On Nov. 23, many families will sit down to a traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with vegetables, potatoes and of course, turkey.
And while the job of preparing the holiday bird generally falls to mom or dad, 280 Living asked a class of first graders at Mt Laurel Elementary School how they think you cook a turkey.
Mrs. Heather Butler’s first graders had suggestions on the best way to prepare the main dish that were as colorful as the hand turkey drawings they used to showcase their idea of a Thanksgiving meal.
Students described the process in steps ranging from buying a cooked turkey from the grocery store to hunting one in the wild.
In terms of cook time, the general consensus from Mrs. Butler’s class was that the proper time a turkey should remain in the oven is between 10 and 20 minutes.
To go with their turkey, the students suggested a wide variety of side dishes, including mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and fruit salad.
Bella Bachtel
► Items with the turkey: Fruit salad, an apple, carrots, peas, a french fries, corn, pork chops, broccoli and toasted bread.
► What do your grandparents do first when they cook the turkey?
“They take out all the inside parts except for the bones. Then they put it in the oven.”
► How long does it have to cook for?
“Probably an hour.”
Caleb McCandless
► Items with the turkey: Fruit salad, broccoli, green beans, mashed potatoes and steak.
► What do you do with a turkey after it comes out of the oven?
“Me and my dad cut it.”
► What is your favorite thanksgiving food?
“Fruit salad.”
Lizzie Parks
► Items with the turkey: Toast, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, macaroni and cheese “and some kind of Jell-O that we always have.”
► Who does the turkey at your house?
“My grandmother”
► What does she do?
“She cuts a circle out of the bottom and then she puts some stuffing in.”
Makayla Dodge
► Items with the turkey: Cheesecake, cheese bread, blueberry muffins, a cupcake, some eggs, a cookie, some regular bread and some beans.
► What do your mom and dad do when they make the turkey?
“They open up the turkey and then they wash it to take the blood out of it and then they put it in the oven … After they take it out we eat it but we look for the wishbone when we eat it because every whole turkey has a wishbone.”
Regi Thurgood
► Items with the turkey: Banana bread, fruit salad, blueberry pie, macaroni and cheese and a banana.
► How do you cook a turkey?
“Usually we would buy turkey that’s cold, and then we would put it in the oven, but first before we put it in the oven, we put the stuffing in.”
► How long do you have to cook it for?
“I guess, two minutes and five seconds.”
See more here:
1 of 17
Ben Nelson
2 of 17
Bella Bachtel
3 of 17
Blair Barkley
4 of 17
Blake Whitson
5 of 17
Brooklyn Avery
6 of 17
Caleb McCandless
7 of 17
Domenick Alcantara
8 of 17
Evan Lipscomb
9 of 17
Kay Elise Trawick
10 of 17
Kenley Earls
11 of 17
Kyleigh Lark
12 of 17
Layla Wilson
13 of 17
Lily Bush
14 of 17
Lizzie Parks
15 of 17
Makayla Dodge
16 of 17
Noah McDuff
17 of 17
Regi Thurgood