Happy Friendsgiving!

come one, come all, to the most magical time of the year!

or, something like that. i'm not sure about magical. i mean, i do believe that glitter and lights are magic in their own way, and there's that good ol' holiday spirit and all, but when it comes to people.....ehh, let's not get into people. food is it's own level of magic on its own.

fireworks are good. that's how i feel about food.  also sleep. we had fireworks at work on saturday night to, uh, "kick off" the holiday season? something like that. my other employee and i thought we were about to be shot. they were quite loud, and across the parking lot. it was nice though, even for being cold.

anyway, holy crap! not only has it been busy at work with black friday and all, but i managed to plan a whole thanksgiving meal around it! i actually had today off, so i woke up around 9:30a and started cooking/baking. to be honest, i was able to prep some things on wednesday, too, which saved some time.

i started the morning with this chocolate truffle pie from allrecipes. let me say, this pie is quite easy to make, (especially when cheating with a pre made pie crust....i needed to save money, buying this one was cheaper than buying a whole box of graham crackers and butter), and insanely delicious. it is hardcore chocolate, though, so for those who do not like rich, probably get away and leave the rest for me. if i wasn't so full of food, i probably would have eaten more pie.

anyway, it needed at least 8 hours in the fridge, so hence why it was first on the list! let me reiterate- it is totally worth the wait. just saying.

next up, i prepped my potatoes. i made these slow cooker mashed potatoes. also easy! i did forget to put the chicken stock in at the beginning, but i just added some extra milk and spices at the end. they turned out pretty good, too! the added greek yogurt (or sour cream) gave them a good flavor!

i made cornbread on wednesday and froze it, so i took that out to thaw. then, it was time for the blueberry apple crisp! i got that from taste of home. i think i might share the recipes for the desserts (other than the truffle pie) for next post, so i have something to write about! ☺

while that was going, it was time to prep the turkey! butter. butter, and more butter all over the place.  i stuffed it with apples and oranges, and then put some apple cider and chicken stock over top of it, and in the pan. i totally got sprayed with turkey juice while prepping. there was this plastic thing holding the legs together, and when i pulled it off, salmonella in the face. yep. at least i needed to shower, anyway. it was inevitable.

i am actually amazed at how clean i was able to keep my kitchen. i think i ran the dishwasher 3 times in the last 24 hours, but whatever. its weird, i grew up without one, but now that i've had one for a few years, i don't think i could live without it. it makes things so much easier sometimes.

anyway, heather was in town, so she stopped up for a bit to see the kitties. they're doing okay. wolverine is still kind of an asshole, and hiccup is....well, curious. all the time. he and cosmo had a few stare downs today, since cosmo didn't want to stay in his house. i'm pretty sure he was trying to show them who's boss.

(of course, i supervise them all, for anyone questioning my sanity. cosmo is about the same size as them, and he is an asshole. gizmo is afraid of him and he is 5 times the size of the bird. also, i would not let cosmo bite the cats. they mostly run away from him when he moves too quick.)

so yeah, i had a little down time after i got the turkey in the oven, so we just relaxed for a bit, until she left. i cleaned, showered, and then had to finish the veggies and stuffing!

i prepped and toasted my bread for the stuffing on wednesday. i probably should have covered it, but it came out pretty tasty anyway, either that or i needed more broth. i am not complaining though. it is another recipe from allrecipes for bread and celery stuffing.

i was frying onions and celery alongside a pan of brown sugar and butter for these cinnamon glazed carrots, as well. multitasking like a boss. carrots go well with sweet, i think. i made a honey glazed carrot recipe or something another time. or i might have made it up. but carrots and sweet are awesome in my book.

once all that was under way, i baked my croissants (courtesy of wegmans for 99 cents), warmed the peas and corn, pulled cranberry sauce, the turkey, and the pumpkin roll. ron made the gravy while i set the table, kind of. we don't have a big table to sit at, so it was basically a table full of food, and we sat in the living room.

ta daaa! yes, it was a lot of food for three people, but i love leftovers. i will have lunch for a good week or so here. maybe it will even make me gain a couple pounds. not that i am aiming for that, but i am sure there will be days (like friday) where i won't get to eat, so it will make up for it. not that that's healthy at all, but working in retail where you only have single person coverage most of the time, that will happen.

anyway.....and then we have the dessert spread! (aka: the best part, in my book. even if i don't eat most of it.)

this chocolate pie. oh my goodness. have i mentioned i would have eaten the whole thing if i wasn't so full? for serious. i am glad i chose the regular graham cracker crust. the recipe calls for chocolate cookie crust, which would probably have been delicious, too, but that is like hard core, "bad day" chocolate fix. kind of like my "i am going to eat pizza and brownies until i can't stand anymore" a couple weeks ago. and for that, i will keep this pie in mind. i bet i can half it. i wonder if it freezes well.....i wouldn't have to half it, but just make a bunch of small ones, wrap them, freeze, and then defrost for instant bad day relief down the road.

just for the record, that is apple cider in a wine glass.

kristen came over for dinner, which is the original plan behind friendsgiving. her mom passed away last year around this time (see previous november post- i charcoaled a picture of her and mom together last year), and it was her mom's favorite holiday, but she had to work all day pretty much. we were talking and she suggested having a late thanksgiving because she would miss it, and wanted to for mom. here we are!

so the three of us (ron, kris and i) sat in my living room and watched "home," and then played some diablo to finish out the night. because diablo. also, i just scored this sweet purple chrome controller from work that someone traded in. i am obsessed with purple.

anyway, stay tuned for the pumpkin roll and apple crisp recipes, and probably a couple more pictures on wednesday. hope your holidays were nice, and get prepared for the next. have a good week, all! thanks for reading! ☺