Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving, Folk's!!!

I brewed up some homemade Cranberry Sauce!

Cranberries are so pretty!  I tried a super easy recipe-- mixing 12oz. real cranberries with 3/4c. marmalade, 1/4c. water and 2/3c. sugar.  It turned out great!!!

I don't think I have ever tried orange marmalade before!  I'm more of a strawberry jam type of girl.  I saved the last bit to try.  The crock pot was the perfect choice for simmering cranberries, as the entire house had a fragrant fresh orange and berry delightfulness for the day!

I'm not sure which scent I like best: homemade white bread or berry/orange.

I made several loaves of fresh bread to bring to Thanksgiving supper.

Sweet potatoes are no fun to cut raw; I either boil em or bake em first.  This time they got boiled seeings as how the oven was full of goodies too.  I made a ham, and some fixings to go with it.

The sweet potato casserole looked more like a marshmallow pie!  The kids thought this was great!

Janet requested I bring deviled eggs to supper.  It's been my specialty for years.

To make an extra creamy filling, I use the chopper and blend the yolks into a fine powder.

I add mayo, a dab of mustard, and a little bit of sweet relish to the yolks.  I don't actually measure anything.  To get the egg whites nice and smooth, I boil the eggs for exactly 14 minutes and then cool them right away. 

Piping the filling into the eggs is more fun than using spoons.

At this point, I have to guard these gems, otherwise they will disappear!!!

To finish them, smoked paprika works well; it gives them a festive look and an awesome smokey flavor!

Three freshly baked loaves of bread!  Perfect!!!

Baking yeast bread is a fascinating process, as the dough expands and grows overflowing the pan!

Ahh, freshly baked bread!  Ever since I made food for carp from old hot dog buns, bread has not appealed to me, but this bread-- the real stuff-- is different.  It's good.

On Thanksgiving morning, Troy and Sophie watched the Macy's Parade with me.  Gladys was in her room asking us to let her know when Shawn Mendez comes on.

As, the parade went by, we all kept calling her for practically every guy we saw.  Then SpongeBob comes on and I call her in, to trick her for one last time. (It's a mom's job!)  Well the joke was on me, cause in the pirate ship under SpongeBob was her Heartthrob-- Shawn Mendez!!!! 

Glenn surprised me the night before, by bringing home my favorite wine!

Perfect for mimosas!  Was I supposed to add OJ???  Oh well.  ;-)

All the snow has melted away.

Oh, did I mention I went to see the new Peanuts movie?  It was cute!

Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is tradition around here.  It was fabulous as usual.  Next year, I think the Rockettes may actually have new outfits!  Good ole Santa was dressed in his traditional clothes, while Mrs Claus had on a green dress this year!   

The weather was mild outside.  Troy and I got some fresh air after the parade.

When it was time to head over to Nancy's house, we didn't even need our coats!

Meow-- this round kitty at Nancy's, was fun to hold, she was like a big pillow!

The deviled eggs were a hit!  They disappeared fast!!!

My sweet Gladys, umm-- her teenage-ness is showing!

The visit at Nancy's house was relaxing and fun.

Even the pets had a good time.

They were into Thanksgiving!!!  Hey, roof-- lemme in, I wanna celebrate too, roof!!!!

Nancy put out a few little snacks:

Just Kidding-- they had everything you could think of for Thanksgiving supper.

My Aunt Shirley announced that she may be moving to Florida.  I tried to convince her to let me house sit for her trip this winter.  I might be about 4th in line on the plant watering back up list.

The cats braved the kiddies to be near the food.

Glenn carved the turkey.

A feline offered to help him.

Janet made homemade green bean casserole-- with sauce made from scratch!

 

The stuffing was different than I was used to, as it had apple slivers and chestnuts in it.

 

The chestnuts were delicious! I've been singing about these nuts since I was a kid; one of these days I'm going to roast a batch of em myself.

Slopped food was just what this kitty wanted!

Supper's READY!!!

Glenn said Grace, and the Thanksgiving feast was ON!

My plate, beginning at 9:00: turkey, green bean casserole, broccoli with veggie cheese sauce, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, corn casserole, ham, bread, and mashed potatoes.

After supper we played Apples to Apples and Headbandz.

We had a fun Thanksgiving!  Nancy was a great host!  Mom made delicious eclairs!  Aunt Shirley, made walnut pie, which I had to take some home cause I couldn't fit another bite in my belly!  Feeling Thankful!!!  Blessings to all!  :-)