What I Made for Thanksgiving

Not the best food photography, but you get the picture.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but this was by far the BEST Thanksgiving meal I've partaken in.  Oh my.  Every dish was absolutely deLISH, if you catch my drift.  Maybe that's because we barely ate all day, in order to have a big appetite.  Or maybe it's because I'd been slaving away for three days straight.  Or maybe it's because all my recipes were da BOMB diggity.  Seriously folks.  Here was our menu:

Turkey.  Oh my.  This was my first time making a turkey and I think I'll be using this method/recipe forever now. I snagged the recipe from ourbestbites.com - a favorite cooking site of mine.  It did take a lot of time (brining), but not a lot of hard work (using a bag).  And the result was AMAZING.  Sooo tender, so juicy and flavorful.  I've never tasted anything like it.  Superb.  *****

James and Travis did a manly job of carving their first turkey.

Mashed Potatoes.  Again.  Mouth-watering, Die-and-went-to-heaven sort of reaction.  Super creamy, warm, buttery.  Delightful.  Of course, these came from the one and only Pioneer Woman's cook book.  It did use a cup of butter and an 8 oz. bar of cream cheese, but Thanksgiving comes once a year and butter is a MUST!! Another *****

Green Bean Casserole.  Betsy made these.  I'm not usually a huge fan of green beans, but this casserole was yummers!  She carmelized her own onions and made her own white sauce.  It was cooked to perfection and added the right amount of color and veggies to our carb-loaded table.  ****

Stuffing.  I honestly didn't try it.  I hate stuffing.  But I tried a recipe (for those other stuffing-lovers at my table) from Real Simple.  The recipe involved Italian Sausage, which, in my books, you can never go wrong with.  Everyone loved it, or so they said.  ****

Cooked carrots.  Another one of Betsy's dishes.  I totally forgot to try these as well!!  I don't know how I missed them, as they looked divine.  She made some sort of glaze to cover them.  I'll give 'em a go today at lunch.  ***

Rolls.  Again, the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  Again, to die for.  *****

Apple Pie.  Compliments of me.  *****
Pumpkin Pie.  Compliments of a can.  ***
Chocolate chip cookies.  Compliments of me. *****

That was it for the homemade dishes.  We also had canned corn and cranberry sauce, compliments of the Jeffrey's.  Oh, and Kellie made the gravy, which was sublime.  ***** for that.

So sleepy.  She didn't nap all day, thus retiring at 4:50 p.m.

I purchased mini Martinelli's for each place setting.  I also channeled Pinterest and made these utensil holders which involved a fun, spur-of-the-moment game.  Each person had to try and incorporate one of the paint names into our conversation at the table throughout the meal.  Funny.

We had a wonderful time together - cooking, caring for the babes, eating, sharing our thankful thoughts.  Family really is the most wonderful, and as my bro-in-law shared, only a shadow of the things that are to come.  Such a sweet truth.  Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings!!