a turkey day of our very own

Hannah stuffed and stitched this felt turkey head at school, isn't it great? Haha! I think we'll use it every year. Her teacher, Ms. Dains, said she made them with her grandma when she was little and they'd always pin it on a pineapple as a center piece. I love that she passed such a fun little tradition on to her students.

Oh, please pass the rolls! I was so happy they turned out! See below for my mom's recipe...the best rolls I've ever had. Ever.

I had the kids make "place cards" for everyone using little tags tied onto fresh pears.

Classic.

My brother-in-law, Jon, at the cabin over Thanksgiving weekend. He was last in line on spaghetti night, but he said was thankful anyway. Haha!

A few years back my mom decided to switcheroo her year to do Thanksgiving to accommodate certain siblings {you know who you are!}. For us, that means that we have Thanksgiving every 4 years with my family, every 4 years with Clayton's family, and with no family in between.

This was the "off" year and we had nowhere to go. We decided to give it a go ourselves. Thanksgiving at our own house with our 5 little kids.

I had never cooked a turkey before, but it was the easiest thing ever with the help of one of those oven bags. I cheated and did boxed stuffing and powdered mashed potatoes just for the sake of time and the fact that my kids were only going to take two bites anyway.

It was a lot of work, but super cozy and I was excited that I pulled it off, including a homemade pecan pie {my favorite!}. After we cleaned up we headed off to the cabin for a couple days with Clayton's family, then to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner again on Sunday.

Okay. You HAVE to try these rolls. It's my mom's recipe that she got from her friend Lora years ago. Lora got it from her grandmother and said that the recipe is over 100 years old.

Becky Jo’s Favorite Dinner Rolls

{aka Lora Bingham’s “Grandma’s 100-Year-Old Refrigerator Roll Recipe”}

Makes 2 dozen.

2 1/2 tsp. yeast

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 c. mashed potatoes (I use instant)

1 c. scalded milk

2 eggs, beaten

5-7 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Mix butter, sugar, salt, mashed potatoes, and scalded milk together in mixer bowl. When cooled add yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly and add eggs. Knead dough in mixer, adding in enough flour to make a stiff, yet slightly sticky dough (5-7 cups). Knead the dough until it pulls away clean from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes on a high spped. Place dough into a large buttered bowl or container and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Let rise in refrigerator 4-5 hours or overnight.

Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each ball of dough out to a 1/8” thick circle. Using a pizza cutter, cut across the circle 6 times to form 12 triangles (like a pizza). Roll each triangle from the outside in to create a crescent roll. Place a dozen rolls each onto 2 greased cookie sheets. Cover with a light dish towel and let rise 2 hours in a warm place. (I preheat my oven for a minute just to get it warm then turn it off…it makes a great place for the rolls to rise).

After the rolls have risen, bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until light golden on top. Brush with butter while still hot.

For cinnamon rolls:

Add extra 1/2 c. sugar, 1 Tbsp. vanilla, and 1/4 tsp. ginger. Refrigerate overnight.

Roll out 20” long by 8” wide ad 1/2 inch thick. Spread with softened butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll up and cut 24 rolls. Let rise 1-2 hours. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. For frosting when cooled, cream together 1 bag powdered sugar, 1 stick of butter and a teaspoon vanilla.