banshee, with his before and after shots, a purebred black lab who spent the first six years of his life on a chain. Banshee has a very high need for action and a job, and he must have been driven crazy on the end of that chain with nary a ball or toy in sight.

He proved to be such a challenging foster, he was the final prompt for me to write a book on fostering America's homeless dogs with an eye toward helping the people who are helping the dogs, appropriately entitled Scream Like Banshee: 29 Days of Tips and Tales to Keep your Sanity as a Doggie Foster Parent.

Banshee made me crazy at first, but we eventually came to an understanding. It took me awhile to fall in love with Banshee, but I finally have, and spend a lot of time taking him swimming and trying to meet his needs for a job. He's still seeking a home where he can swim and play fetch to his heart's content, if you are interested in adopting him, please visit the site athttp://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/adopt.html.

For more information on the artist and how to order other prints click on the link below:

http://www.tammygrimes.com/freedombanshee.html