Month of Gratitude - November 22

Today was so much fun.  We had a houseful of people.  My parents, Rick's mom, three of my sisters, my brother, two nieces and Hunter joined the normal chaos of three children, two dogs, a cat, a bird and fish.  So glad our home has multiple levels so everyone can find a place to relax.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was a bit of the traditional - turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pistachio salad, sweet potatoes and parsnips, butternut squash and apples, rolls, and our traditional dressing that is loaded with apples, onions, celery and this year zucchini.

I am glad that my children enjoy new adventures in food.  This year, thanks to Pinterest, we added the following to the day's menu:
Tater Tot Casserole - We doubled the amount of eggs and milk and it took twice as long to cook, but we still had none leftover - a real hit to start the day.

Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes - We used chocolate flavored protein powder and added a few chocolate chips to each pancake.  My dad said they were some of the best pancakes he has ever had.

Pineapple Cheese Ball - Absolutely wonderful.  We made it without the powdered sugar, it was sweet enough with the pineapple.  We also used turkey ham.

Avocado Hummus - We served this with fresh vegetables and pita chips.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie - My personal favorite and so simple.  I used a premade shortbread pie crust to save time, but it would have been better in a regular pastry crust.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle - Instead of pumpkin pie, we tried this.  It was a big hit as well with very little left.  I had cut up the gingerbread cakes and left them on the cutting board while I baked the pumpkin mixture.  My mom came into the kitchen and exclaimed "Oh no! What happened to the cake!"  It shocked her that I had ruined two beautiful, perfectly round cakes.  In the end, she decided it was worth it.

Cranberry Almond Pound Cake - Another one of my favorites that I will make again.  The perfect blend of tart and sweet.  I did add an extra cup of cranberries and mine took 1 1/2 hours to cook.  I was glad Hunter was willing to stay up and take it out of the oven and wait for it to cool so I could sleep.  I didn't have a  bundt pan, so used my angel food pan.  I won't have that problem in the future though, since a little elf told me Santa is bringing me a new pan for Christmas.

But the best thing about Thanksgiving is gathering together as family and friends and spending time together.  The girls made ornaments with their cousins.  We played the Logo Game.  We shared funny YouTube videos.  We watched the parade and we watched football.  It was so much fun.