The Thanksgiving Recap

Some of you have witnessed the person battle I've had trying to plan a Thanksgiving meal. We had several friends invite us over and we were very grateful for the invitations. However, Kevin wanted to stay at home. I had come up with a menu and posted it on the fridge. I was very proud of the balance I found between pleasing Kevin and Lauren. But, Kevin came home and decided to essentially 'cancel' Thanksgiving. He declared he wanted pizza for Thanksgiving. I was a little sad, but thought ... who am I to argue ... less cooking, less mess!

I was completely set on this idea, but then Kevin changed his mind again saying he wanted to make a classic dish in his family of dressing and chicken. In my opinion, if we're making dressing ... why not make mashed potatoes and gravy? If we've gone that far ... what's a little green bean casserole and cranberries? Rolls? Basically, we made the entire Thanksgiving feast with the exception of a turkey. Oh, well.

It wasn't too tiring between Kevin, Lauren, and myself. We all took turns in the kitchen and we all have similar styles when it comes to cooking. When preparing to mash the potatoes, I was standing there with a stick of butter in my hand. I contemplated out loud how much to put in ... the whole thing? Yes! Everyone agreed. All said, we used three sticks of butter! We would have used a fourth, but we didn't have it. I must have been channeling Paula Dean.

We decided to make green bean casserole with fresh green beans. It was fine, but next time, I will cook the beans for a few minutes before putting it in the dish. They were a little crunchy, so we had to add more liquid and cook on the stove to soften them.

All said, it was a pretty relaxing day ... I looked through the ads in the morning and couldn't see a single thing that would drag my sorry butt out of bed at 4a. Jen ... you're much braver than I.

Kevin had to work today, so Lubbock and I stayed inside and stared at the Christmas tree that Kevin put together yesterday. No decorations yet, but Kevin still has to put the lights on. That's his job ... tree and lights. Everything else is mine.

Thanks to my readers who have already volunteered to help with Family #25 ... Gretchen and my Dad & Colleen. I heart you guys!