Give Thanks

I know most people have gotten into the full swing of the Christmas spirit, but I still have to tell you about Thanksgiving.  Like I said before, I hadn't been home for Thanksgiving in forever.  And this will be our last before leaving for the Philippines, so I wanted to make it extra special!  There's no good way to tell you about it, so I'll just show you.  It was definitely an OMV! Thanksgiving.

There were so many preparations that needed to be made, so I made the kitchen my dwelling place for three days.

Wess, Kelsey and Milos came up for the special event.

On Wednesday night we had an appetizer buffet for dinner.  Complete with Hummus en Fuego:

                             

And Mushroom Poppers from The Vegan Table:

There were a few other things, but that was all that I made for the night.  I was working on a Cashew "Goat Cheese"  but it was a complete flop and didn't turn out at all.  The worst part of it was that it was a three day process.  Grr...I will try again!

Then Thursday was here.  The big dance!  Wednesday night I got everything ready for breakfast, so all I had to do was warm it up to be ready to go.  Remember what I said I was making...

Oh yeah!!  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!  

So much warm, oey goey goodness!

Good to the last bite!

Now on to the really good stuff!  The table was all set and ready to go...

Remember all of those truffles I made?  Well they became part of the big meal...

I decorated some candy boxes, and filled them up with treats, and sweet messages, and used them as the place setting.

This Thanksgiving meal, was probably one of my favorites I have ever had.  It was all made from scratch with love, and was totally good for you.  Wess made a Tofurkey, and I was so eager to try it.  I had never had one before.  He soaked it in a soy sauce / orange juice marinade.  Wow!  Did it have the best flavors.  And here are some of my favorite sides:

A Fall Medley Stuffing I created: 

A much healthier version of our families favorite, Sweet Potato Souffle:

And other things I didn't get individual pictures of like garlic mashed potatoes, sunny corn casserole, broccolini, a spinach salad, mushroom gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, and crescent rolls and sourdough bread.  Here's me with the whole spread:

And my sous chef:

It was finally time to dig in!

But it wasn't over...it was time for dessert!  Here we have Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap Crust:

And a Pumpkin Pie Brownie:

Our tummies and hearts were full:

Might I add, that I couldn't have done all of this without my Mom!  She kept me motivated even though she warned me I was taking on so much, and did so many dishes and kept the kitchen clean (I did try to do my part though).  Thanks Mom for all of your help.  I'm sorry I destroyed your kitchen and you had to put it back together.  I love you!

It was such a fantastic day.  I just wish my brother and Daniel could have been here.  Miss you boys and love ya!  Happy Holidays to all.  Be sure to let your family and friends know just how much they mean to you!  Give Thanks!