This is my Thanksgiving post

So, Thanksgiving has come and gone. I love Thanksgiving. Hubs and I have friends (and dogs) over and eat and drink and hangout. It’s super low-key and I love it. I also love Thanksgiving food. Except for stuffing/dressing.

This year, I cooked A Lot. I always do, but this year it seemed like so much more. I took no pictures though, because - well come on. I was cooking all day. There was no time for photos. I did take a picture of my gameplan:

I always make a plan like this for big meals. Several items aren’t on here - the cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, rolls, deviled eggs, and turkey. The turkey was the big ticket item, so everything else had to be worked around it. The others were made early because I planned ahead (for once!).

So… without further ado here’s my Thanksgiving and links to recipes I used.

Turkey - 17.5lbs for 5 adults and 2 kids. I really like leftovers.

Sweet Potatoes - family recipe so sorry, no link for this one

Creamed Corn - My ABSOLUTE favorite thing I made for Thanksgiving this year. HANDS DOWN. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’m so making this all the time forever now. From Kitchen Runway.

Green Beans - I kind of used this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen, but honestly, I got to step 2 and it was time to eat so I just spritzed them with lemon juice and served warm.

Mashed Potatoes - my mom’s recipe, which is basically boiled potatoes, butter, milk, and salt. Mix well, serve warm.

Macaroni & Cheese - This is the first time I’ve ever made mac & cheese sans box. I (and everyone else) approve of this non-box variety from Evil Shenanigans.

Deviled Eggs - I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how I make deviled eggs, but here goes. Hard boil the eggs, cool, then peel. Slice in half, scoop out the yellow bits and add Miracle Whip. Mix. Put the yellow mix back into the egg whites. Refrigerate until time to eat.

Cranberry Sauce - I kind of just throw my cranberry sauce together, because, really, this stuff is wicked easy to do. Fresh cranberries, water, orange juice, a cinnamon stick, sugar, and pecan pieces if I remember. Make it a couple of days ahead and keep it in the fridge until about 5 minutes after everyone has sat down with their food. Wait, that’s only me? Ok, suit yourself. Here's a basic recipe from The Meaning of Pie that's pretty much like mine.

Rolls - From Bake Me Blush. Yum yum yum. For defs a make-ahead though.

Fudge Pie - My grandmother’s recipe. Imagine a brownie baked in a pie shell.

Pumpkin Pie - Used the recipe from the back of the pumpkin can. Cause I’m fancy.

Ok, so I lied. I have one pic from all the food I made for Thanksgiving -

Please ignore how disgusting my stove looks.

Cleaning Out the Fridge Turnovers

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I have started the cleaning out the fridge ritual. But, since I can’t just throw food away (unless it smells, looks funny, I can’t remember when we had it, or I can remember when we had it and it should have been thrown out many moons ago…) I’m trying to use up some of the items that might have otherwise ended up trashed.

Hence -

Chicken Bacon Cheese Turnovers

The last few slices of bacon plus leftover rotisserie chicken plus chicken tenders from a couple of nights ago plus cheese. What could go wrong, right?

Answer - nothing.

Not a thing wrong with these.

Fail.

Not everything I make turns out right.

Exhibit A.

Crispy Flat Potatoes

So in my last post (sorry about the lack of posting - would you believe I’ve been busy?) I had a cute little side dish with the yummy yummy sandwiches. ‘What were those little cuties’ you asked? Well! Guess what - I’m about to give you the answer.

Crispy Flat Potatoes from Whisked.

Ta da?

Very yummy and fun to eat. However, make sure you bake them long enough otherwise you’ll end up with my problem. Above, you’ll notice 3 potatoes - 2 were under-baked and smashed into bits when I - well… smashed them. The third one was baked to perfection and smashed just right. Do it this way.

Fry in a smidge of oil and enjoy.

Grilled Caprese Sandwich

Ok - super easy. And super yummy.

Basil pesto + fresh mozzarella + tomato (leave everything at room temp - that way it all warms & grills together).

Olive oil on each side of the sandwich. Grill on the Foreman.

Yum yum. I love this sandwich.

Potato Soup

Since it rained all weekend here in the sunshine state, I decided it was time to break out the soup pot. Luckily, I just happened to have some potatoes sitting around not quite to the point of looking back at me.

There are a thousand different ways to make potato soup. Mine involves slicing potatoes very thin/small and boiling them in milk and butter. I seasoned with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and onion powder.

(Here's a recipe from Lighter and Local that I forgot I had saved. I’ll use this one in the future.)

If you have some sort of potato masher, this would be the time to use it. I used the back of a plastic spoon (pictured).

Once it is the consistency of a thick, runny porridge (more or less) serve topped with one or more of several toppings: shredded cheese, bacon crumbles, sour cream, chives, crispy onions, etc.

Enjoy.

Just buy the Butterfingers.

So, I found this recipe (from In Katrina's Kitchen) for homemade Butterfingers made with candy corn. WOW! I thought. How awesome and amazing!

This is what melted candy corn looks like. It’s even more terrifying in real life.

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It’s quite possible I messed up the recipe. I was baking a lot when I made these and I didn’t think they would cool, so I put the pan in the fridge. They were impossible to cut without crumbling after that. They tasted great, but way too much work.

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This is the only piece that made it to completion.

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Just buy the damn candy bars.