Thanksgiving 06

Yesterday was a day of firsts for the Atwoods-Family of 3. It was our first Thanksgiving in our new house, the first Thanksgiving we spent as a married couple with my family (last year we went to a bed and breakfast for the weekend and did our own thing), it was the first time I hosted a Thanksgiving, it was the first time I have ever cooked a turkey or even a whole bird, and it was Anne's first Thanksgiving. Everything went really well. John and I started off our day with a 4 mile "Turkey Trot" in Joliet. It was fun. Anne stayed in the jogging stroller and looked around through the 45 minute run. When we got home, I started on the turkey. Much to my dismay, even after 72+ hours in the fridge defrosting, the bird was still somewhat frozen. A cold water bath for an hour took care of that problem quiet easily though. Cooking the turkey was really easy, mainly because my wonderful hubby (who by the way pushed the jogging stroller the ENTIRE race), took out the gibblets and all the other gross things. Besides cooking the turkey I also made up some dips to go with veggies, cheese, and crackers. I also toasted up some chick peas based on the advice of Rachel Ray. They were not that great. Finally I made sweet potatoes, which no matter how many recipies I try I cannot find a way that I like them unless they are in a pie or muffins. My family arrived and brought with them rolls, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (made with cream of celery, not cream of mushroom soup-Thanks, Shellie! I could actually eat it this year. Not a fan of the mushrooms.), cranberry sauce (which sadly turned out to be cranberry soup), a pie and other desserts. (Thanks Doreen for the great cake and chocolate peanut butter yummies.) and true to our polish nature, polish sausage, sour kraut, and prodiges. All in all it was a great experience. Our house easily fit all the guests, Anne was a hit as always, and she was so well behaved despite not taking a single nap that day (unless you coun the litteral 10 minutes in the car). I think I could do it again in fact. But, I think I need the year to recover! Here's the one and only picture we took that day. We forgot the camera for the race and didn't think to photograph the spread. Enjoy, count your blessings, and Happy Thanksgiving!