Happy Turkey Day!

 Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Be thankful for what you have and want what you have.

Back tomorrow maybe with some Rite-Aid craziness.....lolz

Sluggy

2019 November To-Do List Update

Here's how my November To-Do  List turned out............

NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Top of the list, always gets done before anything else.

* Read 1, 2 Books   DONE  I actually read THREE Books this month! (It surprised me when I sat down to go over what I read. lol)

First off was this one.............

"Hanging Mary" by Sarah Higginbotham
A very well done bit of historical fiction, the author takes us into the world of the folks who lived at Mary Surratt's boardinghouse on H St. leading up to the assassination by John Wilkes Booth and how Mary became the first women in US history to be unjustly hanged for treason.
You really get to know the people who had close contact with JWB and how they were affected as the author is quite gifted at making all the folks involved in this drama come alive.

Then I read was this one.............

"A Soldier's Secret" by Marissa Moss
I didn't know going in but it became apparent quickly that this book was written for YAs(young adults/teens).  It was still enjoyable though and a very quick read.  Another historical fiction selection about Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who ran away as a teen from a miserable home life in Canada(then a British possession)and lived for many years as a man, including volunteering to serve in the US Union army during the Civil War.  Though the dialogue is fiction, the characters were real people who lived during that time.  Sarah survived the conflict and eventually married and lived as a women.  She is the only women who secretly served as a man during the war to be inducted into the GAR and receive a government pension for her Civil War service.  She wrote a memoir about her life which was published in the 1880's and she toured and gave lectures.  This book was based on her memoirs.
Dialogue was a little stilted and tiresome at parts but worth a read.

And finally I read this one............

"The Liberal Redneck Manifesto-Draggin' Dixie Outta the Dark" by Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester and Drew Morgan   

I really related to this book, being a Southerner and all. 8-)  They dig in and go after every stereotype and shed light on many issues that people from this region of the country are affected by and still dealing with.  They go after both the good and bad of the culture and delve into the real history of why things are the way they are there.  These guys are a comedy trio of self-proclaimed rednecks but they are educated and articulate rednecks who are proud of their region and history.  They have lived real, sometimes painful lives and have seen both the good and bad about the region and have thoughts and ideas that may make you go, "huh".
This book will get you thinking and it's a must read for anyone who isn't from/didn't grow up in the South.
I am the product of a NY Yankee father and a VA Southern mother and was raised in the South.  Most of my Southern relatives come from uneducated redneck stock(at least for 5 or 6 generations)so this book spoke to me.  Living and traveling widely in other parts of the country I've seen the regional prejudice first hand Trae and company talk about.  I'd be delighted to spread some learnin' about true Southern culture(both the good and bad)to other regions.
HIGHLY recommend!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  Mailed off right away and gladly received.

*  Chester Surgery  DONE  My poor puppy lost his nuts in November.  He healed up rather quickly and didn't need the "cone of shame" but for 2 days.  The good thing is he is less likely to mark in the house now and we don't have to confine him as much.

* Repair DR Ceiling  DONE SORT OF  Hubs got the patch job done but he still has to sand and paint it.  It will get done as soon as I nag enough. lolz

*  Work the Polls  DONE  I did my civic duty.  It was a long day but enjoyable really.

*  Hem Hubs Pants  DONE  The denim was so thick and non-plyable that the machine needle wouldn't go through the multiple layers of fabric at the seams so I had to partially hand hem part of each pants leg. ugh.  But it's done.

*  House Train Puppy  DONE  Dixie is finally house trained...yay!!

*   List Items on eBay  FAIL  I looked back and I didn't list a single item in November(though I did sell stuff that month).  I just got too busy with other things.  I'm not listing anything in December either due to being too close to Christmas now and we have the out of town Wedding in early January so I won't be able to ship stuff out.

*  Go to HS Clinic  DONE  Had my appointment and things are going well....not great but the outbreaks are not as bad as before going on Humira.  Only time will tell how successful this treatment will be and for how long.
In other medical news I also had my sleep doc appointment in November and I am now down to being borderline for needing sleep apnea treatment.  go me. ;-)

* Work on Christmas Gifts  IN PROGRESS  I'm not really "making" anything for gifts, it's just about making up gift baskets, wrapping all of it, and mailing a couple of things.  After we get the tree decorated this week my dining room table becomes wrapping central and the tape and scissors will be flying fast and furiously. lol

* Clean Downstairs for Turkey Day  DONE  Got the place presentable.  'Nuff said.

* Change Curtains in LR  DONE  Got Hubs to finally help hang the Winter curtains up without too much cursing(Guess who did the cursing?!LOL)

* Hang a Picture  DONE  Ditto the item above.  It was a much more difficult chore than the curtains but nobody committed murder in the process(though there were murderous thoughts on both sides).

* Hang Curtains in Hubs' Room  FAIL  I got him the curtain rod out but he just didn't do it.  I need to hem those curtains so they don't cover the baseboard heating unit under the window but he needs to get the rod on the wall so I know how much to cut off the drapes.  And he really needs to do this soon because we'll have folks sleeping in the daybed in that room for the Holidays and that window gets the morning sun so I guess I'll go into nag mode soon.........

* Cook Turkey Day Meal  DONE  It all got done and on time.  Cooking ahead really helped me not to overdo physically.  Even not being as tired and rushed I didn't take a single photo of the day. I was just in the moment for Thanksgiving(when I wasn't running to Rite-Aid that is.)

That's about all I can remember.
I hope everyone tackled everything on their November To-Do List and are satisfied with how things turned out.

Sluggy

Thanksgiving & The "Fun" Week Ahead

Another Thanksgiving is done and in the books as they say.

I arose at the ass crack of dawn to shove the bird into the oven. 

Then it was off to Rite-Aid for all this......and I got Plenti Points back and more for it so free!

Then back home to punch down the dough and forms the rolls to proof, switch on the crock pots of stuffing and rutabaga, bake the potatoes for mashed taters, get the carrots ready and put together the green bean casserole.  I was going to nuke green beans and add almonds but College Boy was practically in tears at the thought of no GB Casserole.....so what the hell!

The company arrived and we ate.
We watched some parade in the morning and then some dog show between dinner and pie......and then the company went home.

The only photo I managed to squeeze off was this one......since somebody was a tad busy cooking. ;-)

This was after dinner and pie time.  My tipsy daughter on the den floor letting Chester chew on her.  The dog got a hold of her hair at one point and then it wasn't so fun, was it? lolz

I didn't even get a group shot so here's last year's Thanksgiving photo.  Just put your thumb over Daughter's BF's face as he wasn't here this year.  Other than that it's the same crew and table(though College Boy's beard is more into the ZZ Top territory now).

Black Friday was cleaning the house mostly, dragging down tubs of Christmas stuff and eating leftovers.  I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Rite-Aid for more freebies and some gift cards.
Plus I picked up these to go toward a food bank donation.............

The Rite-Aid brand of toothbrushes were Buy 1/Get 2 Free so $1 for each set of 3 toothbrushes or .33¢ each.  I used $2 in Plenti Points to pay.
I hope to get a few more things together and have a good sized donation to take up before Christmas gets here.

Saturday Hubs took College Boy back to school......

He came home with a raging sinus infection and cold.  He spent the whole 5 days snorting and hacking up stuff.  By Saturday he was sounding less on death's door and we were 5 rolls of tp and 3 boxes of facial tissue lighter.  ;-)

Today I had to run Hubs up to U-Haul so he could pick up a cargo van and you know there is a story behind that, don't ya?

This coming week Hubs is driving out to IL to load his sister and her stuff into said van and driving her across country to SC so she can live with their oldest brother.
Said sister has made a series of bad decisions in her life(not living within her means ever, a car repo, an ill-considered marriage to a alcoholic felon a few years back, a bankruptcy, a divorce from said felon, quitting a good job, another car repo)and now is one step away from being homeless and destitute.  I feel bad for her and her situation but we saw it coming down the pike years ago.  I am not happy that we are having to shell out thousands of $$s to "rescue" her but Hubs feels he should do this as none of his other siblings are in a position to(either financially or physically or both).
I hope things turn around for her(but as she continues to not make the best decisions it's doubtful). 
We are shelling out for the van rental, the gas, the 2,200 in mileage, meals, hotels, tolls and the wear and tear on Hubs and his time.

While the money will put a crimp in our stash, we can spare it.....but this is IT from here on out.
We have enough on our plates and our own family to prop up.  Grown ass adults need to take care of themselves and not expect others to bail them out of their messes especially when they didn't lift a finger to help Hubs take care of their mother the last 7 years of her life when she suffered from Alzheimer's. 
Sorry if I sound pissy about all this, but at the moment, I am. ;-)

So I get to hold down the fort here for this week and take care of all the normal stuff.  I am looking forward to the quiet of having the house to myself while Daughter is in classes, except I have a energetic puppy to potty train by myself, chores, errands and appointments.  And I really need to get more stuff up on eBay before it's too late. ugh.

We all have our crosses to bear, don't we?

The day after Hubs returns we get to drive to see College Boy's senior recital, which will be nice even if it means more driving.  Two weeks after that we rent another cargo van and move College Boy home from school. 
I will be glad when the first half of December is over and we are all home with no expectations put upon us by others.

I don't know how much time I'll have to blog in the coming days so if I am MIA it's just that I'm super busy with life right now.
I am warm, well fed, solvent and trying to stay positive. 8-)

Sluggy

Happy Thanksgiving & Stretchy Pants Day!

Wishes for the kind of Thanksgiving Day you enjoy for you and yours today.

The stuffing is warming already here......

The pies were done yesterday and the roll dough will be cut into rolls to rise very soon.

And after a quick Rite-Aid run(like you really thought I wouldn't go today?!! lolz), the deboned turkey breast will be stuffed and rolled.

No snow like last year on Turkey Day and that's fine by me!

Cheers,

Sluggy

Food Spending Limit Until Thanksgiving...Can I Do It?

If you come here often, you know I operate on a Food Budget of $400 per month.  That amount includes pet foods and all toiletries and paper products too.
Well, most months that is what I strive for but we seem to have spent more than $400 on food in 4 out of the last 10 months. 8-(

For our family(size,habits, etc.)and income I think $400 is a good amount.  It's not so low that the only foods we can afford are highly processed and/or nutritionally questionable....though we do buy some processed and questionable foods on occasion.  I know others spend less on food but given the prices in my area and the dearth of competition between stores which keeps prices lower, this is about as far down in the budget I care to go on this expense.
Of course, should something in our lives change(job loss/income disruption/kids moving out//DEFLATION of prices...hahaha, had to throw that one in for a laugh since prices NEVER go down!), I would be re-evaluating the budget in a heartbeat.

As for November's Food Budget.....
I have just completed buying groceries at the local Shursave grocery to earn a food certificate for free food at their store in the next 12 days before Thanksgiving.
DID I JUST SAY THERE ARE ONLY 12 DAYS LEFT BEFORE THANKSGIVING???
Anyway, I have spent so far in November on groceries a total of $202.54 of my $400.  Along with the weekly items I needed to make the meals served, I have picked up loss leaders and meat & frozen veggie deals along the way this month to use on down the road.  And I earned $20 in free food certs for buying things now(or last week)that I would have bought anyway at the end of the month.  I have also been picking up Thanksgiving meal items as they have gone on sale.  I got a turkey earlier this week so I am set for most of what I need to throw the Thanksgiving meal together.
The only items left to buy are Celery, a small bag of Potatoes, a couple of Rutabagas and Parsnips.


I have between $35 and $40 in free food catalinas, certificates and gift cards to use.
I have $20 to spend at the Shursave Grocer and between $15 and $20 at Weis(PMITA)Markets.
(I have a $5 Weis Cat to use by 11/15, and 2 gift cards--1 is for $5 but I can't remember if the other one is also for $5 or $10.)
8-)

I am going to try to use these chits to cover our food expenses up to and including those 4 Thanksgiving meal items.  $35-$40 should cover anything I need to buy until the 22nd.
All meals the next 11 days will be from foods I already have here or we can use one of the pizza coupons I won at the Church Auction last month if we feel like eating take-out during that time frame.

I'm all excited now to see what kind of meals I come up with so I only use that $35 in chits and don't have to buy any food until after Thanksgiving.

Do you think I can do it?
Do you have enough food laid back that you could do this?

Sluggy

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been up since 5am.
Seriously, who in their right mind gets up that early if they don't have to?!?!lol

Judy may have the Battle of the Thanksgiving Salt & Pepper Shakers but I've got Kermit Pilgrim.....

Now if I can just keep him out of my homemade Salted Caramel and Apple Pie, we'll be good to go.

And for Practical Parsimony who asked me what in the world is Bell's Seasoning, this is it....

It's just a pre-blended mix of herbs for stuffing....you know, sage, rosemary, thyme, that sort of thing.  It's a tradition for us.
Not frugal at $3 an ounce, but a tradition.

The pies were done yesterday, as was the stuffing.
I've got the roll dough rising, the rutabaga in the crockpot, the dip made and the turkey just went in the oven.
I've got time for a 2 hour nap now before I have to start drinking. ;-)

Hope your Thanksgiving is safe, comfortable(put on those fat pants today!), and surrounded by those you love(if not in body, in spirit).
Thanks for being my readers and my friends. 8-)

Sluggy

November Food Spending Week 3, Meal Plan Week 4

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
MONDAY--Spaghetti & Homemade Meatballs
TUESDAY--Teriyaki Salmon w/ Veggie Fried Rice
WEDNESDAY--Leftovers
THURSDAY--Kielbasa, Potato Salad, Cabbage
FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out
SATURDAY--Take-Out Pizza *at behest of Hubs and #2 son

No Breakfast for Dinner night, Chinese take-out instead.  No Squash casserole night because I never got to the Product market last week for said squash, so we had leftovers instead. And I was out voted on Saturday and a pizza was ordered(using a gift card).

Last week was all about many little food shopping trips revolving around....say it with me!....GRAVY!

8 transactions at Weis Markets(aka Evil Empire)and 1 trip to the RSS(aka Restaurant Supply Store)for blue cheese dressing(aka PRECIOUS).

 
Total for all the food shopping last week came to $91.07.

 

That sure sounds like A LOT of $$ to me, but look at what I got for that amount.....

93 cans of gravy

21 cans of soup

1 bag stuffing

4 bags of croutons

6 bags of frozen potato/onion rings

2 bags of salad

2 cans of pineapple

4 bags of cheese

8 containers of sour cream

2 cans of cranberry sauce

5 3-packs of yeast

11 single packs of yeast

2 boxes of broth

1 applesauce cups

2 boxes of pie crust

2 bags of green beans

1 gallon of dressing

1 14-cut cheesecake

1 turkey

The only thing missing is a Partridge in a Pear Tree.....

If I saw it all sitting out together I'd think I did good.  I need my visuals people!lol

My savings percentage was 72.40% last week, as the reg. retail was $329.84 on the groceries I brought home. 

My running total spent for the month is now at $213.52, which leaves me $36.48 to stay within my $250 monthly food budget.  Ok, I "really" have $39.48 since I have $3 in rebates this month to throw into the food kitty....which is how I handle rebate $. 8-)

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Pot Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions w/Gravy
MONDAY--Tilapia, Squash Casserole, Sweet Potato Fries
TUESDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Pasta, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Tacos, Veg.
THURSDAY--Turkey Thanksgiving Dinner
FRIDAY--Chili or Leftovers
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Yellow Squash, Bell Seasoning, Rutabaga, Sweet Potatoes, Celery and Milk.  I have $20 in store Rewards I have to spend by Saturday or lose them, so I'll get as much of this as I can at the ShurSave store.  

This is the last food shopping Week in the month.  Between the free $20 rewards and the $39 I have left, I think I'll be able to stay under budget for November...yay!

 

Unless of course, I start jonesing for some more Gravy! lol

So have you run out of food budget yet this month?

Or do you have lots of cash left?

Sluggy

My Thanksgiving Survey Replies...

1. What is your preferred menu for Thanksgiving dinner and why?
*Crispy Roasted Duck, homemade stuffing(with sausage meat/walnuts/mushrooms), sweet potatoes, green beans, roasted fall veggies, au jus rather than gravy, Aunt Ollie's recipe potato rolls, cranberry glop from the can, sparkling cider, pumpkin pie and cheesecake.

2.  Do you cook/host the meal or do you gather at someone else's house for dinner? If you cook, how many will gather around your table to eat?
*I cook.  If I can get help cooking, all the better but I don't expect help or anyone to bring any food.
Since the kids are teens with jobs, they may or may not be here when we eat the meal.  The most if family is in town is 9, the least is 3.  We usually have about 6-7.


3. What time do you generally sit down to eat?
*Since I don't relish getting up at the crack of dawn to start cooking for the day, we try to eat around 1 or 2(usually more toward 2).  We'll have a light late breakfast so we are hungry by 1.  Dinner is "go grab something for the fridge" at whatever time you want it.

4. Do you have any traditional dishes you serve/have served and what are they?  (These can be regional dishes or family traditions or what you feel are the national dishes everyone eats.)
*The jellied cranberry glop in the can is traditional from when I was a wee one.  #2 son likes it so we keep it, even though I've tried to serve 'better' versions of this dish over the years.  The family just doesn't take to them.
The other family traditions are my stuffing(my mom's recipe which I have changed over the years and made my own)and my Great Aunt Ollie's potato roll recipe.  Aunt Ollie left this Earth about 10 yrs. ago at the age of 98.  She was a good old country cook, who cooked on a wood cookstove until she was 96.  Have to have the potato rolls....if not on Turkey Day then on Christmas.

5.  Do you have any non-food Thanksgiving traditions?
*I've tried a few activities but nothing catches on.lol  The last one was to pass out paper and pencils and have everyone write down something they are thankful for.  Someone reads them all out loud before we eat.....this way we keep from embarrassing the teens since the 'thankfuls' are anonymous.
The only other tradition is to play board games after the meal, while the testosterone laden people watch football....**Sluggy rolls her eyes....**lol


6.  If you could only have 5 food/beverage items at your Thanksgiving meal, what would they be?
*Pumpkin pie, stuffing, potato rolls, roasted fall veggies, duck...then hook me up to a cardiac monitor. lol

7.  What was your worst and/or best Thanksgiving day and why?
*I can't think of a Thanksgiving day that sticks out in my mind as being the 'best', but any from when my mom was alive and we had extra relatives &/or friends there would qualify.
 
I do have a worst Thanksgiving however.....this was during my sophomore yr. in college.  I was 19. My family life was non-existent at this point so there was no going home for Turkey Day....besides, I couldn't even afford to take the Greyhound bus there.  So my BF(now Hubs)asked his parents if I could come home with him for Thanksgiving.....and they said no!  As BF told me, they didn't want 'strangers' at the house for Thanksgiving.lol  And yes, I had been to their house before at least twice before this time.
So BF did NOT stay at school with me, he went home and left me there alone.  It's a wonder I stayed with him and married him after that, huh?lol
I remember my Thanksgiving that year was spent alone in my apartment, watching the parades on a tiny 10" screen tv I owned.  I walked down to the A&P and bought myself a Thanksgiving meal...one of those turkey roll things, a frozen Stouffer's spinach souffle and I stopped at the bakery on the way home with my cart and bought a slice of something sweet...it wasn't pie because they didn't sell them by the slice and I couldn't afford a whole pie, and I might just have eaten the whole thing if I could have afforded it...I was that depressed.lol
I was approached by an old drunk on the way home from the grocery store and he panhandled me for a dime to "buy a cup of coffee".
Frankly, I couldn't spare a dime for him and I was in shock that someone had actually asked me for money, since I was destitute enough myself to be doing the asking.lol
After I got home, I just sat down and cried big time.
Alone and being accosted by bums on Thanksgiving. lol
I sure felt low and sorry for myself...


I am happy to say that things have improved since then. 8-)


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday....November 23rd Editon It's all about the Bird!

I am late again with the menu this week but at least it's still Monday.lol

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...

No Chicken Parm(moves to this week)and no Apple Pie.  Just been appled out lately and didn't even want to look at them, much less cook them.lol  Hubby did another bang up job with cooking dinner on Sunday...it was salmon, buttercup squash and rice by the way.

Here's what I will be serving our family of 4 this Week, with company on Thursday....

MONDAY--Ham Slices(freezer), Mac & Cheese(stockpile),
TUESDAY--Chicken Parmesan(freezer), Salad(fridge), Spaghetti(stockpile)
WEDNESDAY--homemade Chili(stockpile/freezer), Cornbread(stockpile)

THURSDAY--Thanksgiving-turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry, mixed vegetables, gravy, rolls(all from fridge/freezer/stockpile except for 2 items)
FRIDAY--Grilled Pastrami Panini(fridge), Soup(stockpile)
SATURDAY--Leftovers
SUNDAY--Date Night w/Hubby, teens will fend for themselves
SNACKS/DESSERTS--Pumpkin Pie,various sweets in the freezer from Baking Day

Last week I spent $62.44 on food and toiletries(Not couting my Rite-Aid spending as I will have overage there after the rebates come in).  I wasn't successful in staying out of the grocery store last week, as there was a Catalina Deal at 2 different stores.
These are my downfall.lol
Most of my spending was on the Cat Deals(except for $4 for a turkey for this week) and not on items I needed for my specific meal plan last week.  I have very few items to pick up this week(celery, whipped cream and weekly milk purchases) and am allotting $10 for these.  I do have $15 in Cats to spend by Wednesday at Acme so if they have decent prices on those items I'll actually spend less than $10. Besides the Acme trip, I refuse to set foot in a grocery store this week.  And since it's Black Friday week I probably won't set foot in ANY store for the rest of the week!lol

Food Waste Report....the only spoiled food was 3 slices of bread that went moldy. All vegetable waste composted along with that bread.

Check out ORGANIZING JUNKIE to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

And here's hoping everyone has family and/or friends to keep close and celebrate their blessings with this Thanksgiving Holiday!

Sluggy

Some Thoughts on Thanksgiving & Cooking

This is where I ramble on about Thanksgiving and Cooking....

After having hosted and cooked as many Thanksgiving dinners as I have(yes, I am older than dirt!), there isn't much novelty or thrill left in the task for me.  It's just become another big chore in the big list of chores I need to complete each year.
What I wouldn't give to be a kid again and have an older, more experienced cook in the family handling the Big Holiday Cookfest instead of me.

It use to be sort of fun years ago, planning and cooking for Thanksgiving, back when we were first setting up our household and traditions and when the children were younger.

As my enthusiasm waned a few years back, Hubby talked me into having the Holiday meal at a restaurant.  As I use to be a professional waitress at one time in my life, I really hated the thought of eating out on Thanksgiving.  I know that most of those servers would much rather be home with their families than working in the insanely stressful environment that Thanksgiving Day dining is for them.  Not only that but the amount a restaurant charges for a "special holiday meal" is alot more than you pay for a meal during a non-holiday day.  They use the holiday to pick your pocket a little more.  Plus the food is generally not up to par as their usual dining fare, the ambience of the place is sub par as well, and the owners try to cram more diners into the space and are anxious to get you out as soon as possible so they don't lose a single customer. This also holds true for the other big special eating-out holdiays like Easter, Mother's Day and Christmas(if the place is open for that one).  Holiday meals are the cash cow of restaurant owners.  But I digress.....

The Thanksgiving out was a nice change for 1 year(not having to cook or deal with leftovers) but not something I want to do again.

When #2 son was a bit younger, he had a burning passion for cooking and wanted to be a chef.  Those couple of years that flame burned, I had a ready helpmate in the kitchen for the Thanksgiving meal prep.  A little cooking, a little instruction(not much though, after all, this was crunch time!) and a little bonding.
Ok...a little stressing out too and raised voices when things didn't go well.lol
What did #2 son take away from those holidays in the kitchen?
He can cook enough to feed himself if he ever has to, unlike #1 son, who at 18 yr. of age, STILL needs refresher instruction to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
And #2 son can whip up some awesome real mashed potatoes!

Last year at Thanksgiving, I truly hit the cooking wall.  I don't even recall what I served and I am sure it was thrown on the table without a thought on my part.
The guests shoveled the food in without a word.
Two of my teens(or preteens)ate small portions and quickly left the table to retire into their bedrooms again.
#1 son was in training for wrestling season so I don't even think he ate a full plate.  In years past, #1 son would have been mistaken for a professional Competitive Eater in training at the Thanksgiving table.  I was left with tons of leftover food to deal with in a house full of people who don't necessarily like leftovers.  Even sending the guests home with full plates of leftovers didn't make much room in my fridge.

So this year I am trying to make peace with the Holiday and my approach to it by making some changes to our celebration of the day.
We still will NOT be going out for dinner.  I won't do that.
We are having guests again, like every year, but daughter will be working at her restaurant job and won't be eating with us.  #1 son isn't coming home for the holiday either, so it will just be 5 of us including the company.  I refuse to make a ton of food this year!  The 3 dogs are sad to hear this....

I have been waffling about even making Turkey this year.  I am NOT a big fan and it's hard to do the turkey thing and not have leftovers, even if you do just a breast.  I had bought a small boneless leg of lamb last month and was going to make that instead of poultry.
But I got a great deal on turkey at Price Chopper on Saturday, so it's a fowl meal again this year.  Albeit, a small turkey at barely 14 lbs.  I purposely chose the smallest one they had.

I considered cooking the bird ahead and just reheating/serving it already cut up.  This would take some of the pressure off of Thanksgiving morning but I really don't care for the smell of reheated turkey.  Maybe it's me but turkey has this odor that I can hardly bare.  As it ages, it smells gamier to me.
So freshly cooked bird thursday morning it will be.

While Thanksgiving is all about tradition and traditional foods, I've decided that you don't have to make ALL of them.  Growing up, Turkey day always included my Aunt Ollie's homemade Potato Rolls, Rutabagas(Turnips to you Northerners), Sweet Potato Casserole, Pumpkin and Pecan Pies. The rolls were a 2 day production alone and were started the day before when the pies & stuffing were made. 
I will be paring down the amount of food I cook this year so the rolls will have to wait until Christmas(IF I do them then), the Rutabaga will not be happening(hubby is the only one who eats this & you can't make just a little rutabaga) & 1 kind of pie has to go....the pumpkin wins, hands down.
I have store bought rolls is someone feels they really need them.

Wednesday will be stuffing and pumpkin pie making day.  We are divided in this family on the proper way to prepare Sweet Potatoes.
Growing up it was the nauseatingly sweet Casserole with the marshmallows(more calories than the pie!). I started making a more grown-up version of the casserole when we started our own family traditions.  It involves sliced sweet potatoes(not mashed), butter, brown sugar & maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and chopped pecans.  Not a marshmallow in sight!lol  It's still sweet but not requiring an insulin shot to eat it. 
My yankee hubby grew up eating sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving prepares as you would a baked potato....just roasted in the oven, served with salt, pepper and butter.  The kids have taken to eating them this way but without the salt and pepper and the addition of a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon.
So I've had to fix 2 versions of sweet potato every Thanksgiving dinner.

Our usual Thanskgiving meal use to include....
Turkey
Stuffing with sausage(sometimes with nuts)
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes-2 verions
Rutabaga
Potato Rolls
Green Beans
Carrots
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
Beets(in the last few years)
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Apple Pie(sometimes)

This Year's Menu....
Turkey
Stuffing
Sweet Potato 2 Versions
Vegetable Melange(Carrots/Broccoli/Cauliflower)
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy-might do an Au Jus instead to lighten it up on the calories
Pumpkin Pie
Store bought Rolls if needed

I'll put more of an effort into the Table Setting instead of into churning out too much food.

And hopefully, I'll keep more of my sanity this year....

So what are your traditions at Thanksgiving?
Do you have any Must Have Dishes?

Sluggy