Less & More: The WFH Mom Edit

Of course, we didn’t start there. The kids each wanted to make an appetizer. My nine year old daughter created a veggie/relish tray and my six year old son made the charcuterie board this year. They were both works of art.

We deep fried our turkey for the second year in a row, and if you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend. We will never go back to doing it any other way (and we’ve tried roasting AND smoking!). It’s moist, flavorful, quick and frees up your oven for EVERYTHING ELSE all day long. We deep fry ours in lard, which is slightly pricier than the peanut oil alternative, but so tasty and you can actually deep fry other stuff after the turkey is done. We tried to make deep fried cheese sandwiches this year, but they didn’t turn out as deliciously as Dan had hoped. I’m lucky to have married a man who knows his way around a deep fryer. He handled the turkey from brining to carving.

Our chickens were very interested in the whole ordeal and spent plenty of time pecking the ground around the fryer after it was turned off to get the last remaining flecks of lard.

Everyone pitched in to make the sides.

Dan brought to life a side I designed – autumn harvest quinoa salad. It had roasted beets and butternut squash mixed with toasted quinoa, slivered almonds and craisins with some Balsamic Vinegar mixed in. It was delicious.

I made green beans and bacon, while my parents contributed mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and corn casserole (not pictured below!).

We had a wonderful day watching the parade/dog show/football (wtaf, Bears!?), taking a few walks, playing games (it turns out that Col. Mustard killed Mr. Boddy) and then finishing the evening with our first Christmas movie of the season (Dan and I like to start with Family Man with Nicolas Cage!).

I hope your day was amazing, relaxing and special. AND now, on to Christmas! Time to decorate, shop those Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and get ready for a short runway to Christmas 2024. Merry Holidays!