The Joy of Cooking...and such

you'd think we'd had enough. but, every year, we have thanksgiving movie marathons which usually involves the lord of the rings trilogy or the star wars saga. anyhow, sam needs his thanksgiving leftovers during said movie marathons. and seeing as how i am so grateful for him in my life, i obliged.

it was yet another day of eating.

whole wheat blueberry oatmeal pancakes with freshly made whipped cream and bananas (not freshly made, but recently bought).

mimzy doing what she does best.

starting on the pies... 

i cooked the last two pumpkins last night. we started out with 5 from all the pumpkin picking we did over harvest season. and now we are done.

bye, bye pumpkins.

with the two pumpkins, i was able to squeeze out some pumpkin/banana baby food for mims.

...and two pumpkin pies. i miss working with clay, and pie dough is the next best thing.

the kids helped me with these two. i love having their help in the kitchen...when i ask for it. ;)

the "marshmallow masagna" as isaiah likes to call it.

homemade yeast rolls. i missed a step - this is only the second time i've made these. they still turned out yummy, but someday i'd love to get it right.

turkey sausage stuffing. we can't get enough of this stuff - especially on our leftover turkey sammies.

the bird. i think he's quite a handsome one myself. i soaked it in brine all morning. i didn't realize it would make such a difference. the meat was juicy and savory. best turkey i've made so far.

the beet/spinach/goat cheese salad. the kids were more willing to eat the beets than they are to drink the beets, go figure.

and the garlic smashed potatoes. i honestly don't know how i made all this food in one day with one oven and only four stove top burners. but i did, and i loved cooking. it was the most enjoyable and relaxing thing to be in the kitchen, listening to christmas music, cooking for my family. with the fatigue of the first trimester, i'd forgotten how much i loved cooking. i'm glad it all came back to me.

we had been munching on finger foods all afternoon long. veggie trays, hummus, cheese and crackers. but, the kids were begging for turkey and so happy to finally be getting their "chicken legs." 

after many corrections, makayah was still adamant about calling it her "chicken leg." stubborn child. ;)

mimzy joined the feast, as well. her favorites were the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. thanks daddy, for feeding the squirming little one.

he paused for only a second. i guess it's quite a lot to ask a turkey-hungry child to take a break and smile for the camera. 

it was a busy day filled with cooking (and cleaning as i went), but so very worth it!

thanksgiving was also filled with football...

and the start of our movie marathons... with wrestling during the boring parts, it looks like. 

today i am grateful for:

*the absolute joy cooking brought me. i was surprised everything turned out so well, and so happily.

*my very first pot of gravy that turned out like gravy should. no soupy stuff this time. 

*movie marathons with all my cuddle bunnies. bliss.