Thanksgiving Dinner

This year we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving. With me being in school it's really hard to go places when time off is so limited. Not to mention, finals are coming up. So I made all of Thanksgiving dinner by myself. I think this is a first. Things went okay except for leaving sugar out of the pumpkin pie and burning half of the rolls. Jesse smoked the turkey and it was fabulous. Best turkey I've ever had. Everything else was pretty standard food. We did miss everyone and almost jumped in the car to go see family. We decided to stay put and I was glad we did when I woke up this morning and remembered all I have to get done. I was so tired from cooking yesterday that I fell asleep at 7:00 pm and didn't wake up until 5am this morning. I decided to go out with the crazy Black Friday shoppers and try my luck. I got lots done so it was a good day. Now to get the Christmas stuff out of the attic.

Sydney made a centerpiece for the table. She designed a golden cornucopia and we filled the platter and cornucopia with cranberries and candles.

Sydney set the table and made everything look so beautiful.

Jesse's turkey masterpiece. And no, that's no real champagne. Katie had to have sparkling cider.

Ready to eat. Our friend Matt came over to celebrate with us.

Jack loves apple pie so we make one every year special for him. This year the kids helped peel the apples for me. They were a great help making dinner.

I finally found the perfect homemade cranberry sauce recipe.

Ingredients

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup water
* 1 (16-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
* 1/2 cup chopped apple
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
* 1/2 fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon McCormickValencia orange peel



Directions

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers. Add the apples, pecans, orange and lemon juices, cinnamon, orange peel and nutmeg, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool.