thanksgiving

we had our early, mini thanksgiving last night. & although i was only cooking for the four of us (2 of whom, or should it be 2 of which? either way… two of them are 3 & under). anyway, there were so many delicious sounding recipes, we ended up with a quite a feast. on the menu?

1981 holiday bacon appetizers
brown sugar smokies
craisin apple salad
easy, breezy, no fuss turkey
creamed corn
brown sugar-glazed carrots
cream cheese mashed potatoes

although everything was oh so tasty, i think my favorite was the salad. it kinda tasted like candy. the funny thing? the salad was a total accident. i started out with every intention make THIS salad. but i forgot some of the ingredients for the salad dressing. luckily i had the ingredients for THIS one on hand & amazingly, it tasted sooo delicious (& the colors were so pretty). so here’s the recipe:

craisin apple salad
1 bag of baby spinach, wash & dried
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy & crumbled
1 green apple, cored & thinly sliced
1 small bag of craisins
small onion, thinly sliced (optional)
candied pecans (or almonds), for candy-ing how-to go HERE.

mix the salad ingredients & add the following dressing just before serving:

poppy seed dressing
2 T poppy seeds
3/4 apple cider vinegar
2 cups light salad oil
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dry mustard

combine in a jar, shake well & let sit

image via here.

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i’ve been busy planning my early thanksgiving. last year i posted about some of my favorite recipes, you can read all about it HERE. this year i’m getting inspiration from some new faces & places. check out what some of my new “friends” (& few of my old friends too) are recommending…

ina garten’s dinner for 20
martha’s classic thanksgiving menu
paula’s southern thanksgiving menu
food network’s thanksgiving menu(s)
chow’s thanksgiving menu for 6
the pioneer woman’s thanksgiving recipes
cafe johnsonia’s thanksgiving recipes

hope you find something tasty to inspire your own thanksgiving menu!

image via here.

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i know, i know… my blog’s becoming more of a recipe blog than anything else. (sorry to the few friends & family who read in hopes of catching a glimpse of the boys & what they are up to.) but, we don’t really “do” thanksgiving. don’t get me wrong, we definitely celebrate thanksgiving, there just isn’t any cooking involved on my part. for as long as i can remember, actually only since i was in college, but it really is all i can remember, we’ve been out of town during the thanksgiving holiday. sure the hotels tend to put on a nice party, but sometimes i miss whipping up a big feast. so, i compensate by celebrating the “festivities” all month long.

anyway, so i went off on a tangent there, sorry. but i’ve got a tasty recipe for you here. don’t be fooled by the name, my entire family LOVED it.

pumpkin dump cake
1 can (30-ounces) pure pumpkin
3 cups evaporated milk (about 2 cans)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 yellow cake mix (rumor has it that it’s tasty with a white cake mix too)
1 cup chopped pecans
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 sticks of butter, melted

use about 1/4 of the cake mix, add about 3 tablespoons of butter & mix until crumbly. pat in the bottom of a well-greased pan, making a sort of crust. mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, cinnamon, ginger, eggs, sugar, salt & cloves together well. sprinkle with remaining cake mix & drizzle with melted butter (try to cover all of the cake mix with butter), then sprinkle with the pecans. bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

in my personal opinion (which i know doesn’t really count for much), i think it tastes best when it’s well-cooled, & topped with cool whip or vanilla bean ice cream (those little black specks are the best!).

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