Preparing........

Wow......one day before Thanksgiving!!!!

Lots of preparation is underway....

Sara and Ellen are making our place cards; Ellen 

found the idea in Family fun and we made a quick trip

to Hobby Lobby (yes, we did use 

two forty percent coupons!)  

After a few failures....success!!!

Now, all that has to be done is to write the names of 

oh...about forty guests!

Next on the list.....

my famous sweet potato casserole.  Now I know that 

everyone has had sweet potato casserole...but....

 I promise, this will be the BEST one you have ever put 

in your mouth.  The recipe has been handed down 

from my great grandmother and is a family favorite.  

Never would we have a Thanksgiving without it.  So, 

here is your early Christmas present ~ the recipe!

Three cups of cooked, peeled sweet potatoes 

You can steam them or bake them!

1/3 cup of milk

One cup white sugar (I usually cut this in 1/2 or 3/4

depending how sweet your potatoes are)

One stick of butter - no one said this was non-fattening

One teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs slightly beaten 

By the way, I usually triple the recipe!!!!

MIX WELL (I use "Mr. Kitchen Aid Mixer")

Pour into pyrex dish - depending on how well you 

cooked your potatoes, they will be smooth or 

sort of lumpy.  You can mix to your taste!

Now for the Topping

1/2 cup flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

 1 cup chopped pecans

Mix and sprinkle on sweet potato mixture

Bake uncovered around 30 or 35 munutes

ENJOY!!!!

Ellen's first grade teacher taught her how to do this...and this is Ellen's contribution to Thanksgiving.  This year, her cousin, Aaron helped her!  They are Pilgrim hats!  A flat cookie with a marshmallow on top, smothered by melted chocolate.  She did miniature ones this year, as they are so rich that the regular size are too much to eat at one time!

 And Sara, she is carrying on the tradition of the famous "Hunter" (my side of the family) apple pie!  In my family, a home made apple pie was a must, along with the sweet potato casserole.  The recipe is from the "Joy of Cooking" and is sooo good.  Her little helper is cousin Hunter, and he did a great job.

Hunter would have been my boy name had I had a boy, so I am so glad we have a cousin named Hunter!  

 Here they are squeezing fresh lemons from my tree...I only got 

two this year, so we saved them for the best thing we 

could think of.....Apple Pie!

Measuring...

And, Hunter's biggest contribution ~ tasting....he loved the apples.

In fact, this year's pie may be a bit low in apples due

to his diligent assistance with the tasting part!

Hunter is not too happy about all his apples being taken away

Placing the butter bits on top

Sara added her own twist to pie making ~ weaving the crust on 

a cutting board and then sliding it onto the pie...worked 

like a charm

Hunter was a "master crust crimper"

And, once the pie was sealed and he was out of apple slices ~

he ate the peeling!

Gran - E (Gary's Mother) brought a beautiful arrangement ~ made from 

items she found on her walks...including real 

turkey feathers!

SUCCESS!!!

Wish we could eat it now.

And here are two more pecan pies.....we are getting closer and closer

to completing our projects!

The recipe is from my 90 year old next door neighbor who 

"famous" for his pecan pies!  They are easy and taste awesome. 

Here is the recipe....

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup - I mix light and dark Karo

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

3 eggs well beaten

1 cup of pecans (a bit more if you like lots in your pie)

uncooked pie crust

Melt butter and bour in mixing bowl

Mix in the rest of the ingredients

Pour in pie shell and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes

until firm....

I usually make a pie crust but Pillsbury does make a 

great roll out crust when you are in a pinch! 

So, now I am off to complete the seasoning of our turkeys so 

we can get to frying! 

This is what Thanksgiving is all about, old recipes mixed with new, each 

person contributing in their own way, working side by side to have 

an incredible holiday.

If you have any questions or have some fun results from my recipes, 

leave a comment and let me know!