thanksgiving dinner

As I mentioned before Brendon and I were going to host Thanksgiving dinner at our home. It was so successful and my first ever roasted turkey came out amazing! The only hiccups in the day were not getting the Crock-Pot turned properly for my little sister's pasta request, the can opener not opening my yams, and the stuffing getting a little cold before the rest of the food was ready. So really, nothing to complain about.

For the turkey I used a bbq/grilled marinade recipe I found online and it was so, so, so good.

This was actually the most complicated thing I had to do all day. What you need is:

1½ cups cooking oil (vegetable oil)

½ cup water

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup worcestershire sauce

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp dried oregano (italian seasoning)

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

Mix and apply.

According to the turkey packaging, the weight of our turkey meant it would take approximately 7.5 hours to cook. Luckily it had the "ready popper" on it because we don't have a meat thermometer, but it popped at only 5 hours! We let it cook for about 30 more minutes and simply turned the oven off and kept it closed up while the rest of the food was prepared and cooked.

The rest of the menu consisted of:

roasted red skins

mashed potatoes

mashed sweet potatoes

stuffing

bread, bread, bread

corn

green bean casserole

chicken bacon ranch pasta

cranberries

lime jello

pumpkin pie

pumpkin creme pie

german chocolate cake

PHEW. 

The turkey. The sides. Perfect.

LOOK AT IT.

My mom supplied the desserts and really everything else I cooked was from a box or the Crock-Pot. Making sure I had enough clean and ready pans and a solid timeline was the hard part. But like I said, I think I did okay because the stuffing was really the only item that I was like, "um, maybe you should throw that in the microwave before consuming."

It was definitely a casual affair and I enjoyed every minute of it. We didn't get dressed up, I didn't get the kids dressed up, and we used paper plates. Besides me. I cooked my bum off and I delighted in a regular plate. Sweet, sweet, casualness.

Kennedy only wanted to eat the jello and other various desserts. Whatever, I guess.

Leftovers for days.

Leia

things i'm thankful for: a list

So many things to be thankful for, am I right?

• my family in all their grainy blurriness 

• leonardo dicaprio

• a full fridge

• my friends (we are so creative when it comes to taking a group picture)

• my job

• emagine theaters (yeah, the same image from last year; I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the hell that basket next to him is! Why does it get it's own seat?)

• the earth and my home that resides on it

• a good book (and one day an awesome home library to store them all in)

• good tv shows

• getting to the #5 spot on slither

• teaching myself new things

• a good meme/joke/sense of humor

• my education and all the headaches it has caused me so far

• take-out food

And yes, just like last year there are "non-sensical" things on my list, but hey. That's my life and all of these things make me happy and for that, I'm thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Leia

mid-week meal share: thanksgiving prep

Brendon and I finalized the menu last night because for the first year ever we are hosting Thanksgiving! Granted we are not having the entire family but a small gathering of my mom and our siblings, but I still like to think to think of it as a monumental event. The holidays are always so difficult. While I love spending time with all of our families it is so hard to choose especially with the kids. Typically we have 2-3 places per holiday that we need to try to swing by and make an appearance but it is so draining. Exhaustion and misery are not things I want to start associating with the holidays. It will be different and I'm sure everyone will be understanding but it's what is going to be best for us.

Now to grocery shop the night before Thanksgiving, haha. Kill me.

Leia

things I'm thankful for: a list

• my family

 

• my friends (yes.. I KNOW! Hands down this is the weirdest photo we've ever taken together..) 

•  my job

• books, books, books!

• spaghetti

• James Franco

• How I Met Your Mother (hands down the greatest television show ever made)

•  cherry coca-cola

• Earth and being from the high five of America (well, during Spring, Summer, and Fall)

• my cell phone

• my education (Eastern Michigan and their entire cluster fuck of parking)

• Emagine and their comfy, reclining seats (and their creepy CEO who made it all happen; what's that weird basket in the seat next to him? I haven't the slightest clue!)

• stores that make your dreams come true

Yes, most importantly I am thankful for my family. My husband and two little daughters mean the absolute world to me. Most times when I read someone's description of how their family makes them feel, it makes me wonder if I'm doing it all wrong. Yes, I would do anything for the three of them and my life would never be the same without one of them in it.. but there are definitely things I'm not thankful for: waking up 2-3 times a night to find Piper's paci for 1 year and 2 months; or when your 4 year old talks back or says "duh" in response to a statement.

And yes, there are materialistic items on this list and I feel no shame. I feel that these ancillary items make my life exponentially better. If they were to disappear it would be hard on me for a while (okay, if James Franco disappeared I might have to call it quits). What's life without being thankful for some guilty pleasures?

Overall we had a good Thanksgiving. We had three stops on our list but decided that two would be enough. I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday, and hey, if you don't celebrate I hope you took advantage of some awesome sales!

Sorry we're one month late, Canada!

Leia

"week off"

Woo-wee has this semester has really worn me down. So much harder than I was actually expecting. I try not to complain because these were things I conscientiously added to my plate but LORT, I am exhausted. Piper hasn't helped me at all with this. I don't know what to do to help this kid sleep at night!

With this week being Thanksgiving, I had class only one day! Hooray for no Monday morning labs and no Thursday lectures! And if I'm being honest, I skipped two of my classes on Tuesday. I went in late and missed chemistry and I left late, missing math. My brain and will power has gone out the window this week. Hence why this post isn't even a mid-week meal share. And all five readers wept themselves to sleep.

So for the most part this week has involved some quality time at home with my family which consequently leads to me struggling not to call in sick to work all week.

So now we're patiently waiting to have our fill between two Thanksgiving dinner's tomorrow! Hopefully everyone has amazing feasts with your loved ones!

Turducken, anyone?

Leia