Thanksgiving Blessings

 Thanksgiving Day Prayer

We take so much for granted

of life and liberty,

and think that we deserve it;

that all was done "for me."

Think how they must have struggled,

 new pilgrims in this land.

So many died from hardships

yet still they made a stand.

When all the work was finished,

new crops sowed in the ground,

they gathered with their neighbors,

asked blessings all around.

Oh, God, help us be grateful

for gifts you've sent our way.

For these we want to thank you

on this Thanksgiving day.

~Kris Ediger~

Thanksgiving is a special day we have set aside to stop, reflect, and acknowledge how very blessed we are. It's a time too, filled with family, a BIG meal, a parade, and for some, football. This year my family is even choosing to do a 5K walk: the Turkey Waddle! 

Along with our walk, we are indeed going to enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving day meal. My dad is smoking a turkey, my grandma and mom are doing the sweet potatoes, salad, potatoes, and my sisters and aunt are making pies and desserts...and I am in charge of the stuffing, home-made cranberry sauce, and a pecan pie cookie.

 I made a simpler stuffing this year...one that you put into the crock pot and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours! That's it! You don't have t babysit it, use the oven or stove or microwave, which frees up time and quite a bit of space for everything else. It smells sooo good!

The cranberry sauce was extremely exciting! This is the first time I've made it from scratch and this recipe adds some pizazz and spice, which will be particularly yummy on left-over turkey sandwiches! It's Bobby Flays Sweet and Spicy cranberry sauce. It has onions, ginger, a Serrano pepper, honey, cilantro, and lime zest. I can't wait for sandwiches...but it might be equally delicious just as a side to dip the turkey or roll in!!

 

 The Pecan Pie cookie is a new one but my dad loves pecan pie so I thought I'd give it a try. It has a nut shortbread cookie crust and a topping of maple caramel, nuts and chocolate! They were messy and time consuming, but they look good!

And, as a side note, I used the remainder of the nuts to just candy. Candied nuts are delicious on salad!! You simply place 1 cup of nuts into a skillet with 1/4 cup of white sugar. Over medium high heat, stir the nuts and sugar until the sugar melts, coating the nuts, and browning slightly. Remove immediately and spread onto a parchment lined tray. When cool, break them into small pieces and serve!

(With all this delicious food we will be sharing, our walk may indeed be a waddle, ha!!)

No matter how you choose to spend the day, I pray the main focus is on thankfulness for all we have and can do, for those who fought and struggled in order for us to enjoy our freedoms and advancements, and to our Lord who makes all things possible! Blessings surround us always so lets take some time to give thanks for them!

Enjoy!