Thanksgiving makes me thing of BAKING!!

Have to start with this: dirk is home!! yeah!!
Followed by this: new position in the company will keep him travelling for at least another year... so just get used to it people (I'm speaking to myself here)... He promises to be home more regularly (he keeps his promises very well), and will most likely be working out of WY and or UT for the coming year. We're just happy to have him home for the next week! Nothing too special planned, just family time.

Just put in my Pampered Chef order (way too much)... it will probably be my Christmas present to myself... but I NEED it before the holidays so I have all the right tools to do what I want/need to do!

Lefse: Planning a support group for my other lefse-phile friends... I love eating it, but it's a lot of work to make... so the new plan is to bribe a few friends into coming over to help. Benefits: we all get lefse to take home, and we have a lovely morning together chatting and catching up! We'll see if we can fit it into our schedules now!!

Thanksgiving & Holiday Cooking: My BFF in Seattle asked for holiday suggestions... which reminded me to get out my holiday planner (3 ring binder) I made last year. It was a "smart mommy" idea from Family Fun Magazine (online)... if anyone else wants to start one, the "forms" can be printed from their website.

Notes I made to myself for THIS year are:
- find a good Thanksgiving DVD, like Peanuts or??
Anyone have any suggestions?

- Make pumpkin pancakes & waffles all month! LOVE THEM!

- Lille Norge Fest the Saturday BEFORE Thanksgiving at Canyon Lk Sr. Center

- Take a family photo together sometime this month! Why is this so hard?

- Start collecting fun candies for the Gingerbread houses to be put together
the day after Thanksgiving

- Save some of the Halloween candy for the Gingerbread houses...
not like we need to eat it all now!!


Here are a couple of our new favorite recipes from last year:

Sweet & Sour Braised Cabbage
4 slices bacon
2 cups thinly sliced onion
3 cups chipped & peeled green/sour apples
10 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 bay leaf
3 whole cloves (optional) (I don't)

Cook bacon in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat until crisp. Set aside to cool, drain; then chop small. Take out all but 1 Tbs. of bacon grease, add onions; saute 3 minutes. Add apples; saute 2 minutes. Add cabbage; saute 2 minutes. Add cider, vinegar, salt, sugar, bay leaf & cloves. Bring combo to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally. Discard cloves & bay leaf. Sprinkle w/ bacon and serve hot or warm.

Good leftover and warmed again. Calories: 139 per 1/8 of batch, about 3/4 cup. (from Cooking Light December 2008)

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
10 pounds white potatoes
1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
2 tsp. onion salt
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter

Cook potatoes & drain. Mash; add remaining ingredients (not butter) and mix well. Place potatoes in a pretty, oven-safe, freezer-safe dish. Dot with small pieces of butter. Keep refrigerated until 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the meal. (Can also be frozen, remove from freezer and set on your counter to thaw overnight). Bake at 350 degrees until heated through, might get slightly brown around the edges, which is kinda nice too. If you REALLY have to, you can warm up in microwave too... but you know what I think about microwaves... so don't do it... bake it in the oven... it's much better!

Carmel Apple Hot Cider
1 gallon Market Pantry(Target) Carmel Apple Apple Cider
2 cups orange juice
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
slices of lemon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until steaming. Serve. Makes 16-20 servings.

Optional: Heat all ingredients in a crock-pot, covered on high for 2 hrs until steaming, then turn to LOW to keep it warm all day.

If this isn't sweet enough for you, try this serving option:
Place 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a tall mug
fill mug w/ warm Carmel apple cider
drizzle w/ Carmel sauce before serving

YUM-O!!