Thanksgiving Break 2011

We had our first Thanksgiving on the Jensen side this year. My assignment was to bring the STUFFING -------------------> This was my reaction!! I had always helped my Dad make it and knew it was a BIG part of Thanksgiving. You HAVE to have your STUFFING! Then it crossed my mind what if they don't like it? What if i make it wrong? What if it is just gross? What if I burn it? and the list goes on and on..... So i did some googling and made some phone calls or call.. haha ( my Dad is not good with recipes he just cooks.. )  FINALLY found one that sounded decent. This one....

Makes 18 (3/4-cup) servings.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons Thyme Leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Poultry Seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, Ground
12 cups dry unseasoned bread cubes
4 cups chicken broth

 I also added FRESH sage leaves
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, poultry seasoning, seasoned salt and pepper.
2. Place bread cubes in large bowl. Add celery mixture and broth; toss gently until well mixed. Spoon into lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.
3. Bake 35 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned.

 Of coarse i was at the store the night before.. which by the way is the BLACK FRIDAY of grocery stores!! Trying to find the items i don't usually have in my kitchen was a NIGHTMARE!! There was the WONDERFUL lady who was searching for the exact same thing as me. When i finally gave up and was going to figure out how to make it without it she found it and chased me down three aisles trying to get my attention to hand me one. Completely made my night!
Because I was making it for about 30 people I doubled it so i took it out at 35 min and fluffed it and put it back in.. I figured since it was on a lower heat that it would be ok... It turned out a LITTLE more done than i was planning but i did NOT burn it. Lucky Nate got home from his Turkey bowl just in time for clean up and the house smelling of yummy thanksgiving stuffing.

After when we finally got home we finished watching the Harry Potter we had been working on for like 3 days! It was around 11. Black Friday shopping was only an hour away.... Nate was exhausted from waking up for the Turkey Bowl but i just couldn't sleep! What i should have done was just gone! But instead i starred at the ceiling hahahah We got up and had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe and went to Kohls for BLACK FRIDAY DEALS they still had EVERYTHING i was looking for and also a BIG giant LINE! We saved like 157 or something like that...  NOT BAD :)

Since we shared our Thanksgiving dinner with some many people it means not very many leftovers. So Nate wanted us to bake a Turkey... Once again the same type of fear.. I have VERY high expectations of my Turkey... Dry Turkey is not ok... So we bought a BUTTERBALL Turkey and a Turkey Bag and cooked it for about 4 hours ( according to what it said on the package) It was PERFECT!!! I was so excited that my FIRST turkey turned out soooooo good!

Nate FINALLY let me put up the Christmas decorations! You would think i would learn after the 3 years of begging that it doesn't happen until the day after Thanksgiving and i just need to DEAL... But NOPE. :) Maybe someday.... But i doubt it