Happy Thanksgiving!

Yeah, yeah...I know I'm a little late, but I thought I should at least post all of the recipes I used for our great Thanksgiving dinner!

I volunteered to host the holiday this year, and it went smoothly...minus a mini meltdown, only one!

Menu:

Cajun Spiced Turkey

Pot Roast
this recipe is basic & comes out AMAZING every time - future post???

Creamed Spinach

Mac n' Cheese
I was a little disappointed because I thought this recipe was going to be a creamy version, it's not.

Green Bean Casserole
It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it! A lot of folks HATE green bean casserole and it occurred to me that maybe it's the cream of mushroom/ mushroom flavor? My dad will not eat anything with mushrooms, so I substituted the cream of mushroom soup, with a can of cream of chicken soup! I used a little less butter to saute the onions and used a tad bit more onion to compensate for the neglected mushrooms.

Stuffing
I wanted to do a yummy Italian sausage ciabatta stuffing and I'm soooo glad I didn't, because I'm sure it would have resulted in another meltdown

Ham
Mom made this...after we ate it, we all kind of wished we actually got it from Honeybaked, lesson learned.

Mashed Potatoes
Mom made these, but not this version. I'm convinced this recipe would have been delicious! Hers to quote my sister tasted like "potato salad minus the mayo" I hope my mom doesn't read this, I don't want her to get discouraged...but on second thought, maybe she just hasn't found a good recipe?

Apple Dumplings
These were incredible, but need to be served warm. Once they cool the sauce turns into caramel and it's almost impossible to pull them out of the pan without making them look like slop.

Sweet Potato Casserole
This was yummy, every time I talk to my dad, he asks about it. I didn't smash the sweet potatoes, I left them cubed and tossed all the ingredients together. The topping was sweet and delicious, but not too sweet.

Cranberry Sauce
Don't bother with that gross can stuff. Seriously! Make it yourself, it's sooo much better. I used a can of orange juice from concentrate, but used half of the water called for on the can to give it more of an orange-y flavor. I also added some orange zest. My dad wanted to use it as a topping for pancakes on Black Friday.

I also made some biscuits which was the cause of the meltdown. Let's just say mixing eight cups of floor is A LOT harder than it seems.

I'm keeping an eye out for delicious Christmas recipes...