A Sneak Peek At My Thanksgiving Dinner Spread #MyKindOfHoliday

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.

How gorgeous is this display of Thanksgiving must-haves from Target??  I will take one of each, please. ;)

This will be my second year hosting my family's annual Thanksgiving dinner.  My first year was a little bit of a learning experience.  It was my first time ever roasting an entire turkey by myself.  It turned out well, but I am on a mission to roast the tastiest turkey ever this year.  

Last year I shared with you all a little sneak peek of my Thanksgiving dinner spread, so I thought it would be fun to post one again this year.  (And then next year and the year after... wait.  Did I just create a Thanksgiving Day tradition for the blog?  I think I did! ;) )

Take a Sneak Peek at My Thanksgiving Dinner Spread...

This coming Thanksgiving will be the first one in years in which I will be hosting dinner.  For the past 9 years, I have lived out of state every year except for just one.  My son and I have always came home to my parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner.  But this year we are back living in our hometown, and I eagerly volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner for my parents and my sister.  I love being the hostess.  I love being in charge of the menu, and the decor, and having everyone over at my home.  And, hey... I figured my mother has earned a break by now, right? ;)

Needless to say, I have been planning the menu for Thanksgiving dinner now for weeks...

And now with just a couple of days until the big day, I have our dinner menu finalized.

After much debate, I finally decided that I would just do a compound butter rub under the skin and on top of the skin for the turkey. I had considered doing a brine, but realized I did not have the room in my refrigerator for a 14 pound turkey in a gallon sized bucket...

The "Perfect Turkey" Compound Butter from American Food

I will be making a quick gravy with a butter and flour roux, some of my homemade chicken broth, and drippings from the turkey pan.

My mother is making and bringing a couple of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner favorites- her homemade mashed potatoes and her clover yeast rolls.  I really cannot express how excited I am for those rolls.  She hasn't made them in YEARS, and I have fond memories of them from my childhood.  They are typically pretty time consuming to make, but since I am hosting dinner this year she has the time to make them.  (Yippee!)

We will, of course, have sweet potatoes on the table.  In an effort to free up the oven a bit, I am actually making this year's sweet potato casserole in the Crock Pot.  I am thinking though of foregoing the pecan topping on this one for a marshmallow topping.  I would just transfer the casserole to an oven safe dish, top with mini marshmallows, and set it under the broiler for a few minutes. (Anyone know if the removable dish in the Crock Pot is oven safe? ;) )

Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole from I Wash...You Dry

Here are the rest of the sides that made the cut...

Creamy Corn Casserole from The Ease of Freeze

I plan on baking this the night before & heating it in the oven while the turkey is resting.

Parsleyed Green Beans from Better Homes & Gardens

Also making an appearance per the exclusive request of my son, will be Stove Top Turkey stuffing.   He specially requested nothing fancy, just the stuff from the box. ;)

In lieu of the traditional canned cranberry sauce, I will be serving Apple-Cranberry Jam from Food in Jars.  I canned a couple of jars of this yumminess a few weeks back, and it ended up gelling to about the same consistency as a canned cranberry sauce.  

And now the best part!  Dessert, right??  :)  We will have three pies on the menu.  My sister is making and bringing a pecan pie.  I will be making a homemade apple pie.  I made and froze apple pie filling a few weeks ago, so all I need to do is defrost a bag of it and make my from scratch pie crust (get my absolute favorite pie crust recipe below).  This pie will also be sitting pretty on my dessert table...

Apple-Butter Pumpkin Pie from Recipes.com

For both of my homemade pies, I will be using the recipe below for my pie crust.  This recipe makes enough for two double crust pies, and it is delicious and flaky- the perfect pie crust.

Never Fail Pie Crust from made

I am going to whip up a homemade cinnamon vanilla whipped cream to top our slices of pie with.  Just heavy cream, sugar, a few drops of vanilla, and a couple of dashes of cinnamon all whipped up until thick and creamy. 

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year?  What will be on your Thanksgiving Dinner Spread? :)

Want to see all the recipes I pinned while I was planning my Thanksgiving spread? Come check out my Planning the Thanksgiving Spread Board on Pinterest. 

Lessons Learned From Hosting My First Holiday Family Dinner

I hosted my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year.  I didn't host an entire crowd for dinner. Just my parents, my sister, and my family.  I had planned out the menu and table setting for weeks.  I was pretty excited to be the Thanksgiving hostess for the first time in years.  My mother always hosts Thanksgiving dinner, and it has always been a pretty small affair for us- just our immediate family.  Not that there isn't a ton of family near us, but we have made Thanksgiving dinner something more intimate for our family over the years.  I learned a few things from this year's hosting experience...

Keep it simple.  My table setting was beautiful, but practically effortless.  A Mason jar filled with popping corn and branches of leaves (these ones are actually fake!) and real branches cut from a tree on my in-laws' farm.  Autumn inspired tin votives I have had for years- I didn't even put candles in them.  Maybe if we would have had an evening dinner, I would have.  But we had an early afternoon dinner, as is our tradition.  I didn't have a fancy table runner- just a large cloth napkin I picked up at Jo-Ann's for 60% off after Halloween.

Get creative and resourceful.  Not stressed out! I fretted for a bit about the size of our dining room table.  We would just be able to fit the 6 dinner guests at the table.  But turkey and all the sides??  No way!   At first, I thought everyone would have to load up their plates in the kitchen and then sit back down in the dining room.  But then I remembered we have a coffee cart!  I cleared everything off the cart and set it up as a mini buffet table in our dining room.  People didn't have to go far to get seconds! 

What I learned about the menu...

Next year, just get a large turkey breast instead of a whole turkey.  None of my family even ate the dark meat at dinner.  Well, except for my son who ate one of the giant drumsticks, but that was more for effect. ;)  Another bonus of just doing a breast?  I can brine it next year no matter what kind of refrigerator space I have then.

You have can never really have too many sides... or pies for that matter. ;)  Oh, and a green side is NOT mandatory like I thought.  I did make some green beans sauteed in garlic and olive oil and butter, but they went mostly untouched.  And I only made them because I realized I had nothing green on the menu plan.  (Want to take a peek at what we had for Thanksgiving dinner?  CLICK HERE to see my entire menu plan, complete with links to the recipes.)

It is okay to make something from a box.  Like the Stove Top stuffing.  Yes, the foodie in me wanted to cut up onions, and celery, and cube cornbread, but my son and husband begged me to just make some good old-fashioned Stove Top from the box.  I conceded, and you know what?  It was great.  My son was so thrilled.  Stove Top is his absolute favorite Thanksgiving side dish.  :)

Let the guests bring a couple of dishes.  My Mom made her mashed potatoes and I specially requested her to make these clover yeast rolls I hadn't had in years.  She was more than happy to make the extra effort to make the rolls because she didn't have to cook the entire Thanksgiving dinner this year.  My sister made a pecan pie as well.  That came in VERY handy later that afternoon as a stream of our nephews and our niece and their significant others came knocking on our door.

And on that note, it is also okay to ask your guests to bring their own containers for taking home leftovers.  I asked my mother to bring some, and it worked out wonderfully.  I could pack up all the sides and turkey in separate containers, and she wouldn't have to worry about returning any containers to me.  

And you can never have too many chairs!  Folding chairs, dining room table chairs, whatever chairs you have.  Bring them all into one room and set them up all around.  We ended up having 14 people between our living room and kitchen at one point during the day on Thanksgiving! 

And no matter how many people you have coming over or how big of a dinner you are making, make sure you set aside time to take a few photos from the day.  This family photo was taken by my sister (with my little point & shoot camera, folks) after we had ate dinner and before more family arrived for pie and coffee.  We took about 20 minutes, and just had her snap pics.  And now this photo will be a part of our Christmas cards this year, and we will always have a family photo from our baby girl's first Thanksgiving.  You don't want to look back on a fabulous holiday and regret not snapping a few pics.

Have you every hosted a family holiday dinner?  What tips do you have to share?  What helped save your sanity? 

Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup with Spiced Walnuts

This Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup with Spiced Walnuts would be the perfect start to your Thanksgiving dinner or a tasty way to warm up on a chilly fall day...

Is anyone else a little floored that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away?  I do have to admit though that I have been planning my Thanksgiving dinner menu now for the past couple of weeks. 

A couple of years ago, I took over the hosting of the annual Thanksgiving dinner to give my mother a break from the yearly undertaking of roasting a turkey. 

At first it was just going to be every other year, but I realized how much I loved hosting it and my mama realized just how much she loved being able to sleep in on Thanksgiving morning. ;) So, this will be my third year in a row preparing and hosting the annual family Thanksgiving dinner.

Over the past two years, I have learned a few things about how to host a holiday dinner for family and keep it as stress free as possible.  

Like keeping the dinner menu itself simple and delicious. For instance, never try out a new recipe for a side dish or dessert the day of Thanksgiving.  You may end up a side dish short or without a dessert to serve. ;) Give new recipes a test run at least a few days before the big dinner.

Also, have an appetizer recipe planned that you can get out on the table and in guests' hands fairly quickly just in case the turkey is taking a little longer to roast than you had anticipated.

Like this Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup with Spiced Walnuts.  From the chopping of the onion to the ladling into bowls, this perfect for fall comforting soup is ready in just 45 minutes...

It's Time for Turkey: My 4 Essentials for Easy Holiday Dinner Prep

Make your family holiday dinner super simple & hassle-free with My 4 Essentials for Easy Holiday Dinner Prep...

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com.

It is t-minus one day until turkey time, folks! If you happen to be scrambling to put the finishing touches on that holiday dinner menu for tomorrow, then you are in luck because I have a few quick & easy ideas to share with you all today. 

Who says that hosting a family holiday dinner has to be crazy time consuming and stressful anyways? ;) You can make it super simple & hassle-free with a few simple ingredients and a little creativity. I am sharing a handful of my favorite products & tips below for making that happen.

35 Holiday Entertaining Recipes

Whether you are rounding out that Thanksgiving dinner menu or planning ahead for Christmas, you are going to love this collection of 35 Holiday Entertaining Recipes...

So, I warned you all earlier this week that I would be going all out Thanksgiving on the blog this week, and I am making true on that promise. ;) And with turkey day being less than two weeks away, I think you all are going to thank me (and love me!) for today's post. Because this one is a triple whammy, folks. 








I have teamed up with Aubrey of Real Housemoms and some of my amazing blogger friends to not only help you all out with that Thanksgiving menu, but we are also sharing recipes to help you get a jump start on that Christmas planning.

First up? A dozen recipe links to help you round out that Thanksgiving dinner menu...

Sharing Gratitude & Giving Back with Kenwood Vineyards

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Kenwood Vineyards. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Thanksgiving is meant to be a day of reflection and a day of gratitude.  A day that we as a nation sit around our family dinner tables, share a meal, a glass or two of wine, and each other's company.  We think of all we have been blessed with, how grateful we are for the loved ones in our lives, and give thanks for always being able to provide for our families. 

Not that this should happen just one day out of each year. Practicing and expressing gratitude should be something we try to do each and every day, but sometimes the life that we are so grateful to have gets in the way of that. 

This Thanksgiving I am asking each and every one of you to take in every person, every moment, every thing that you are grateful for, and then hold onto and remember that feeling of gratitude every day of the year...

Pumpkin Ginger Shandy

This quick and easy two ingredient Pumpkin Ginger Shandy is the perfect cocktail for fall or Thanksgiving entertaining...

This post first appeared over at Real Housemoms where I was a contributor.

When it comes to Thanksgiving entertaining, I am all about keeping things easy. I have hosted dinner for my family almost every year for the past five years, so I definitely have a system down by now that keeps my Thanksgiving morning running smoothly and virtually stress free. 

The house is cleaned top to bottom by the whole family the day or two before Thanksgiving. Pies get baked the day before. I break out both of my slow cookers to prepare side dishes so I can keep the oven free for the real star of the Thanksgiving dinner table. 

The only thing I really have to worry about the day of the big dinner is roasting the turkey. Keeping our annual family Thanksgiving dinners fuss free and simple makes the turkey day more enjoyable for not only the guests, but for the dinner hostess as well. ;) 

Even the cocktail I will be serving to my dinner guests this year will be quick and easy, requiring only two simple ingredients to make!

Apple Pie Cream Cheese Waffle Pockets

These quick and easy to make Apple Pie Cream Cheese Waffle Pockets are stuffed with cream cheese & your favorite apple pie filling...

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pillsbury. 

 The opinions and text are all mine.

Who else is excited that turkey day is almost here?? I have to say I really look forward to Thanksgiving each and every year- especially since I started hosting our family's Thanksgiving dinner almost 4 years ago. 

Now, it isn't a huge production. 

Usually I am only hosting about 8 total for the big dinner, but this year our Thanksgiving dinner table is going to be even more intimate. It will just be my husband and I and the two kiddos since my parents and my sister and her husband are heading to my sister's in-laws for the day. 

At first, I was a little bummed. I mean, I really love hosting this big dinner each November. But then the thought of a smaller dinner with just the husband and the kids grew on me. 

Less pressure (who cares if the house isn't 100% spotless?), more flexible (dinner doesn't have to be ready right at 1:00), and it even leaves a little more time to enjoy a little tradition I started last Thanksgiving with my daughter- making an easy yet special breakfast together for everyone to enjoy while watching the Thanksgiving parade on television.

Last year, my daughter and I made these Turkey Shaped Cinnamon Rolls. Except I cheated a little and used our favorite refrigerated Pillsbury Sweet Rolls® instead of the cinnamon roll dough from scratch. 

With a turkey in the oven and four side dishes waiting to made, there was no way I was making homemade cinnamon rolls that morning too! ;) 

Crock Pot Corn Pudding

This creamy, savory Crock Pot Corn Pudding saves oven space during your holiday dinner prep & will soon become a family favorite...

Last year I made the oven-baked version of this corn pudding side dish for the family.  It turned out delicious, but occupied precious oven space for FAR too long & it seemed to take forever to bake completely.  

Dinner was literally stalled by almost 20 minutes because this darn corn pudding refused to set in the middle! 

Even though it was a royal pain, it was agreed by all that this needed to become an essential side dish for every Thanksgiving dinner from that day forward.

So a couple of weeks ago, I started researching online some alternative ways to make this family fave.  

My first search was for slow cooker versions- shocking, right? ;) 

Now That Halloween is Over... A Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools Giveaway!

Now that Halloween is safely in the rear view, it is time to look on to the next holiday this season- Thanksgiving! :)  Last year I started hosting my family's Thanksgiving dinner taking over the tradition from my mother.  As soon as Halloween has ended, I start brainstorming the family dinner.  There are some must-haves that will definitely be on the table- homemade mashed potatoes, corn pudding, Stove Top stuffing (Yes, Stove Top.  It is the only thing my son special requests that I make each Thanksgiving. ;) )  I always try to jazz it up with a tasty new salad or a deliciously tempting dessert.

~Let Me Pintroduce You~ A Thanksgiving Holiday Edition

Who all is hosting Thanksgiving dinner for their families this year?  *Raising hand*   This will be my first time in YEARS hosting Thanksgiving for my parents, my sister, and my little family.  For quite a few years now, we have kept my family's Thanksgiving dinner small and intimate.  Usually my mother hosts it, but since we have finally moved back home after living out of state for years I decided this year would be my year.  I do not get to host and entertain as much as once I did when I lived in Columbus.  And I miss it...  So, I have been busily planning the menu and the decor for the past couple of weeks.  I *think* I just about have my dinner menu set.  But I am definitely still working on the table setting. ;) (Pssssttt... did you see Jodi's from Blue Skies and Apple Pies post on my blog yesterday about Setting a Gorgeous Thanksgiving Table on the Cheap?)
I have some fabulous new sponsors on my sidebar this month (and also have a few awesome bloggers who decided to stick with me for another go-round ;) ).  And almost all of them have some great holidays and fall inspired Pinterest boards! Today I would like to pintroduce you to Jodi from Blue Skies and Apple Pies (yep, the very same lovely blogger who guest posted on my blog yesterday) and Janelle from Domestically Seasoned (my awesome Friendship Bread sponsor this month).
Let's get hyped for the holidays, shall we? ;)
Holiday Board from Jodi at Blue Skies and Apple Pies Here are a few highlights from Jodi's board...

Pretty Thanksgiving Set Up

Unique Thanksgiving Table "Runner"

And because we all need to get started on those homemade holidays gifts... like NOW!

Gift Ideas Board from Janelle at Domestically Seasoned

Here are a few highlights from Janelle's Board...

Baby Jar Snowmen

Filled with hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, & mints- cute! :)

Reindeer Fudge

Interested to see what I may be serving up on my Thanksgiving table this year?  Then you need to take a peek at my Planning the Thanksgiving Spread board. ;)

Didn't you just love the ideas these lovely ladies pinned above??  Make sure you give both Jodi and Janelle a follow on Pinterest! They both have lots of boards with terrific ideas pinned. :)

And make sure to enter my Blog Makeover from Blog Sites by Suzy Giveaway while you are over here in my neck of the blogosphere. ;) My friend Suzy (the very same designer who gave my blog it's fresh new look!) is giving away a Custom Blog Design Package (a $50 value!) to one of my lucky readers. You must be on the Blogger platform to win. :)  Good luck!

10 Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Sides

Save time, oven space, and sanity with this round-up of 10 Thanksgiving Side Dishes you can make in your slow cooker...

This year will my second year hosting my family's Thanksgiving dinner.  I am loving my new role as the hostess of the traditional family Thanksgiving, but I am all about making it as easy & stress-free (& delicious) as possible for myself.  

I mean, who wants to be stuck sweating in the kitchen, fretting that everything will not get done in time due to a shortage of oven space?  Not >>this girl<<.  ;)

I want to be the hostess sipping on a cranberry mimosa while the turkey rests and most of the sides are deliciously nestled in a couple of slow cookers, keeping warm...

Buttery Fresh Herb Smashed Potatoes

These Buttery Fresh Herb Smashed Potatoes are a fresh, bright, & lighter take on traditional mashed potatoes- a must-make side dish for your holiday dinner...

My mother's creamy (and very buttery) mashed potatoes have been a staple at our holiday dinners for years now. And I can't lie- it was always the side dish that I most looked forward to each Thanksgiving. 

I always had a big ole scoop at dinner, and then maybe a second helping later during dinner. And I never argued when she wanted to send me home with a nice sized container of them. 

While those comforting mashed potatoes of my mama's will always have a special spot in my heart, I have been making a few menu changes since I took over the Thanksgiving dinner responsibilities. Namely, I have been trying to take some of our longtime favorite recipes and have been making healthier, yet just as tasty versions of them.  

When I came across this recipe for Buttery Fresh Herb Potatoes from I Can't Believe It's Not Butter's recipe page, I knew with just one minor tweak that I had found my new go-to potato recipe for Thanksgiving dinner. 

With the addition of fresh parsley, lemon zest, and capers, these Buttery Fresh Herb Smashed Potatoes have a bright, fresh flavor. 

And since these are made with the new and improved (and better for you!) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, there is no need for cream or milk to get that creamy, buttery flavor that you love in traditional mashed potatoes...