The Day After Thanksgiving

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful (and quiet) holiday. It was just the four of us at home celebrating and one of my friends, whose husband and kids had traveled to his hometown for the week, joined us for the meal. Everything was so flavorful and it was nice just to relax at home and spend time together.

With a mid-day meal, we didn't do anything formal for dinner. I pulled out some finger foods and dessert (pumpkin cheesecake) for the group to munch on. Times like this my family enjoys snacking on cheese and crackers. A perfect time to enjoy a Hormel Gatherings Party or Snack Tray (we love the Snack Tray size - they are great for snacking with just the family!)

In fact, we kept and cleaned the tray from the HORMEL GATHERINGS™ Supreme Party Trayand actually as pictured here refilled it with the contents of the smaller HORMEL® Snack Tray Pepperoni Bites (the pepperoni, cheese and pretzels)

and served it with some crackers and dip to make it a one stop snack station.

I hadn't planned to go out shopping at all yesterday, but the family joined my friend for one quick stop so she could have others check out the furniture she was going to get - since her family wasn't there to help her. Then, after the kids went to bed, I ventured out to Target to pick up a few of the less popular Black Friday deals. It was strange, there was almost no lines and there were even some of the displays that were not on the beaten path that were still fully intact (I had to remove the little plastic disc from the end of the hanging posts that holds the items in place during transit in order to purchase the item - all but one post had the disc still there). I was able to get everything that was on my list and more - 40% off all clothes was a great deal, I might have gotten more if I didn't want to get home at a decent time. I was glad I didn't linger, as the parking lot and minor road ways were icy and it only got colder as the night went on.

This morning, again, no early alarm setting for me. When I did get moving, I made three quick stops - Target (10% off Target Gift Cards), Kohl's (assorted doorbuster deals through 1 pm) and Giant Eagle (Amazon gift cards, 20% Fuel Perks). I had planned to get to CVS, but was beat and decided I could go later or tomorrow.

We enjoyed leftovers for lunch and now, we are just relaxing and the kids are watching movies. I love long holiday weekends with nothing specific scheduled to be done. I think it is a wonderful contrast to our normally (over) programmed lives of sports, activities, school and work.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information and images for this post.

Planning for Thanksgiving

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Are you the host for Thanksgiving? When I am planning for an event, I love to be able to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

For the past 8 years, I have done a traditional turkey dinner for my daughter's birthday and the realization quickly set in that with only one oven, the only way to pull it off is to work ahead. For me, this starts with roasting my turkey the night before the event. Once roasted, I can let it cool before carving. This is great because it reabsorbs much of the cooking broth in the process, resulting in moist turkey. Plus, I can get the turkey cleaned and the carcass thrown out and get the kitchen cleaned up. I place the turkey into a 9x13 (or a little larger) glass pan, add a small amount of broth, cover tightly with aluminum in set in my refrigerator. The next day, I put it in the oven with my other dishes and cook it for about 30 - 45 minutes to cook it through. I also gather the remaining broth and set in the refrigerator to use to make gravy the next day.

I also like to prep my side dishes. The first I always do is next day mashed potatoes. I boil the potatoes and mash them with some added ingredients, like cream cheese, and put in another glass pan. The potatoes take about 45 - 60 minutes to cook the next day. I also do my sweet potatoes, because I do a mashed sweet potato casserole. They take about 45 minutes to cook the next day. I also prepare my stuffing, although I suppose since it never sees the turkey it is technically dressing. I usually use a few pieces of the carved turkey and a little of the cooking broth in the preparation of my stuffing...which I can only do if I prepare the turkey the day ahead.

I also do all of my cutting and chopping for my fruit salad and vegetable tray. Then, the day of, I can quickly set out the vegetables and have plenty at the ready for refilling the tray. I assemble the fruit salad day of, in order to keep things fresh.

I typically prepare my vegetable dishes the day of the event and put them in the oven along side the other dishes that are cooking. I like to do a broccoli and cauliflower dish, but this year I think I am going to try the Bacon and Green Bean Casserole Deluxe featured on the Hormel site.

It is much like the traditional one, with a kick of bacon bits - after all, everything is better with bacon. We don't do mushroom soup, so I will swap in cream of celery or onion to give it a good creamy texture. Best thing is, you can make this one the day ahead and then simply warm and serve.

This year our celebration will just be the immediate family, so we are trying out the Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey Breast. I must say, I am intrigued by this one, it "goes straight from your freezer to your oven". I am so used to thawing. It comes in an oven ready back and you simply pull out of your freezer, remove from the outer bag and put it in your oven in a roasting pan. I will have to let you know how it goes. I also will not be prepping the sides, because I will not need a full casserole of mashed potatoes and can just make up a small pan day of.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information and images for this post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Tips from the Hormel Test Kitchen

Preparing a feast to share with family on Thanksgiving can be a daunting task. I know that the first time that we hosted Thanksgiving at our house, the planning and preparation was shared with my cousin, who came to town to celebrate with us. From making a turkey to timing the food to all be ready at the same time, there is a lot that goes into the holiday meal.

Recently, Hormel invited their Hormel Extended Family Bloggers to submit their questions about holiday food preparation to their test kitchen director. Then, they compiled the responses into a short video.

HORMEL Thanksgiving Tips from Hormel Test Kitchen Director, Joan Hanson:


For me, Thanksgiving is actually a small event with just my family. I make my "Thanksgiving" meal each year for my daughter's birthday weekend at the beginning of November and we celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family this past weekend. We will still roast up a turkey breast and make a few traditional sides - it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it!

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Do you host or just bring a dish to share?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided a thought starter and some of the information for this post.