B-Movie Star

Here's a great sweet potoato recipe that you might like to try - especially since Thanksgiving is fast approaching! I got the recipe from Taste of Home and it is delicious!

INGREDIENTS
3 cups thinly sliced tart apples (about 3
large)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5
medium), peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup soft bread crumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS
Place apples in a large bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice. Add the sweet potatoes,
syrup, butter, salt and pepper; toss to coat.
Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at
400° for 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring once.
In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and
vinegar; sprinkle over potato mixture. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until topping
is golden brown.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Here's a few ideas I've seen around the web for updating your decor for fall.

The first ones are from Mad In Crafts - she has a fantastic tutorial for making these.  (and a good warning - don't burn the fake leaves!!) She has lots more easy and lovely ideas on her blog, so check all of them out!

She shows you how to get a similar look from Pottery Barn inspired decor - so easy to do, and it looks so nice and would be a wonderful centerpiece! I just love all the things she does with leaves!

This next one would actually be awesome for Thanksgiving - or any harvest party! Jelly Bean Indian Corn! The tutorial to make it can be found at Kelley Highway. Wouldn't these be so awesome as party favors - or even tuck a card into each one and use them as a name card holder! I am so planning to make these for Thanksgiving!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Every year in our area the Salvation Army has a Thanksgiving Dinner for anyone who wants to attend. Local businesses in the area donate the food and volunteers serve the meal. I'm sure in every area it's different. One year when I lived in a larger town, the dinner was held in a large auditorium and we worked on a "cafeteria style" line, serving food as people carried their tray along.  I live in a smaller area now and the Salvation Army Dinner is held at the local Applebees Restaurant. The Restaurant donates it's facility and many of it's staff members.  Not only can anyone come to the restaurant and eat Thanksgiving Dinner, there is also a delivery service. People call in and volunteers drive hot meals to their homes.

It's such a wonderful thing to be part of. Everyone is coming together -  you feel a happy sense of cammeraderie with all the volunteers and people who come to eat the meal. When we volunteer we all go as a family. I've noticed that  many people bring their children to volunteer too. The kids love to serve drinks or bus tables - whatever is needed for them to do.  It's such a great way to teach kids the wonderful message of sharing and caring for everyone in our world!

If you don't have anyone who wants to volunteer with you, don't let that stop you! I'm a pretty shy person (before you get to know me) but there was never time for that when I volunteered. You're so busy working and everyone was so friendly, it was easy to feel right at home. I think the thing that surprised me about working at the dinners is how many people are alone on the holidays. Many of them can afford to buy a dinner, they just don't have anyone to share it with. I think that's so sad, and I'm so happy that there is someplace for people to go where they won't be alone on a holiday. Many people who ate the dinners would donate to the Salvation Army, but of course this isn't necessary at all - they just wanted to help out too!

I highly recommend incorporating this tradition of  "Giving" into your own Thanksgiving Day. The Salvation Army website has lot of information about volunteering, and I'm sure that there are plenty of other organizations in your particular area that is working this holiday to share food, company and a bit of happiness with others in the community. Really - you will not regret it. We usually volunteer to work in the early morning or early afternoon and there's still plenty of time to go home and enjoy a Thanksgiving Dinner with your family!

There is nothing like volunteering to help others to make you clearly see how much you have to be thankful for in your own life!

Popularity: 1% [?]

After you've spent a lot of time planning and cooking a Thanksgiving feast, you want your meal to look as beautiful as it's going to taste. I always have fun planning my table setting each year. I know some people who like to have it look the same year after year, and I think that's great. It's a tradition that people hold onto and honor throughout the years. My table changes each year, maybe because I have a short attention span! I just like variety, really - and it gives me an excuse to own more dishes, but don't tell my husband that.

I know this year many people aren't able to spend a bunch of money on new dishes and table linens, but that doesn't mean your table can't look beautiful. Sometimes our difficult circumstances can cause us be our most creative! If you look around your house, you might find some creative ways to dress up your table.  Last year, I printed out vintage Thanksgiving postcards onto 11 x17" paper and then I laminated them. I used them as placemats, and everyone said how fun they were. Maybe that's not exactly your style, but don't be afraid to try something new!

I found lots of inspiring table settings on the web, I grouped these by color, but mix and match can look very lovely too!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Well, here it is, less than two weeks until Thanksgiving. I’m already starting to feel a bit of nervousness – as always I want everything to be “perfect” but I also want to enjoy the day along with everyone else. I remember one of the first times I cooked Thanksgiving for everyone in our families – and I decided to cook everything from scratch. I was trying out a bunch of new recipes, cooking a lot of new foods, and pretty much overdid it all. The thing I remember the most was being so busy that I forgot to eat anything all day. Then when the guests arrived and we had a glass of wine, I was instantly tipsy! Not exactly the condition you want to be in when you’re pulling together a dinner for your inlaws and outlaws!

Luckily, I did manage to feed everyone – and no one complained (to my face anyway!) But I also remember spending a lot of time in the kitchen while everyone else was around the table laughing and talking. I’ve learned several things since that early Thanksgiving – mainly, don’t forget to eat breakfast!

I also learned not to do everything myself if I can help it! For me I love being in the kitchen with my mother in law and mom and daughter and husband all working on something different, laughing and catching up. I learn a lot from working with other people, and it sure beats working in the kitchen alone – so if anyone volunteers to help out, I take them up on it! I’ll even put kids to work peeling potatoes or cleaning vegetables or drying dishes – whatever their skill level is. If they’re too young to help out in the kitchen, you can give them some craft projects. One year I had the younger kids make Pilgrim hats and feathered headbands for everyone to wear.

I also use my planner. I make sure I have a menu written out with a grocery list so I can avoid any last minute runs to the grocery store – you know it’s nuts to try to go shopping on Wednesday before Thanksgiving! Don’t forget to pick up these items either: Butter (enough for the table and for all the cooking and baking you’ll be doing!), Whipped cream or cool whip for desserts, extra ice, extra drinks, wine, some snack foods for those who are watching the football games, and some items for sandwich making – mustard, mayo, lettuce – you know, so everyone can make sandwiches with the leftover turkey! And lastly, don’t forget to have plenty of aluminum foil and containers to store and send leftovers home with guests!

I try to cook as much as possible the week before Thanksgiving – whatever is on your menu, see if you could make it ahead of time and either finish cooking it, or just warm it up in time for your guests to eat. I also clean out the fridge as much as possible, because I know I’m going to have a ton of stuff to store in there!  I also make a chore list and have everyone in my family help me clean the house from top to bottom the weekend before Thanksgiving. This helps me not freak out and try to do it all at midnight on Wednesday night.

What I do on Wednesday night though, is set the table. This gives me plenty of time to fold the napkins just so if I want, and to make sure I have enough wine glasses, and all those little things that I don’t want to be thinking about at the last minute while guests are waiting to eat turkey. I can also sort of go over my “game plan” the night before and make sure I’ve got everything pretty much lined up and ready to go. There’s nothing more aggravating than realizing after everyone has left that I forgot to serve the special side-dish that got left in the back of the fridge.

On Thanksgiving I make sure that I’m dressed, have my makeup on, hair styled, first thing. I just feel better – more prepared that way, and if guests show up early I don’t feel caught off guard.

Most importantly, I remember to feel thankful – for everything that I’m seeing, feeling, and experiencing that day – it’s a memory in the making. I remind myself that no guests are coming to my house because my candles match the tablecloth, or because my place cards are handmade, they are coming to share time with each other, to laugh and talk and fellowship. When I keep that in perspective, I can relax and enjoy myself, and if something burns or breaks it’s not the end of the world – it’s just a funny story for a later Thanksgiving!

Popularity: 1% [?]

I've looked around and I couldn't really find a Thanksgiving Planner that suited my needs - so I made one.  I'm posting it here to share with you in case you could use one too! I created this assuming that you will be doing all the work yourself - but if you're having a pot luck style Thanksgiving, you could keep track of who is bringing what dishes on the "notes and ideas" page - just make an extra copy.  I also thought that if you found pictures in magazines or online of centerpieces, or place settings, etc., you could tape them to the notes page for your reference. There are so many nice ideas out there it's hard to decide which ones to use!

Just click on the image to download a pdf of the planner. I hope it helps make your Thanksgiving a little less stressful!

Popularity: 2% [?]

I've decided that this year to help count our blessings we will create a Thanksgiving Tree.  I found a really beautiful tree and leaf pattern at Chocolate On My Cranium that is free to download.

I printed off the tree in tiles so that it's about 22 inches tall and 17 inches wide (four standard sheets of paper). Then I taped it together and hung it up. I printed out a few pages of the lovely leaves and cut them out and filled a bowl with them. Everyday we are going to write one new thing we are thankful for and hang the leaves on the tree. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, we should have quite a lovely tree!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the post-Halloween sugar crash . . . but the past couple of days I've been feeling rather down.  I think for people who live in the Northern hemisphere, fall is a time when we begin to gather ourselves in. It's a time when we become a bit introspective - reflecting upon the our lives, and storing up our thoughts to make a lovely simmering stew.

Thanksgving also encourages introspection - making a list of all the things we're greatful for.  I realize it's usually the very small moments that I'm most thankful for.  I remember driving one time in my car and the sun was shining and in that moment, everything seemed okay. Those are the moments I'm thankful for. The few seconds when the sun was just right and I could feel God smiling on me.

Popularity: 1% [?]

HEY! So, how's it going? Well, our Thanksgiving was great! We ate so much good food - we're still bloated like ticks!

[More]

Popularity: 1% [?]

So today I will be busy cleaning (yuck) and baking pies.  I had to get up early to make 4 packages of StoveTop Stuffing for David's work's potluck Thanksgiving dinner. (I'm not sure of the proper use of all those apostrophes - what is the possessive in that sentence? There's probably a better way to write it, sorry) Anyway, he was off with his crockpot full of boxed stuffing. For our dinner tomorrow he will make his homemade stuffing - a recipe from his Granny. We've already got the bread sitting out getting all dry and hard.

[More]

Popularity: 1% [?]