some homemade ice cream

This past week I finally got around to making Darby's homemade ice cream.  She posted it on her blog forever ago and I was intrigued that you could make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker.  Since the heat index has been sitting at 106 degrees I figured this would be a good a time as any to go ahead and make some!

{mocha ice cream}

Last weekend I made a batch of the chocolate ice cream.  It was SO good!  Very rich and creamy.  It wasn't quite as icy as regular ice cream but I actually prefer this to regular ice cream.  Yesterday I made two batches of her mocha ice cream recipe and OH MY GOODNESS YA"LL, it is SOOOOOOOOO good. If you like coffee flavored ice cream you need to run to the store right now and gather up all the ingredients {all five of them!} so you can make this tonight.  I may never buy store bought ice cream again! Here is the recipe if you are interested.


Darby said it would be hard to keep your fingers out of it when you were mixing it up and boy was she right.  I may or may not have eaten some of the mocha mixture before I even froze it.  It tasted like a mix between a coffee mousse/light pudding and was  pretty much heaven.

{mocha ice cream + thrifted ramekin}

And while I am already talking about Darby if you don't already read her blog {Fly Through our Window} you really should.  It is my ALL time favorite blog and if I could only read one blog for the rest of my life I think this would be it ya'll.  She mostly writes about day to day life with her family, her faith, photography, and occasionally a craft or a recipe.  I have tried several of her recipes and they have all been fabulous.  She also has a twin sister, Erica, who is a very talented designer.  To be honest my SIL and I kind of want to be Darby and Erica.  They're just so dang cute and fun! :)


Do you all read their blogs? Are you in love with them too?


::Edited to add that the coffee flavored ice cream totally reminds me of Braum's cappuccino chunky chocolate ice cream.  I may have to just add in some chunks of a chocolate candy bar to try to recreate one of my all time favorite ice cream flavors.  If you don't live in or near OK then you have probably never heard of Braum's but it is a local dairy and restaurant/ice cream shop that has the best ice cream.  

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a recipe:: grilled asparagus

When the weather turns warm we cook a lot of our meals out on the grill.  Asparagus is just one of the many veggies we grill on a regular basis.  I don't  think I can technically call this a "recipe" because grilled asparagus is not labor intensive but just go with it. 


Coat a grill pan or some tin foil with some olive oil spray or regular cooking spray and place asparagus on top of your pan/foil.  Brush some olive oil on to the asparagus and then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper {or you can use your favorite seasonings}.  Cook for 10-15 minutes or until done, turning your asparagus half way through.


Enjoy!!


Humor me will ya?  Do you say "BBQ" or "Grill" when you refer to cooking on your grill outside?  We grew up saying "grill" but we have a healthy debate going on with our good friends Heather and Jim over this.  They say "BBQ" for some reason. :)

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tips. and tricks. {kitchen utensils}

You know what I love more than fun and fancy kitchen gadgets?  When a kitchen utensil can do double duty. 

{via}

The potato masher.  Last year my SIL told me about this handy dandy tool that Pampered Chef sells that mashes up your ground beef.  I went online and looked at it and it looked pretty darn similar to a potato masher.  So the next time I was cooking ground beef I decided to try to use my potato masher to help break up and separate my meat.  And you know what, it worked like a dream.  Try it next time you are cooking ground beef or turkey!

{via}

A spoon.  I have several yummy recipes that call for fresh ginger.  I don't know if you have you ever tried to peel ginger with a peeler but it's sort of awkward.  Enter your everyday kitchen spoon.  Using a small spoon, gently peel off the ginger skin/peel.  This is way faster and easier {in my opinion} than using a peeler.

{via}

The ice cream scoop.  Apparently I am the world's worst pancake maker.  Wondering how on earth you can mess up pancakes? I don't know but I always do somehow.  Sure they taste pretty good but they look awful.  They are usually mishapen and never uniform whatsoever in size.  It finally dawned on me one day to use my ice cream scoop to measure out my pancake batter on to my electric skillet.  I like to place three scoops of batter on my skillet and then add chocolate chips, blueberries, or whatever yummy filling I want directly on top of that.  Then I take one heaping scoop of batter and place it on top of my fruit, chocolate chips, etc.  My pancakes are a far cry from the perfect ones my husbands cranks out with ease but at least now they sort of resemble circles!


Do you have tips for other kitchen utensils that can perform double duty?  I'm all ears!

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a recipe:: eggplant parmesan

My all time favorite italian dish is eggplant parmesan. YUM!!  I have a really easy and fool proof eggplant parmesan recipe that our family loves.

::Here's what you'll need:

1 large or 2 medium eggplants

2 2/3 Cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

4 Cups Spaghetti Sauce

2 Eggs, beaten

16oz of Mozzerella Cheese

1/3 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

1/4 tsp Dried Basil

4 Servings of Spaghetti Noodles

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice eggplant into half inch slices.  You will need twelve slices total. 

 Place eggs into a shallow bowl and pour half of your bread crumbs onto a plate.  Dip eggplant into the egg and then the breadcrumbs, coating evenly with both. Halfway through your stack of eggplant place the remaining bread crumbs on your plate. {I like to replenish the bread crumbs as needed so they don't get all clumpy from the egg} Place eggplant on a prepared baking sheet and bake for five minutes per side.

In a 9X13 pyrex spread enough spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom of your dish.  Place a layer of eggplant {six slices} on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then with parmesan cheese.  

Repeat with remaining ingredients {sauce, eggplant, cheese} ending with the cheese on top.  Sprinkle basil on top.  I like to use fresh basil if I have it on hand.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.  While the eggplant is baking I prepare several servings of spaghetti noodles.   Serve the eggplant over the spaghetti and enjoy!!

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a recipe:: homemade sweet potato fries

It's been way too long since I have posted a yummy recipe so I thought I would remedy that situation right now.  I don't know about you but I love sweet potato fries!!  Dip them in a little ranch and they are soooo good!!

{Sweet Potato Fries}

5 sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon house seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

olive oil 

for the house seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

**Mix house seasoning ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to six months.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Peel and slice sweet potatoes into 1/4-inch long slices and then 1/4-wide strips.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.  In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat.  Sprinkle with House Seasoning and paprika.  Spread potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd.  Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, tuning occasionally , about 20 minutes.  Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

{recipe source: foodnetwork}

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the Oh so yummy Blueberry Coffee Cake

I decided to repost  the blueberry coffee cake recipe.  It's so good and a such fun treat on a Saturday morning!! 

Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp plus 2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 large eggs

 1/2 Cup granulated sugar

 3/4 Cups whole milk

 1/2 Cup canola or vegetable oil

 1 1/2 Cups fresh blueberries or thawed frozen berries

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

♦Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-by-9 inch baking pan. In a small mixing bowl stir together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and salt. Set aside.

♦In a large mixing bowl stir together the 2 cups of flour and baking powder. Whisk flour and baking powder until mixed completely. In a medium mixing bowl whisk eggs until slightly beaten.  Add sugar, milk, and canola oil and whisk completely. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, and stir with a fork until mixed. The dough will be slightly lumpy. 

♦Pour batter into prepared pan. then press it evenly into corners. Evenly distribute blueberries over batter, keeping the berries 1/2 inch away from the sides of the pan so the berries don't burn. { I like to actually push about 1/2 of the blueberries down into the batter and then sprinkle the rest on top of the batter.}

♦Sprinkle reserved brown sugar mixture evenly over batter all the way to edges of pan. Cut butter into small pieces and dot batter with butter. 

♦Bake 30-40 minutes or until the butter and brown sugar have melted on top of the cake and appear liquidy. The cake is done when it turns golden around the corners, shrinks away from the sides of the pan. Cool ten minutes and serve while still warm. 

♦Enjoy!!

{adapted from the Pike Place Market Cookbook}


I'm linking up to Jen's for Tasty Tuesday.

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salsa chicken

I recently came across a very simple yet tasty recipe for chicken tacos.  Today I'm going to share with you the recipe for the chicken.  I have used this recipe for chicken tacos and most recently for chicken quesadillas.  You could also use this chicken for burritos, nachos, and taco salads.  The possibilities are pretty much endless!!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
• 1  20oz jar of salsa {Pace works great}
• 1 cup of water
• 1 can of diced green chiles

Place chicken breasts in a crock pot and add the salsa, green chiles, and water.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours.  I personally think that four hours is the magic number.  Remove chicken from crock pot and discard liquid.  Place chicken on a cutting board and shred with a fork.  


Enjoy!

{recipe source: Grey Umbrella}

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the best strawberry cake. EVER.

The hubby and I both LOVE strawberry cake!  A few weeks ago I tried a new recipe for hubby's birthday cake and it was delicious.  If you love strawberry cake too then you must make this cake.  It's so yummy!!

{Please excuse my cake icing skillz.  Hopefully my SIL isn't too embarrassed by this picture.  She has mad cake skillz and is even friends with Mr. Fondant!! }

Cake:

Boxed white cake mix

3 oz package of strawberry jello

10 oz of frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed

1/2 Cup of vevetable oil

1/4 Cup of water
4 eggs

Icing:
7 Cups of powder sugar
1/4 Cup of butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup of frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed

**{I think you might be able to cut the above icing recipe in half.  I had a ton of icing left over so I froze some to use on some cupcakes I'll be making for Valentine's day.}

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, water, oil, jello mix, eggs, and strawberries{with juice}.  Pour into two prepared 9 in. cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Let cakes cool completely before icing.

For the icing mix the powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, and thawed strawberries{with juice} until blended and smooth.


Enjoy!!

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salmon croquettes

1lb of salmon {2  8oz packets}

1/2 Tsp of salt

 Dash of cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp of chopped parsley

1/4 Cup of cracker crumbs {I use ritz crackers}

1/2 Tsp of grated onion

1 Cup of bread crumbs

2 Eggs

1 Lemon {optional}

In a large bowl mix salmon, salt, cayenne pepper, parsley, cracker crumbs, onion and one egg.  Form small balls with the salmon mixture and then flatten into patties.  Beat one egg in a small bowl.  Dip each salmon patty into the egg and then roll in bread crumbs.

Fry in canola oil until they are light brown.  Serve immediately.

{I like to squeeze fresh lemon juice over each salmon croquette.  Yum!!}

Enjoy!!

{recipe source: at home with rachel}

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chili rubbed salmon

{Salmon is by far my favorite type of fish.   Probably due to the fact that it is one of the only types of fish I have been brave enough to try!  ha!!  Noah absolutely loves this salmon although he refers to it as steak.  We had it for dinner last week and he kept saying,  " Oh, I like this steak!" over and over.

For the rub you will only need a few seasonings that you most likely already have in your pantry.  My kind of recipe!

Chili Rub:
1 1/2 tablespoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/4 teaspoon of salt
*the Hubs likes to add a dash of Emeril's essence in when I am not looking.  And I have to admit it does compliment the fish quite nicely.

 2 salmon fillets {about a half a pound per serving}

Combine seasonings in a bowl and mix together.  Place your salmon on foil or on a grill pan skin side down.  Gently rub the seasoning mixture on the top side of salmon and coat completely.

If the weather is nice we usely grill our salmon for about eight to fifteen minutes.  We have also baked it in the oven at 375 degrees for about ten to fifteen minutes.  In all honesty I think the results are about the same.  Either way, cook until the fish flakes when touched with a fork or to desired doneness.

Enjoy!!

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{baked potato soup}

baked potato soup is hands down, my all time favorite soup!  it's so yummy on a cold day.

my dear friend leslie brought us this soup after noah was born and i just had to get her recipe.  thankfully she shared it with me so i can share it with you!


here's what you'll need:

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup finely sliced onion
2 Tbsp. flour
1 14.5 oz can of chicken broth
1 b. {2 medium} baking potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 cup of half & half
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces { this was not in the orig. recipe but i like carrots in my potato soup}

optional garnish: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions and chopped bacon.


let's get cooking.

in a 2-qt saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat.  add onion and saute for five minutes, being careful not to brown the onions.

sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook for about three minutes, stirring often.

gradually add chicken broth.  add potatoes, carrots, salt, basil, white and black pepper, tabasco, and garlic salt.  bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2o-25 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.  stir occassionally.

stir in half and half and simmer for five minutes.

i like to garnish each bowl of soup with a dallop of sour cream, a sprinkle of chedder cheese and some chopped green onions.  you could also throw in some chopped bacon or bacon bits if you wanted to get real fancy.

** I usually double this recipe for our family so we can have some leftovers!!

enjoy!


p.s. happy weekend ya'll

photo source: pillsbury.com photostream

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{reindeer cookies}

one of the activities in noah's most recent national geographic {for kids} magazine was making reindeer cookies.  noah asked if we could make some so i said, "sure!"  we decided to make them last week before thanksgiving.

please, oh please don't laugh at how they turned out.  i am officially the worst cookie maker ever.  my cookies always turn out ginormous.  i apparently can't make normal size cookies.

here is what they were supposed to look like.

we improvised a little and left out the peanut butter spread.  we also just used m & m's for the eyes and nose instead of chocolate chipe and baking chips.  because i made the world's largest cookies the dough kind of swallowed up the pretzel antlers. oops!!

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{snickers caramel apple}

one of my all time favorite treats is a caramel apple.  i'm not talking about a plain jane caramel apple.  i'm talking about a rocky mountain caramel apple with snickers.  go big or go home people.

the other day i was craving one of these apples but darn it if we don't live anywhere close to a rocky mountain chocolate factory store.  apparently the only store in GA is located within the ATL airport.

i decided i would try to tackle making my own snickers apple so i headed over to the closest grocery store and picked up some supplies.

and this is what i came up with.  yum!!

here's what you will need:

one 14 oz bag of caramels
2 TBSP of water
5 granny smith apples, washed
4-5 snickers bars, frozen {we used about one per apple}
5 wooden sticks

i found this bag of caramels in the candy aisle of my neighborhood publix.  the bag included five wooden sticks for making caramel apples with.  bonus!


now let's get cooking.

chop snickers bars and place in a small bowl.  set aside.

insert wooden sticks into the stem end of each apple.  cover a plate with wax paper or tin foil; grease with butter.

melt caramels + the two tablespoons of water in a saucepan over medium heat.  have your husband stir continuously until completely melted.

dip apples into caramel until evenly coated.  you might need to spoon caramel over the apple to help coat the apple completely.  allow excess caramel to drip off of the bottom of the apple.  roll apple in the chopped snickers.  it might be necessary to pick up the snickers pieces and place on the apple to coat the apple evenly.

place apples on prepared plate and refrigerate for one hour.  remove from the refrigerator and let stand for fifteen minutes before serving.  store leftover dipped apples in the refrigerator.  {yeah right.  like there will be any leftovers.}

p.s. i  tried to get all fancy with my apple and drizzled some melted chocolate {chips} over the snickers.  it didn't look pretty but boy did it ever taste good!!

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lemon ricotta cookies

recenty i stumbled across a lemon ricotta cookie recipe by giada de laurentiis.  i finally got around to making them this week and they are perhaps the best cookie i have ever eaten.  seriously.  if you love lemon than you are bound to fall in love with these cookies as much as i have.

ingredients:

{cookies}
2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cup(s) sugar
2 large eggs
1 container(s) (15-ounce) whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
grated zest from one lemon
{glaze}
1 1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar
3 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
grated zest from one lemon

heat oven to 375°F. line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cookies:
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated.  Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat to combine.  Stir in the dry ingredients.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges.  Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheets 20 minutes.

Glaze:
In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest; stir until smooth.  Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each cookie, and use back of the spoon to gently spread.  Let the glaze harden about 2 hours.

Enjoy!!

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chicken ring

Lately I have been on the search for new {to me} recipes and I have found some mighty tasty recipes on other people's blogs.  So I thought I would share the love and post one of our favorite recipes.  This chicken ring recipe is on a regular rotation here at our house.  Make it for our family and you'll see why!   It is super tasty and makes great leftovers {and I hate leftovers}.

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

2 packages of crescent rolls

1/3 cup of mayo

2 tbsp of dijon mustard

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

several green onions, chopped

5 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped. {I use turkey bacon but you could also use bacon bits}




Pre-heat oven to 375°.  Unroll your crescent rolls and place on your baking stone/sheet with the wider ends touching. See picture below. Your crescent rolls will form a sun!

Place a scoop {I literally use an ice cream scoop sometimes} of the chicken mixture in the center of the wide part of the crescent roll.

Take the skinny end of each crescent roll and fold it over the top of the chicken mixture.  Tuck the end underneath the wide portion of the crescent roll.

When you are done your chicken ring will look like this.

I add a few pieces of shredded cheese to the top of each crescent roll.  You can never have too much cheese!

Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes or until the crescent rolls are done.

Dig in and enjoy!

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brunch cheesecake

I have a major sweet tooth so when my SIL told me about her brunch cheesecake I was excited!!  Who wouldn't love having dessert for breakfast?

Ingredients

2 packages of  LARGE crescent rolls

2 8oz. packages of plain cream cheese

1 egg

3/4 C of sugar

a sprinkle of cinnamon

♦ Place one package of crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Lay the rolls side by side until you have formed one large rectangle that covers the bottom of your dish.  Pinch together the seams where the crescent rolls meet. {You may end up with a one extra crescent roll.  That's ok!  Save it in case you need to use it on your top layer.}

♦With a mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg, and sugar until blended.

♦Spread cream cheese mixture over your layer of crescent rolls.

♦Roll out your second package of rolls onto of the cream cheese layer making sure you cover all of the cream cheese.  If you have any gaps or holes break off pieces of your extra crescent roll to to fill in where needed.

♦Sprinkle the top layer of crescent rolls with cinnamon.

♦Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

♦Dig in and enjoy!!

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{french dip & swiss}

This is one of my family's all time favorite recipes.  I LOVE this meal because it is so easy to make {like crock-pot easy!} and it is soooo tasty.

Ingredients:

3lb roast

2 cans of beef broth

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1 tsp of thyme

1 tsp of rosemary

1 bay leaf

2 cloves of garlic, minced

5 peppercorns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low until meat is tender {about 5-7 hours}.  About an hour before you plan to serve your sandwiches take out enough liquid for your dipping sauce.  Make sure to strain out the bay leaf and peppercorns! Cool your aus jus in the fridge and then remove right before serving. You will need  to skim off the thin layer of fat that will have formed on top {thus the reason for cooling it in the fridge!!}

Place shredded roast meat on a hoagie and top with a few slices of swiss.  I like to toast mine in the toaster oven to get the cheese all nice and melted.  Heat aus jus and serve with your sandwiches.

Enjoy!!

{Thanks Bethany for sharing this awesome recipe with me and for letting me share it on my blog}

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apple bread

We have had gorgeous weather this week. All this cool weather has inspired me to bake! This morning I whipped up some yummy apple bread.  I like to have it for breakfast but you could also serve it for dessert!!

Apple Bread

4 Cups of apples, peeled and diced { I use about three medium granny smith apples}

1 Cup of sugar

3/4 Cup of canola oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 Cups of flour

1 1/2 Cup of chopped nuts {pecans or walnuts}

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour two loaf pans. Wisk together sugar, oil, eggs, spices, salt, and baking powder and soda. Stir in flour{I add in one cup at a time}. Add apples and nuts and stir everything together.  Pour into loaf bans and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the center is set.

Enjoy!!

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the oh so yummy blueberry coffee cake

I took this coffee cake to a baby shower brunch this past weekend and it was a hit. Several people requested the recipe so I thought I would just post it for everyone

Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp plus 2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 large eggs

 1/2 Cup granulated sugar

 3/4 Cups whole milk

 1/2 Cup canola or vegetable oil

 1 1/2 Cups fresh blueberries or thawed frozen berries

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

♦Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-by-9 inch baking pan. In a small mixing bowl stir together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and salt. Set aside.

♦In a large mixing bowl stir together the 2 cups of flour and baking powder. Whisk flour and baking powder until mixed completely. In a medium mixing bowl whisk eggs until slightly beaten.  Add sugar, milk, and canola oil and whisk completely. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, and stir with a fork until mixed. The dough will be slightly lumpy.

♦Pour batter into prepared pan. then press it evenly into corners. Evenly distribute blueberries over batter, keeping the berries 1/2 inch away from the sides of the pan so the berries don't burn.

♦Sprinkle reserved brown sugar mixture evenly over batter all the way to edges of pan. Cut butter into small pieces and dot batter with butter.

♦Bake 30-40 minutes or until the butter and brown sugar have melted on top of the cake and appear liquidy. The cake is done when it turns golden around the corners, shrinks away from the sides of the pan. Cool ten minutes and serve while still warm.

♦Enjoy!!

******This yummy recipe as well as many others can be found in the Pike Place Market Cookbook.

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T-Day recap

 

Well I am not sure why I was so worried about cooking a turkey. It turned out to be a breeze and it tasted wonderful. The turkey breast is definitely the way to go people if you don't have a big ole crowd to feed. 

I ended up combining two roasted turkey breast recipes to create my first turkey masterpiece. Hubs was kind of worried it would be dry since it was a semi-dry rub that went on the bird. I kept reassuring him that the veggies and chicken broth the bird was resting on would make it moist. Still unsure, hubs decided to inject the bird with the broth about every thirty minutes. In the end the turkey was very moist and flavorful. Little buddy gobbled it right up. HA!

 





I must say that prepping the day ahead of Thanksgiving was super helpful. I chopped all of my veggies for the bird and stuffing and made my cornbread for the stuffing early. My brother and I also made up the dough for the rolls early so they could rise enough before the big day. The rolls turned out to be super tasty and there is nothing like a hot, buttered roll right out of the oven. 



 

Speaking of that dough. We had a bit left over so we saved it to make cinnamon rolls with today. Hubs out did himself with those cinnamon rolls this morning. 



I guess I lied when I said there was nothing better than a hot, buttered roll straight from the oven. Turns out a hot, dripping with icing, cinnamon roll trumps the dinner roll any day!

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