Gobble Fest 2012

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had this year!! From start to finish, I don't think the day could have gone any better (unless of course we could have seen my family too, but that was not an option).  So the day was just perfect. :)

The day before Thanksgiving I called Stace & told him I was about to have a panic attack.  I was so. nervous. I volunteered to do the turkey!  Don't get me wrong, I was truly excited to cook my first turkey, but...

I was cooking my first turkey for my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my grandmother-in-law.

 This trio, in my mind, are the top chefs of the South. When I describe their cooking to friends, I tell them it is the best Southern food you've ever had. Ever. And remember...little old me? The one who barely knew how to boil water in college? 

Insert: panic attack. 

I said more than one prayer about my turkey brining and roasting escapades, my friends.  More than two, too. 

On Wednesday noontime I made the brine mixture, and cleaned that turkey out (that was...an experience!).  I dumped my bird in a 5 gallon bucket, covered it with the mixture, 8 cups of ice and 8 cups of cold water, and buried the bucket on ice in the back of my car for the road trip up to Tallahassee. In Tally I stuck it in the fridge, then headed off to Stace's little cousin Andrew's baptism!  After the baptism, Stace, his siblings, & a few cousins went to a movie. Though I wanted to go, I was too nervous to sit and watch a movie, and I had other dishes to prepare, too.  I went home and prepared a cheesecake, a sage butter mixture to rub our turkey up with, and another butter mixture I would inject my turkey with in the morning. I was too nervous to sleep that night for fear that if I fell asleep, I'd miss a step or run out of time to finish everything. (Am I a bit neurotic, or would you do this too?) I finally went to bed at 3:30 AM.  Then I woke up at 6:30 AM and got the turkey out of the bucket, rinsed it, rubbed it, injected it, stuck it in the bag, and popped that sucker in the oven with a delayed start time, because Stace and I were headed off to meet my BFF for the Turkey Trot!

I've always wanted to run a turkey trot.  Finally, this year it got crossed off the ol' bucket list.  Here we are after our 5k! I really wanted to run the 10K, but about a month ago, I injured my knee training for said 10K. I basically haven't run since. And then I hurt it again during this race. I'm getting to be an old woman! :(

Apparently so many people signed up this year, they ran out of shirts! They are going to mail us ours. 

Then we rushed back to my dad's where the turkey was (hopefully) roasting away.  I also said a prayer that the delay start time button would work for me, since I'd never used it before!  I was so relieved to enter the house and smell the turkey cooking! Here's our bird all ready to go! 

Y'all.  Everyone loved the turkey!!! I tried to hide my extreme delight when people complimented it with a bashful smile and thank you, but inside, I was doing cartwheels and back flips! :D 

I used this recipe (OBB has never steered me wrong). I also made my first ever gravy. Here are the caramel apple cheesecake bars I made.  Kathleen told me about the recipe.  She and I both are not big on cheesecake, but the way she raved about them, I decided to give them a try. They did not disappoint my girl, Candace! Also, after trying them, Stace said it was like taking the best part of an apple pie and combining it with cheesecake, which to him= awesome! The approval from those two says it all to me:) So... make these. I'm sure you'll be glad you did. :)

While we waited for the rolls to finish baking, we snapped a few photos: 

And we also played a bit of Mr. Turkey Potato Head:

 

 I found the printables on Pinterest, but since my ink ran out midway through printing, I had to color the turkey and the hounds-tooth feathers! I decided to laminate and then put velcro on mine so the pieces would stick and not be slipping and sliding every time it accidentally got bumped, or in case my kids would want to pick their creations up, like so...

And then we all gathered to get started on our feast!

 But not before a few photos of the spread were taken: 

 I also made those baby potatoes above.  Elaine especially loved 'em! Yay!

There's always time for tickles!

 Maybe my most favorite moment of the day was during the blessing Stacy offered on the food.  Julian leaned over to me (he was standing on the stool next to me as seen above), wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me.  Then he did it again, but added a kiss to my cheek while the prayer was still being said.  Moments like those are so special.  I felt so much love in my heart, I thought it would burst, and I know he felt it too.  He was feeling the Spirit, and it made him happy. That's what the Spirit does...it fills us with love and joy:)

And so does dessert...;)

Julian also melted my heart when, during dinner, he blurted out "I'm thankful for my family!"

After dinner (or was this still before?), it was time for some Dadda playtime:

Julian was on Cloud 9...

Daddy is just too much fun:) Julian about died of laughter with this little game...

Stace and I freshened up on the history of Thanksgiving as we drove to Tallahassee.  That night I was then inspired to make head dresses for the littlest peacemakers to wear during our feast (while watching the CMA's for the 2nd time that night, and worrying about missing a step...)

But I forgot about them until later that night.  So we got pictures afterwards!

That night, we got all bundled up to enjoy a bonfire out in the backyard with lots of family members!

We roasted marshmallows and watched kiddos chase and topple over each other. :)

Riley was so sweet with Julian.  He had an absolute blast with her!! I think girls this age are his favorite:)

When everyone went home, we went back inside and Julian dug into an orange. I had to get a photo of those grimey little boy hands.  Maybe the better thing to do would have been to make him wash them?  Mother-of-the-year Award. I'm waiting for it.

That night was a bit of Christmas for us, because Elaine gave us tons of Christmas clothes she's been collecting for the kids over the year!! It was so much fun to look at each new piece!  My kids will be so festive all month long!  So excited!  Here is Julian the next morning in his new Rudolph pj's...

That night, Candace, Berk, Stace and I went out at 12 pm for what was my first ever early morning-fight-the-crowds Black Friday shopping time.  We had nothing in mind that we wanted to buy, and really just went for the experience.  I've always been too scared (and let's be honest...too exhausted) to go because of the crazy news stories you hear about people getting shot over a TV or a parking space (this did happen in Tallahassee that night, my friends...so sad/ crazy!), but midnight shopped we did!  We went to Target and were surprised by the lack of crowds.  I grabbed a pair of leggings and as I headed up to pay, was flagged down by a cashier who said "are you ready to check out?" Not at all the two-hour line I was expecting.  Next we went to the mall where I got two stuffed puppies for the kids (one was a beagle to take the place in my heart of the guy in this post) to go under the tree, and the shirt below:

Kathleen, her mom, and I made the obligatory trip to Hopkins the day after Turkey Day, and got ourselves some Ultimate Turkeys.  It's a must in our book. Love that place.

Then Kathleen and Candace danced for us while we tried to get the kids to look at the camera for our Christmas photos.  Here the kids are after taking our photos!

Poor baby girl was sick:(

What happens when you walk through the grass in heels...

By Saturday morning, Ella Grace, Julian and I had all gotten sick, making it so we couldn't attend the Sirmans Reunion in Georgia that day, so the only one of us who wasn't sick drove us all home. :(  I am so grateful for Stace's family and for all they did to help take care of our sick kiddos.  But I feel so bad because tonight I found out they're all sick now, too! :(

 We bid farewell to a wonderful couple of days (aside from the sicknesses, of course).

'Til next year!

Cookie Pie, Goodness!

As many of you may know, I have never been known for my skills in the kitchen.  I couldn't even boil water confidently until college, and the very first thing I ever baked was during my sophomore year of college, with my good friend Mindi helping me every step of the way. This is so sad, I know.  

While some girls grew up helping their moms in the kitchen, my mom was not spending time in the kitchen, and therefore, neither was I. My mom spent the majority of the time on her college campus for the better part of oh, 8 years?  She had to go back to school after my parents got divorced, and did so at a leisurely pace, and had lots and LOTS of studying to do. Meanwhile, I busied myself on the soccer and softball fields, and when not doing that, I was busy as president of student council, tap dancing, and even trying my hand as an actress/ songstress in my high school's rendition of Little Shop of Horrors my senior year. And of course, there was plenty of hours spent with friends (and boys)...none of which were spent in the kitchen.

I always told myself I wouldn't always be such a derf in the kitchen...that one day I would be able to cook and bake confidently.  Well, a switch went off over the last year or so and I am here to say that after many successful meals and recipes...

I can cook!  

I'd like to shout it from the rooftops, but for now, the blog will do. :) 

In the last year or so, instead of dreading it, I have been having so much fun in the kitchen and I have so enjoyed finding and testing out lots of different recipes. It's a miraculous change, and I'm happy about it. I'm going to start taking pictures as I go and sharing the best-loved ones with you all...it will be fun for me:) 

So, without further adieu, I'll share the first one...

A while ago I did this post, wherein I told you about how I made something called a pretzel crusted peanut butter blondie pie from Cookies and Cups. The name alone is almost too much goodness to bare. In said post, I went onto say how we didn't actually get to eat any of it.  It had been for a friend.  

I have been looking for a good excuse to make it since then, because you just don't make such things without a good excuse to back it up, all in the name of not jumping up three pant sizes just for the heck of it;)  

Well, as my husband loves chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cups, and pies, and since I love pretzels...Father's Day seemed like a good day to give it a go! And, lemme' tell ya...

YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS. 

Here is a play-by-play of how to make:)

1. After preheating your oven to 350, get a couple of really cute footsies to break and smash up about 4 cups of small twist pretzels:

2. Combine crushed pretzels, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Press mixture firmly into the bottom and up sides of a 10" pie or tart pan. Then stick that sucker in the oven for ten minutes & take it out. It'll look something like this:

 While your crust is baking, make the  filling by creaming your butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar with your mixer. Then add your eggs (Julian cracked the eggs for me...he's actually really good at it!) and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth. Then, on low speed add in your baking soda, salt and flour until they are incorporated evenly. While your mixer is still on low, add in your chocolate chips and Reese's Minis until evenly distributed.

 Fill your amazing pretzel crust with your chocolate chip peanut butter blondie dough goodness:

  Place pie back in oven for 30-35 minutes until just set.  Make sure to do it long enough. I tend to take my cookies out a bit early because we like them a bit softer and chewier, but don't do that with this guy. He needs at least the amount of time listed to be cooked through. Let cool, serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy!!

More yummy recipes to come! :)