Thanksgiving

This year's thanksgiving was full of family, fun and festivities! This was the first year that I spent away from my family, but I got to spend it with my future in-laws!

Let's rewind to "the night before Thanksgiving...." and all through the kitchen, not a pan was left unused! Erin's Family hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year, however Erin's mom graciously let me bring my numerous side dishes! I really loved having everyone over at our apartment this year and I was nervous I was going to miss out on cooking/baking all my favorites. So, when Karen gave me the green light to cook away...I did just that!

My contributions included: my grandma's rolls, My mom's (and Betty crockers ;) Homemade Apple Pie, Gingered Pumpkin Pie, Green Bean Casserole, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Horseradish Cream, AND Sweet Potato Pie!

I tried really hard to pair the list down...but I just didn't want to leave out anything!

The day before I spent a few hours baking, prepping and cooking so that Thanksgiving would be stress free! I started with the baking and by roasting our sugar pumpkin for fresh pumpkin puree. My grandma's rolls were next up because they have to sit for a few hours prior to baking.

Next was the pie crust and filling...everything came together quite easily and I was VERY happy with the way my pies turned out!

I next moved on to prepping all my casseroles. I made each of these last year so I was pretty comfortable with the directions for each. I did implement a major change to my Brussels sprouts recipe this year! Since I am not really eating meat these days, and I really LOVE Brussels, I took the advice of a fellow baker online and substituted the bacon for TJ's Soy Chorizo...it was amazing! Added a great spice to the dish.

Oh...and this is what erin did while I cooked....




she's all mine! (you can see me working away in the background. i love it)





erin and I celebrated that night with a bottle of prosseco at a cute little Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. A much needed drink!

The planning turned out great and made for a stress free Thanksgiving day! Erin's sister Lizzie and Mom created a great table scape, and we had some herbed goat cheese, fruit and nuts as the meal cooked away....

We had such a great Thanksgiving. I was very Thankful to be around family and fun!