A White Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was especially excellent this year since I got to share it with 14 members of my family - the biggest crowd we've had in years. We were just missing a couple of cousins and uncles who are currently spread across three continents. By Christmas, however, they may all be back in Texas, at least for the holidays. I can't wait.

As remarkable as the family fellowship this year was the weather. It snowed all afternoon.











The day after Thanksgiving my parents and I have a tradition that we cook our own dinner with all our favorite dishes so we can keep all the leftovers for ourselves. One of the downsides of having such a large family is that the leftovers are spread thin even after a huge dinner.

We had (clockwise from the top) squash casserole, crescent rolls, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, Quorn brand turkey substitute, dressing, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, sauteed green beans, wasabi deviled eggs, with mushroom gravy all over everything.



Not pictured is green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and french-fried onions because that's just gross. My dad likes it, though. Also not pictured because I forgot is my mom's fruit salad, which is particularly delicious since it's made with peach pie filling. For dessert we made pumpkin pie and cherry pie and homemade whipped cream. We also enjoyed a nice Sauvignon Blanc and then had to drink a pot of coffee to revive ourselves.

Pretty much every Thanksgiving is like this, and I look forward to it all year. I like Thanksgiving way better than Christmas. It offers all the same opportunities to eat too much and hang out with family and take time off work without all the shopping - a truly ideal holiday.