Kinda Hungry Kid: Thanksgiving...Part 1

Ah, I love Thanksgiving. I'm so thankful to have a big happy family!!

Yesterday was our first Thanksgiving celebration. We've always celebrated the Saturday before with my mom's side of the family. She's 1 of 8 Brothers & Sisters, I'm one of 16 Grandkids and there are 25 Great Grandkids - plus spouses!! Granted not everyone can make it every year, but there's always a good group. :)

...and a good spread of food!

Of course my camera never even came out of my purse so I didn't get ~~many~~ any pictures. BUT my mom did. So I've "stolen" her photos so I could share some of them with you. :)

Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Assorted Berry dishes,
Salads, Eggs, Broccoli casseroles, fruit salad, humus and more!!

Not my plate but mine was definitely piled as high as this one!

[not shown: the dessert ~~table~~ tables.
Yes, there were so many cookies, pies, candies & cake that we had to add a second table!!]

Thankfully the food was plentiful, because I was eating like a Hobbit...I think I had several servings for lunch, then I had a couple servings of second lunch, and then I had a snack...Somehow I just kept gravitating back to the food. lol!!

I had Dressing (It's the dressing I grew up on and is SUCH a Thanksgiving treat - the kind of treat you don't ever want to know what's in it because that would just ruin the magic, lol!), Sweet Potato Casserole (provided my moi), green beans, LOTS of cranberry (which I've gotten the recipe for and will be making for Thanksgiving Day), Carrots, A Spinach Salad, and Pumpkin Humus & Veggies (also brought by me).

It was such a fun day. I really can't convey how much I love seeing my family. The only down side? We never broke out the Catch Phrase. Come Christmas, we'll definitely have to make sure we play. I always leave that game with my cheeks in pain from laughing so much. :D

OK... On to some recipes. :)

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

5 large sweet potatoes

5 T Maple Syrup

Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste

1.5 C Pecans (chopped)

2 T Ground Flax Seed

2 T Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 C Raisins

1/4 C Maple Syrup

Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

Clean off the Sweet Potatoes and poke with a fork. Put into the hot oven and let roast for an hour + until the inside is soft. Remove from oven and let cool so that they're easy to handle. The skins will just peel right off - discard them. :)

Mash the skinless sweet potatoes with the 5 T Maple Syrup & Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Spread in a casserole dish.

(I did all of this the night before so that all I had to do in the morning was mix the topping & bake).

To make the topping mix the pecans, flax seed, flour, raisins and syrup in a bowl & spread over the mashed sweet potatoes.

Put everything back into the oven (at 350°) and bake for 50 minutes.

All done. :)

Sweet Potato Base

Topping

Done! (I did spritz it with butter to help it "golden up" but I don't really think that did any thing. lol!

I also made Pumpkin Humus and served it in a pretty pumpkin bowl along with some Pretzels, Apple Slices, Carrots, Sweet Pepper and Cucumber.

Even though I LOVE the food and seeing my family, one of the VERY BEST parts was that my sister decided at the last minute to make the 5 hour drive down with her 2 little girls!!!