Cranberry Relish

I can't believe I never posted this recipe! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving with out this cranberry relish. I just realized that I have never published this recipe, so here it is. This is great on a turkey sandwich. Just freeze the cranberries while they are available and you can have cranberry relish and you can enjoy this relish any time of year.

Enjoy!

It Smells Like Thanksgiving...

We have so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. My good friend Barb was going through breast cancer treatment last year and this year she is feeling great and is back to regular life! For that I am very thankful!! We are also very full of thanks that my biopsy came back negative! No more treatment!! So very thankful for all the prayers that friends and family prayed for me! Thank you! Thank you! 

This weekend, our family is hosting a multifamily and extended family Thanksgiving. I was up this morning at 6:30 and started the Make Ahead Turkey Gravy. 

After 1 hour in the oven

After 2 hours in the oven. You want every drop of the dark bubbly stuff on the bottom.

I will be making another recipe this afternoon!

Last night, dear hubby baked cornbread for the stuffing/dressing. We like a mix of regular bread chunks and cornbread in our stuffing. We won't be stuffing the two turkeys. Now I will keep stirring the bread up to make sure it dries out before Saturday.

It takes a couple days to get the moisture out of the cornbread

This morning I also made a new recipe for cranberry sauce. I couldn't resist a Vanilla Cranberry Sauce with Blueberries!

Cooling

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites. You can find the recipe for it right here.

That's my day so far!

Update!

Well, here it is now, the Monday before Thanksgiving. We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Saturday and we fed 48 family and extended family. A couple times yesterday and today different people have asked me if I am ready for Thanksgiving. It has taken me by surprise each time, and I have to stop and remind myself that the real Thanksgiving is this Thursday. We had a great time and there was only one glitch, a big glitch! During the last minute details, I left my camera at home. We were too far away from home to go back. Such is life sometimes. At least we all have the memories in our heads and hearts! It was a a ton of fun and well worth the hours I spent baking and cooking.

I didn't stray very far from my regular, tried and true recipes. I made a triple batch of Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes, and a double batch of Sweet Potato Puree with Pecan Streusel. Dear hubby made the dressing/stuffing using cornbread and regular bread and lots of other great ingredients without a specific recipe. 

I also baked a batch of Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and a double batch of these Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes. I also made a recipe for caramel sauce to drizzle over them before they were served with a dollop of whipped cream. They turned out perfect. That is what I contributed to our Thanksgiving dinner this year.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year as you celebrate with the ones you love!

My Dear Hubby Is Now...

Sixty!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear hubby,

Happy Birthday to you!!!

You are the most special

most loving

most kind

 most honest

 most generous man

 that I know!

You are the best dad and grandpa that I have ever met!

I hope this is your best year yet!!!

I

Love

 

Love

Love

You!!!

 

I special delivered these balloons to my dear hubby this morning!

Banana Pancakes

The boys spent most of last week with us, so I was in gramma heaven!! I love spending time with our two grandsons!

When the boys come to visit, they have come to expect banana pancakes as their second breakfast. The boys have been with us this week and so far, I have made them twice. I expect to be making them at least two more times. No problem! They are so simple, easy and good. 

Of course I didn't get a picture of the first batch that looked perfect in color and deliciousness! The boys couldn't wait. My only picture doesn't do them justice! 

The boys like their pancakes with a squirt of whipped cream!

Enjoy!

50 Years Ago Today

Fifty years ago today, I was 8 years old. It was Columbus Day, back in the day when we celebrated holidays on their actual day, rather than the Monday before. As the afternoon progressed, I remember seeing green and yellow clouds forming and the sky looked very scary. My mom was very scared and worried, and when mom was scared and worried, us kids were scared and worried! My parents had a meeting that evening with their real estate lady to sign final papers on our new house. By the time she arrived, the power was out and they had to sign the papers by candlelight. I remember because I was hiding under the table below them. The wind was really loud and it felt like our house was shaking. I remember watching the lady as she walked out to her car. She could hardly stand up and her coat and hair were blowing around like crazy.

My other memory of that evening was watching my dad out in our backyard. Our fence was falling down and he went out to try to prop it up. I was watching him from the window in my bedroom as branches and other debris were flying through the air. One of the detached boards with an exposed nail swung around it hit my dad on the side of the face. I watched the blood start dripping down his face. I was afraid that he was going to die! Around that time, the whole fence fell over and he came back inside. I have no other memories of that night except for the very loud wind howling and rocking our house. 

The next day when all over, I remember how quiet it was. Everyone came outside to check their property. Trees, branches, garbage cans, power lines and other yard debris was everywhere. No one could drive anywhere because all the streets were blocked. My next memory is of the chainsaws. It felt like that was the only background sound in our neighborhood for years. Just the endless drone of the chainsaws. For several years after that day, anytime the sky looked dark, I was sure we were having another storm. We have had many wind storms in the Northwest but never like that night. If you are interested you can read more about it from our local newspaper.  



Columbus Day Storm Still Howls

The only good thing I remember about that day is it was my youngest (at that time) sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Debra!!

Looking For Adventure...

On beautiful and clear sunny days, we enjoy heading out to North Plains to watch the sailplanes. It is very relaxing to watch, with my feet firmly planted on the ground!

The tow plane

The sailplane

Heading up

Bye

Have a safe landing

Higher and higher

The next group getting ready for take off

The peanut gallery - where I hang out

If you are interested in this type of adventure, you can click the link and read about  Willamette Valley Soaring Club.

I Could Not Resist...

The last evening of snow 2012

...because the Northwest is enjoying summer weather in October! 

And because I just downloaded it 5 minutes ago!