Overall, our tiny Thanksgiving turned out well, if a little lonelier than I would have liked. Since Darren and I took/had the whole week off, we did some fun things, and I did a little of our Thanksgiving prep each day. I had already prepared the cornbread dressing a few weeks ago when I made a really big batch and froze half of it, so I just took it out of the freezer to thaw on Monday, and I also made my cranberry sauce. On Tuesday, I baked the sweet potatoes. Darren and I picked up lunch and had a picnic at a local park. It was a really nice, sunny day, and we were the only people in the park. On Wednesday, I dry brined the turkey legs and wings, and I peeled and mashed the sweet potatoes to prepare the casserole. On Thanksgiving day, I relaxed until late morning, and then prepared the basting butter for the turkey and the topping for the sweet potato casserole. We had a late lunch around 1:30 with no rush or stress because everything was done piecemeal. Our turkey legs and wings turned out really well, along with everything else, but we still had far too much food! After we enjoyed Thanksgiving #2 on Friday, we pulled the rest of the turkey and froze it for using later in soup or potpie or something, and I made 12 cups of turkey stock in my pressure cooker with the bones, scraps, and some chunks of veggies. I'm going to use some to make the curry on Sunday, and I'll freeze the rest. I used the leftover rolls to make bread pudding, which I haven't done in several years. Darren thought this bread pudding was a hit. I wish I had filmed his reaction - he was so pleased he couldn't stop laughing. Now it's back to the grind for a few weeks until Christmas break.
Sunday: Japanese Curry Lentils with Carrots and Potatoes over Rice
Monday: Antipasto Salad with Cheesy Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Tuesday Night Takeout! Joint Pick
Wednesday: Broiled Sandwiches with Chips and Salad
Thursday: Seared Tuna Steaks with Avocados, Rice, and Salad
Friday: Date Night Takeout! Darren's Pick
Saturday: Breakfast for Supper!
