Stuffing is one of those Thanksgiving foods that I’ve found you don’t have to twist a kid’s arm to eat. I mean come on, the base of it is bread!
This recipe is sweet, savory and truly delicious. There are tons of variations on the ingredients you can put in your stuffing. Cornbread, wheat or white bread, fruits, vegetables, herbs, the list goes on…But the mixture of ingredients in this apple sausage stuffing is truly geared for little ones taste buds (and secretly mine, too!).

Kids Apple Sausage Stuffing (Makes 8-10 Servings)

3/4 Pound Bread Cubes (I use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white bread cubes, but you can also buy other types of bread cubes that are already dried out and skip step 1).
3 Chicken Apple Sausage Links (or 1/2 pound ground sausage)
2 Tsp Oil
2 Tbsp Butter plus more for greasing
1 Apple, peeled and chopped (Gala, Fuji and Golden Delicious or any other sweet apple)
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
1/2 Tsp Salt
3 Eggs, beaten
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

1. Toast bread cubes in a 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
2. Turn the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
2. If using sausage links, remove casings.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook sausage for 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove to a plate.
4. Heat butter in the saute pan over medium heat and cook the apples, celery, onion, thyme and salt for 6-8 minutes until soft and tender.
5. Place the bread cubes in a bowl with the sausage, vegetables and chicken stock. Combine thoroughly.
6. Grease a 11 x 7 baking dish. Place the stuffing mixture in the dish.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.
8. Serve.

Some people look forward to Thanksgiving and to eat turkey for the stuffing or the gravy. Not me. I’m a total cranberry sauce girl. Since we’ve been on a roll roasting turkeys every week this month testing holiday recipes, Kenya’s has acquired a real taste for it, too. He’s just like his mommy — he wants some turkey and a pound of the sauce to go with it.
That’s part of the reason I started making this sauce with agave nectar. Most cranberry sauces call for a cup of sugar for each bag of cranberries. It makes my teeth feel like they are going to rot just thinking about it. Granted, cranberries are uber sour, so they do need something to sweeten them up and agave does the trick. I also love adding oranges and orange juice to add not only citrus flavor, but also their natural sugars.
Cranberries are packed with the antioxidant vitamin C, which helps protects kids against infection, and antibacterial substances that can help prevent digestive and urinary infections.
We sat down for lunch last week and I’m not kidding when I tell you that Kenya kept pouring the sauce on his plate and eating spoon after spoonful. He loved it and hopefully so will your family this Thanksgiving.

Cranberr-Wee-Sauce (Makes 2 1/2 Cups)

1 Bag of Cranberries, washed and bruised cranberries discarded
2/3 Cup Orange Juice and or the orange pulp, removing the seeds and sections between the pulp
1/3 Cup Agave
1 Cinnamon Stick

1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. When they reach a boil, turn the heat to a simmer and cook for
10-15 minutes or until the berries start to pop.
3. Turn off heat and cool. Remove the cinnamon stick.
4. Serve warm or chilled.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I tested this recipe out on several little ginuea pigs. I made these for a recent “kid’s dinner party” that my friends and I do every week and I can’t even tell you how hard I laughed when I pulled these sweet potatoes out of the oven and three of the kids simultaneously yelled “cupcakes”! No matter what we said they decided the orange and white “cupcakes” were a holiday treat and scarfed them down. The only “oops” moment came when one the little girls looked at me with a huge hunk of orange peel in her mouth and said, “I don’t like the wrapper”. Whoops!
These heavenly treats only take minutes to prepare, and they made quite a visual and edible impact on the kids and adults alike. I’m a big fan of cooking this dish with evaporated skim milk because it makes the potatoes really fluffy without the added fat of heavy cream. I usually don’t like to use foods that have a ton of sugar, but just a few mini marshmallows really take this recipe to the next level for kids and makes it fun for them. After all, it’s the “icing”! They’re not essential to the recipe, so you can easily leave them out.
This recipe is also a time saver when you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, because the orange pulp that you scoop out goes right into the weelicious cranberry sauce recipe! A green vegetable, some succulent turkey and you have a perfect meal for the entire family with a few leftovers for the next day.
*Check out the Thanksgiving article and pictures on one of my favorite websites, CafeMom:

Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups (Serves 6 Big Kids)

2 Lbs. Sweet Potatoes (you want to use potatoes that are really orange, also known as yams)
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Evaporated Skimmed Milk (you can substitute it with regular milk)
1/2 Tsp Kosher or Sea Salt
3 Navel Oranges
Mini Marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke the yams several times with a fork or knife to pierce the skin.
2. Place on foil or a sheet tray in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
3. Let yams cool for several minutes, cut in half and scoop out the fluffy insides (I love eating the high fiber skin as a snack).
4. Mash the yams with butter, maple syrup, evaporated milk and salt until creamy and fluffy.
5. Cut the oranges in half and slice a very thin disk from the bottom so they rest flat. The skins are actually going to be the “bowls”.
6. With a pairing knife cut around the inside rim of the orange removing the orange sections and pulp. Place any of the orange juice and pulp in a bowl and discard the white membranes and seeds. Save the juice and pulp for cranberry sauce recipe or just enjoy as a snack.
7. Fill each orange cup with 1/4 cup of puree and top with several mini marshmallows (you can cover and refrigerate these overnight).
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Place on a sheet tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Serve.

I think I was the only kid in the world that loved brussel sprouts. I loved biting the leaves off the tiny cabbages one by one. Somehow these little green orbs are known as the bane of kids’ dinner plates everywhere, but I guarantee this healthy and delicious recipe will change their tune.
Brussel Sprouts are high in fiber and vitamin C which aid in healthy skin and immune function and those yummy little poppy seeds are a fantastic source of calcium.
This dish only takes minutes to prepare, especially if you have a food processor to quickly chop the brussel sprouts. You can even prepare most of the ingredients ahead of time and just cook the dish at the last minute.
Even your little one (or your big child, aka your spouse) who always declares “I don’t like brussel sprouts,” will come back for seconds and thirds for this scrumptious side dish.

Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds (Makes 6 Servings)

1 Lb. Brussel Sprouts, stem ends trimmed
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Lemon Zest
2 Tsp Poppy Seeds
1/4 Cup Chicken Stock

1. Finely chop the brussel sprouts with a knife (or in a food processor) and into small pieces.
2. Place in a bowl with lemon juice and toss to coat (this should prevent the leaves from losing their bright color). At this point you can cover the brussel sprouts and refrigerate for several hours until you’re ready to cook them.
3. Heat butter and oil in a saute and pan over medium heat. Saute the brussel sprouts for 2 minutes. Add the salt, garlic, zest and poppy seeds and continue to cook an additional 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the chicken stock and cook 1 more minute.
5. Serve.

If you’ve never had a brined turkey, trust me, you are missing out. And once you try it, you’ll never go back. This recipe is the piece de la resistance of our Thanksgivings. I have to say, if I was going to have a last meal, this would be it. When I make a turkey, even if I’m only serving 4 people, I always make one to serve 12. Turkey is the perfect leftover meat because you can keep it in the fridge and turn it into so many other dishes like sandwiches, turkey hash, turkey pot pies and so on. In our house you never have to worry about it going bad because it’s all gone before that can even happen. It feeds us all for a week: lunch, dinner….sometimes even breakfast!
I’ve been brining turkey for several years and I have to say it’s THE trick to making a perfect turkey. It makes turkey extra juicy and imparts the perfect flavor. I like to use cloves and bay leaves as aromatics in the brine, but you could also toss in some onion, cinnamon stick, apple, celery, or basically any flavors you love. I brought a turkey to our regular “kids dinner party” last night and everyone devoured it. At the same time, though, most of the mother’s were saying “I couldn’t EVER roast a turkey”. Don’t be intimidated, it’s really easy.
After making the brine and placing it in a large pot with the turkey, I cover it and leave it outside overnight. Yep, outside and overnight. First of all, I don’t know anyone with a refrigerator large enough to hold a gigantic pot and second, it’s usually 55 degrees or lower in
most of the U.S. this time of year, so it’s the perfect temperature to brine in — certainly as good as your fridge, if not better. Besides the cooking time, this recipes is reasonably
economical, super easy and everyone in the family will love it! Even the tiniest members.

The Best Brined Turkey (Makes 8-10 Servings)

Water
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Salt (preferably kosher)
1 10-12 Pound Turkey, defrosted if frozen
4 Cloves
4 Bay Leaves
1 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil

1. Place the sugar and salt in 4 cups of hot water. Stir until the sugar and salt to dissolve.
2. Place the brine in a large stock pot with a gallon of cold water, cloves and bay leaves and a handful of ice to make sure the water is cold. Stir to combine.
3. Wash the turkey inside and out and place breast side down in the stockpot with brine (you want the water to just cover the turkey).
4. Refrigerate 18-24 hours (or set it in a cool safe place outside as long as it’s below 55 degrees outside).
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
6. Take the turkey out of the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water, discarding brine.
7. Place the turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide low pan and
blot the turkey with a paper towel.
8. Tuck back the wings and rub the skin of the turkey with the oil.
9. Roast on the lowest rack of the oven for 30 minutes and then place a piece of foil just over the breast of the turkey to cover (the breast cooks faster then the legs and wings so this process helps it to cook more evenly).
10. Pour 1 cup of water in the pan, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast 1 hour.
11. Remove the foil from the breast and cook another 15-30 minutes. Insert a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh (avoiding the bone) to reach a temperature of 160-165 degrees. The turkey will actually continue to cook a little even after you take it out of the oven (the total cooking time in the oven will be 1 hour 45 minutes-2 hours total).
12. Let the turkey rest for 20-30 minutes (this is an essential step to allow the juices to redistribute and settle).
13. Slice and serve.
14. So good!

When Kenya was a baby, I always wanted to make him dessert. It somehow felt unfair to me that as my husband and I devoured sweet treats, he couldn’t be a part of our fun. I devised this sweet potato pudding in an effort to remedy that. The creamy and light texture of this dish is so smooth, its perfect for babies with or without teeth.
I love cooking with sweet potatoes because they’re in season right now, packed with antioxidant vitamin and phytonutrients, and almost every baby I’ve ever known loves them. When I first took a bite, I couldn’t believe how much it tasted just like the filling of sweet potato pie. You may want to double this recipe because it goes perfect for a baby’s dinner or dessert!

Sweet Potato Pudding (Makes 3 Baby Servings or 2 Toddler Serving)

1 Sweet Potato
1 Egg Yolk
1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Rice or Almond Milk
Hot Water

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake sweet potato for 1 hour or until fork tender.
3. When potato is cool, remove the flesh and cool (I like to eat the high fiber potato skin as a snack).
4. Whisk the egg with the cinnamon, rice milk and cooled potato until smooth.
5. Pour into a ramekin (or other small baking dish).
6. Place the ramekin in a larger baking pan.
7. Place the ramekin and baking pan in the oven and pour hot water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the ramekin (otherwise known as a water bath).
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Cool and serve.

Thanksgiving is my favorite meal hands down. I’m not sure what I like better, though, the turkey or the fresh cranberry sauce. I actually started freezing the berries when they’re in season so I could eat it all year long. Cranberries are intensely sour, so I added some sweet potato and apple to balance the flavor and give it a little sweetness. This puree has protein from the turkey, beta carotene from the sweet potato and carrots, and vitamin C from the apple. I always trying to expand Kenya’s taste buds with spices, so I added the thyme. It was still missing something, though. The cinnamon gives it that last kick that makes this puree smell of a Thanksgiving feast, baby style of course.

Thanksgiving Dinner (15 Baby Servings, freeze 1/2)

1 Turkey Breast Tender (about 3/4 pound)
1 Small Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
15 Baby Carrots
1/2 Cup Cranberries
1/2 Apple, peeled
1/4 Tsp Thyme
Pinch of Cinnamon

1. Place turkey in a steamer over boiling water. Sprinkle thyme over it. Cook for 6 minutes.
2. Add sweet potatoes, carrots and cranberries to the pot with the turkey. Cook another 6 minutes or until turkey is cooked though and vegetables are tender.
3. Cool turkey for several minutes, so the juices can redistribute and then cut into cubes.
4. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree. Add some of the water from the pot, a tablespoon at a time to make smooth.
5. Cool and serve.