Um, perhaps yesterday’s plan to run 16 miles and then immediately do errands and cook half the food for Thanksgiving and a make a big dinner was a tad on the ambitious side…I was so wiped out after my trip to Target (I only spent an extra $27 BTW and did not buy mascara or Christmas decorations, so I consider that a success) and the grocery store, I barely had any energy left to cook! But, that wasn’t an option…so here are some pics of everything I did!
Well, first thing I realized I had no can opener yesterday, so I used an old-fashioned one. Hey, I’m no Boy Scout…I didn’t know how to use it, but I made it work.
After hacking that to shit, I made homemade pumpkin ice cream for the ice cream cake.
(So easy and so delicious: soften one carton Edy’s Slow-Churned vanilla and then add one cup canned pumpkin, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp ginger, and 1/8 tsp cloves. Mix and re-freeze. A hundred calories per serving…WIN!)
Next, I made cranberry sauce…
Rule of Thanksgiving: cranberry sauce should always be homemade! It takes 15 minutes and has four ingredients…so worth it!
Chopped a million herbs for homemade veggie dip…
It was at this point, I started to crash. Zesting is my least favorite thing to do, and with a tired body, just…no. Meanwhile, I was smashing the potatoes…
That was the one thing I was dreading the most, and it wasn’t a walk in the park, but Betty sure helped!
After that, I made pumpkin pasta for dinner, which was amazing, but also so time-consuming. By the time we ate, I thought I was going to pass out in my food.
But…I wasn’t done yet! I made the “outrageous brownies”…
One box brownie mix + one can pumpkin + one cup butterscotch + 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Easy peasy! While they baked, I prepped the bacon-wrapped dates.
Can’t wait to have these tonight!
This morning I had to tackle just one small thing…the turkey! They turkey has been sort of a problem for the past couple days, because I wanted a turkey breast, butterflied. There were discussions (arguments) over how much turkey we needed, and apparently getting it butterflied required a special order. So my mom special ordered it, and they said it would cook down to 5 lbs of turkey, which was a good amount for us. Then she got there to pick it up and it was NINE POUNDS OF TURKEY BREAST. Seriously…this turkey got some mad implants or something!! Because it was so big, it was also double the cost it was supposed to be. Ugh. So the pressure was on to make it great.
First, though, I had to do one of my least favorite tasks: chop onions! It always makes me weep like I’m watching “The Notebook.” We had heard wearing goggles helped, so I borrowed Preston’s to try it.
It helped, but I got a little teary toward the end. Then I put together the stuffing: bread, cranberries, walnuts, garlic, onions, and sage.
It just looked like Thanksgiving! I started to get so excited!!
Then, it was time for the turkey. I was seriously terrified as I unwrapped it…
The breast was cut in half, butterflied, and f*cking massive! I think the got the biggest turkey they could find to really impress us with its gigantic breasts or something. Um…yikes. At first I was afraid it would be too thick to roll, but the fact that it was cut in half made it much easier to work with. (I pounded it flatter too.) I felt like like we were prepping for surgery.
My mom was in charge of the twine (also another sticking point with this; finding the twine was a bit of an endeavor).
She’s great at wrapping presents, so she was really handy. I spread the stuffing on the turkey breast, and then rolled it. Then I flipped and she tied, until it looked like a weird sort of package and felt like a newborn!
Then we rubbed it with spices and seared it in butter, which we figured had the potential to cause a major FAIL. Luckily, it was actually really easy!
And then I put it in the roasting oven with broth and onions to make gravy! We also added some apples and oranges to the oven to just kick things up a notch.
I am so proud of the turkey! I was really nervous, because I had no idea how it was going to go, but it really wasn’t bad! Plus my mom tends to get pretty judgy when I’m making something that she’s made before, but as skeptical as she was of this recipe and method of cooking, I think I won her over. Even more lovely, the stress level in my house has been very, very low, so that is a huge victory! (But, then, it’s only 1:45…)
Now all I have to do is make the baked brie, bread, and green beans. Everything else is prepped and ready to bake or serve! I’m debating if I want to go for a run or just take a walk to get some fresh air. Really, it’s going to come down to my willingness to blow dry my hair. (Unsurprising.)
I’m sure a lot of you are just sitting down to eat, but whatever your plans are, have a great Thanksgiving!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hahahah your goggles are PRICELESS!
All of this looks amazing, hope you have an incredible meal with the fam!
.-= Olga @ Healthing It´s last blog ..Goodness all around =-.
I don’t know what’s cooler, the turkey roll-up or the kitchen getup! I’m sure it will all come out tasty as all get out and as it should (and if it doesn’t come out exactly as it should, no one will have had anything like it before so they won’t be the wiser). Enjoy your Turkey Day!
.-= Laura Georgina´s last blog ..‘Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving… =-.
Yum! That all looks delicious. Whenever I’m chopping onions, I’ve found one way to prevent the tears is to put a piece of bread in your mouth (eating the bread is optional, but I hate to waste). Something about the block to your nose/throat, maybe? Anyway, seems like it was a delightful holiday!