Monday, November 22, 2010

{Thanksgiving Spirit}

I've had to do some work to get in the spirit of the holidays this year. I hate to admit it and
wish I was a ball of holiday energy, plans and traditions. I love the holidays. I do. I just
haven't been feeling it between being sick this whole past week and being in a general funk
lately. I even suggested we could go out to eat for Thanksgiving. David looked at me like he
was a five year old boy, and I just popped his big, bright red balloon.Then, I suggested we
go meatless. This, he considered, before ultimately deciding he wanted to make a turkey.
Just the fact that he thought about it made this vegetarian appreciate him a little more. :)

DVRing A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving last Thursday was my message to myself that it's
time to make Thanksgiving Day what it should be -- a day of gratitude, appreciating the
people in your life, having fun in the kitchen, preparing food with love, and relaxing.


Last night, we sat down and made some plans for the day. We finalized our Thanksgiving Day menu, and I think it's helping me get in the mood. Here's the plan:

Mushroom gravy
Mashed sweet potatoes
Fresh green beans
My homemade stuffing which is similar to this recipe

This will be my first time ever to make both pumpkin pie and nut loaf. I'm excited to try
some new things! I don't generally make dessert for Thanksgiving because it's usually the
two of us, and we already have so much food. Plus, David has will power and I don't which means the leftover pie and I spend too much time together later in the week. But this year,
I decided, screw it -- I want pie. As for the nut loaf, last year was my second Thanksgiving
without turkey, and I've come to learn I'm not satisfied with "sides" for a holiday meal.
The nut loaf should round things out for me and make a fun new addition to our menu.
And finally, we decided to go a little more healthful by doing fresh green beans (instead
of traditional green bean casserole made entirely from a can) and with sweet potatoes
instead of regular ones.

I've been watching a lot of Food Network, and they've had so many amazing ideas for
Thanksgiving Day food that's a little different from the basics. I saved a few of the recipes
and put them in a folder for next year. We'll see how the pie and nut loaf turn out and
adjust accordingly. :)

Update: I just signed up to work a food donation drive tomorrow morning. St. Mary's
Food Bank and Channel 3 will be at the Fry's Marketplace on Chandler Blvd. in Ahwatukee
all day tomorrow. Come on out and drop off some donations if you get a chance!

How are you feeling about the holiday? What are you looking forward to?

6 comments:

Ale said...

Hey Sam,
Good to hear you are getting in the mood to celebrate Thanksgiving. So many memories!
Since we are here, finally living here, Henry and his sister will cook that day and will have the family over. They are giving meat with sauces and tons of veggies and we made a pumpkin cheesecake that looks pretty good (it is in the freezer now).
Then later that day Henry's family (cousins, aunts, etc) get together at my in-laws for a late dinner and we do the Yankee Swap organization for Christmas day. We do it per couples so it is not too much money spent and since we only have two kids in the family they get gifts from everyone haha!
Since in Mexico we don't have Thanksgiving, I have been celebrating it for 7 years now. This is one of my favorite holidays all together because it is not about gifts it is about being grateful for the blessings we have received.
Can you believe that it is going to be almost 2 years ago since we met? We need to celebrate that!

hugs!

Ale

Anonymous said...

Now that you mention it, I completely forgot about thanks giving. Because; as ale said, in México it´s not a common celebration. Its a great opportunity to remember the greatest things in our lives, and It´s too a good time to say thanks to God for the problems that made as stronger.

Kristi said...

I have never cooked/hosted Thanksgiving (nor do I ever plan to! lol) but it is smart you're thinking about what you need now. Food Network is marvelous, especially this time of year :)

TruJen Phtography said...

It's a good thing you're not up here in cloudy, cold and windy Michigan. Not because I don't want you here but because your holiday funk would be worse. Good for you for trying hard to get out of it. I too am doing my best to stay positive. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and a lot unmotivated. Running is helping me though.

Thanks for your list of food. I think we're going to make the stuffing you have linked. I bought the ingredients so I'll let you know how it turned out!

Good for you and your efforts to help out the community. I'm so proud of your charity work Sam! You truly are inspiring! :o)

TruJen Phtography said...

PS, I missed your Wordless Wednesday last week. Can we have two this week?
*hugs*

Samara Link said...

Jen, I love that you're trying the stuffing idea. Mine doesn't have a recipe, per say, but it's similar to the one I linked to. I hope you guys enjoy it. It's fun to try new things for traditional holidays, I think.

And as for Wordless Wednesday, how nice of you to notice! I'll have to work on that. :)