Having Given Thanks

I have vivid memories of being at the kids' table when I was a little girl. This would have been at my Grandma Vernice's house for holiday dinners, probably Christmas because we mostly spent Thanksgiving with my mom's family. But still, a holiday dinner nonetheless. 

I remember feeling very grown-up getting to sit in a totally different room from the real grown-ups. We even got out own butter plate. How cool is that? There were probably times when I wished I could be part of the larger group, but thinking back, those feelings are overwhelmed by how special it felt to sit with just my older cousins in charge. 

Our Thanksgiving Day hummingbird visitor.

But now, I can't even remember the last time I was at a family event that had a kids' table. That thought prompted me to set places for the boys this year that were a little apart from the grown-ups, but not too far. I hope they liked it. Even if Nanna sat with them. 

This year was my last small Thanksgiving for a while. While it was nice to have complete control over the food, I've decided it is time to go back to going big. I used to have family thanksgivings that were probably at least 15-18 people, and I kind of miss that. The last couple of years we've had just 5-8. That's a pretty big difference. I guess I'm just cut out from a bolder cloth than that.

As you can imagine, having fed only 8 people this year, 3 of them under 10, we had a lot of food left. So this week I have been using it up and spreading it all out. I wanted to pass on my favorites, just in case you still need some ideas for creative ways to use up those leftovers. 

• Fried dressing cakes. Just press out some thin patties of leftover dressing/stuffing and fry it up on the griddle or in your favorite skillet.
• Rose's amazing leftover pizza, which I didn't get to try but did sound pretty swell.
• Creamed corn with pumpkin puree added to it. Seriously. Just make creamed corn but add pumpkin puree. 
• Turkey Pot Pie. I made one of these and put it in the freezer. Instead of cream of whatever soup, use gravy and pumpkin puree, and replace the traditional crust with leftover mashed potatoes. Thaw overnight before baking.
• Turkey Enchiladas en Mole. I used store bought mole sauce, and in our house we omit the cheese and use fake sour cream. Just put some avocados on there and you will never ever know.
• Turkey Shawarma. This one is tomorrow night's dinner. Joe just about fell over when I suggested this as a meal. I think he would move to Israel just to eat shawarma everyday. No joke. It might be how he convinces me.
• The obligatory turkey stock, to be used later to make soup or risotto or whatever I can dream up.

To aid in the making of shawarma, pot pie, etc. I shredded all the meat that was leftover as I made the stock. That way I was able to get all the bones and bits into the stockpot, and have all the leftover meat ready to go for making dinners this week. 

I hope your Thanksgiving was something special, no matter how many people were there or what you ate. And now on to the end of the year!

Filming their "Thanksgiving Special"