Thanksgiving recipes, traditions from 2 Stockton residents: Tillie's stuffing, fruit salad
It's Thanksgiving.
The time to pass the pumpkin pie and try your best to stay out of family drama (good luck with that).
Every family has their own way of celebrating the holiday, with their own special recipes and traditions that have been passed down through the years.
I loved watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while my mom was in the kitchen multitasking like a contestant on Chopped. I would eagerly watch the parade and wait for my favorite Disney star to lip sync on an extravagant float...2009 Miley Cyrus, anyone?
Some families opt to eat their Thanksgiving feast at diners to avoid the hassle that comes with preparing lots of food. My mom wouldn't dare. As an avid cook, she's always taken pride in preparing all of the dishes herself, from the turkey to the stuffing to the candied yams. She even insists on making homemade cranberry sauce every year, never store bought. Thanksgiving is her Super Bowl.
I'm grateful the torch hasn't been passed to me just yet. This Gen Z-er is not ready for the major leagues, but I'm happy to bring a side of baked mac and cheese — the first dish I've mastered in my adult life. I'm still trying to conquer turkey, but enough about me.
In honor of Thanksgiving, we asked our readers to share their favorite recipes, stories, and traditions. Here's what two Stockton residents had to say.
Tillie's stuffing
For many of our readers, classic Thanksgiving fare was the way to go.
Stuffing is my favorite item on the menu and thanks to Tilly Lewis, I have a new recipe to try. The longtime Stockton resident shared her family's Thanksgiving stuffing recipe for anyone looking to shake things up this holiday season.
The recipe is named "Tillie's stuffing," after her mother.
Ingredients:
1 bag of cubed stuffing
2 bell peppers
5 celery stalks
1 bag of mixed frozen vegetables
1 can of corn
3-5 small (1 ounce) boxes of raisins
1/2 cup of melted butter
1 can (32 ounces) of chicken broth
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Pour the cubed stuffing into a large baking dish.
Dice bell peppers and celery, then add to the stuffing. Add frozen mixed vegetables, corn and raisins.
Add melted butter and enough broth to saturate the stuffing.
Sprinkle black pepper and garlic powder.
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Place the dish into your oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!
"This is a family favorite that my mom makes every Thanksgiving," Lewis said. "You have the sweetness of the raisins mixed with the savoriness of the stuffing for a delicious fusion."
She said that every year, she spends the night before Thanksgiving at her parents' house so that she can wake up early and help her mom cook.
"We've replaced turkey with ham and roasted chicken, but we make several sides including stuffing, of course, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream," Lewis said.
Fruit salad with Cool Whip or 'the pink stuff'
What do you get when you combine a tub of Cool Whip, a can of fruit cocktail, a bag of mini marshmallows, and a box of strawberry Jello?
The pink stuff.
Michael Huiras shared one of the most interesting recipes I've ever come across — and the story behind how he discovered it.
When he was 13 years old and living in the Sacramento area, Hurias said he was in and out of the foster care system.
"I went through three different foster homes until I ended up at Pat and Charlie Treas' foster home," he said. "Through their service, more than one hundred people received shelter at their home in Sacramento."
Once the holidays came around, Huiras said there would be lots of people over.
"Many were former foster kids and neighbor kids that Pat and Charlie accepted as part of the Treas family," he said. "Everyone brought a dish. Pat was responsible for the main course, which was turkey for Thanksgiving, and ham and turkey for Christmas. Once a foster kid moved up the ranks to being a foster adult, they were expected to bring a dish."
Gina Garcia, who Huiras considers his niece, was born soon after he arrived in Pat and Charlie's home.
"By the time Gina was able to start cooking, she decided she wanted to bring a dish. Somehow she became responsible for the pink stuff," Huiras said. "Gina's speciality has been around for a very long time. I would say at least 30 years ... Gina has been cooking in the kitchen with her mom since she was able to stir pancake batter."
Decades later, the pink stuff is still a favorite among the Treas family.
"Gina wants everyone to know it is not a desert, but a side dish," Huiras said.
Ingredients:
1 tub (8 ounces) of Cool Whip, thawed in fridge
1 can (15 ounces) of fruit cocktail, partially drained
Half a bag of mini marshmallows
A small box of strawberry Jello
Sprinkles for decoration
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine Cool Whip and Jello powder. Mix well.
Stir in can of fruit cocktail and marshmallows.
Add sprinkles on top and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Get a big spoon and dig in!
Thinking of trying Tillie's stuffing or the pink stuff this year? Let me know how it turns out, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter at @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Thanksgiving recipes, traditions from 2 Stockton residents
