Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!  The kids had the whole week off from school, so we worked hard trying to stay busy by organizing the house to make room for Christmas, and squeezing something fun in each day!  We went to see Big Hero 6, visited the Science Center, played around the gym at the church, did some crafts, and the kids helped me with our secret Christmas present (more on that later)!

Every year I plan a HUGE menu, and then I cook all day, and I'm exhausted by the end of it!  The kids don't even care for most of the "Traditional" foods!  Why don't I remember to simplify things?  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, Martinelli's Grape Juice, Apple Almond green salad, Broccoli Salad, pumpkin pie & whipped cream should be plenty, right?  Too many favorites, that's all.  In particular I have two "dessert" salads that I just love!  One is a cranberry whipped cream fruit salad, the other is a California Salad with coconut, pineapple, mandarin oranges and sour cream.  I know...  Everyone wrinkles their noses at it, but it's just not Thanksgiving without it, so I make and eat it (by myself) until I'm sick of it.

I also procrastinate thinking ahead to see if someone needs a home for Thanksgiving.  Many people here take off for "home" over Thanksgiving, since the schools and University have a whole week off.  We always had families over to our homes for Thanksgiving growing up - neighbors, missionaries, ward members, etc. I forget to ask around, until the day arrives, and we have all this food, but just our family of five to enjoy it, and I feel so guilty...

Fortunately, there is always next year, and Josh gently reminded me that we are so blessed to have such wonderful food filling the fridge, and the means and resources to make all of our favorites, to all be healthy and happy and together.  It's truly a blessing!

A few culinary triumphs this year were my first perfectly cooked turkey!  I always end up with sawdust-dry turkeys, and the only thing they are good for, is slathering it with mayonnaise and eating it in a dinner roll.  But this year, I followed directions on a blog post and used a digital meat thermometer!  It was done HOURS before I had estimated, but I trusted the timer and took it out, and it was DELICIOUS!  It's a nice bonus that our house actually has TWO kitchens with two fridges and ovens, so there was plenty of cooking/storage space.  I also made gravy for the first time.  Again, so good!  I've always been so scared of making gravy, but the recipe turned out so yummy!

The kids humored me and changed into "dressy school" clothes for our fancy feast.
I'm trying to figure out why there is a roll of toilet paper on the table.  Is that toilet paper? 

See that veggie tray?  It was the most popular dish with everyone.  That, and the rolls.  :)

Diddles loved the Grape Juice (a special treat), and she helped me make the pies and whip the cream!

Happy Thanksgiving!