Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and a great holiday weekend! I know I did! I hope you are comfortable and ready to relax for a bit because there are a ton of food pictures coming your way!

Check out what my fridge looked like on Tuesday night:

I doubt I could have fit one more thing in it.

Tuesday night’s dinner was homemade pizza and salad. Simple.

Wednesday morning’s breakfast was a toasted waffle with peanut butter.

The entire day was spent cooking, preparing and getting everything set up for Thanksgiving. Somewhere in between all that I ate lunch.

Tuna sandwich and sun chips. Tasty and fast.

Dinner was also tasty and fast. Hubby picked up burritos from Los Primos.

Bean and cheese burrito. Delicious.

Thursday morning I was up early putting the last minute touches on everything. It was also time to bake my pies!

The tables (all FOUR of them!) were set and ready to go!

My kitchen was prepped as well!

I put out my appetizers and awaited my 32 guests. Here is a sample of some of the appetizers I served:

Bruschetta Dip:

Boursin cheese and crackers:

Six layer bean dip (we don’t like olives):

Mini corn dogs:

I got both turkeys ready to go into the oven…..

Then I could relax a little bit and enjoy some champagne with my guests.

If you’re wondering how I stay organized trying to cook for that many people, this is how:

I call it my “Turkey Timeline”. I make a schedule for the day of when things go into the oven (what temperature, how long, etc.) and went to do everything else. That way it’s mindless for me. I don’t know how I’d do it without it!

I brought a couple of my side dishes out of the fridge to come to room temperature: Mashed Potatoes and Gulliver’s Creamed Corn:

The turkeys were cooking away:

The chef in action:

My brother in law carves a mean turkey (or two!):

Everything is ready! Dig in!

Hubby and I:

Enjoy!

I wish I was able to get pictures of all the finished dishes, but again, I did not. It’s just too crazy when everything finally comes together in the end. Maybe next year!

I did take a bunch of pictures of dessert!

Pumpkin pie and cheesecake:

Chocolate Cinnamon Cake:

Apple Pie:

I made homemade vanilla ice cream and whipped cream for everything as well.

And just like that….Thanksgiving was over. It’s amazing how much work goes into it and then it’s over in a flash! It was a great day filled with wonderful family and delicious food!

Friday morning’s breakfast was something I call “spicy eggs”:

Scrambled egg beaters, salsa, shredded cheddar cheese and lots of hot sauce.

I got the house mostly cleaned up, then we went to Costco for drinks for the tailgate we were co-hosting with my brother and his wife on Saturday. Lunch was at Island’s.

Salad to start:

Cheeseburger and fries:

We came back home, packed up and hit the road for Los Angeles. I brought all my leftovers to my parent’s house so we could have Thanksgiving dinner with them.

My dad wasn’t feeling up the journey on Thanksgiving day so I’m glad we were able to bring it to him.

After dinner, we dropped the kids off with my sister in law and then checked into our hotel and went to bed. Big day coming up!

Saturday morning we ordered room service for breakfast.

Eggs, bacon, potatoes and pancakes. I know I needed to fuel up for the day! ;)

We jumped in a cab and headed toward our tailgating spot near the LA Coliseum. It was the big game between USC and Notre Dame!

My sister in law, my brother, my husband and I:

My brother and his wife went to Notre Dame while my husband and I both went to USC! A family feud every year, you could say. :)

There was a ton of grub all day long!

We had such a great time and the tail gate was a wonderful success!

In the end, Notre Dame ended up winning. While I was sad, I was excited for my brother. Notre Dame is number one and will be going to Miami in January for the BCS Championship. Go Irish!

Now we are finally home. Everyone is tired, the house is still a mess but the memories of this past weekend will remain forever.

What was the best thing you ate at Thanksgiving?

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