What are you thankful for this year?

Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (or do you call it dressing?), green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (the one with the marshmallows!), and pumpkin pie… YUMMMM my favorite Thanksgiving dinner! What’s yours?

I cannot get past it, it has to be this every year—no ham, no beef tenderloin, and Chuck doesn’t even like turkey!

I don’t know about you, but I long for this meal with family every year. It’s true of others because we cook Thanksgiving dinners for many people and this is essentially what they want!

So are we creatures of habit? I guess I am because I rise in the morning and follow the same procedures everyday… often at the same times. AND I make the same Thanksgiving meal every year with only a few tweaks on the recipes…

Every Saturday, Chuck and I go out to breakfast (time and schedule permitting), and we have been going to the same place many, many years—not because of the outstanding food because it’s not really about that (not that it isn’t great!). It’s about the “Cheers” factor. You know everyone knows your name, etc., and they do! They also know my special drink recipe created by my husband and can pretty much tell us what we are going to eat! The minute they see us walking in, they get it going. It makes me feel special.

Thanksgiving makes me feel special. My mother taught all of kids how to pitch in and make everything. Even my Dad created his own stuffing (NOT dressing)—a recipe that I know my sisters and brothers and I recreate every year.

Thanksgiving is about family and special memories and being thankful for both—and of course the dinner. Maybe football too!

And I feel special and thankful because I have a man who loves me for what and who I am, AND he gave up his career to help me pursue my dream of owning a catering business. He is the literal wind beneath my wings, and he works his butt off every day to promote our cause.

I feel special and thankful because we have great loyal customers, and with your help we have grown this business in just 15 years. We have great loyal employees that have helped us grow this business in just 15 years as well.

I feel special and thankful because of my mother, sisters and brothers, children, son-in-law, and grandchildren. And my friends.

Chuck just told me this morning that he does not need a camera… his memories are in his head!

What a great Thanksgiving, I look forward to this year… maybe I will add black garlic to the mashed potatoes! And I am thinking of making pumpkin cheesecake instead of pie… Yummmmm! Stay tuned!

Have a Happy and Thankful Thanksgiving!

What in the world do I do with all these apples?!

When it comes to fall, there are two aromas I just love: burning leaves and apples cooking. When we had our house on the market a few years ago, I actually put an apple pie in the oven prior to an open house to give the house that lovely, sugary, cinnamony aroma that everyone loves! I would like to believe that’s why our house sold!

We don’t burn leaves anymore, so I just have to succumb to the apples. I love biting into a nice crisp, cold apple. It is loaded with Vitamin C and fiber and is really good for you. Remember “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”?

But I love apples even better when they’re paired with cinnamon. A match made in heaven! Try these recipes and see if they make your mouth water. YUMMM!

Grandma’s Apple Pie

1 unbaked pie crust

9 Golden delicious apples peeled and cut into slices

Arrange apples in pie plate. Cover with 1 cup of sugar. Dot with 1½ cubes of butter.

Mix for topping and crumble over the top of the apples.

1.2 cup of flour

1 stick of butter

1/3 cup of sugar

Pre heat oven to 425 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for on hour until bubbly.

Nancy’s Apple Butter

4 pounds of apples (I like to mix up the kinds of apples)

2 cups of apple cider

1 cup of brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Bring to a simmer all of the above in a heavy ovenproof pot. Partially cover and cook until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix in the following and blend in a food processor until smooth.

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1½ teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of ground cloves

½ teaspoon of all spice

Return to the ovenproof pot and bake in a 250-degree oven, uncovered, until thick and golden in color and spreadable. Give it a stir every 30 minutes or so. This usually takes about three hours because I use a mixture of different apples. This is a wonderful spread for toast, pancakes, and waffles. Warm it up and pour over ice cream. YUM!

Nana’s Applesauce

Cook peeled quartered Jonathon Golden apples

½ cup of apple juice

Red hot candies

When soft, season to taste with sugar and add red hots to taste.