Happy Thanksgiving

I hope your holiday was filled with Pie and Family!

Thankful

It seems like these last few months have been a whirlwind. Like seriously, on my "to do" list I still have not crossed off buy books, let's talk about how the semester ends in 2 weeks. Actually let's not. Even though my free time is sparse these days it would be wrong of me not to publicly express my gratitude for some real important things. Gratitude lists in years past have included lots of silly things, like cookies and sweat pants, but more recently I've realized that at the end of the day cookies just make me fat and sweat pants...well they don't really help in that department either. Really the things to recognize are the things that don't go anywhere. The things that will rub your feet after a long day in the kitchen. The things that pick you up when you're certain your at your breaking point. The things that make you feel like you matter. Those are the things worthy of my gratitude list this year. 

I'm thankful...

...for a husband that gets me on a level that no one else does, and loves me more than I ever thought possible. 

...for this talent that has come out of what seems like no where. Culinary school has been one of the greatest things I could have ever done for myself. 

...for my family. The amount of love and support that exists between these people makes me feel whole and I'm so glad I get to call them mine. 

Belated Friendsgiving

Today I roasted my first ever turkey. The end.
Kidding not the end but whew! That should be celebrated in and of itself, but that's for another time. Today we celebrated thanksgiving again. This time we ate alongside our friends who had to work on thanksgiving or couldn't go home to celebrate with their families. I nervously accepted the challenge of fixing my first ever thanksgiving dinner. And now that it's over I'm really quite proud of myself. The task seemed daunting at first but once I was in my zone there was no stopping me.
I conquered my first thanksgiving dinner. 

I made an autumn sausage stuffing. Packed full of green apples, pecans,  cranberries, and sage. It was absolutely as delicious as it sounds.

I also made a chopped salad with two types of apples, candied pecans and white cheddar.

 Of course there was the turkey. And can I tell you how amazing it was? The skin was crispy and the meat was moist and flavorful and just divine. It's all in the brine I tell you. I let it sit in salty liquid overnight. The liquid was half water and half apple juice flavored with orange peel, rosemary, peppercorns, and brown sugar. Before I roasted it the next day I stuffed it full of fresh herbs and aromatics, onions, apples, even cinnamon sticks helped to contribute to the flavor of the meat.

Adam even carved it up like a pro!

The turkey was served along thyme-glazed carrots, garlic and Parmesan mashed red potatoes and homemade rolls. 

There was plenty of sparkling cider to go around and of course we finished off the meal with homemade pie. Chocolate cream, pumpkin and pecan. 

The chocolate cream pie was by far my favorite, but everyone had their own favorite picks.

It was a fabulous afternoon, filled with good food and great company.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at my grandmas house brings back so many memories from my childhood. We sit at the same table, in the same room, with the same people, eating the same meal. It gets me a little nostalgic. The group grows with new additions and the food gets better with time but the sense of family never changes. There's nothing better than eating turkey and pie with people I love. 

Take a peek at what thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpas house looks like:

Thanksgiving morning spent setting the table, checking the black Friday adds and watching football.

 Mom and I prepare a salad and grandmas rolls rise.

The table is set and grandma lights the candles.   

 Pots and pans boil and bubble, rolls are buttered. 

 Turkey is carved and dinner is ready.

Candied yams served along side turkey and all the classic fixings. 

We finish off our feast with pie, apple crumb, blackberry and coconut cream are my favorites.

The rest of the evening is spent laughing, playing games and taking pictures with family.

I'm always sad when this day comes to an end, but somehow the leftovers help to ease my woes. I'm able to accept the fact that next thanksgiving is only another twelve months away.

Today was a very happy thanksgiving. I am thankful for this special day we have to celebrate all that we have been given with the ones we love. I hope you had a great holiday as well!

Thanksgiving Eve

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, I am feeling thankful. For so many things. It's nice to sometimes just sit and think about the things we are blessed to have. And today I'm feeling completely overwhelmed with all that I have. Unfortunately it's a rare an occasion where I actually ponder and recognize the big and simplest of blessings. But today that changes. Today I am thankful.

I am thankful for family. For a husband who loves me unconditionally, for a mother who worries about me constantly, for a step dad who is smarter than me, for sisters who inspire me, for a dad who knows me, for grandparents and extended family who support me.

I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves me.

I am thankful for friends, who are cooler than me, and smarter than me and funnier than me.

I am thankful for my talents and abilities. The ones that come easily to me and the ones I continue to perfect.

I am thankful for my job and for my education. Two things that contribute to making me a better me.

I am thankful for cookies.

I am thankful for technology including but not limited to: my cell phone, the internet, cameras, electricity, netfix.

I am thankful for my home and everything that inside of it, including but not limited to: my bed (ha) I'm glad I have a warm place to sleep at night.

I am thankful for the opportunities and experiences I have had/will have. Even the difficult ones, or as I like to call them "learning experiences".

I am thankful for really good food.

I am thankful for beautiful things. For the arts. For music and interesting buildings, and clothing. For nature and theater and all things enriching.

For the rest of this holiday weekend I hope to keep this spirit with me. What are you thankful for?

Last year 

Thanksgiving Kansas Style

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, I think it has something to do with the pie. Anyway this year we were able to spend our third thanksgiving together in Kansas, Adam's home state, with his family. I was able to participate in some of his family traditions, and had my eyes opened to what my saint of a mother-in-law must have put up with on a regular basis with all 6 of her kids running around the house.

Growing up with all girls in my family guns and football were never a part of our Thanksgiving day traditions. Instead of shooting or playing pig skin after we were done eating we typically had a photo shoot or put on a puppet show for the family. Let's just say it was a new experience; I shot an AK-47 for crying out loud.

We started the morning off by heading out to the woods to go shooting. There was a wide variety of guns, and the only difference I could tell between them was how scared I got when handling them. The bigger the scarier. I think I scared everyone when after I shot my first shot I jumped up and down squealing. I was nervous but no one was injured so I figure it was a success even little Joshua got in a few shots on the 22 (that's what its called, right Adam?). Then we had a fantastic dinner filled with turkey, stuffing and all the regular trimmings. Yummmmm. After dinner we all gathered in the front yard for some football. I lasted about 15 minutes and decided my time would be better spent taking pictures or cooking something. I've never been the best at hand eye coordination and I knew I was only bringing the team down. Also that squeal from earlier (remember shooting practice) may or may not have made a second appearance when I was hit (didn't catch) the football. I was an embarrassment. After our football game we headed inside to finish off the day with some delicious pies made by me and my sister-in-law Christie.

We had a fantastic day filled with lots of laughing and even more food. I am thankful for Thanksgiving and for the amazing family that I had to spend it with.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too!

Thankful

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us I thought it would be appropriate to write down a few things that I am most thankful for.

Family - Particularly my husband, he is "pretty cool" and I am so proud of him, especially right now, for going after the the things that he wants out of life. He is so driven, and determined.
But mostly I am just thankful I get to call him "mine".

Music - I am thankful for the albums you get obsessed with and play over and over and every time you turn it on it makes you want to dance. Right now for me that album would be "It's not me, It's you" by Lilly Allen.

Ugg Boots - As ugly as they are and as much as my husband would like to burn mine, I love them. I love them with jeans and as slippers, I love them in the morning and at night. I love them on my eastern flight. I love them Sam I Am. I love green eggs and ham.
(Dr. Seuss...Where did that come from?)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - I am thankful for the gospel, for the answers and the truth and peace it brings to my life. More specifically I am thankful for the temple and for the eternal perspective that I get when I go inside.

Cooking - I am thankful for my ability to create delicious goodies. I am thankful for butter, and sugar, and molasses, and chocolate chips, and bacon, and Italian flat leaf parsley, and for yeast and cream, and peanut butter, and strawberries...

Indoor Plumbing - I am thankful for Hot showers, need I say more?

Free shipping - I am thankful for all of the free shipping this time of year. Can take 5 minutes of your time to convert you to doing all of your Christmas shopping online?

Cookies - I am thankful for warm just out of the oven freshly baked cookies, any flavor, just as long as they are soft and gooey and perfectly cooked.

Plum Nail Polish - Thanks urban.

Best friends - You know the group you email back and for with, quoting movies and inside jokes. The same ones you call begging for an intervention when you realize you just ate your 8th cookie. I am thankful for my bfs.

Sweats - Or the inverse: I am thankful for not having to wear jeans/dresses/skirts all the time.

Pictures - I am thankful for memories that I can record with a device I can hold in my hands. Love pictures, love that my new canon takes reallllly good ones.

Moms: I am thankful for moms everywhere, and how awesome they are. Naturally I think my mom is the best but so do you so it's ok. I love my mom and I am so glad she belongs to me.

Little Kids: Why are they so awesome? I am thankful for every hilarious thing I have ever heard a little kid say.

That's enough right? Probably, but here's one last one: I am thankful that Thanksgiving is here, and that I get to eat pumpkin, apple, banana cream and chocolate cream pie tomorrow. Yay!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's keep it between the two of us...

But is it wrong that I want to eat the entire box?





A processed delight.