Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Menu:

Old Fashioned Roast Turkey
Honey Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Gramma's Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
7-Layer Lettuce Salad
Pumpkin Pie
Pebbernodder
Nibble Mix
Hot Apple Cider


Thanksgiving Decorations:

from Monica at The Homespun Heart
& Hostess with the Mostest Daily Blog


Thanksgiving Devotions:


Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks.
Psalm 75:1

from My ABC Bible Verses by: Susan Hunt

Brined Pork Shoulder

This is a recipe I searched for because I wasn't able to purchase salt pork for the Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey recipe I used for Thanksgiving this year.

If you're like me and you can't find salt pork you can brine 1 lb of pork shoulder. I got my advice from Cook's Illustrated but changed the recipe to get more salt in my pork:

Brined Pork Shoulder
my recipe

1 lb pork shoulder
1 quart cold water
1/2 cup table salt
1/4 cup sugar

Pour water into a large zip-top bag. Add salt and sugar and squish around in the bag. Add pork shoulder and brine for 1 1/2 hours in the fridge.
Drain liquid from pork shoulder and continue with your recipe.


I think this worked just fine but I'm sure that salt pork would be the best choice to use on your Old-Fashioned Turkey if you can find it.

Enjoy!!

Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey

This was a great recipe for turkey. It's not complicated (and that's my favorite part) and it was really moist. It didn't require much prep time and it didn't require basting. Again, this is from Cook's Country. ;)


Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey
from: Cook's Country Magazine Oct/Nov '08
Serves 10 to 12

1 pkg cheesecloth (2-yds)
4 cups cold water
1 (12- to 14-lb) turkey (natural turkey - not self-basting)
1 lb salt pork, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
** if you can't find salt pork click here for a "how-to" brine pork shoulder

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cheesecloth from package and fold into 18-inch square. Place cheesecloth in large bowl and cover with water. Spray V-rack and pan with butter spray. Tuck wings behind back and arrange turkey, breast-up, on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Prick skin of breast and legs of turkey all over with a fork, cover breast and legs of turkey with salt pork, top with soaked cheesecloth (pouring remaining water into roasting pan, and cover cheesecloth completely with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Roast turkey until breast meat registers 140 degrees, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove foil, cheesecloth, and salt pork and discard. Increase oven temp to 425 degrees. Continue to roast until breast meat registers 165 degrees and thigh meat registers 175 degrees, 40 to 60 minutes longer. Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.


Enjoy!!

The recipe in Cook's Country Magazine Oct/Nov '08 included a recipe for gravy. We don't really use gravy at our house so I didn't make it. But it sounds delicious and fairly simple. Just remember to keep the giblets and neck from your turkey.

Honey Spiced Cranberry Sauce

This is seriously the BEST cranberry sauce I've ever had. It was almost like eating applesauce with a little tartness at the end. Yumm-O!! It's really simple and I picked it because I had most of the ingredients (except the canned cranberry sauce) in my pantry. This would make a great condiment for a turkey sandwich and is great with stuffing, too!!

Honey Spiced Cranberry Sauce
from: Cook's Country Magazine Oct/Nov '08

1 16-oz can cranberry sauce
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Pulse together in food processor until combined. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

See, I told you it was easy. ;) Cook's Country Magazine is by far my favorite cooking magazine. I enjoy reading each article and the foodie pictures are wonderful. Check out a copy and consider putting a subscription on your Christmas wish list.

Hearts at Home - Resources

The first weekend of November I attended the North Central Hearts at Home Conference. It was great! Of course there were vendors and I only wish I had more time to look through them all. I did make a few purchases and found some resources that I will be putting on my Amazon wish list.

Items I bought:
Professionalizing Motherhood by: Jill Savage
What a great book! I finished this while I was in California. It was a great read with lots of helpful advice and encouragement. I plan on doing a full book review to discuss some of the things that I really related to.

Time Out for Kidz - naughty seat
I wish I had thought of this. Very creative idea and I'm keeping one in my purse until further notice. ;)



Children and Sexual Abuse
by: Victoria L. Johnson
This little book had a lot of great information. It's sad to know that there are so many kids out there who have suffered from sexual abuse in it's many forms. It really calls you to pray for your children.

Simply Romantic Nights Kit
from Family Life
I bought this for a friend for her anniversary. We bought one for my husband's parents for our wedding gift to them. They had been enjoying it so much that we decided to buy one for ourselves and we've really had fun with it. I think this would make a great baby gift as it gets more difficult to create romantic evenings after having kids. A great resource for couples!!


My Wish List:
My Heart's At Home
by: Jill Savage
I believe this takes Professionalizing Motherhood to the next level. I found the first book so encouraging that I may be purchasing this one next.

A Life That Says Welcome
by: Karen Ehman
This book has been recommended by fellow bloggers and I've had it on my wish list for a while, but I was reintroduced to it at the conference and Karen Ehman was even "manning" the table. It was nice to visit with her and share my struggles with hospitality - I like the idea of it, but am not good at doing it.

Chosen Family Prayer Rocks Kit
This is a kit that includes a wooden bowl, tall pillar candle, and medium-size river rocks. You right names on the rocks as a reminder to pray for your family. It would be a great tradition to start together as a family.

I'm sure there are plenty more great books and other resources that I didn't get to peek at while at the conference. Next time, I'll make sure I get a little more time to shop. ;)

Cyber Monday

Did you know it was Cyber Monday? Do you know what Cyber Monday is?

Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday. Once again, I didn't have an agenda and was just browsing the online ads for some deals and I found the one that I needed at Babies'R'Us!!

We have been wanting a double stroller for some time. And we've been saving for some time as well. Now with a 2 year-old and a 3 /12 year-old I'm wondering what I'm doing buying a double stroller. But I figure we'll probably have more kids so it would be a good investment. We decided on a double sit-and-stand stroller where the rear seat can be removed so the toddler can stand. Great idea!!

I'd like to say that I haven't purchased this stroller because we're still saving, but I have the cash in an envelope ready to be spent on this stroller. Mostly I've just been procrastinating because I'm still a little nervous buying online. My husband purchases things online all the time, but I'm fairly new at it so I was waiting for him to do it. Last month he told me to go ahead and buy one, but still I procrastinated.

That brings us to today. I decided to peek at Babies'R'Us and see if they had any strollers on sale and they did!! The stroller we've been wanting and saving for:


Original Price $169.99 (+ $19 shipping)
Discounted Price $135.99

Not only did we receive the Cyber Monday discount of $34 but we also got $10 off for using a new way to checkout and we didn't have to pay shipping ($19) because we purchased over $100. What a deal!!

Grand total spent: $125.99
Grand total saved: $63!!

Thanks to Cyber Monday our new stroller will be arriving in 10-14 business days. ;)

Christmas Wreath

I got this great idea from Monica (The Homespun Heart). She made a beautiful Advent wreath for her table and I needed a new wreath for my door. I had some Christmas fabric left over from a project I did last year and I got the wreath for $4 at Hobby Lobby (50% off). I think it turned out supercute! Thanks Monica for all your great ideas!!

I will be posting more inspirations by Monica later this week.

Giveaway at Marie-Madeline Studio

You have an opportunity to win a beautiful quilt!! Not here, but at Marie-Madeline Studio. She's giving away one of two scrappy quilts and I thought you should know...so you can comment on her blog (not here) and have your chance to win too! ;)

Blessings!!