Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a fantastic Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Don't stress people!  Do as much as you can before the big day so you can relax with a glass of vino!  I like to get as much done in advance so I'm not sweating and looking like a troll while everyone else is sweat-free and fabulous!

Here's my easy make ahead mashed potato recipe.  Make the day ahead and then just pop it in the oven the next day.  Yummy - I'm drooling like Pavlov's dog right now!

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Cheese & Bread Crumbs
(recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients
butter for coating baking dish
4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 cup milk (I use 2%)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups pre-shredded mozzarella
1 cup pre-grated Locatelli (or Parmesan) cheese
salt & pepper
2 tbsp plain panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400
Coat 9x13 baking dish with butter
Cook potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender.
Drain, return to pot and mash.
Mix in milk and melted butter.
Mix in mozzarella and 3/4 cups Locatelli.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into baking dish.
(can be prepared day before, covered and stored in fridge - or continue right to next step if cooking right away)
Blend together bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup Locatelli.
Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over mashed potatoes.
Bake, uncovered until topping is golden brown (about 20 minutes).

Dig In!!

Kids Gobbly Good Thanksgiving Table

With the rustic adult table all set, it's time to get the kids table ready.  The centerpiece is a fun paper bag turkey that looks amazingly like the real bird!  He's stuffed with popcorn and will be "carved" when all the kids arrive to reveal the munchies inside (cut a slit in the top and the kids can dig right in).

All you need is a brown paper grocery bag, two brown lunch bags, a piece of white paper, a hot glue gun (I used scotch tape and a glue stick), and a few bags of popcorn.  See the tutorial at here.

It took the girls and I less than 10 minutes to create this little cutie.  Can't wait to "carve" this Tom up.

A little apple "stuffing"!

Rooster plates set on brown postal wrap, another dollar store find, will let the kids create some fun doodles while waiting for dinner.  The girls made these colorful name cards and popped them into binder clips so they stand upright.  

A rustic bow made from a scrap of burlap adorns a galvanized bucket brimming with crayons.  

Our clip chandelier is transformed once again with a gang of paper plate and feather turkeys made by one of my crafty girls.  

Here's a funny little poem to welcome in the feast (author unknown).


No Rejoicing

This year on our Thanksgiving Day
My mother she had lots to say.
“We won’t have Turkey, that’s a fact,
the turkey is innocent so let’s not act,
In a manner harsh or insincere
Instead let compassion guide our year".

But Uncle Joe was not amused,
In fact he was downright confused.
"A turkeyless Thanksgiving Day?"
Is all Uncle Joe could really say
"If this is the case I have no choice.
But this Thanksgiving I won’t rejoice".

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Rustic Thanksgiving Table

Menus to plan, shopping to do, slaving over a hot stove ... so much to do before the big day!  Thought I'd get the table set well in advance (hope it doesn't collect too much dust from now til Thanksgiving)!  Lots of vintage pieces combined in an old wooden toolbox include a variety of  corkscrews, Japanese glass fishing buoys, small tarnished silver spoons, green flower frogs and a few white pumpkins make for a one of a kind centerpiece. 

The tablecloth is simply four yards of a large weave burlap I found at the garden center.  Laid diagonally across the table and tied with a green ribbon, the rough texture sets a rustic mood.  Super simple place card holders with vintage porcelain doorknobs can be made in minutes.

To make the place card holders I just poked a toothpick into a wine cork (I have plenty of those on hand!) and broke off part of the toothpick so it fit into the hole in the doorknob.  I drew some free hand leaves on fall colored scrapbook paper, cut them out and used a glue stick to paste them onto the corks. Done!  A cute place card that can be easily changed with each season.

Wishing everyone a memorable Thanksgiving!

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Thanks Banner With Vintage Silver

I broke out my huge scrapbook paper supply and was contemplating making a Christmas banner when my daughter said she wanted to make one for Thanksgiving to hang near the kids table.  "Great idea!" I told her, so she debated on what the banner should say (Thanks was the winner since she decided Happy Thanksgiving and Give Thanks were way too long and a block letter G would be too hard to draw)!  Next, she chose six autumn colored papers and started cutting (no measuring, just started snipping away)!  After a few minutes, she got pretty bored and ended up watching me make the cuts and eventually left me alone while she snuck into the other room to watch tv!  Hey - how did her craft turn into my project?! 

After the letters were cut out, I strung a clothesline (from the dollar store) that reminds me of bakers twine on an old wooden board above the back door.  Then I clipped the letters on using old wooden clothes pins and added vintage silver spoons and a creamer and sugar set.  The silver adds some nice bling and using spoons and serving pieces is perfect for the foodie day!

Thanks Banner with Vintage Silver

Tarnished Silver Bowl

Old blue wooden board hangs above the back door - the perfect spot for a Thanksgiving banner

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