Thanksgiving Celebrations: One Down, One To Go

Yesterday we had Ted's side of the family here to celebrate Thanksgiving. I MUCH PREFER this holiday over Christmas, but I've already made that clear, so I guess there's no need to revisit that issue.

Yes, it's a lot of work to get ready for this, but it's so well worth it in the end. I was busy from the time I got up early yesterday morning until I pressed the "Start" button on the dishwasher in the middle of the afternoon. What I need to do is get a folder and put copies of all of my Thanksgiving recipes in there so that they're all in one place.

I had gotten to a point late yesterday morning when I thought I could actually stop and relax for a few minutes....but then I remembered that I forgot about the noodles! I had to get the chicken broth going and get the noodles started.

For dessert I had an apple pie, a cherry pie, and pumpkin bars. I was going to also make a pecan pie, but our niece Holly had either texted or emailed Alex and said that she was going to bring pecan bars. I decided that we would have plenty of sweets, so I eliminated the pecan pie. The pecan bars Holly made were absolutely EXCELLENT! I really need to get her recipe.

Holly is also the family's Mashed Potato Connoisseur and I was hoping that I would get a good review. She liked them last year, and this year I tried using Yukon Gold potatoes. I was anxious to see if that made a difference. Holly said they were really good, but the true acknowledgment came when we cleared the table off and there were NO mashed potatoes left! There were leftovers of everything else, but not even a spoonful of potatoes...and I peeled almost 10 pounds of them!

Last year I discovered that the stuffing cooked really well in the crockpot, so that is my new method of preference. It's so much easier. Put it in, plug it in, and forget it! It's even easier yet when I use a crockpot bag.

A.P. (Aunt Patty, Holly's mom) brought a big pan of a fancy dip, along with bags of Fritos and tortilla chips to munch on during the afternoon, so along with the desserts, no one went hungry. I heard that the dip was really good, but she knows that I don't do mayo, salad dressing, sour cream, or anything like that, so I didn't taste it, BUT those who did really liked it!

It was just so nice to spend a day surrounded by family...I think everyone not only got their tummies full, but enjoyed being together. That's what I really like about the holiday.

This Thursday we'll go to my folks' for the day. I'm in charge of ... mashed potatoes! I believe I'll use Yukon Golds again. I discovered last year that one thing that added to the flavor was using whipping cream instead of milk, and of course lots of butter! Hey, I never said that they were low in fat, carbs, or calories!

If you have any special Thanksgiving memories or traditions, I'd love to hear about them. Feel free to share them in the comments section!