Thanksgiving

We had a quiet Thanksgiving to ourselves this year. I ended up really sick with a cold that ended up turning into a sinus infection, so I suppose it was good we didn't have plans to travel. I had absoultely no energy at all. So we just had a calm and quiet Thanksgiving, just the two of us. I pounded some cold medicine and still made us a Thanksgiving dinner. For my first time it turned out pretty good, not perfect, but the turkey at least was pretty good, and that's the most important thing, right? And the mashed potatoes I whipped up last minute were really good too (potaotes, a little butter, a little milk, a little cream cheese, a little sour cream, and salt and pepper. Perfection.) My rolls didn't rise (probably because I had all the windows open and it was like 69 degrees inside) I didn't follow the stuffing recipe and it was rather soggy, and the sweet potato casserole had way too much butter and ended up with a weird texture, but all in all I still considered it a success. If you have never made yourself Thanksgiving dinner, go run, don't walk, but run and give a huge thank you to whoever makes Thanksgiving dinner for you. Because ya'll, it's tough work! So major thank you to my mom and Aunt Rachelle for their continued, uncomplaining slaving over Thanksgiving dinner, that always turned out absolutely amazing.

Funny side note (and a reminder to myself to follow even the most seemingly menial promptings) as the timer for the turkey went off and I prepared to take the temp for the turkey, I thought, I should have Dave check it. But I, being stubborn, shrugged it off, thinking, No, taking the temp is not that hard, I can do it myself. Well it only said 94 degrees. Stange, but ok, I continued wrapping up some work on sides while I let it cook a little longer. About 20 or 30 minutes later I check it again but it had only gone up to 96. I caved and said to Dave, "Ok, am I taking it in the wrong place? It hasn't even broke 100 degrees." He checked it and got the same reading of 96. Then noticed the thermametor was set to celcius, not fherinhiet. So in fact, it had been perfectly done the first time I checked it. Y'all! I do this ALL THE TIME. I get these tiny baby promptings over these menial, not imporant things and I shrug them off, because it's not important. But then, in hindsight, I later realize I was getting that "menial" prompting for a reason! It's never over something major, just something little, but I am often annoyed with myself for often I do this. Please tell me I'm not alone!

Well, our turkey was a tad dry, but honestly it still turned out really well. I had initally considered doing it in the crockpot, but then I saw a recipe for it in the dutch oven and decided to give that a shot. I used a ton of veggies to catch the drippings which I didn't love, they soaked up pretty much all of the drippings so I didn't have anything to use for gravy, but other than that it was a pretty easy way to cook the turkey, and I didn't have to worry about buying a roasting pan.

And I made a few mini pies for us, my first time making pecan pie! I thought I didn't like pecan pie, but I guess I have never had a good one, but this recipe was so easy and so yummy. I'm converted! I ended up making a full pecan pie later because I was dying for more! Sorry pumpkin! But pecan has got you beat!

While being sick was not ideal, I'm grateful for the quiet but enjoyable Thanksgiving we got to share together. I'm thankful for my Bear, our home here, and all we have been blessed with. I'm grateful for the fun adventures we have had this year. I'm grateful for my family and the technology that connects us, even from afar.