Thanksgiving

I am working Wednesday night (night shift "Thanksgiving holiday") as a scheduled night and have Friday off in return. I will be getting home Thanksgiving morning around 8:00 am.

Our dinner will be done around 2 or 3, since I do need some sleep after working all night.

12 lb turkey seasoned with sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder, thyme, and salt. It will be rubbed down with a small amount of butter prior to baking.The turkey cavity will have a chopped onion, some celery, and carrots inside to add moisture. It will bake in an oven bag until finished at 325 or 350 degrees. After we slice the turkey and get all the meat off the bones, the frame and skin will go back into the crock pot with some more spices, a bit of water, and all the veggie peelings to make turkey stock for the freezer.

We are going to have mashed potatoes. I found ten pound bags of potatoes at Aldi two weeks ago for 1.69 a bag. I will add some reconstituted powdered milk, butter, and a few cloves of crushed garlic to the potatoes.

We have three or four sweet potatoes. My kids like them baked in the oven with a small amount of brown sugar. I may mash them depending in the kids wishes.

We are going to have green beans and peas on the side. I would like to have a small salad to go with it.

I am making my own dressing. We have two bags of "stuffing cubes". I will had chopped celery, onion, sage, poultry seasoning, some home made from scratch chicken stock, a large chopped apple, and a small amount of pork sausage. We will put it in a baking dish and cook along side the turkey for a little bit.

I will make my own gravy using the packet that comes inside the turkey. The giblets and innards will go in the trash can.

My oldest daughter wanted to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal. She bought the following things:

Styrofoam plate
two cans of cream corn
a package of dinner rolls
a jar of pickles (I love them)
a 8 ounce block of sharp cheddar cheese
a small bag of pepperoni
one pumpkin and one apple pie
a container of cool whip
2 jars of turkey gravy


She so wanted to help with the cost of the meal. I told her that she could go out and buy what she thought we needed. I was impressed with her choices, since we all ready had the majority of the groceries all ready bought. She said it "made me feel good to buy some stuff for our holiday at home".

I'm glad. She has a good heart and felt that it was important for her to contribute.

That's our Thanksgiving holiday. I'm hoping to get a nap that morning after I get the turkey in the oven. I'm going to do a lot of prep work Wednesday morning and early afternoon prior to work.