{Foxy!

 

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning to this beauty resting in our backyard!

{White-Trash Turkey Fry

This has been on Todd's bucket list since we were married.  He has always wanted to fry a turkey.  Call me crazy, but Thanksgiving dinner has always been one of our "classiest" dinners as a family and this felt like anything but classy.  We were cooking our main course in our driveway (Todd sitting in the back of the car) and grease was splattering everywhere.  Our neighbors would drive by all dressed up and we were still in work out clothes from the morning's turkey bowl!  I guess that's what memories are made of.  All in all, the turkey wasn't bad and we might do it again if Todd promises me we can do it in the privacy of our own backyard!

 

 

 

 

{Thanksgiving...

What a fun holiday! We had the Berry's, Grandma Gege and Scottie for Thanksgiving this year and it was so much fun. We even enjoyed a little visit with my Rossell cousins from CA (apparently Broc moved to Denver this summer... who knew??!). It was wonderful to be with so much of our family! The boys played in the annual turkey bowl and the girls had some crazy success with desserts in the kitchen (recipes to follow...). What did people do for Thanksgiving prior to allrecipes.com? Seriously.

Here are a few snapshots from our time together.

Grandma Gege stuffin' the bird.

Our place settings on my newly painted table!

Thanks to Carolyn Draney for finding these awesome hand pie molds. They were darling and this combination of recipes for apple pie can not be beat. I challenge anyone to a throw down!

Carolyn Draney's Pie Crust

2 ½ c flour
1 t salt
1 c butter
2 T sugar

Mix until crumbly

1 beaten egg
1 T vinegar (cider)
¼ c ice water

Mix but do not over work. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

Makes 2 pie crusts (or 1 top and bottom pie)

Grandma Opel's Apple Pie (from allrecipes.com)

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Our Pecan Coconut Pie was a smashing success as well...

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add the sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt; mix well. Stir in pecans and coconut. Pour into pastry shell. Make a domed cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Last but not least we made these mini Pumpkin Cakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting... delish!

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan (or a mini muffin pan). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes (or 11 minutes for the mini muffins), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon honey

Directions: Melt butter and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Beat with an electric mixer. When mixture starts to stiffen, stop mixer and add honey.
Continue to beat until light and fluffy. Do not over mix, or it will collapse.
Spread immediately and store cake in refrigerator.

*Feel free to add 2-3 cups of powdered sugar if you want the icing stiffer to pipe on top of mini cakes.*

{Vinyl...

I've got a few Thanksgiving designs put together on my new vinyl blog... check it out!
http://www.boysnberries.blogspot.com/
I hope to have some fun Christmas projects posted in no time!

{Fall / Thanksgiving Pumpkin Craft...

This morning a few mom's from Jackson's school came over and we put together these super fun pumpkin centerpieces! They didn't take very long and I think they pack a punch for any dining room table. Happy Fall everyone and thanks to Buffye for the inspiration!

P.S. Gotta love those white faux pumpkins at Target! Go gettem' while they're hot!

{Thanksgiving weekend and my favorite soup recipe...

We had a whopper of a Thanksgiving weekend!

We hopped in the car and made our way over to Utah for a Thanksgiving with both the Hawker's and the Berry's. Liz, Anna and I ran the Utah Food Bank 5K Thanksgiving morning and then we made our way over to the stake center to watch the guys play football. We met up with our families at Northampton House for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a packed house! Todd's dad owns a reception center in American Fork Utah and that is typically where we have Thanksgiving. This year there were over 120 people! I usually prefer a quiet little family gathering, but there is something to be said of making a salad, showing up and having the rest done!

We managed to get in a little Black Friday shopping (at our favorite Utah stores), and of course attended the blessings of Max (on Sat.) and Stella (on Sun.).

We are home safe and sound and now I'm dying to get my tree up, listen to carols and everything else that goes with it!


Todd playing in a turkey bowl on Thanksgiving Day.


Stella.


Max.

Here's one of my VERY favorite (and SO easy) soup recipes:

Tortellini, Sausage Soup

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced
5 c beef stock
2 c Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 large or 2 small zucchini, sliced
1 large or 2 small carrots, sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
½ c dry red wine
3 T Italian seasoning
8-10 oz. fresh cheese tortellini
Fresh parmesan cheese

Sauté sausage in heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling. Using a slotted spoon transfer sausage to a large bowl. Pour off all but 1 T drippings from Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic to DO and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Return sausage to DO. Add stock, tomatoes, sauce, zucchini, carrot, pepper, wine basil and Italian seasonings. Simmer until veggies are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add tortellini to soup and cook until tender (8 minutes). Season soup to taste with S&P. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve.