We came.
We ate.
We ate some more.
And we had a great, great Thanksgiving.
I didn’t wind up taking too many photos yesterday, other than the food that was on the table (which you’ll see in a second), but that’s just because I was too busy having an awesome day. Hopefully everyone else was doing the same!
Jay and I headed over to my parents’ house a little before 1pm yesterday afternoon to hang out with the little bro, the parents, and my grandma. Yep, we’re a small family, and that’s a-okay in my book. We snacked on some homemade Chex mix and enjoyed a few yummy beverages while we waited for dinner.
We had to eat early since my brother was going to be leaving early so he could go down to the Jets game (poor guy), so by around 2pm, dinner was served…with all the usual culprits.
Turkey, sweet potatoes…
Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole…
Stuffing (this is my special one mom makes with apples and cranberries)…
Plus, my other contribution which you may have caught on Pinterest…
Pineapple upside down biscuits.
I found the recipe for these off the Food Network years ago, and every once in a while I’ll pull them out of the ‘ol recipe binder. They are SO, so good you guys. I love ‘em!
My plate…a little bit of everything, plus mom’s homemade apple sauce which, believe it or not, does not have any food coloring in it. That was all from the apples.
Everything was absolutely delicious, and one of the great things about having a small family is that there’s almost always lots of leftovers. My parents cooked a 22 pound turkey…so that meant leftovers for meeeeee.
I stocked up on lots of goodies!
A little while after dinner, it was dessert (#1) time.
We had my apple caramel cheesecake and mom’s homemade chocolate pie.
Both were delicious but that cheesecake totally blew my mind. WOW, that was good!
Once dessert was finished, we said our goodbyes and made the trip over to Jay’s aunt’s house for dessert #2. By this point I was still incredible stuffed, but I managed to dig deep for just a little more. Besides, I’d been looking forward to that pumpkin cake roll allll day.
I only got a few bites of the cheesecake in, but you guyyyyys. The pumpkin cake roll was everything I could have wanted and more. I will absolutely, 100%, be making this again.
After a couple hours of catching up with family, we made the trip back home, changed into our stretchy pants, and totally crashed on the couch for the night. I’m pretty sure I only made it until about 9:30pm before falling asleep so I called it an early night (besides, the Jets were atrocious to watch).
Today, Jay has the day off (yay!) so we have a pretty ambitious list of things we want to get done. We’ll see how well it goes…
Happy Friday, everyone!!
Question for the Morning:
What was the best thing you ate yesterday??
chelcie @ chelcie's food files says
your thanksgiving day looks delicious..especially that cheesecake..holy yum. My favorite thing I ate yesterday was between the turkey and gravy and the apple crisp. YUM.
Shannon says
I was too stuffed and didn’t get the chance to try Mom’s apple pie for dessert. The turkey we had was very tasty, and homemade mashed potatoes always taste better compared to instant.
It looks like you had a great Thanksgiving- lots of good food that went around for you. I’m jealous of your mom’s chocolate pie. We were going to have that but my sister wanted apple so she won. :(
Kerry @ Totes My Oats says
Mmmm all of those eats look amazing! Best thing I ate is a toss up between my aunt’s stuffing and corn casserole. Both were delicious!!
Kathryn says
The best thing I ate yesterday had to be my moms sweet potatoes. No one else in the family likes them, she always makes them for me. This time, they were extra juicy, which I love because I use the juice on my turkey instead of gravy (which I don’t like). I’ve got the leftovers in my fridge, calling my name for lunch…and probably dinner, too!
Suzanne @ Fit Minded Mom says
Those biscuits look insanely good!!!
I have a small family as well but I have learned to embrace it. I used to be envious of my friends who had large families but there is something to be said for relaxing on Holidays and not having craziness going on all around you!!
alyssa - life a la wife says
Sometimes a nice little family gathering is better than a big one!
That Jets game was painful for me to watch and I’m not a jets fan!! When the patriots scored 3 td’s in 52 seconds i knew the game was over.
Natalie @ Free Range Human says
Looks like a delicious day! The best thing I ate has to be the sweet potato casserole. I told my husband yesterday that if I got to pick my last meal, that casserole would definitely be a part of it!
Alison says
So glad you had an awesome day and that the pumpkin roll exceeded your expectations! :) The best thing I ate yesterday was (don’t mean to toot my own horn) my stuffing! It’s probably just because stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving food. But this was the first year I did it homemade! Oh and for one of the desserts we had baked apples a la mode. Soooo good and easy to make (in the microwave)! This is the recipe in case you wanna try! http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-apples-10000001120337/ I used a lot less sugar but subbed some maple syrup too…and it still turned out amazing!
Tina @ Best Body Fitness says
It all looks soooo good! We usually do all the desserts up big at Peter’s family’s Thanksgiving but they didn’t have it this year, so I feel like I missed out on all the treats. In fact, I didn’t even get one of the pumpkin pie bars *I* baked! haha! Yep. I need to remedy that situation.
PS – Peter would die over those pineapple upside down biscuits.
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake says
YUM!!! Glad the pumpkin roll was everything you hoped it would be! :-)
Marielle says
Ha I definitely fell asleep at about 9:30 last night as well, too much food but it was so good! :)
michelle kim says
OMG, the sweet potatoes and the stuffing look SOOOO GOOD!
Best thing I ate yesterday? Probably the turkey (following Safeway’s instructions, haha. We ordered their meal).
Melanie says
All of those desserts look AWESOME! I don’t think I could pick just one food from yesterday that was my favorite. I love mixing the turkey, potatoes, gravy, and stuffing together to create one tasty bite! Mmm mmm….so glad you had a happy Thanksgiving!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
It looks like you had a fabulous meal…especially the desserts! ;) My favorite things that I ate yesterday were maple-kissed pumpkin muffins, green bean casserole, fruit salad, and pumpkin pie. It was a successful eating day! :)
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
Sounds like an awesome Thanksgiving with some incredible food! Holy.wow that cheesecake and pumpkin roll are staring me straight in the face. It wasn’t Thanksgiving for us yesterday, unfortunately, so none of my food was too mind-blowing. Any leftovers you care to share with a deprived Canadian girl? :D
Michelle L says
looks like you had a delicious day! My fave was deep fried turkey! And homemade cranberry sauce….and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert too!
Steph @ StephSnacks says
All of your Thanksgiving food looks amazing — especially the upside down pineapple tarts! Wow! We had some great dishes at my parents and I still feel stuffed from yesterday..
Molly @ Just Your Average Athlete says
Best thing I ate yesterday was my mom’s garlic mashed potatoes. No one can make them like she does – they are my all-time favorite side!
Michelle@Peachy Palate says
So jealous of all the amazing Thanksgiving eats!!! Did you post the recipe for your pumpkin roll??? Pick up any bargains today? Another thing I’m hella jealous about!!!
Stefanie @ Thin Vegetarian says
The best thing I ate yesterday was a enchilada dish with the stuffing being a spicy guacamole and it was topped with refried beans. Plus this super-sweet and juicy pineapple!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey says
Looks like a fun day! Way to chug-a-lug you lush! ;) bahaha
Lydia says
All the food looks wonderful :)
Bek @ Crave says
Hahaha, stretchy pants time! Looks like a great day. Well, yesterday was just a normal Friday for me but the best thing I ate was my mum’s beef casserole mmm- so good.
Katie says
I’m a stuffing lover so that’s usually my favorite. I made a pumpkin cake roll type dessert as well though, and I’m still enjoying leftover it today. :)
Khushboo says
Although I didnt have a full-on thanksgiving meal, I tried pumpkin pie for the first time….and now get the whole pumpkin craze :-)
lyric says
Oh em gee I wish it was thanks-giving for us canadians ;) Oh well I can still give thanks! Best thing I ate yesterday? Chicken Cattatorie, hope you had an awesome thanks-giving!
Court Star @ StarSystemz says
Your THANKSGIVING looked like a FEAST! I love it! Thank you for sharing :) Love and Shine CourtStar
Emily @ Perfection Isn't Happy says
I had dessert twice on Thanksgiving too. There’s always room for more dessert :).
Ashley @ Sweat for Sweets says
Yum! Apple caramel cheesecake + that pumpkin loaf look SO delicious!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
Now I need the recipe for the cake roll! ;)
Amy Risner says
Courtney!! Can we please, please, please get your mom’s recipe for her Homemade Chocolate Pie?!
Courtney says
I’ll try my best! I’m pretty sure it’s just straight out of the Betty Crocker cookbook though :)