Thanksgiving Dinner Southwest Self-Reliance Style!

Thanksgiving comes around every year. It is one of those things you can count on to bring the family together like Christmas and Easter. Extended family make their favorite recipe and we all gather around the table and over eat until we are about to explode… And then we bring out the pies!

For a while now it seemed like it was the same old thing over and over. Run yourself into a sweat. Worrying that the turkey, stuffing, veggies, rolls, and pie would all be done cooking in time before family arrives. Hope the in-laws are impressed. Be everyone’s personal server jumping up and down from the table to get this forgotten item or the salt, or refill the water pitcher.

I was so worried that everyone else had a good Thanksgiving that I would hardly eat (or quickly stuff a mouthful of some potatoes as I was jumping up again). The result was always the same. Indigestion and a migraine before the afternoon was over.

One suggestion would be to refuse to host the dinner and say “You’re on your own!”

The truth of the matter is, our circumstances are a little different. My mother-in-law, bless her hart, would love to be able to cook for everyone and host the dinner. Unfortunately, at her age, it is common for arthritis and other age related issues to act up and not let her stand long enough to make mashed potatoes let alone the large portion of the meal. Since we still want to enjoy their company on this amazing holiday we choose to host every year.

Well, our family decided we didn't want to do the same thing we do every year. Let’s have fun this year. You know, more enjoyable instead of the scenario mentioned above. So here is what we decided to do…

We would have a “traditional” Thanksgiving. Now I’m not talking about us all wearing pilgrim clothes etc. I’m talking about cooking. Now, I like to cook. I really do. And so does everyone else in the Southwest Self-Reliance household. We just needed to change it up a little bit.

That’s where the cast iron and self-reliance comes in.

We decided we would learn how to cook everything with cast iron and use alternative cooking methods! Now that is something I can have fun with.

We started a couple months in advance. We had a few cast iron frying pans and a couple Dutch Ovens. But we wanted to add to the experience. I might add that we would consider ourselves a normal American working family. So we can’t just go buy 15 new pieces of cast iron. UNLESS you start a few months ahead of time and check all the 2nd hand stores on a regular basis.

Our favorite place to shop is a second hand store called Deseret Industries. It is a faith based store that helps workers learn a skill to enter the workforce. It also has the best prices on cast iron around. So every week we went in and watched for the cast iron to be donated and subsequently put up for sale.

Our Cast Iron Thanksgiving journey had begun.

The next step was to search the internet for recipes and learn how to cook using these amazing cooking options. I think I spent a lot more time on PINTEREST than I should have. Take a look at my boards!

https://www.pinterest.com/SouthwestSelfReliance/cast-iron-and-dutch-oven/

https://www.pinterest.com/SouthwestSelfReliance/cast-iron-and-dutch-oven/cooking/

https://www.pinterest.com/SouthwestSelfReliance/off-grid-cooking/

These boards helped me on my way to our BIG DAY!

Thanksgiving morning arrived. I was ready to have some fun.

Living here in the southwest part of the USA we have sun, MOST of the time. And we expected this day to be the same.

We were going to get our coals burning, set up the solar oven, and dive in.

About 1 hour into our journey my husband came back inside and quickly went to the garage. I didn’t think anything of it. I was busy making bread dough. He comes traipsing back through with a frown on his face and the canopy in tow. I didn’t question… I was busy and he seemed to be on top of things.

A few minutes later he comes in and asks for help. Surprised I quickly started the mixer and followed him to the back patio.

He had all the coals ready to be lit, he had the Dutch Ovens filled with turkey and stuffing and potatoes. I started to walk over to his working area and I felt rain on my face!

I looked up and he said, “Ya, it’s starting to rain.” Only then did I realize why he had brought out the canopy. He was hoping to have the canopy set up high enough to not be ruined by the heat, be able to work under, and low enough to not get everything wet. He needed help adjusting the legs etc.

It was then that I started to worry. I wasn’t going to be able to

bake bread in my newly acquired cast iron loaf pan in the solar oven.

Roll with the punches and adapt! The self-reliant way.

So no, my bead wasn’t cooked in the solar oven. It was cooked in the regular oven. BUT! It was cooked in cast iron… As a consolation prize I did make some artisan bread loves and cook them in the outdoor pizza oven on cast iron platters.

***I forgot to take a picture so here is a zoomed in picture of the bread on the dinner table. ***

Everything started coming together.

I learned how to make and cook in cast iron:

Sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn bread, and hard “boiled” eggs.

I will admit that the fresh veggies, salad, and Jell-O were not in cast iron.

Andy learned how to cook turkey, potatoes, and stuffing in Dutch Ovens.

The Family arrived, ate on cast ion plates, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The only thing We didn't learn how to make were the pies. They were all brought by the other family members. That is my next cast iron adventure!

All in all it was a great experience. We learned new skills, we had to adapt, we had fun, and the family loved it. Every minute of it! Even the frown was a result of concern not anger. I can count that as a win.

Maybe Christmas we can do it again!!!????