Turkey Day 2012, part 1 and 2

Yeah, a little late with this post. I honestly feel like the last 10 days have flown by and I haven't had more than 5 minutes to sit down and remember my own name, let alone what it is I am supposed to be doing or running off to.

So, since we were not hosting, we had a pretty lax morning. I made cranberries from scratch, (thank you Good Housekeeping! Here is the recipe:) and a pumpkin cream cheese cake. PB made a maple pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin pie (from scratch), and Doodle did homemade fudge.

We went to PB's aunt's house this year, as she was hosting all the family. Was able to capture some photos there, but the boys were being stubborn. Damn teenagers.

We came home from Turkey Day part 1, watched a movie, and hit the hay early. I had to work the day after, and Doodle went along. Lil C and Big C both had to work at the outlet mall, so we all needed the rest.

At a local grocery store, where we do ALL our grocery shopping, they offer a deal every year. Spend more than $150 in one transaction, the week of Thanksgiving, and receive a free frozen turkey between 10-20 pounds. Well, during our regular shopping trip the Monday before the holiday, we spent MORE than enough to get the awesome free turkey deal.

But what to do with it? We were eating elsewhere on turkey day.......... Friendsgiving 2012 here we come! We invited all of our friends over on the Saturday after the holiday to enjoy a feast, prepared by us! Well, half by us....... our friend and neighbor Michelle helped a LOT!

There were 16 of us for dinner. I made everyone around the room say what they were thankful for, before we ate, and then we all dug in!

In some weird occurrence, I only got photos of PB carving our delicious bird, and NO FOOD PICTURES! Ugh. Dropped the ball on that. Here is what we had: turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing with mushrooms and Italian sausage, the BEST home made gravy, Michelle's green been and Swiss cheese casserole, carrot/onion dish, my cranberries, our desserts, dinner rolls, Garden Girl's hand made spring rolls, and a couple of bottles of wine!

We all sat around talking, laughing, eating! I had a great time, and we plan on doing this every year!

Did you all enjoy your holiday? Make any new traditions?