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Staying Apart, Together: I'm still thankful for Thanksgiving

Kelly Lawler   | Paste BN

I don't have one Thanksgiving tradition. I have a slew of them. 

When I was little, my family lived in Illinois, but most of my extended familylived in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Often Thanksgiving was just me, my parents and my two sisters.

Later we moved to the East Coast, and started going to my aunt's apartment in Manhattan every year (you'd be amazed just how many aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins-once-removed, friends and dogs you can fit into a one-bedroom apartment). After I met my husband, we started alternating holidays, and I got to enjoy a few turkey days at his mom's and grandmother's houses. One year I had to work on Thanksgiving, and I took the train home from D.C. late Thursday night, and the only food available at the Union Station food court was some truly terrible pizza. 

Like you, I'm sad, disappointed and frustrated that I can't have a big Thanksgiving with my family this year. So I am reframing my thoughts to focus on what I'm gaining (new traditions to make in my new house, a day off from work, a day to bake a pie and so many Thanksgiving episodes of "Friends" to watch) instead of what I'm losing. I know that's easier said than done, but I hope all of you can focus on what you have to be thankful for, too. In a year with so much instability, tragedy and loss, I'm thankful for every day that I get.

And certainly any way we celebrate Thanksgiving this year is better than that sad train station pizza. 

Today's safe Thanksgiving tips

There is a lot of information, noise and familial pressure when it comes to what to do for Thanksgiving this year. Paste BN rounded up expert advice and tips for staying safe while celebrating. 

  • Stay home. The safest way to spend Thursday is at home with your immediate household. In multiple interviews, Dr. Anthony Fauci has expressed concern that holiday celebrations could further increase transmission rates of the coronavirus. He advises Americans forgo their big, traditional holiday plans. Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager says, "We understand that people want to see their family and relatives ... But this year we’re asking them to limit their travel.” There are several options for you to connect with family for a virtual holiday dinner.
  • Keep gatherings very small. In a recent study, researchers found homes are now the main source for COVID-19 transmissions. Invite only those who you know in your pod or bubble, and ask if anyone has had any recent health issues before they come over. Some states have restricted the number of people who can gather in one place. Family members might assume that their loved ones are not infected simply because they know them well, but unfortunately, that's not the case. 
  • Mask, six feet and wash your hands. If people outside your immediate family are visiting, remember these three things: Wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands.  Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, encouraged people to wear masks and maintain social distance into the holiday season. "We have to sustain this level of vigilance at this time, and it’s very hard over the holidays," she said. "As I think about not seeing my family, it's really hard. But that chance can be a real gamble – almost a Russian roulette."

See all our expert tips here. And please stay safe. 

Today's reads

Your Thanksgiving recipes

Thank you to each and every one of you who submitted a Thanksgiving recipe. Thank you for trusting me and this community with your family traditions. It was a hard sell to get my mom to let me put in my grandma's stuffing, so I get it. Here are some yummy ideas, if you have time to get more groceries before Thursday!

Easy Cheeseball from Lonnie Hull DuPont in Jackson, Michigan 

Ingredients:  

Two or three bricks of cream cheese, slightly softened

A teaspoon of minced garlic per brick of cheese, or more if you love garlic 

Salad Supreme seasoning

Small bag of sliced or slivered almonds per brick of cheese 

Directions:

Mash cream cheese and minced garlic together with your hands.

Shake in enough Salad Supreme seasoning to make the cheese pinkish.

Mash some more.

Pat into a ball, then roll ball in sliced or slivered almonds.

Chill.  Serve with crackers, sliced apples, grapes.

Variation:  

You can add a drained can of salmon into the mix. Canned works better than fresh for this.

Tobins' Sweet Potato Casserole from Barbara Tobin in Melbourne, Florida

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (I simmer with skins on, then remove skins when done and cooled)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/2 stick margarine or butter (softened)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and put in non-stick baking pan (or spray pan with Pam).

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 stick margarine or butter (softened)

Chopped pecans

Mix dry ingredients together, adding butter and pecans  Cover top of sweet potato casserole with topping mix. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

If topping begins to brown too soon, lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top.

Healthy Green Bean Casserole (vegan or not!) from Cecilia Crane in South Lake Tahoe, California

2 cans organic green beans (or fresh cooked)

1 tub organic sour cream (or tofu sour cream" Tofutti"- in grocery stores!)

Any other desired veggies, sautéed and chopped fine

1 organic/humane raised egg, (omit for vegan and use 2 tsp. cornstarch)

1 tsp. cornstarch

Spices/herbs  as desired

Top with any sliced or ground nuts mixed with melted grass fed butter or oil (Olive/avocado great!)

Bake 350 degrees, around 20 minutes until heated through and golden!

Ana-Joe’s Cheese Grits from Corlis Robe, Kingsport, Tennessee and Phylis Robe in Bowling Green, Kentucky

4 ½ cups water

1 cup instant grits

2 jars Old English cheese spread

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

2 eggs

Milk to make 1 cup with the eggs

Boil 3 ½ cups water.

Stir the grits into 1 cup cold water (so they don’t get lumpy). Add grits mix to boiling water, stirring constantly. Turn heat down some.

Cook 5 min” until the mixture visibly thickens (looks like a watery version of the grits you might eat with breakfast) and then turn off heat (remove from heat).

Add cheese and butter. Stir until cheese is melted.

Break 2 eggs into measuring cup. Add milk to make 1 cup total liquid. Beat the mixture well. Addsome hot grits-mixture to the beaten eggs (to warm the eggs, so they don’t scald) and stir.

Add eggs-mixture to the grits pan. Mix well.

Grease 9 x 13 oven pan. Pourgrits mixture into pan. Bakeat 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

"Done" takes a bit of learning.  You want some crinkly brown on the top.

Before baking, the mixture is very liquid.  It thickens some with baking, and quite a bit more as it cools.

1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

1 egg

Combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing until blended. Add egg. Mix well. Spread onto bottom of pastry shell.

1-1/4 cups canned or cooked pumpkin

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. nutmeg

Dash of salt

1 cup evaporated milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine ingredients. Mix well. Carefully pour over cream cheese mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until done. Cool. Brush with maple syrup and garnish with nuts or serve with whipped cream. 

And finally, Florence's Sausage and Apple Stuffing, from my mom, Cathy Lawler, in Furlong, Pennsylvania

2 large onions

8 celery stalks chopped small

2 tablespoons parsley

Salt, pepper & sugar to taste

1 ½ - 2 lbs. ground beef

1 ½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage meat

4-5 McIntosh apples sliced

Apple water from above (and additional water if needed) 

10 slices white bread with edges, cubed (Pepperidge Farm type)

Pepperidge Farm Stuffing mix 1 ½ lb. bag

1 cup golden raisins

Cover apples in sauce pan with water with sugar added (to taste).

Cook until very soft and drain the apples. Keep the apple water.

Cook sausage meat separately 15 to 20 minutes or more uncovered, add 1 cup water to start. Drain Fat.

If you can’t find bulk sausage, buy links and remove casing from links and discard casings

Sauté onion, celery and spices.

Add ground beef and brown (10-20 minutes).

Add drained, cooked sausage meat. Bring to simmer (5-10 minutes)

Add apples, bread, raisins, Stir and Stir.

Add Pepperidge Farm Stuffing and apple water. Continue to stir.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (check at 35 minutes to see if browned on bottom)

Happy Thanksgiving one and all. 

Stay safe, stay well. Email stayingaparttogether@usatoday.com with pictures of your furry friends, requests for personalized TV recommendations, coping tips and how your new normal Thanksgiving went. 

All my very best,

Kelly Lawler

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