A Happy Thanksgiving MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

All righty - first load in the dryer, second in the washer. I’ve cleaned the cat box, trimmed my fingernails, and put the first coat of paint on the project for FCD. After I toss the second load into the dryer, I’ll attack the disaster that is the kitchen. I may even cook.

I should empty the ash out of the fireplace, too, and maybe lay a fire that’ll only need a match to get it started.

The sun peeked out, but it’s retreated again. Supposedly, we won’t get more rain till this evening, but I don’t trust it. Weather is sneaky…

42

A t work.
Busy.
Busy.
Busy.

Dreaming about Thanksgiving…

43

Are visions of drumsticks dancin’ in your haid Soapy? :smiley:

44

Menu:

Twice baked N.O.T.s (thanks to you guys)
Green Bean Casserole
That’s it. That’s my job. Sweetie’s mom makes the rest. I’m always responsible for the GBC because it’s the only way it wont be eaten before lunch time on Thursday. Sweetie has told his family about the N.O.T.s and now they want those too.
Thankful for:
Sweetie
My dogs
My dog trainer
Awesome neighbor across the street
Financial Aid

Not thankful for:
Online classes that don’t believe in holidays. Will be spending this week writing 3 research papers.

45

Sure! Take 2 or 3 pounds of potatoes. Peel and quarter and boil til they’re tender. Drain. Add a couple knobs of butter. Feel guilty. Add a couple big spoons Of sour cream. Feel guiltier. Add half a brick of cream cheese. Tell yourself that you only make this twice a year. Add some milk to loosen the mix. Whip them with an electric beater til they’re a beautiful gluey mess. ( Or you could stop before you get to that point. Whatever tickles your fancy.) Salt and Pepper to taste. Dig in!

46

If my girlfriend’s family had to rely solely on my contribution, the menu would be:

1 bottle Bolla Valpolicella
1 bottle Robert Mondavi White Zinfandel

Fortunately, my girlfriend’s brother-in-law will have both a deep-fried and an oven-roasted turkey with all the trimmings. There may be pie too.

I plan on getting soused on wine.

Bri2k

47

Fourth load in the washer, third in the dryer. I ran to the store for apples so I can make an apple crisp, and while there, I picked up a few more things, including a pizza at PapaJohn’s just because! :smiley: I’m lunching now, and I’ll have plenty left over for breakfasts and tomorrow’s lunch, so yay! I also stopped by a nursery and got the name of a guy who’ll come to my house and for $50, he’ll walk thru the yard with me and talk about what I can do to make it less out of control. Yay! I’ll be calling him next week.

**Jackal **- I think my heart stopped by the time I got to the cream cheese, but yoiks, does that sound good! I see it on the menu some time soon.

As soon as I’m done with lunch, I’ll hit the kitchen. Really… But till then, I had to share this little gem that my bro sent to me:

*What is Celibacy???

Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.

While attending a Marriage Weekend, Frank and his wife Ann listened to the instructor declare, “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.”

He then addressed the men.

“Can you name and describe your wife’s favorite flower?”

Frank leaned over, touched Ann’s arm gently, and whispered, “Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn’t it?”

And thus began Frank’s life of celibacy…*

48

Right- because clearly it is King Arthur, unbleached. D’uh. :slight_smile:

49

Celibacy ain’t the same as not getting laid. Just sayin’.

50

Aw, c’mon, Nava - it’s just a stoopit joke. Sheesh, must you be so literal?? :stuck_out_tongue:
:smiley:

OK, done with lunch. I suppose I really need to get into the kitchen and de-disasterize it. If you don’t hear from me in 3 days, send in the Marines. * <cue Indiana Jones theme song>*

51

They must be very well [del]paid[/del] fed “lab” assistants. =^.^= hmmmm - how would one type a goggie? 0*[sub]U[/sub]*0

Do NOT experiment on the 'rents!

phfff - you’re still a child

and unfortunately a subject I know too much about.

52

We’re going up to my grandparents’ place like usual (sometimes they come down and we do it at my uncle’s, but not often.) My dad will make the turkey. Hopefully Dad will also do the stuffing, because Grandma’s tends to make everyone sick (too many spices).

We’re leaving Wednesday and won’t be back till Sunday (it’s a six hour drive). I may die of lack of internet, but then I say that every time. I’m hoping to get a lot more writing done, but at very least I can type up the approx. 7500 words I wrote this weekend.

I’m hoping I won’t have to sleep in the closet. It’s cold and dark and too quiet! I wake up and I don’t know if it’s midnight or noon. (It’s grandma & grandpa’s walk in closet, but generally the only other option is listening to mom snore as I sleep in the floor of their room. I usually end up bringing a timer I can put the lamp on.)

53

Thanks for the Thanksgiving menu MMP, Soapy - and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. :slight_smile:

My son will be down to help celebrate, but it will only be four of us, so the menu is not too extensive:

roast turkey - cooked in a countertop roaster, freeing up the oven a bit!
cornbread stuffing a la Pepperidge Farm and doctored by me with onions, mushrooms, etc. YUM!
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole (the kids asked for it!)
mac & cheese, home-made
cranberry sauce
Hawaiian rolls (boy those are delicious!)

pumpkin pie for dessert and maybe apple dumplings

As appetizers, I’m having cocktail shrimp and I’m probably going to fix a few deviled eggs.

If you’re ever in need of a good sub for sour cream, esp. if you’re looking for something lower in calories, try using no fat or low far, plain greek yogurt. I am telling you, you won’t be able to tell the difference, really! Of course, now I am enjoying the flavor of diet sodas, so maybe my tastes have become somewhat … suspect. :wink: I stand by using plain yogurt as a replacement for sour cream, though. :slight_smile:

I’m probably going to start stuff up tomorrow! Get those sweets baked and maybe the pie made. Woo hoo, I -love- Thanksgiving! :slight_smile:

oh my, on preview that menu is very starch heavy!! LOL No worries, though, I’ve got asparagus and broccoli, which is probably what I’ll be eating, veggie-wise. My kids are 29 and 24, btw. They still love that green bean casserole. I’m going to try to make that a bit more healthy (if possible!) this year.

Thankful for:

My kids, my family as a whole, and my friends
my health - and the doctor said just today that I’m doing well :knock on wood:
my retirement and living in New Mexico now, although I miss the rest of my family!

54

I’m cooking :

*Roast turkey
*Stuffing made with sausage, craisins, dried apricots, apples, onions, celery, bread cubes, seasonings, broth.
*Mashed taters
*Gravy
*Asparagus. (Still tossing around ideas for prep; I sometimes steam it, sometimes sautee it with pancetta; haven’t made up my mind yet).

I still need to pick up some appetizer/nosh stuff. I forgot that in my big shopping session on Saturday.

My daughter will make her wonderful lemon cake and her boyfriend will bring a side.

My MiL will bring rolls or a salad.

My daughter’s two friends will bring a side or dessert.

I’ll be honest and state I really didn’t want to have to cook this year’s Thanksgiving. My job is crazy busy and I’m just totally wasted when I come home from work each night.

Knowing I have to come home Wednesday, clean and start prepping for Thursday morning isn’t making me happy. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have to go to work on Friday, but I do. Then I get to pack for San Diego.

I am thankful for:

My two wonderful kids
My husband
My dogs
Our health
My close friends

55

I never said what I’m thankful for, did I?

In no particular order ('cause they’re all tied for first :wink: )
My family
Smokey
mumpers
Sweet Adelines
My friends
DVRs
technology in general
air
coffee

56

Per Soapy’s request:

SENATOR RUSSELL’S SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE

(Why Senator Russell? I don’t know. He was a Senator from Jawja and liked it I guess.)

3 large well-smashed up, (might wanna use your electric mixer. it’s probably under the counter somewhere) sweet potatoes (but N.O.T.) (boiled or baked, your call)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk, cream, or evaporated milk (cream or evaporated milk is best. this is for a holiday people splurge!)
1/2 cup butter (real butter please!)
1 teaspoon salt (this can be left out or reduced but it does taste better with the salt. in the interest of culinary science I have tried it with and without.)

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter (see above)
1 cup pecans, chopped (walnuts work too. your call. I don’t judge. ok, I do but not to your face. I got some couth.)

Combine first 7 ingredients and pour into greased casserole.

Mix brown sugar, flour, butter and pecans until crumbly and sprinkle on top.

Bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Ok, so this is actually more like a casserole but I grew up callin’ it a souffle. So There! :stuck_out_tongue:

57

Wifey and I will be alone for T-day this year. We were invited down to Eugene, but don’t feel like driving 90+ miles (one way), 'cause we don’t, that’s why.

Anyway, we’ve so far decided we would roast a chicken and make some stuffing. That’s as far as we’ve gotten. i’m thinking honeyed carrots and maybe steamed broccoli, and green salad for veg. I mentioned pumpkin pie, but Wifey is being obsessive about my diet and won’t let me eat anything with sodium in it. I’ve tried to tell her that I need some sodium to keep the body moving, but I’m not having a lot of sucess. :le sigh:

I have to go to the store in a little bit, maybe I’ll check the price of pe-cans. they’re might expensive out here.

BTW, if you leave out the cream cheese in that whipped N.O.T. recipe, that’s how we make mashed N.O.T., with butter and sour cream, and a little lactose-free milk.
It’s nom!

What am I thankful for?:

My family
our dog
my imaginary friends, (you know who you are) :smiley:
that we managed to keep our house
Social Security
that my IRA still had some money in it after it was savaged by the market
that I’ve got a little time left to enjoy things
memories.

I’m gettin maudlin, gotta go.

58

[snip]Incredibly long, not very funny list of all the things I’ve done today that are not the one thing wish to do, which is: go to the gym.[/snip]

Also, people in Washington and Oregon have called me but left no message. On my cell. WTF? I’m trying to think of forms I’ve filled out lately, which have gotten my cell phone number, and all I can come up with is medical stuff and my new job. Ooooooh, they better not have sold my number. Bitches gonna pay.

Also, there was a Thanksgiving dinner invite from half-bro and sis-in-law, who are absolutely lovely people and make more money than I can count. Mom called them back with an RSVP of three for sure, maybe four - we haven’t heard from phoukabro major, who is in LA and has a crappy boss. Well, sis-in-law needs to know by Wednesday, because that’s when she’s setting the table. Mom relays this to me, and then has to throw a bucket of cold water on me to get me to stop laughing hysterically.

Seriously? Setting the table the day before? Okay, granted, there’s like 20 people coming, but . . . that was a standard number for Thanksgiving dinners when I was a kid. Both dining and kitchen tables were pressed into service, as well as TV dinner trays, writing desks, and a couple of card tables for the kids. Holy fuck, people! Of course, my reaction is probably evidence as to why I’ll never make more money than I can count.

I’ll bet there’s going to be some sort of arrangement. 30% probability on real plants/flowers, 50% probability on something artificial, and 20% probability on something edible. I’ll be shocked if the tablecloths don’t match, and I just bet she’ll use chargers - you know, those really big plates that go under your regular plates. I’m also counting on napkin rings with a saver on place cards. Holy flurkin’ snit, people, do my priorities NOT match up with some of my family’s.

59

My mom sets the table the day ahead - it’s 3 folding tables lined up in a row with miscellaneous mismatched chairs. She always puts out extra place settings, in case someone else shows up. Oh, and it’s set up in the basement, so it’s out of the way of normal living, and it’s the only space to accommodate such a long table.

The tablecloths won’t match, nor will all the dishes, or the silverware. No centerpieces, no napkin rings, no place cards. Once it’s set, she’ll put another cloth over the whole setup to keep dust off the dishes. We have a pretty laid-back meal…

60

See, that’s organized, which I completely respect.

This is just . . . unEarthly.