Monday of Thanksgiving week Spencer started with a sore throat and had a full fledged ear infection by the end of the day.
Tuesday Hudson woke up with a cough that progressed into a fever on Wednesday followed by a nasty cough.
Wednesday Kent woke up with a sinus headache/cold.
Thanksgiving this all continued though now Finley seems to feel less than stellar. Now I appear to be feeling the effects of a cold creeping in, but I refuse to admit it... yet.
Still we feel we have so much to be thankful for and truly enjoyed the time we spent together today as a family unit. I mostly cooked and they watched movies, napped, and played.
This was the first year that I have been solely responsible for Thanksgiving Dinner. All.by.myself. Our menu was planned in the span of about 10 minutes because I woke up this morning realizing we would not be going to Kent's Mom's and wasn't even sure if the store was open!
Ham
Pretzel Salad (started the day before as this is what I was supposed to bring)
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy from a jar (yuck)
Cranberry Sauce from a can (Kent's favorite, I prefer the real thing)
Green Bean Casserole (recipe off the side of the French's French Fried Onion Can)
Olives
Cheese Ball
Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie
Here are the recipes so I can find them next year!
Sarah's Pretzel Salad
First layer
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
combined and press into a 9X13 pan and bake for 8-10 min. at 350... after it is cooled put it in the fridge for about an hour to set
Caramel Pecan Apple Pie (from allrecipes.com)
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (9 inch) prepared pie shell
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Beat the eggs, pumpkin, and half-and-half together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the sugar, flour, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice until evenly blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips to prevent burning.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the pecan caramel topping by mixing the brown sugar, pecans, and butter together in a bowl until evenly blended. Carefully spoon over the top of the pie. Continue baking the pie until the topping is golden and bubbly, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more (took a lot longer for me). Cool on a wire rack.
Here are the photos from our day!First layer
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
combined and press into a 9X13 pan and bake for 8-10 min. at 350... after it is cooled put it in the fridge for about an hour to set
Second layer
Whip
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) cool whip (fold in)
this is the second layer. after the first layer is cooled, put this on. I usually do this the day before so it has time to set before I add the jello
Third layer
1 large jello
1 1/2 c boiling water
2-10 oz frozen berries (drained)
I use strawberry jello and strawberries.
once this is cool enough add to cream cheese layer and set (takes about 2 hours)
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Mashed Potatoes (from allrecipes.com)
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Directions
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Directions
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.
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Caramel Pecan Apple Pie (from allrecipes.com)
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (9 inch) prepared pie shell
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Beat the eggs, pumpkin, and half-and-half together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in the sugar, flour, lemon zest, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice until evenly blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips to prevent burning.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the pecan caramel topping by mixing the brown sugar, pecans, and butter together in a bowl until evenly blended. Carefully spoon over the top of the pie. Continue baking the pie until the topping is golden and bubbly, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more (took a lot longer for me). Cool on a wire rack.
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Sarah's Cheese Ball
8 ounces of Cream Cheese
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Parsley Flakes
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Seasoning Salt (Johnny's)
8 ounces Kaukana
Leave the cheese out for a while so it softens and mix everything together. Roll in chopped Pecans & chill. Serve with crackers.
Kent and Spencer
Kent tried to get a good shot of us... difficult when no one is feeling great!
Finley really liked the Olives and the Pretzel Salad
Hudson ate 4 helpings of the Pretzel Salad he loved it so much!
3 comments:
Cute pictures. Fin looks like he is getting sick.
Great job on the menu.
We are so thankful for you and your family. We love you
Sounds like you did a great job creating a Thanksgiving feast! Hope you all feel better soon!! BTW, I love that pretzel salad too!
you have such a lovely family, sounds like you guys made lemonade outta lemons! Good for you, it sounds like a lotta work.
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