happy thanksgiving!

What a beautiful Thanksgiving Day we were blessed with here, today, in Atlanta. Sunny and warm - a high of 70. Just delicious Fall weather. We invited another family over for our feast since their family is far away, like ours. I'll admit, this was my first Thanksgiving - I mean, one where I cooked! We've always been with my husband's family for Thanksgiving and all I've had to bring was a side dish. This was definitely a challenge I was up for! A very nourishing Thanksgiving. 


I was nervous. I wanted it all to come together nicely. I didn't want the food to be cold. I didn't want to get stressed out. I wanted everyone to be happy. Oh, too many wants! I just prayed that God would give me the graces I needed to do it all and that I wouldn't lose my patience.


I started cooking yesterday so that my stress level would be less today. My husband, God bless him, he cleaned (with the help of the kids) while I cooked. He was also my kitchen helper and was right there behind me cleaning up my messes and doing the dishes. What a huge help. I think this was the key to less stress and more fun!


Around 11 am yesterday, I started my stock.  I planned on making that green beans with mushroom soup casserole from scratch, so I needed to prepare the stock to make the cream of mushroom soup. I forgot that the soup called for chicken stock - I made beef stock! In case you're wondering, the beef stock worked out just fine as a substitute in the recipe.


I think the first thing I made was the coleslaw. I wanted it to marinate in the dressing for a good 24 hours. After that, I made the mashed potatoes and placed them in the crock-pot for today. All I did was turn it on low this morning and add more milk and butter and they were fantastic! I figured it would also be a good idea to cook the bacon (for the green bean casserole) and sausage for the dressing. I also pre-baked the sweet potatoes at 350 for an hour so that I could easily peel them this morning and spend less time sautéing them before we ate. I baked the pumpkin pies and apple pie before bed. 


I got up at 5:00 this morning and put the turkey in the oven - then I went back to bed for a few more hours! Around 10:00 am, I made the cream of mushroom soup for the green bean casserole. Next, I made the dressing. I had made a loaf of bread to use for it two days earlier. Then, I put the green bean casserole together, took the turkey out, peeled, cut, and sautéed the sweet potatoes, made an apple cobbler, and last was the gravy. Did I forget anything? We had enough food for a small army. There were 4 adults and 10 children and we barely put a dent into all that was here. We'll have leftovers all weekend. YES!


It was a lovely Thanksgiving and fairly low stress - thanks to my husband. We had such a nice time. I am so thankful for the abundance of food we had have. I am also thankful for my husband and children, family and friends. I am thankful that my husband has a job and we have a roof over our heads. I'm thankful for our health and I'm thankful for the ability to nourish my family both spiritually and physically. I'm also thankful for the mounds of laundry waiting on me to be put away tomorrow because that means we are not in need. Thank you, God, for all of Your blessings each and every day.