HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving at our house comes early for various reasons. Here's a glimpse into our simple meal for this special holiday, as well as some things we do for fun. I told the kids to take some paper and make a tree that we could tape to the wall to use as our Thanksgiving Tree. Well, the poor dears are like their Mom and they can't just be 'normal'. (Whatever that is!). They said they wanted a 3D tree. So this is their results!
And here you see the youngest 2 putting their leaves on that has things they are thankful for written on them.
Here's the center of our table. We have the Mayflower, some tepees, some cowboys and Indians, 5 kernels of corn, and 2 turkeys! They also made hand turkeys to put on their chairs and round, layered, paper turkeys for their place at the table. (Gotta keep them busy while I cook! ;-)
Here's my stuffed celery. The 'stuff' is cream cheese with a couple of tablespoons of flax oil, t dill, and chopped pecans blended in. Yuummmmy!
These are the star of the show! Blueberry Candy! They were handy to give ,once in a while, to tide the hungry tummies over until I could get it all done and served. It's simply; fresh, rinsed and dried blueberries dipped in melted (but not hot) white chocolate. Easy enough!

The blueberries might have been the star but this is the Bomb of my dinner- always!

It's my Sweet Potato Casserole!
-Mash and drain 2 (29oz) cans of sweet potatoes.
(can cook your own but I'm hurried here!)

-1 cup of sugar (white or cane)

-1/2 t salt (sea or reg.)

-2 large yard eggs (or 3 medium store eggs)

1/2 stick melted butter

1/2 cup milk

1 T vanilla

--Blend well and pour in baking dish, top with:

-1/2 stick melted butter

-1 cup chopped pecans

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c self-rising flour

--Blend the topping and even out on the potato mixture.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

22lbs of wonderful Turkey! And yes, he's stuffed!

Buttered corn, brussel sprouts in butter sauce, green peas, gravy and the sweet potato casserole.
Potato salad and homemade cornbread dressing.
DH says this dressing is to die for!
(I'll try to post the recipe tonight.)
-Potato Salad-
boil as many potatoes as you'll need
blend in 2 different types of mayo
(you want half and half of a sweet brand and a more sour brand)
a couple of tablespoons of mustard
chopped dill pickles
(got kids? extra pickles!)
salt and pepper to taste

Punch: 1/2 a carton of vanilla ice cream, half a carton of sherbet, and half a 2 liter of ginger ale!
Just scoop out the sherbet and ice cream into bowl and pour the giner ale over the top. Easy and sooo good!
By request, a spiral ham!
(And yes, I kept the bone! It's in the freezer for beans next weeks!)

Here's great idea that DH came up with for easy LEFTOVER storage: everything was put into ziploc bags. Tomorrow, all I have to do is scoop out and warm it up!

--We also had red velvet cake, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, whipped cream, Muddy Buddy Chex Mix, Green Bean Casserole and rolls.

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I don't go super frugal on this meal but, it will last several days and it also allows me play time and project time with the kids during the days of Thanksgiving.

We eat a big meal, wait a few hours and come back for sweets. We then cover and store it all and reheat as we like for the next couple of days.

During this time, we will also bake a special batch of cookies that sort of sets the Christmas spirit into motion and we usually put our tree up shortly after the Thanksgiving items are cleared away.

We will also take time to read about the First Thanksgiving over these couple of days.
We usually do an outdoor Thankful for Wildlife tree too. We will pop a batch of corn and sting it and cranberries and maybe dried cereal. We will then take it outside and 'dress' one or two of the trees. The wildlife will be thankful too!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

MAY THE LORD BLESS YOUR HOME THIS SEASON!

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This post is linked to A Southern Fairytale!