November is finally here, and with it comes everyone’s favorite family holiday: Thanksgiving. If you're one of the many who will be preparing a meal for friends and family, you'll want a game plan to create a succulent feast. Although we’re a Homosassa Toyota dealer, we've proudly put together a list of tasty Thanksgiving recipes that will surely make your meal a hit! Main Course & Side Dishes Rosemary Lemon Roasted Turkey While the traditional slow-roasted turkey with pan-dripping gravy is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving, this Rosemary Lemon Roasted Turkey gives your meal a flavorful twist. The rosemary and lemon offer both herby and citrusy hints that enhance this main dish. The list of ingredients is simple and prep time is minimal. Roasting time takes a few hours and you should stay close by, as the recipe calls for a temperature change and some periodic basting. This is also a great recipe if you like to make your stuffing inside the turkey. Overall, this is an easy and uncomplicated recipe to change up an old favorite. more Slow-Cooker Green Beans Green beans and casserole are two words typically combined at a Thanksgiving meal. This recipe keeps the beans but ditches the casserole in favor of a slow-cooker and bacon. Combined with onions and thyme, these beans take approximately twenty minutes to prep, but then you can forget about them while you prepare the rest of your menu. Pour them into your slow-cooker, cover them with some chicken stock, and let them go for the next three hours. Viola! A fun twist on your traditional veggie dish. Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots Are you wanting to forgo the traditional sweet potato casserole, but still crave a sweet side dish? These Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots can be a great substitute. This recipe is super easy to prepare and only takes thirty minutes to cook. A mixture of honey, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg give you the same sweet and spicy flavors you love without the starchy potato. Just pour the mixture over your pan of carrots and bake. Garnish with chives, and you're ready to serve. Cinnamon-Apple Cranberry Sauce Do you cringe at the thought of wiggly-jiggly canned cranberry sauce? Do you find standard cranberries a bit too tart? Then this Cinnamon-Apple Cranberry Sauce is for you! This recipe uses fresh cranberries mixed with another autumn favorite: apples. Combine them with brown sugar, apple cider, and a few spices, and you've got a sweet remake on your hands. From prep to cook time, the entire process takes only twenty minutes and gives you a tasty addition to your meal. Photo: spicysouthernkitchen.com Dessert No Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without dessert! And with so many scrumptious options to choose from, we couldn't pick just one. Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Could any Thanksgiving meal be a meal without pie? This recipe for Salted Caramel Pecan Pie gives a nod to its traditional cousin, while also enhancing everything you love about pie. Make the caramel by boiling sugar, water, and corn syrup. When ready, add butter, cream, and sea salt, giving it that sweet and salty flavor. Once you stir in the pecans, just add it to your pie shell and bake. While preparing the caramel is a bit labor intensive, this pecan pie is mouth-wateringly worth it. Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake Having Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie is like having Christmas without Santa. However, we've mixed things up a bit with the Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake. This cake combines the much-loved flavors of pumpkin and pie spices with the texture of a coffee cake. Simply prepare your cake batter, pour half into the pan, then cover with pumpkin filling. Pour the remaining cake batter on top. For an amusing twist, use a knife to create a marbled pattern through the cake. Sprinkle your premade crumble topping over the entire pan and bake. Now you can have your pumpkin pie and cake too! Don't Forget to Give Back Thanksgiving is a time when most of us gather with friends and family to offer thanks. However, it is also important to remember there are many people who don't have this opportunity. One of the best ways to stay grateful for what you have is by giving to others. Here are some great local Spring Hill places to volunteer at this Thanksgiving: Salvation Army The Salvation Army provides many opportunities to volunteer, including food pantries and soup kitchens. To find a location close to you, fill out a volunteer form at their website or conduct a search for the office nearest you. Daystar Life Center Daystar Life Center operates numerous food pantries and soup kitchens throughout Hernando County. It is through their volunteers that these pantries are staffed and those in need are served. Contact them to find Florida volunteering locations this Thanksgiving. Annie W. Johnson Service Center The Annie W. Johnson Service Center is located in Dunnellon. In addition to their thrift store, they also offer meals to those in need, including the shut-ins throughout Citrus County. You can learn more about them on their Facebook page. To find ways you can volunteer, contact their office. Celebrate Thanksgiving in Village Toyota Fashion Enjoy our favorite Thanksgiving recipes and then take some time to express your gratitude by helping others. As your proud Toyota dealer near Dunnellon, we are so thankful for our customers. Allow us to show you with our great deals on new and used cars, quality Toyota service, and authentic auto accessories. Contact our Toyota sales team at (352) 628-5100 or visit our Homosassa car dealership at 2431 S Suncoast Blvd. Happy Thanksgiving! Sources & Photos: https://diethood.com/rosemary-lemon-roasted-turkey/ http://www.southernliving.com/recipes/slow-cooker-grean-beans http://www.southernliving.com/recipes/honey-glazed-spiced-carrots-side-dish https://www.rachelcooks.com/2015/11/11/easy-cinnamon-apple-cranberry-sauce/ https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/salted-caramel-pecan-pie/ https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-streusel-coffeecake-recipe http://www.salvationarmyflorida.org/volunteer/ http://daystarlifecenter.org/hernando-county-food-pantries/ http://www.dunnellonbusiness.com/senior.htm https://www.facebook.com/anniewjohnsonservicecenter
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that means more than just pinning pink ribbons to your lapel. At Village Toyota, we believe in serving our community. That is why we have gathered a list of resources and local Florida events to help you support the fight against breast cancer. Making Strides of Tampa - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of Tampa hosts the annual Making Strides of Tampa walk. The event takes place on October 28 th, 2017 at Amelie Arena and check-in begins at 7:30 am. The walk will begin at 9:00 am and will be followed by entertainment. Join the walk or donate/volunteer at acsevents.org. more Baskets for Breast Cancer - USLI is hosting their third annual online auction for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Last year the auction included sporting event tickets, an Xbox One, and many other prizes. The event raised $52,000 last year and hopes to beat that number for 2017 with proceeds benefitting breastcancer.org. The online auction runs October 11 th through 18 th, so get on the list now at pink.usli.com! Photo: pink.usli.com Komen Florida Suncoast Race for the Cure - The Susan G. Komen Foundation will host their Suncoast Race for the Cure on October 7 th at the Albert Whitted Park in St. Pete. The event will include a Kids for the Cure race at 6:00 pm, a 5k race at 7:00 pm, and a one-mile walk at 8:00 pm. Opening ceremonies begin at 5:30 pm, with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This year’s event will also offer a yoga and Zumba class on Saturday morning, so sign up before September ends at http://suncoast.info-komen.org. If you can't make it to any of these local Florida events, there are many other ways to support the cause. A pink ribbon decal would be a worthy Toyota accessory to ensure you’re fighting the good fight. And if you’re a woman over the age of 50, don't forget to stop by your local clinic for a breast cancer screening. Make Breast Cancer a Thing of the Past Show your support during Breast Cancer Awareness Month alongside our Toyota dealership in Homosassa, FL. With your help, we can stop this disease in its tracks! View our special October Toyota deals on new Toyota models and used cars. Sources & Photos: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCCY17FL?pg=entry&fr_id=84691 http://pink.usli.com/auction/ http://suncoast.info-komen.org/site/TR?fr_id=6982&pg=entry&_ga=2.263245004.1709233325.1502544618-2045700494.1502544618
Back in the day, before our time, Halloween was a scary holiday. The neighborhood streets were filled with terrifyingly realistic zombies, creepy witches and haunting ghouls knocking on strangers’ doors and asking for candy. The scarier your costume was, the cooler you were. That’s not how things work anymore. Skip forward to present day, and all you see walking the streets on October 31st are the latest Disney princesses, any of the seemingly hundreds of fashionable vampires gracing the silver screen lately, and a game of thrones character or two. The script has flipped, and now the success of your Halloween costume is measured by wit and its relevance to popular culture. We here at Village Toyota, your hometown Toyota dealer near Crystal River, know the struggle of coming up with last minute Halloween costume ideas and the pressure that comes with it. That is why we have put together this short list of awesome, low-cost costume ideas that you can use alone or with a group of your friends. more Suicide Squad Suicide Squad has been one of the most widely publicized feature films of the last decade, and the film's cast of loveable villains could not be more perfectly suited for the upcoming holiday. The most popular costume will almost undoubtedly be Harley Quinn with her playful attitude and easily replicated outfit, but if you can get the whole team together, you will be sure to be the talk of your Halloween party. Photo Credit: www.suicidesquad.com Emoji’s Movies are a great source of inspiration for Halloween costumes; the only problem is that the costumes that are good enough to be a hit will likely be replicated by other clever party-goers. This means that in order to be original, you must also think outside of the box. A good Halloween costume will be easily recognizable and accurately portrayed. What better fits this criteria than the iPhone Emoji’s that we use on a daily basis? With a few generic clothing items from your local GoodWill and a prop or two, you can be anything from the two girls with bunny ears, to the dancing woman, to the running man and everything in between. Pokémon Go The Pokémon Go craze that has been sweeping the nation for the past four months provides us with yet another quality costume opportunity. Whether you want to keep things simple and go as popular Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum, or if you'd like to spice things up and go as Pikachu himself you can't go wrong. If you really want to step things up you can involve a friend or two and mix in trainers with Pokémon and the photo opportunities would be endless. NWA Another one of the blockbuster hits of 2016 offers costume ideas that are perhaps the easiest and most affordable to replicate and is perfect for (or dependent on) multiple participants. Straight Outta Compton made a huge splash in the box office during its release in early 2016 as it portrayed the rise and fall of rap icons Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Mc Ren, DJ Yella, The D.O.C. and Arabian Prince. Photo Credit: www.musingonmusic.com/ The group was notorious for their all black outfits and their rebellious persona, which means that all you need is an attitude, some Oakland Raiders gear, and six friends to pull off this gem of a costume. Snapchat Filters If you are under the age of 35, chances are you are all too familiar with SnapChat and the app’s many memorable filters. Girls cannot seem to get over the dog filter, while the rainbow throw-up filter is a timeless classic. Taking these filters out of the phone and physically applying them to the real world would be a dynamite Halloween costume, and the only dressing up you would have to do is on your face! Don’t over-think it, a simple makeup job or a small mask should do the trick, and if you want to put in a little bit more effort you could even create a cardboard cutout resembling the App’s interface for good measure. Find Scary Good Deals at Village Toyota This Halloween With all of these amazing costume ideas, we can’t help but get excited about Halloween, and unless you plan on going as Pidgey from Pokémon, you’ll need a vehicle to drive you around on the big day. Village Toyota has a frighteningly large selection of used cars for sale in Homosassa, and some top quality Auto financing options as well. Check out our selection of new car specials and come visit us at 2431 South Suncoast Blvd, Homosassa, FL 3448 at your earliest convenience for the most painless car buying process you’ve ever experienced.
