As we say goodbye to Thanksgiving and welcome Christmas, I would like to bridge these two holidays by sharing how grateful I am for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His tender love touches my life each day and gives me joy and true happiness. I feel His love as I look at the faces of my children and count myself blessed to be their mother.
I feel my Savior's love as my heart is touched each day by my husband's care and love for me. I feel Jesus's presence in my life as I count my blessings of having such wonderful extended family and many true friends. I know Jesus is sharing His love with me as I notice myself grow and learn from trials and mistakes. I feel His love when I am forgiven for those mistakes and shortcomings. I'm grateful for all of my talents, abilities and skills, but above all for my pure heart that allows the Savior in each day. But I also know that everything I have, intelligence, looks, heart, talents, has truly been given to me by my Heavenly Father, and that humble admission makes me grateful and brings me closer to the Lord, who in return gives me more love. How grateful I am for that!
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at home. Elijah and I were excited to cook all of our family's traditional foods and celebrate with our children. This was our menu:
Turkey
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Hash Brown Casserole
Green Beans
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Rolls
Pies
Here are a couple of our favorite dishes that make the appearance each year at our home (these are Elijah's family recipes and my kids just can't have enough of them):
Sweet Potato Casserole
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes 2 eggs1 cup sugar 1/3 stick butter
1/2 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
Mix all ingredients together and pour into casserole dish which has been buttered.
Topping:
2 cups brown sugar 2/3 cup flour
2 cups nuts 2/3 stick butter
Mix together until crumbly. Add nuts. Cook at 375 approximately 20 to 30 minutes. (Recipe by Ann Garmon)
Hash Brown Casserole
2lbs frozen hash browns 10 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup butter, melted 2 cups crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup chopped onion 1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
Combine hash brown and 1/2 cup of butter in a large bowl. Stir in onion, sour cream, soup and cheese. Spoon into 2 greased casserole dishes. Mix 1/4 cup butter with corn flakes. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. (Recipe by Rita Carter)
Dinner Rolls (24)
1 egg (room temperature)
1 1/3 cups water (room temperature)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs Italian seasoning
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
Place on a lightly floured surface. Divide into pieces and shape.
Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.
Bake at 350 for 15 - 25 minutes, or until done. Brush with butter and coarse kosher salt.
If you are using your bread machine, place the liquid ingredients first, and then the flour mixture. In the end, add the yeast. Set the bread machine for dough setting. When the machine indicates that the dough is ready, take it out of the machine, divide it into pieces, place them on a greased baking sheet, and let them rise for 30 minutes. I usually put the baking sheet on top of a warm oven. Bake, brush with butter and salt, and then enjoy.
Original Nilla Banana Pudding (We didn't make the pudding this Thanksgiving since our friends had brought plenty of pies, but our whole family loves to eat this any time of the day.)
Layers of Nilla wafers, creamy pudding and fresh banana slices are the stars of this American classic.
Prep: 30 mins - Cook: 15 mins - Cool: 15 mins
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish
1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.
4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.
Prep: 30 mins - Cook: 15 mins - Cool: 15 mins
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish
1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.
4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.
After we partook as much as we could possibly hold from the Thanksgiving feast, we played some games and had some pies. After our guests left, we got together as a family and pulled out our Thanksgiving Turkey, not the eatable one. For Family Home Evening last Monday, in addition to Gillian's lesson on the Word of Wisdom, we discussed gratitude and the happiness that comes to our hearts when we are truly grateful. As an activity, we used Jefferson's paper turkey that he had made at school, and put our notes of thanksgiving in, with the intention of writing more each day and then reading them all on Thanksgiving day. Here are some of what we wrote:
Elijah
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Melita's kisses
Cannonball hugs for Babi (father in Albanian)
Melita
Prayer
Atonement
Books
Music
My family
For being able to stay home with my kids
Gillian
My bed and loving parents who tuck me in
Bananas
Bodies - they are very amazing and special
My singing voice
Snake meat (inside joke), love, Gobstoppers, gumball machines, clothes, hair
My family
Jefferson
Pilgrims
Movies
God and my family
Music and songs
Mommy
Babi (Dad)
House, toys, to be on earth
France (because it makes my mom happy)
Sky, clothes, clouds, good food, nature, plants
Cars,toys
Me
Holidays
James
Books and books-on-tape
music and CD player
my mom and dad
my family
the temple
Heavenly Father
Jesus
earth
friends
Charlton (with help from Elijah and Jefferson)
Lollipop
chicken
Buzz milk bottle
the man with the yellow hat milk bottle
his snuggle teddy bear
I love hearing my children share their thoughts about life and the blessings they feel they have. And it's about those basics, love for one another and God, that life is all about, after all.
What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions and dishes?
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