gratitude :: november 20

early thanksgiving:  i have only cooked 2 turkeys in my life.  i have only hosted thanksgiving once at my house.  but a few years ago i decided that even though we were not celebrating thanksgiving at home that didn't mean i couldn't make thanksgiving dinner for us.  so our tradition of an early thanksgiving began.  one week before the big day i make a turkey dinner for the five of us.  the house smells of turkey and we get to enjoy some of our favorite dishes.  but there are other reasons that i wanted to do this.

• we have leftovers all to ourselves.
• we eat the things we love.
• we don't feel like we have to pig out on thanksgiving because we just had it last week. (who am i kidding?)
• i get to try out new recipes without the pressure of ruining it for 20 people.
• i can eat canned cranberries which i love.

i usually put something together in a couple of hours because i'm not cooking a large turkey.  one year i made open faced turkey sandwiches with gravy. one year i tried to make the cubed turkey and gravy on top of an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes like i remember from elementary school lunch.  this year i spent big bucks on a jenni o oven ready turkey breast.  not really big bucks.  it was on sale at ralph's but it cost more for this 2.5lb breast than a whole turkey would have cost.  but i didn't have to do anything to it.  it comes seasoned in a bag that you just throw in the oven for 2 hours.  and it has a pop up thermometer that tells you when it's done.  no fail, really.  and it was delicious.  on monday i made cornbread for dinner and used the leftovers for this cornbread stuffing minus the kielbasa and prunes.  yummy, especially the toasted edges.  a few mashed potatoes and my beloved cranberries and that was dinner.  no dessert, no rolls, no sweet potatoes. simple and good.  and it was a true thanksgiving experience because i fell asleep on the couch watching icarly with the kids.

we will spend thanksgiving with my parents, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews this year.  and it will be good.  and we will be stuffed. and happy.

this weekend: soccer was cancelled this morning due to the rain. finishing up prep for the baby shower tomorrow. going to a kid's birthday party this afternoon and an 80's birthday party for my sister-in-law tonight.  the boys will be working on a school project, and going to see harry potter tomorrow.  

i'm finishing up my december daily book and starting a christmas inspiration notebook.  i want to have it all finished over thanksgiving so that on december 1st i am ready to go.  considering getting the glee christmas album. it's the most wonderful, and busy, time of the year.