Hellmann’s and Turkey, Better Together

November 30, 2011

I am always on the lookout for new recipes to feed my family. I think, like most families, we get stuck in a rut of eating the same things over and over again.

I remember making meatloaf when my oldest was really young, maybe three years old. He saw the finished meatloaf and was really excited by it. I thought that was a little odd, since he tended to be a picky eater. He climbed up onto his chair at dinner time and eagerly took a bite of the meatloaf. He made a face that let me know he was not happy and wailed, “This is the worst cake ever!”

Oh how I laughed. He had seen me make it. Watched me put it into the oven. Heard me call it meatloaf. And yet, in his little mind, he thought it was going to be cake. I don’t know that he has ever really forgiven me.

So, for the Hellmann’s® Turkey Challenge, I made one of their recipes called Savory Turkey Loaf. This is my favorite kind of recipe: easy. And to be honest, before this, I have never used mayonnaise for anything other than sandwiches.

That is about as wild and crazy as things get over here these days.

You will need:

2 lbs. ground turkey

3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 envelope Knorr® French Onion recipe mix

2 eggs 1/4 cup water

1/3 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. (Love this. Just ONE bowl to clean up afterward!)

Shape into a loaf in a pan that you have sprayed thoroughly with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour 10 minutes or until done.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I think they say to wait the ten minutes so that it doesn’t fall apart when you turn over your loaf pan to remove it. I did not wait for ten minutes, and my meatloaf broke.

The recipe said you could drizzle it with barbecue sauce, but my kids prefer to use ketchup. They think of meatloaf as a gigantic hamburger. Hey, whatever, as long as they eat it. And eat it they did. Every single one of them, even the professed meatloaf hater, loved this meatloaf recipe. I am definitely adding it to my list of meals to be on the rotation.

BlogHer and Hellmann’s^® are providing a $100 cooking.com gift card to one lucky reader (see rules below). To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post telling me how you plan on using your turkey leftovers this holiday season.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

• Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
• Tweet about this promotion, adding @hellmanns to the end of your tweet, and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
• Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
• For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

For more opportunities to win, visit the Hellmann’s Round-up page on BlogHer.com to read other bloggers’ reviews!

Also, Hellmann’s® wants to encourage you to take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle to join in a Turkey Challenge each week at Hellmanns.com.

Cast your vote for your favorite recipe and enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win one of four $250 grocery gift cards each week. If there are more than 10,000 entries, the prize value doubles to a $500 grocery gift card!*

*No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. The Hellmann’s Turkey Challenge is sponsored by Conopco, Inc., d/b/a Unilever. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 & older. Begins 12:00 a.m. ET on 9/12/11 & ends 11:59 p.m. ET on 12/5/11. For official rules, visit Hellmanns.com.

Thanksgiving Day

November 25, 2011

My daughter’s Thanksgiving hat that she made herself from construction paper and a shoelace from her brother’s shoe. “God, why does he need shoelaces in both shoes. He’s such a baby!”

And indeed he is! Wanting to have shoes that stay on his feet. Baby!

It is a “Pilgrim” hat with “Indian feathers” Next up a tomahawk infected with smallpox!

Our Thanksgiving Tagline

November 23, 2011

The other night we were eating dinner and my 10 year old son was telling us that at school that day they were learning about persuasive writing. They had to write a letter pretending that they were a turkey trying to persuade people not to eat them this Thanksgiving. Which is kind of a disturbing assignment. I prefer to think of my turkey as having no feelings, or even a head. I like to think it sprung full grown wrapped in plastic with a little thermometer sticking out of its chest.

Miles stood up on his chair and very excitedy said, “I know what I’d say if I were a turkey!”

We all looked at him. “What? What would you say if you were a turkey?”

And that adorable, blonde haired, dimpled little boy shouted, “Don’t eat me, you bastards!”

The rest of us were silent for a minute, wondering if we had heard right. So we asked again…

“DON’T EAT ME, YOU BASTARDS!”

I don’t think a Thanksgiving will ever pass in our family again without someone shouting, “Don’t eat me, you bastards!” And it will never cease to be funny.

I’m just thankful that it was a fifth grade school assignment and not a first grade one.

Friday Night Lights

November 12, 2011

And of course we had Middle School Monday Night Lights until it came to end this past Monday.

I don’t know if anywhere else does football so big and with such enthusiasm as Texas. And not just the football part, but the tailgating, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the flag people (I’m sure they have a special name), the marching band with their halftime show, the gazillion people that show up for both teams. So completely unlike where I grew up, though I also went to a very tiny private school, so who knows.

I have a post over at AlphaMom about why I love when we have to turn our clocks back an hour.

And if you didn’t already read this, you should. I know you want to. Because I wrote it and you love me, right? Right?? Hello? You are very pretty.

This evening we are having my son’s football team party, which I am surprised people even still wanted given the level of crazy this season. But cupcakes have been bought, trophies ready to hand out, and then I will gladly hang up my team mom bling shirt. For a very VERY long time.

Look the Part

November 4, 2011

“I don’t say we ought to misbehave. But we should look as though we could”
― Oscar Wilde

I love this quote.
I love this t-shirt.
And it perfectly suits the little girl wearing it.

Confused by the Weather

November 3, 2011

The tree in front of my house is confused and blooming like it is Spring. Fall in Texas kind of feels like Spring in New England. You are just so excited to finally get our of the house, open the windows and enjoy your backyard. and then die from your allergies. Yee haw!

And even funnier, half the people you see out are wearing shorts and flip flops while the other half are bundled up like a blizzard might descend upon us at any moment.

My kids firmly believe it is still shorts weather. I have moved on to jeans and tshirts. I told the kids to please let their teachers know they do own jeans and hoodies, they are just choosing not to wear them.