Happy Tuesday, friends! I know I don’t normally blog on Tuesdays, but I was exhausted yesterday, so I gave myself a bit of extra time back in my day. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’ve shared a bit about this before, but when Aaron and I got married, we decided to switch off the major holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) so no family felt left out. This year, it was my family’s turn for Thanksgiving, and we will spend Christmas with Aaron’s family. I do expect that to change next year when we have Baby Gomez. I want to start some new traditions with our family unit, and Aaron and I don’t always want to be the ones traveling back and forth during the holidays. But, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. So, for this year, we are soaking up all of the holidays with just the two of us.
Thanksgiving 2022
We normally travel to California when it’s my family’s year for Thanksgiving. But, Aaron and I have just been completely busy with all of these weddings, showers, bachlor/ette parties, prepping for the new baby and work – that the thought of making the trip wasn’t super appealing. I’ve been making a trip to LAX during the holiday season since I was 17, and to say it’s getting old – is the understatement of the year. Love to see my family, don’t love holiday airline travel. Luckily, my parents and sister were long overdue for a trip to Houston, so they decided to spend the week with us.
The prep
Last week was all about the prep. I had my house cleaned on Tuesday, and made sure that all my grocery shopping was finished.
My family was arriving Wednesday afternoon, so I spent the morning getting my house ready to host Thanksgiving. My mom invited my grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins to my house for actual Thanksgiving – so I was expecting 10 people.
In preparation, I went for a Peloton run. 🙂 Anyone else feel the holiday stress? And now that I can’t have a glass of wine to take the holiday edge off….. I guess the Peloton it is 😉 If ya know, you know….
I set my Thanksgiving table.
Easy Thanksgiving Cornbread Casserole
And I got to work prepping some of my sides. This is the easiest cornbread casserole you can make. Recipe below:
- Two eggs
- 16 once of sour cream
- 1 can of corn
- 1 4 ounce jar of diced pimentos
- 1 16 ounce package of cornbread
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar
- 1/2 cup of diced green onions
- Mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl, reserving half a cup of the cheese.
- Pour everything into a casserole dish (I love these casserole dishes from Wilton Armetale – this is the exact one I have, and they make excellent wedding gifts)
- You can either cook right away or cover and refrigerate overnight, which is what I did.
- Once you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, pop your dish in for 35 minutes, and sprinkle with cheese once it’s done cooking (your knife will come out clean when inserted into the middle).
After that, my parents arrived, and my pups proceeded to give them a big, warm welcome.
Turkey Day
I got up bright and early on Thanksgiving. Well, I tried to. I really wanted to do the 8 a.m. live Peloton Turkey Burn Run with Alex Toussaint (his first time teaching on the Tread). But, I snoozed my alarm. However, by the time I had my coffee and was ready to run, a live, encore class had started, so I was still able to “compete live.” I loved that class, and I got super sweaty – and hungry, so I was more than ready to eat my Thanksgiving meal.
Thanksgiving Sides
While I was running, Aaron and my dad got the Turducken cooking. And, when by the time I was done, it was time to prep Moosie’s potatoes and the broccoli, rice and cheese casserole (which is one of Aaron’s mom’s favorite Thanksgiving dishes to make). Here’s the recipes for those two items. Both of them are incredibly easy. You could easily prep both of them the day before and just stick them in the oven.
Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole
And, this is what it looks like right before you pop it into the oven to warm. I just mixed the velveeta in – and didn’t sprinkle it on top. I also tripled the recipe since we were having 10 people over.
Moosie’s Potatoes
I also made a thing of Moosie’s Potatoes (my aunt Claudia, who passed away several years ago, put together a recipe book of some of her most favorite dishes to make for holidays). These potatoes are a favorite that I like to make to remember her! You can find the whole story and recipe here.
Strawberry Salad
Ya’ll – this salad is one of the easiest sides you can add to your holiday table – and everyone loves it. Here’s what you’ll need:
- I pint of strawberries – sliced
- 1 container of full fat feta
- 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
- 1 bag (or 2) of mixed greens
- 1 jar of the Brianna’s Home Style Blush Vinaigrette dressing (it has a strawberry on the label)
Mix it all together – and toss before serving. (I also serve in a Wilton Armetale salad serving bowl).
And, of course, here is a photo of my hors d’ oeuvres table.
Family
My extended family arrived in the afternoon, and it was a great time of fellowship and family. My grandma and aunt/uncle moved to Texas about two years ago, and it’s great to finally have some family in the same state. We still don’t see each other as often as we would like, but we always pick right back up where we left off. My sister has cerebral palsy – so traveling isn’t always the easiest for her – so I was extra thankful they were able to come and spend some quality time with us this year.
So, that was our Thanksgiving 2022 in a nutshell. I am absolutely exhausted this week – LOL. I’ve finally outdid myself. Fall went down on Saturday, and I’ll be putting up Christmas stuff on Saturday! Enjoy the rest of your week.
