Our Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, we always make cookies. When I was little, my dad would always go to my grandparents and butcher so my mom started making cookies as our special tradition. Thanksgiving is one of my top two favorite holidays! So now our children are old enough to do the task that I first did: Open the Hershey kisses.



They were allowed to eat one Hershey kiss each.



This cutie pie was very intent on opening her kisses quickly because of him:



Apparently boys make everything into a competition. He wanted to win the "who can open their kisses first" contest. Even though they didn't have equal amounts of kisses.



How many kisses is that now that you've eaten, three?



Pnut was also competing. She came in a close second.



Kiss grand total: At least five, although we believe that she stuck two in her mouth at one time so that would bring it to six. It is beyond me how she kept from throwing up!

We also did a gingerbread house in the evening:



The icing operator didn't now what he was doing at first and made a mess until his mother-in-law helped him out.



They consumed probably about half of the candy while they were putting it on. Again, still don't know how Pilly didn't throw up!



Are you cute? No, I'm very cute! She really does say that:)



Lovely! Unfortunately, I don't have any follow-up pictures. I thought we did, but I can't find them. The kids attacked the house and ate it. Not the entire thing, but they took some good bites out of it and ate a lot of the remaining candy that they hadn't eaten during the decorating process. They had a good day!

Wednesday I have to consume my only turkey from this holiday. Someone gave us a large one so we are having some people over to share it and I have to eat some. No one in my family (parents and sisters) likes turkey. That's because it is gross. I like chicken!

I need to go eat my rapidly melting snack! Have a wonderful night!

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pilly wasn't feeling well last night so I ended up upstairs with her and never got to come back down! She slept with us for part of the night and then thankfully went to her own bed. It is amazing how much space these children take up in bed!

In other Pilly news, we learned a new fact this weekend because of her. If you ever need to counteract fluoride, have the person who consumed it drink milk or some other milk product like yogurt. Pilly managed to eat part of a tube of toothpaste during naptime and had it all over. Lovely sticky blue toothpaste all over her face and in her eyebrows and hair and staining her shirt. Goodness. So I called my good friend Poison Control, and they advised us that the toothpaste won't really hurt her and to make herself sick she would have to eat half the tube, which she did not. She was to drink milk to counteract any fluoride she may have eaten but other than that she should be fine.

I was going to post a recipe for blueberry lemon bread tonight, but I didn't really like it. I have to think about it some more. It didn't taste very lemon-y, and it was more like pound cake than bread. I probably didn't like it because there was no heavy whipping cream in it. I may or may not be addicted to heavy whipping cream. The jury is still out, but I have yet to meet a product containing it that I don't want to devour in two bites.

Posts may be sporadic until next Monday because we are going to be here and there, as I'm sure all of you are too! I have so much to do! Aaah!

Have a wonderful, thankful holiday!

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

Lemonade Pie

Do you see that? Do you have any idea how wonderful this dessert is? Let me give you the ingredients, and I think you will figure it out!

Crust:
2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar
7 T butter, melted

Filling:
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 14-oz can sweetened, condensed milk, chilled
1 6-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate (do not thaw)

Topping:
1 c blueberries
1 c raspberries
2 T sugar
1 T lemon juice

Melt the butter and pour over the graham cracker crumbs/sugar mixture. Stir well and then pat firmly into a pie pan. Bake at 350 for about seven minutes and let cool completely.

In a chilled mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and the lemonade and then pour into the cream and gently stir. Pour into crust and chill in freezer overnight.

About an hour before serving, mix the topping. Set aside until ready to serve.

Let the pie come to room temperature for 10 minutes. Top each slice with berries.

Roll over and take a nap.

*Notes: I had to use a cake pan instead of a pie pan, and it made the crust kind of thick and delicious. I wasn't able to fit in all of the topping, but I just filled it to the brim. I also didn't have my milk chilled and it still worked. This stuff is awesome. The reaction from all who ate it was pretty much "Oh wow!"

Herb Stuffed Chicken and Oven Roasted Potatoes

If you are on a diet, you may want to refrain from reading this. I am pretty sure this is one of those recipes that you can gain weight just reading it. The chicken recipe is from page 65 of Paula Deen's Lady and Son's cookbook. The potatoes I just found somewhere on the internet like cooks.com or something.

Herb Stuffed Chicken:



This picture does it no justice. If you could smell, you would understand. I'll just give you the recipe to try out!

4 whole skinless boneless chicken breast
3 ounces cream cheese, softened (split into quarters)
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (split into quarters)
1/2 t dried sweet basil
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t House Season (a mix of garlic powder, salt, and pepper)
4 slices bacon
4 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 275. Pound chicken flat. Mine was probably still at least 1/2 an inch thick after pounded. Spread softened cream cheese and then crumble feta over the breast. Mix all the herbs and spices together in a bowl and then sprinkle over the breast and cheeses. Roll up this chicken mess and wrap with a piece of bacon. I didn't put any toothpicks to secure it or anything, the bacon did a pretty good job holding it. Place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish and pour butter evenly over all four breasts. Cover dish with foil and bake at 275 for 1.5 hours. Then remove cover, up temperature to 350, and bake for 15-20 more minutes until bacon is brown.

*Notes: Soften your cream cheese better than I did, it is just easier. The House Seasoning, I just guesstimated. I didn't measure them out at all, I just eyeballed it as I put it in with the herbs. This dish would probably impress your in-laws:)

Oven Roasted Potatoes:



These were pretty good, probably needed more salt and could have been a little crispier, but they complemented the chicken well, especially the rosemary and garlic.

1.5 lb new potatoes, halves and quarters depending on size
Olive Oil, a few times around the bowl
Salt
Pepper
1-2 t rosemary
2 cloves garlic

Chop potatoes, put in a bowl, and throw everything else in and mix it around with your hand. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet no later than 10-15 minutes after the chicken is in the oven. These are supposed to go at 450 for 40 minutes so it takes a while at 275!

*Notes: The rosemary is approximate. Just make sure that it is pretty even over all the potatoes. The potatoes are good, but they do pale in comparison to the chicken!

Make this meal, and your house will probably remind you of Carraba's and your friends will tell you they can smell it outside!

Tomorrow I will put up the recipe for the dessert I made, but I haven't gotten to take a picture yet. I guess that means I will have to eat another one. How sad.

I should probably go run like 40 miles now. I will be on the couch picturing myself doing just that! Have a great night!

Helpers

Today I got the clothes out to fold, and Pnut instantly started pulling out washcloths to fold. She does a great job, and I appreciate her help. Someone else wanted to help this time as well. Her version of helping is a little bit different:



She puts the clothes on the floor and just bunches them up. It is cute because she tries but she just started piling them all up towards the end. She also matched one of Pnut's socks to Joel's sock. She told me who each one belonged to and then tried to pair them together:)

Tomorrow is our next Cooking Club, and I am super-excited to see how things turn out! Hopefully I will have some yummy recipes to post tomorrow!

We are having a really busy week after a full weekend so I am a little bit tired (also throw in the fact that I stayed up until 12:30 Saturday night, which I never do!). I am going to get ready for bed...I hope Joel doesn't get mad;)