Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it's always been a really nice day to spend with family. It's like Christmas without the stress of gifts and an even more hectic time table for my family.
It was important to Dan and I to celebrate Thanskgiving even though we couldn't be in the States with family, so we decided to host Thanksgiving at our place and invite all our friends and family around us over to share in the tradition.
We spent the month (if not more) preparing for how we would fit everyone in, what we would serve, and how we could actually pull it off.
Coming from a split family, Heidi and I have always had the opportunity to have two Thanksgivings and share in two families recipes, so Dan and I thought we'd pull the best from both sides and offer it here. It doesn't really make a difference to me as I pretty much only eat mashed potatoes, rolls, and jello - but Dan was thrilled!
So here's the menu we served:
Turkey- no real recipe, Dan can take the credit for this one
Stuffing- my Grandma Phyllis' recipe
Sweet Potato Casserole - My Mom's recipe
Jello- Grandma Phyllis again
Biscuits- Made famous by my Uncle John
Creamed Corn- Uncle Dennis
Mashed Potatoes- Dan and I can also take the credit for this one
Pumpkin Pie- Google
Oatmeal Cookies- Holli
Also since I mentioned before that I don't eat much on Thanksgiving, I decided to introduce a Cranberry Walnut salad into the mix, and I was very happy to add something else to my plate!
Dan and I did as much as we could before the big day so that we could spend time with our friends and family when they arrived. Also because for my whole life all I can remember about 30 mins before dinner was served is my mom saying "GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN"! So I thought- surely if we are prepared and have everything ready to go, it'll keep the stress level down, right? WRONG. It's like the full hurry up and wait scenario. We did things Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday morning- then we really had nothing to do during the day, but 45 minutes before we wanted everyone to sit down and eat- it was chaos! In the end, everything turned out really great and we were happy to share the tradition.
Menu for the evening showing where eat recipe was from
It was really important to me to have everyone at the same table, however- with 15 adults and 2 kids that was going to be a challenge. We pushed all our furniture aside, rented chairs, and borrowed some tables from Judy, Shane and Jordo and pulled it off!
The preparations of Grandma's stuffing (just a quick note, a lot of the photos to follow will just be of food. Basically me proving that we did in fact do it!)
End product of Grandma's stuffing
My first ever Jell-o Mold!
Oatmeal cookies for those that don't like pie (me!)
Judy and Shane came down from Bundy to help peel potatoes (and loan us pretty much every dish we used that night... oh and the tables... so without them we'd have potatoes with skin, hot drinks, food in pots, and be sitting on the floor-- needless to say, we are thankful for them!)
My main Thanksgiving food group- Mashed Potatoes!
The bird and pies in the oven
Dan carving the turkey. (Please see the following post for a brief tribute to the growing ferret on Dan's face)
Mixing the gravy. Token action shot
My plate for the night. See how much fuller it is with the addition of the salad- amazing!
The whole gang (minus Katie who got cut out). Thank you everyone who took the time to come by and share in this holiday with us. It was so great to have you around our table and we look forward to continuing the tradition with you all.
Until next time...
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