I hope it’s not too late to share a few of our Thanksgiving recipes. We had a wonderful holiday together as a family. Strange not to host grandparents or cousins, but we spent a good bit of time going around the table giving thanks, and they were mentioned often.

Turkey baking bags? Could life get any easier than that?

I decided to try a different bread recipe for Thanksgiving. I don’t know why I’m compelled to venture away from our very favorite, so easy, tried and true Mesa Manna, but every once in a while I just have to try a new recipe. This year I spent several hours reading recipes from The Pioneer Woman’s blog. She has such gorgeous pictures, the food practically jumps off the computer screen.

Now if I could just it to actually do that, I wouldn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking.

It’s important to search for the right kind of help on big holidays. This gentleman is in high demand.

The thing that sold me on these rolls was the promise I could make the dough Wednesday night, and prepare the rolls on Thursday. Mesa Manna gets a wee bit yeasty tasting the times I’ve let the dough sit overnight. Can’t have our bread too yeasty, now can we. Here’s a link to Ree’s dinner rolls. These turned out delicious, but, frankly, weren’t that much better than Mesa Manna. Definitely not worth the extra work (heating milk) or the calories (a cup of oil and sugar). Fun to try a new recipe, which, I guess was my goal.

With the all repetition in my life (“What, there are dirty dishes to wash again? Laundry too, you say?”) I steal the opportunity to enjoy a little bit of variety wherever I can.

Daniel and Rachel set the table, complete with crystal, silver and cloth napkins. Sarah gave each person five kernels of corn for our time of sharing.

In my search for a low-carb veggie casserole recipe, I stumbled across a fun vegetable website. Maybe ‘fun’ is not exactly the correct word for a vegetable recipe site. How about tasty or creative? Most of the recipes come with pictures (so handy for those of us who are visual learners). I made a broccoli/cauliflower dish. Yummy.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin

1 pound fresh broccoli florets
1 pound fresh cauliflower florets
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
4 ounces cheddar cheese, 1 cup
3 ounces parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 1 ounce

1. Steam the vegetables until crisp-tender, 6-8 minutes; drain well and season with salt and pepper.
2. Put the vegetables in a greased shallow baking pan, 9×13″.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the next 5 ingredients. Spoon this mixture over the vegetables and spread as evenly as possible.
4. Sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese over the top (skipped this step as I ran out of parmesan cheese).
5. Bake at 350º 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden brown and bubbly.

Rachel’s requested pistachio salad turned out to be ridiculously easy. Don’t you love it when that happens!

Pistachio Salad

1 small box of Pistachio pudding
1 can crushed pineapple
1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
carton of Cool Whip

1. Pour undrained pineapple into bowl.
2. Sprinkle pudding mix on top. Stir and let sit for five minutes.
3. Fold in marshmallows and Cool Whip. Let chill in fridge.

We were invited (or maybe we invited ourselves, I lose track) to some friends’ house for dessert. I ran out of time and ingredients to make an apple pie (turns out you need apples for most apple pie or apple crisp recipes – go figure), but did manage a chocolate cream pie and pumpkin pie cake. One family member said the chocolate pie was a little too strong, we’re still working on his background check. Too much chocolate? Gasp! There’s certainly no such thing.

Chocolate Cream Pie in Oreo Crust

1 Oreo pie crust
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups milk
3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs yolks
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Add chocolate chips & unsweetened chocolate. Place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 2 minutes.
2. Place egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl. Gradually pour half of chocolate mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly.
3. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into chocolate in saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
4. Pour mixture into Oreo pie shell. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve with shipped cream.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday without some fun board games. We played Pirate’s Cove here at home and then several rounds of Apples to Apples with our dessert hosts.

Pumpkin Pie Cake was unanimously requested by my family over pumpkin pie. Interesting. It’s a family favorite and a ready hit at parties. I’ll share that recipe later.

It’s almost Monday and we still have some leftovers, although Joshua’s eating them as fast as he can. I already have a request for another batch of cornbread dressing.

I think Joshua has eaten a plate full of these delicious leftovers nearly twice a day since Friday. Yum! Nothing like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to fill our tummies, and thankful spirits to warm our hearts. I hope each and every one of you had a good Thanksgiving, remember to whom we give thanks.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalms 100:4-5

Kathy

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