Thanksgiving dinner(s) and Black Friday 2009

Well, I didn't plan to go out this year.... you see, I had a VERY busy two days to start the Thanksgiving weekend, so I CERTAINLY wouldn't have time.. (HA!) Well, my pleasant experience last year at Kohl's made me think I could do this!! And besides, I was home last year by 7am... plenty of time to get stuff done for today.

Well, let's back up.... a little history of our recent Thanksgivings. About 6 years ago, our two daughters were going to respective boyfriend's homes to eat turkey dinner. Well, I for one, wasn't cooking a whole turkey dinner for just Lee & I, so I told the girls we'd have it on Friday when they were home. Worked for everyone involved. Since my dear husband always worked that day, it would give me the whole day to plan and make dinner. (What a treat!) Our church recently started having a 'blessing of the bread' service on Thanksgiving eve, so while I was waiting for my better half near the church doors, I spotted a newspaper article asking for volunteers to work at a bread company on Main St in town. The owner of Great Harvest Bread Co, of Manchester, was baking hundreds of loaves (this year was 500) and turning them over to the director of MACC (local charity) to be sold-- all profits going to them. They would sell coffee, water, cookies, scones (leftovers from the baking on Wed at the bread place), the loaves at $5 a loaf.

There is always a HUGE turnout of spectators and runners on Thanksgiving Day at our local (shall I say international) road race (photo courtesy of the Hartford courant) where the start/finish line is a few stores up from the bread store, and while we haven't ALWAYS run/walked in it, or even watched it every year, this would be the perfect place and the perfect day to help out AND watch the race! (And isn't that what He put us here for? Helping each other?).... Well, let me tell you what a wonderful time we had!!! We met some great people, volunteers and customers and decided right then and there, THAT is where we would spend our Thanksgivings (as long as the bread place continued this).... Six years later, we love it still! And it works out fine, now that one daughter lives out of state and goes to her fiancee's family's for T-day.

Okay, so our Thursday is set... work at the Bread co, come home and relax, work on pies for our dinner the next day, watch Survivor (maybe)... until my mom decided she was able to put on a dinner for all her kids (4) and their families-- now she's 81 yrs old, and of course, we'll all help. Okay, NOW I have to do some prep work for THAT dinner. Of course, I'll bring the bread (helping mom AND the charity), I'll get some cheesecake, and I'll make my cranberry orange relish--easy!

Maybe that's why I figured I'd be able to do the Black Friday thing. And I think I did pretty well.... I automatically woke up at 3:15am. Maybe because I was thinking about it when I got home from my mom's... in any case, I was up, dressed, and out the door by 3:35am (who needs a shower to shop?)! I didn't even grab my tea, because I knew they would have  my friend's lunch truck there. I brought an umbrella, because it was a little drizzly. ...DRAT! The lunch truck wasn't here...a little drizzle scared them away? Oh well, the line was around the store (per usual), but within 10 mins, the doors were open and in we went rather quickly. I got my DEALS (!) and was out in 45 mins!!
Are you ready for the deals? Digital Camera for my mom (and my present from dear hubby), reg $130, BF sale $60; GPS for youngest daughter $200, BF sale $70 ( I bought an extra one at that price- not sure for who!); riding toy for my 1 yr old grandson- reg $50, BF sale $20...a few other odds and ends....minus $5 cpn, plus I now have $60 to spend of Kohl's cash by next week. Saved $501.00!!!! Great!
Now, I thought I'd just be driving home now.... awww, why not go to Best Buy? Hubby wanted a boxed set of DVD's (Firefly) and following movie (Serenity). Found both in BB, not realizing they were both on sale... When I got home at 6:10am, I met my husband Lee coming into the kitchen for his coffee. As I got on the computer in the den, he starts showing me the 'great deal' on Amazon for 'his gift'. "Honey, it's on sale from $49 to $38 and the extra movie is on sale from $20 to $15". Nice.... (I went in the other room to see what kind of a BF deal I got on the receipt). His $55 boxed set (Amazon), which was $39 in BB... on SALE for $13 (even though the online site quoted $10.99-- not going back to store for $2)!! and the additional movie was $9.99!! Whoooo Hooooo! (Damn, I'm good!)

Now I have to go finish MY Thanksgiving dinner making...Hope you all had a great holiday so far (I hope to even get in some quilting!!)

Two Detours from Quilting

Just for the lack of photos in my Thanksgiving posts, I'm posting the 'leftovers' for the visual effect.

Okay, I debated whether to put this on my blog, but I think it needs to be out there. Let me preface it by saying I'm really a good cook. Okay, ... be real,... a great cook when I try (I had a GREAT teacher, ..mom). And yes, I'm modest, but also know I love to cook, so I enjoy it.

Thanksgiving in our house was on Friday (read the posts below), but since DH had to work, it wouldn't be until 6:30pm or so. Mom came over early in the day to help. I had pre-prepared things... cooking the onion, apple and celery for the stuffing ahead,... cutting up oranges- in half with the crown cut in the tops (these would hold my cranberry relish- not displayed in those orange crowns here, of course), etc.. ahead of time. Now that mom was over, I could start working on the dinner stuff. Of course the priority is stuffing the bird. I make a sausage stuffing, so I yanked out the bulk sausage, cornbread stuffing, broth, etc. and threw everything in my largest bowl (you need 'mixing space', you know). I stuffed the bird and put the leftover stuffing in a dish to cook separately and shoved everything into the oven. Whew! That's the hard part! Well, it IS!

(Edible Arrangement... boy, it was good!)

Unfortunately, (or fortunately) 6 minutes later, while rearranging things in the frig (pulling things off the back step-- it was cold enough out there-- to fill the space opened up by the bird being taken out), I discovered a container with...... ready? THE ONION/CELERY/APPLE MIXTURE!!!!

You never saw anyone whip out a turkey from the oven so fast! I gotta dig, scoop ... dig out the stuffing, ouch, didn't know a bird could start heating up that fast in the oven. Darn! What a ding-bat I am!! And I stuff BOTH cavities! It was gonna taste so much better with the 'moist' ingredients in it. Once I 're-stuffed the bird, ignoring my mom's laughter, back it went into the oven.... There! That's better.....

(This is 'Slumgullion'- like shepard's pie)

BTW, the dinner was delicious, even the stuffing! AMEN!

Second detour, I needed to make a few pillowcases for the Xmas gifts I bought on BF, for the granddaughters. I have a little bit of material that would be appropriate for their ages, 6, 4, 2, but not enough to make them Sunday. Need to hit a fabric store, I guess.... oh, Darn, THAT'S too bad. {:-) The quilting stuff will have to wait. I do have to finish making a few of the quilt 'bingo cards' for our church mtg on Dec 8th (Mon). Also, to make sure I have some prizes for the game. That's another post in Nov.