Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving! November 28, 2008

I hope everyone had a lovely day, however you spent it!

My last few days have been extremely busy – Tuesday doing all the housework, Wednesday cooking and/or prepping everything I could do ahead of time, and Thursday, well, that was the big day! We hosted this year. Including ourselves, there were 24 of us. My mom and dad, hubby’s mom, my brothers and sisters-in-law, my nieces and nephews, one of my Aunts, one of my Uncles, and two family friends. In my role as hostess, I didn’t get much time to visit with anyone, other than those who haunted the kitchen with me, so we made arrangements to have a couple of quieter dinners later (with fewer people) so it would be easier to visit. Still and all, it was a successful day in my book. No one went home hungry, everyone had a plate of leftovers to take with them, and there were no major fights among the kids!

We had a fairly traditional feast. My family doesn’t really go for “new-fangled” recipes much, though they did like the new dessert I added to the menu this year. Everyone who came brought a dish or two, which helped round things out. I made 3/4 of the meal, but it was nice to not have to worry about some things. Plus, each family has a “signature dish” or two that everyone wants to have when we get together, so those are things to look forward to! (Examples – my sil’s delicious broccoli cauliflower casserole and oreo dessert, one brother’s buckeyes, and another brother’s buffalo chicken dip… yum, yum, yum!)

So, our complete menu:

Beverages:

Lemonade
Water
Iced Tea
several types of soda
beer
a couple bottles of wine

On the snack table, we had:

Chex mix (I made 4 batches of it)
Pumpkin dip with gingersnaps and apple slices
Cheeseburger dip
Ranch cheese dip
Buffalo chicken dip
Ham roll-ups
Cheese and meat tray
Venison summer sausage
Deviled eggs
Veggie tray
Pretzels, tortilla chips and 4 kinds of crackers for dipping

On the dinner table we had:

A fried turkey
A brined and roasted turkey
A glazed spiral ham
Green bean casserole
Corn
Squash
Candied sweet potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes and gravy
White and wheat dinner rolls
Stuffing
Broccoli cauliflower casserole
Jellied cranberry sauce
Blueberry cranberry sauce
Roll-up Lawash sandwiches
Macaroni and cheese
Grape salad

And then there was dessert:

Two pecan pies
Two pumpkin pies
Two apple pies
Buckeyes
Oreo dessert
Pumpkin trifle
and these adorable pumpkin spice cupcakes my sil made to look like turkeys

So, that was our meal. I’m going to make two kinds of turkey soup with the carcasses (one with noodles, and one with dumplings), and I’m going to freeze the ham bone to make split pea or bean soup with later in the year. Hubby is also happy that there were just enough mashed potatoes left over for me to make shepherd’s pie, which I will likely do tonight or tomorrow. As for today, no, we’re not going out shopping – not to a store, anyway. What we are doing is making about a three hour round trip to purchase the Christmas present Eldest d. picked out for herself – a cute Persian kitty named Eloise. I have a bag all packed with goodies for lunch on the road, and just took a pan of cinnamon rolls out of the oven so we can have a little breakfast to go, too. Anyway, I have a few things I want to get done this morning before we leave, so I should get going. Again, I hope everyone had a lovely day, and that the coming weekend is nothing but enjoyable for you!