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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Mission Thanksgiving - Phase 3

Ok, got done with Phase Three!
  • Prepare brine for turkey and place turkey in brine
  • Process veggies for dressing
  • Assemble dressing for baking tomorrow
  • Freeze half of the double batch of dressing for Christmas

Looks like I'm ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. We'll be going to the in-law's house in for lunch and then we'll be coming back home to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves and my dad and stepmom. That's when Phase Four kicks in. Everything I've been preparing for comes to fruition tomorrow.Well, I'm gonna go to bed soon so I'll be ready to actually enjoy my day tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Mission Thanksgiving - Phase 1 & 2

Well, preparations for Thanksgiving are under way. This year me and Clint will be having Thanksgiving lunch at his parents' house, and then we'll be heading home to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Now, given, it is only going to be my dad and step mom joining us, but I'm still excited to be "doing Thanksgiving" for us.

I've got a menu drawn up as follows:
  • Turkey
  • Dressing & cranberry sauce
  • Broccoli casserole
  • Roasted potatoes
  • Creamed corn
  • English peas
  • Green beans
  • Shrimp dip
  • Yeast rolls
  • Chocolate chip peanut butter pie

My step mom is planning to bring deviled eggs and sweet potato casserole. Yes, I know it's a lot, but hey, we love to indulge during the holidays, and I expect to be eating leftovers for a while. After all this cooking, heating up some leftovers will be quite welcome. I love to cook. After all, I wouldn't volunteer to do all this if I didn't. One of my greatest joys in life is to feed people and see them enjoying what I've prepared. So, needless to say, I'm excited.

All this work, however, requires some pre-planning, so I've divvied up my tasks by days so I won't overwhelm myself and make Thanksgiving day as easy as possible.

Phase One (Monday)
  • Cook cornbread for dressing
  • Cook and debone chicken for dressing
  • Skim and store broth from cooked chicken
  • Prep veggies for dressing
  • Cook broccoli casserole

Well, I got the first three done before I ran out of steam. I was quite tired Monday night. Fortunately I was able to get the last two done tonight.

Phase Two (Tuesday)
  • Make cranberry sauce
  • Make shrimp dip
  • Make chocolate chip peanut butter pies

Got everything done on today's list. Go me! Just in case you're interested, I'll list out my recipes in the next post. Tomorrow, on to Phase Three where in I make brine, dressing, and tea!