Thanksgiving 2013 was the first of it’s kind for me. For the second year in a row, I cooked (and the second time ever!) but this time, it was just a simple Thanksgiving for two. Honestly, cooking for 2 doesn’t take that long. I spent about 3 hours cooking plus the time it took to make the pie — but that’s certainly much longer than I’m used to standing in the kitchen!
The day started, though, with the Alexandria Turkey Trot. I actually wasn’t sure I’d see anyone I knew there though I was going to be searching for Ashley. I never saw her but did run into my friends Evan and Krystle and their little baby Knox! Even went to Congo with me last year and they are actually in the process of adopting 2 Congolese toddlers right now! I was so excited to catch up with them!
Evan ran ahead while Krystle pushed her stroller and walked with me and a couple other friends that joined us. It was FREEZING but the sun made things a bit more bearable. Walking 5 miles always sounds like an eternity to me because I’m so used to running but I was so glad I had people to chat with along the way.
After the trot, I headed home to begin cooking. I had bought the smallest turkey I could find — which was about $15. I’m no turkey pro. The only thing I know is you need butter and basting. So our turkey was literally seasoned in a ton of butter, water, salt and pepper. I think I need to start getting more creative in the future. I saw on Instagram that Gabby had a bourbon glazed brown sugar something or other that sounded much more amazing!
Rick had kind of wanted to do the Chinese & a movie on Thanksgiving thing but I really wanted to make food for us. I think next year — if we go it alone again — we may try his route just for fun! I was excited to cook this year though so I went for it. It was basically butter, butter and more butter.
Our menu included:
- Turkey
- Mac n’ cheese (I used the last of this gluten-free rice penne, but couldn’t tell!)
- Sweet potato casserole
- Mashed potatoes w/ gravy
- Stuffing (only thing that was instant)
- Apple pie w/ vanilla ice cream
While I thought it would be nice to have something green in there, I’m only one person and I know the green stuff is not what we’d be gobbling up. Normally at Thanksgiving, there are also rolls and cranberry sauce and probably something else. Oh well!
I thought the turkey turned out looking and tasting pretty delicious! We have a ton left over for those delicious post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches too!
It doesn’t take much on Thanksgiving for me to feel overly full. It’s such rich food that feels like a rock in your stomach. I was actually disappointed that I got full so fast because I wanted more! Sadly, I felt a little sick for a couple of hours too. I know it’s because my body is not used to all that rich food!
Finally, after taking a nap and watching TV, I was able to eat some pie, which I had been thinking about all day. It was not the prettiest pie I’ve ever made that’s for sure, but it still tasted amazing warmed up with vanilla ice cream. Love it!
After all that, I was of course in the Christmas spirit! Here’s how our living room was looking:
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| We wrapped gifts for Mike, the little boy we took a tag off the tree for. He is 7 and wants roller skates — how cute! |
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| Presents under the tree while listening to Bing Crosby Christmas on Pandora |
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| Rick has been all about having Christmas candy at all times. All of those M&Ms are gone now. Ha ha. |
So we finished the day watching “We are the Millers” — pretty funny actually (don’t forget to watch the outtakes at the end!) and reruns of “Modern Family” — can’t go wrong there!
Because of my nap (which I never take!), I was actually awake longer than usual. And now I’m up ready for a little detox day! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanskgiving! Now on to a merry month of Christmas!
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