Friday, November 30, 2012

Thanksgiving went as smooth as a baby's bottom.

So after planning for about 4 weeks for Thanksgiving 2012 with my husbands side of the family at our house...it went better than I imagined a huge Thanksgiving could have gone!

My husband has 8 siblings, so anytime there is a family get together, it is a big deal! LITERALLY

We also had the older kids for Thanksgiving this year instead of Christmas (my step kids), so that added 3 more hungry mouths to feed and 3 more additional bodies to make room for in the casa.

It started 4 weeks ago when I drafted out the Thanksgiving list of what we would be making/cooking/providing. I went to the store at 10pm on a Sunday because thats the only time I could go while John was home to watch the kids.

If your a parent, you know that taking a 1 year old and 2 year old to the grocery store is a very bad option. Almost bad enough, where you will eat crackers and cheese for dinner instead of making a 'quick' run to the store for meat and vegetables. NOTHING is quick when you have the kids with you. Not only do you have to make sure they have fresh diapers, a couple of toys, some snacks, and a drink....By the time, you actually get to the store, you are already exhausted from getting them ready and then when you get in the store.....YOU HAVE NO ROOM IN YOUR CART TO PUT ANYTHING! (because you know you aren't going to let your two year old walk...haha we would have been there all night)

So I made my first trip for the non-perishables and hard to find items that wouldn't spoil. In and out in 45 min with half my list done.

A week before Thanksgiving I wanted to make the house look Thanksgiving-y lol So I bought some pine cones and made buffet table label holders and they turned out awesome!



I then found this other crafty idea online and it was fun for the kids to write what they are grateful for during Thanksgiving Day.

It was our 'Grateful for... Tree" I went in the woods in the back of our house and found some branches i could use. I filled a vase up with holiday pieces (pinecones, leaves, berries) and stuck the branches I found in the vase. Then I found a leaf template online and printed out 30 leaves and put a hole punch in all them. They were scattered around the vase with a marker, so everyone at Thanksgiving could write on them.

Everyone thought it was a cute idea and the kids enjoyed it. It was fun for me to read what they wrote. (Thankful for life. Thankful for money. Thankful for food.) 




Thanksgiving Menu

Salads
Napa Cabbage Salad
Cucumber, Tomato, Onion

Starters
Sausage balls
Tortilla Treats
Baked Olives
Taco Soup
Banana Bread

Entrees
Cajun Fried Turkey
Baked Turkey
Smoked Ham

Sides
Baked Mac n Cheese
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Fresh Green Beans
Stuffing

Desserts
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake (w/cream cheese icing)
Fudge
Big Chewy Cookie
Whip Cream Dessert




It was a pretty hefty menu but so happy I  made everything on it! 

Besides, the oldest kid breaking a glass and it shattering in the cornbread, LOL(which I threw out) everything turned out Awesome!


So we were on our last final cleanup in the kitchen and by 'we' I mean me and the older kids. And I tell them 'OKAY GUYS! LAST CLEANUP!!!! Then we can relax!' Well, the oldest one tends to speak before he thinks... :) and says to me "You mean like...we won't have to clean anymore today. We can actually talk to people and eat without cleaning. That is all we have been doing." 
REALLY DUDE? I have been cooking for 2 days straight and you are complaining about being tired of cleaning the kitchen (All of 3 times) in 2 days!?!??!? I HAD TO WALK AWAY! haha But when I had walked back in the kitchen was spotless and they were drying the floors. Thank you.

People arrived and I had the 'starters' out on the bar for everyone to snack on until the Fried Turkey was done. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS WHEN HOSTING A LARGE CROWD! 

Everyone was satiated just long enough for us to finish the Turkey and carve it. Nobody was hanging around the kitchen and the kids weren't asking "Is it almost ready???" every 10 minutes. 

John did an awesome job with his NEW Infrared Turkey Fryer! The turkey turned out delicious with it sitting in the fryer for about 3 1/2 hours with little supervision! It was awesome! The best part about it was when the fried turkey was ready, there was no mess afterwards! Where as, with oil fryers, you have to take care of the oil, etc.

Everyone was extremely full and tired, so we went into our new room that we had just finished at 3am Thanksgiving morning LOL (checkout modern-pad.com for house updates) and watched the COWBOYS LOSE....

Thanks for stopping by!

C




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