I'm back on the blog.  I know, I've been bad this year. I've really stepped away from the old bloggophone which, by the w...

Thanksgiving 2018

Sunday, November 25, 2018 , , ,

Thanksgiving 2018

I'm back on the blog. 
I know, I've been bad this year. I've really stepped away from the old bloggophone which, by the way, just turned 11! I've been blogging for 11 years, although I slowed way down this year sadly. But a lot of friends, and even people I barely know on Instagram, have mentioned missing my blog. And you know what? I do too. 

So here I am, playing catch up in November--of all times--with this Thanksgiving post. 
On Wednesday, I'll have another post up about my Christmas decor, as we did something big and fun this year. So stay tuned. 

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving 2018 was truly lovely, despite my crooked, cracked candles. 
I stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before {night owl powers} just to get all the sides made ahead of time. It was so worth it. All we had to do when we got up was clean the entire house {I wish I were kidding, but the Christmas decor project I mentioned earlier meant our house was a wreck}, put out appetizers, and set the table. 

Thanksgiving 2018

This year Sander spatchcocked and smoked our turkey. Isn't she beautiful?!

I made plum wine spritzers for a fun fall cocktail.

Thanksgiving 2018

True story: When we were kids, mom started making Watergate salad for Thanksgiving dinners. You know, the pistachio pudding/Cool Whip/marshmallow/fruit blend? It's called Watergate salad. 

Except we didn't know that. 

So my mom asked my sister and I one year if we wanted her to make it again--of course we said yes, it's like candy at dinner--but she didn't know the name of "that green marshmallow salad" and so my sister and I agreed that it should be named Francis. 

This is one of the few things we've ever agreed on. 

Francis has now been a staple at our Thanksgiving table for a good 25 years. We know now the name is Watergate salad, but we still just call it Francis. Every year someone says, "I'll make the Francis." 

Here is a picture of this year's Francis:
Thanksgiving 2018

We really stuck to the classics this year for Thanksgiving.
Francis. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Sweet potatoes. You get the gist.
I made a great stuffing! So good that I left it sitting in the microwave during the entire meal. 

Thanksgiving 2018Thanksgiving 2018 

And then there is green bean casserole. 

Can we talk about GBC for a minute? Does anyone really like GBC?
{Not sorry for shortening it to GBC because green bean casserole is a pain to type over and over.}
The typical GBC is made with cream of mushroom canned soup {yuck} and French's fried onions on top, right? 
In our family, we all admit no one really likes it--besides mom--except it is such a traditional dish. So I wasn't going to make it this year. 

But then I realized our menu was: turkey, starch, starch, starch with marshmallows, Francis, starch gravy, and pie. No greens. And what, with Romaine being deadly right now...

So I started looking for what might be a decent GBC. And I found this recipe I'd bookmarked for Thanksgiving 2016, over on the Pioneer Woman website. It uses fresh green beans that you blanch, you make your own gravy sauce with sauteed mushrooms--no canned stuff that jiggles--and you even fry your own SHALLOTS instead of that canned crunchy onion topping. Also, bacon.

Now, you give me a recipe card with shallots and bacon on the ingredient list and I'll make it! Doesn't matter what it is. Shallot bacon ice cream? Sure. Shallot bacon iced coffee, I'd give it a whirl.
Same goes for any soups with booze in it and recipes that combine butter, wine, and mushrooms. Sold. 

It was the most laborious of all my Thanksgiving dishes. But was it worth it?

YUM, YES. 

I mean, UM, YES. 

Not only were Sander and I up at 1 a.m. washing dishes and sneaking finger licks off the pot I made this stuff in, the whole family had multiple servings of THIS DISH! Green bean casserole, the star of the show?! Who knew? Everyone loved it. 

I will absolutely make this GBC every year from now on. 

Thanksgiving 2018

{Games in the homeschool room, a good way to occupy kids and keep them out of the kitchen.
So nice to have a space like this.}

Thanksgiving 2018Thanksgiving 2018

Then it was time to sit down and feast, but I wanted to remember the moment, so I told everyone to close their eyes and look away for a nice photo to remember the day. 

Thanksgiving 2018

As you can see, photography perfection, as always.

I did not make these Christmas Thanksgiving crackers, I got them at Marshall's.
{Fun Fact: It's best to pronounce Marshall's like a Kennedy, for example,
"Maaashuls" or "I got it at Maaashuls." Try it. You're welcome.}
They had woodland animal ornaments inside, and paper crowns.

Thanksgiving 2018

And all my favorite people were there, so I had a lot to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving 2018

I also made a killer Thanksgiving playlist, if I might brag, that included songs such as In My Life by the Beatles {my favorite Beatles song}, Turn! Turn! Turn! by the Byrds, and Forever Young by Bob Dylan...to name a few. {I was feeling hippie vibes this year!}

Thanksgiving 2018

My beautiful nieces sure are all grown up.

Thanksgiving 2018Thanksgiving 2018

Eisley scored a turkey leg and was pretty proud of it.

Thanksgiving 2018

And finally, of course, the traditional post-feast conga line.
Even the Indians and Pilgrims celebrated with a conga line 
at the first Thanksgiving. 
Pretty sure.

Thanksgiving 2018

I'm not a huge fan of classic pumpkin pie.
The last few years I've been opting for this
rum pumpkin chiffon pie.
More like YUM pumpkin chiffon pie. 
*wiggles eyebrows*

Thanksgiving 2018

Then it was all over.

Thanksgiving 2018

The guests left.
The dishwasher was running.
The leftovers were chilling.
The children succumbed to their tryptophan.
The husband went to bed.
I realized my candles were still burning, and I observed the lonely and used 'Turkey on the Table' and suddenly it occurred to me...

Well, shoot.
It's officially Christmastime. 


Cheers,
Heather








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2 comments

  1. Cheers! Love it! And can't wait for the Christmas reveal!!

    ReplyDelete

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