A Thanksgiving Feast

We have a whole lot to be thankful for. We have our health, we are happy, and we have friends and family that love us.  When times get hard in life, its easy to forget that those really are the staples to life.  I wish we had Thanksgiving dinners more often to remember this.  Wait, now there is idea!! :)

My husband and I used to spend our Thanksgivings in the Caribbean.  We got married in November and took our honeymoon over the Thanksgiving holiday so we just kept it tradition.  Once Ashton came along last year we did not go and we did not go again this year.  We may next!  This year we had a fabulous meal at my sisters house.  Something about my family just makes me so happy.  It's not very often that you can mesh everyone together and have everyone get along.  It's just always easy and laid back.  The food was delicious and we really enjoyed our time together.  Here are the recipes I made and they were delicious!

Gobble Gobble Ya'll!

The Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds Russet potatoes

3 tablespoons salted butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1 cup whole milk

salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

Peel potatoes and rinse. Cut into even pieces and place into a large pot. Top with water and salt. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain completely and place potatoes back into hot pot. Mash potatoes with butter, cream cheese, milk, salt and pepper until desired consistency has been reached. Serve warm with gravy.

**  These mashed potatoes were fabulous on their OWN!  A simple trick in order to make ahead....re-heat them in a crock pot when ready to serve.  So easy!!  The only thing I would change about this recipe is to use a ricer or to mix the potatoes.  I don't like any lumps in my potatoes, but Lobster does, so I amused him. Actually, he made these for Thanksgiving...so proud of him :)

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake - Adapted from MelsKitchenCafe.Com

*Serves 4-5
INGREDIENTS:
Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 large cauliflower head, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch florets (about 6 cups)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon cheddar, 1 tablespoon Monterey Jack, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 clove minced garlic, pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor until coarsely ground.
Heat the remaining butter, remaining garlic and flour in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the cream and broth. Stir in cauliflower, dry mustard, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is nearly tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the rest of the cheese.
Pour mixture into an 8X8-inch baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until the crumbs are golden and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.