Thanksgiving

We had a really nice day yesterday! So much cooking was done in advance and in the morning that there was plenty of time to watch the parades on TV, watch Miracle on 34th Street (one of my favorite movies!) and even start reading a new book. Thad and I were happy to have Vern and her mom join us for dinner. They arrived with gravy and rolls from Rocky's (still warm!). It was strange to have a holiday without my parents and aunt here, but we still had a great day and I was happy to know they were enjoying themselves in Florida with my brother's extended family.

My plan for dinner turned out really well - the only thing I didn't make was the healthy mashed potatoes. With 5lbs of the PW ones, I felt like I should eat those instead of potentially wasting food - and I was kinda sick of all the cooking and dishes! I would actually say that the Alton Brown green bean casserole was loved more than the Pioneer Woman recipe I made last year - so it's the new keeper! And this recipe from Whole Foods for stuffing turned out to be the best I'd ever had.

One thing that really made the day go smoothly was using the 3 crockpot server my parents bought us last year.  The potatoes heated up and stayed warm, and the stuffing and green bean casserole went into the other two as soon as they were made. All were kept warm until dinner which meant as soon as the turkey was ready, all the food was still hot!