Thanksgiving / Birthday / Turkey Induced Coma

Hey!
So, today was Thanksgiving as well as my birthday. It didn't even seem like a birthday since I did so much cooking.

Lately at work I have been pretty swamped.
Like, really swamped. This is a project that has literally consumed me for months and resulted in overtime:



So, I was pretty surprised that HPS had flowers delivered to the office as a birthday gift.









Usually on the day before a holiday our CEO lets us leave the office early. It's not something that I count on. But it is really nice of him to let us go home early. Though, yesterday he did not. And knowing what all I had to cook for today was kind of stressing me out because I didn't think I'd have enough time.

At about 4:50 p.m. I had more flowers delivered...



In my favorite color, too...





Can you guess from who?



That's right! My husband!

After receiving those, my mood had lifted. I got home and cooked like it was my job!

I made my birthday cake, a spice cake, chocolate cookies, and homemade cranberry sauce.

That was probably the most fun thing for me to make this season.



I boiled water and sugar until the sugar was completely dissolved. Then I added in fresh cranberries (rinsed) and covered it with a lid. Cranberries pop when heated, so it's best to cover it. Then as that was simmering I squeezed the juice out of a whole orange and a half a lime and added that to it and let it continue to simmer.

I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but it was AMAZING. I'll be making another batch for the McKinley Thanksgiving that we'll be going to on Saturday. So, I'll get the finished picture then.

After making it homemade, I don't think I'll even consider the gelled can stuff again.

I woke up at 6:15 a.m. this morning. Showered and got ready for the day. Brian let me open my gifts then, too. So, I fiddled around with them for a little bit.

Then I made homemade chex mix!



That's always a favorite for my Dad... And he did enjoy it. For seasoning I used unsalted butter, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and progresso Italian bread crumbs. Sooooooo good! Sometimes I make a spicy chex mix for Brian by adding in Tony's Creole seasoning. He likes it.

My Mom arrived while I was making the chex mix with the ham. Yeah, my family cooks ham and turkey for Thanksgiving - It's weird, I know. Let's move on...



We used pineapple, maraschino cherries, and cloves to cook it. Mom later made a glaze out of water, clove honey, and mustard.

Our menu was pretty impressive:
1. Turkey
2. Ham
3. Mashed potatoes with gravy
4. Au gratin potatoes
5. Cranberry sauce
6. Stuffing
7. Biscuits
8. Cheddar biscuits
9. Pumpkin pie
10. Lemon birthday cake
11. Spice cake

Mmmm.... Stuffing... *drool*



I did forget to make homemade green bean casserole. I was so mad at myself. Oh well, it's not like we starved without it.

My birthday was pretty busy. There will be some celebrating tomorrow since I can rest and not cook a ton of food.

That's about it. I hope everyone who reads this had a good Thanksgiving, too. Preferably less busy, though...