Fishes & Loaves

I hosted Thanksgiving. My brother brought his girlfriend along. I love cooking, and even more so for holiday or special occasions. I have never had a dry bird because I cooked it upside down (self basting, cooks faster since you're not opening the oven and losing heat). This year I followed Leanne Ely's instructions for roasting the bird and making gravy. Visit www.savingdinner.com for the Holiday Meal instructions. Saving Dinner is one of my favorite cookbooks. I think next time, I'll use her method, but I will go back to upside down bird and/or leave it in the oven less time. I also had a large pan of sweet potato casserole. Sis gave me the recipe several years ago, and it ended up being the same recipe Pioneer Woman posted. My brother and I have fond memories of special meals at the neighbor's with her broccoli casserole recipe. My husband required collard greens, and macaroni & cheese. I put the mashed potatoes in the crockpot to keep warm. Note to self: check to make sure the crock pot is set to "warm" and not "high" (which are right next to each other). Everyone commented that it was good stuff. I didn't sleep well because Mini-Human is having issues. So today the pace of cooking a feast and sleep deprivation caught up to me. Thankfully, there are enough leftovers in my fridge that I don't have to cook for a few days. Even after making plates for my dad, brother, and brother's girlfriend, I still have a TON of leftover food. Apparently I can't cook small portions. We're all big eaters, so I make extras without batting an eyelash. I may have to run some more leftovers to my dad. The leftover turkey practically filled a Tupperware Thatsa Bowl Mega Bowl (42 cup capacity). As I packed up the food, the story of the fishes and loaves came to mind.

The ample leftovers mean that I can do some baking. I have grand plans of marvelous theory to bake stuff every year. It might actually happen this year. For now, I'm recovering from the cooking, and hanging out with my family watching Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.
And I just remembered...I need to find my advent wreath for the table. I don't know if it will stay on the table since the Little climbs up on the table frequently.

You still love me?

I've neglected my blog a good while. I see I still have the same number of followers. I'm currently cooking a couple things in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner. As I type, the Broccoli Casserole is in the oven, and the sweet potatoes are on the counter cooling so I can get them out of their skins and turn them into Sweet Potato Casserole. I got the Broccoli Casserole recipe from the neighbor who lived 2 doors down from my childhood home. I'm sure Joann got it from the fine folks at Campbells or something. It specifies using Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix. Nonetheless, I always loved it when we ate a holiday meal at her house. When I got married, moved to Camp Lejune, and came back for a visit, I asked her for the recipe because I wanted it to make for my first Thanksgiving meal that I cooked. I've made it numerous times, and over the years, my kids have decided they don't like it. Devildog has never eaten it except the first try. Oh well, more for me and anyone else who does want it. I may have to run to the store to get more sweet potatoes though. That is one dish that goes fast and gets piled on the plate. My sister gave me the recipe probably 8 or 10 years ago. Then Pioneer Woman posted about her sweet potato casserole that she grew up eating. It's the same recipe my sister gave me. I'll do the regular mashed potatoes tomorrow morning and throw them in the crockpot to keep them warm. I'll probably use my electric skillet to keep stuff warm too, kind of like a chafing dish type thing. I'll likely use my small crockpot (the little dipper sized one) for gravy.
And now I must stop yapping at the keyboard and go make the next casserole. The sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle. In the time I was waiting for the potatoes to cool and the broccoli concoction to bake, I went in search of my older daughter. I found her in my father-in-law's camper, watching tv. Apparently the tv is better there - because it's Papa's. I have no idea how long he'll be parked in the driveway or if he's going to use an RV park or how long he'll even be here. As he says "Whenever A.I.S. occurs"

Sorry for such a boring blog now...it used to be fun to post, so I'm sure remotely interesting to read. I swear, home ownership has not made me boring. Life just grabbed me by the horns and swung vigorously.