Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we have a lot for which to be thankful, most especially a healthy pregnancy as we anticipate the birth of our baby boy.

We hosted a small Thanksgiving at home this year. Mike’s mom and sister are on a Caribbean cruise right now, and we’ve passed the safe travel window to head up to my parent’s house in South Carolina.

It ended up being a very nice little Thanksgiving! I roasted my first-ever turkey, which came out really well. It was probably the juiciest turkey I’ve ever tasted, though I don’t know if that’s because of how we dressed it or we just got lucky with the bird.

Here it is in all it’s glory:

My youngest brother and my friend Katie joined us for dinner. Later in the evening, my other brother and his wife stopped by for a little while. It was great to spend some time with family and friends! The surprise biggest hit of the night was the frozen chocolate crème pie we picked up at Publix – Mike’s request as he isn’t a fan of pumpkin. It was really good!

Since we weren’t celebrating with my parents, I told the boys we should take a picture to send to my mom. It took about six tries to get them to actually cooperate (you should see the outtakes; I’ll refrain from embarrassing them) – but we ended up with a halfway decent picture:

I kept Thanksgiving very easy this year. No fancy recipes or elaborate desserts. It turned out really well and every bit as tasty. I didn’t even make a pumpkin pie this year, and usually I insist on a homemade pie. We bought a premade one that was just ok.

I did make one recipe though – the sweet potato casserole. It was beyond easy and tasted fantastic – it was a bit lighter and not quite as sweet as a traditional casserole. This will be a go-to recipe every year from here on out I think.

Sweet Potato Casserole

5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
3 T butter
1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
Mini Marshmallows

1. Combine everything except pecans and marshmallows in a crock pot.
   (I sort of layered the ingredients like a lasagna)
2. Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours or so
3. Lightly mash sweet potatoes with back of spoon and spread into a casserole dish (they will have pretty much mashed themselves while cooking)
4. Top with pecans, then marshmallows.
5. Put in 350 degree oven until marshmallows start to brown.
6. Serve and enjoy