Our First Thanksgiving

Seth and I decided to make a Thanksgiving Feast to celebrate our first Thanksgiving together.

We started out Wednesday making pies.  I made the pecan pie pictured above.  Seth made the banana creme pie pictured below.  It was my first attempt at pecan and Seth's first attempt at a meringue.  The banana creme turned out a little too sweet...Seth has vowed to try again.  The pecan pie was heavenly, I found the recipe one of my favorite sites.  

The Christensen's host a Thanksgiving pie for breakfast party.  Everyone brings a pie and eats pie for breakfast.  There were many delicious pies to choose from...I think this is a tradition we may have to continue even when we move away from Clemson. 

Here is Seth carving our turkey.  It took a little longer to cook then we expected but it turned out perfectly juicy.

Here is a picture of our complete Thanksgiving Feast.  We know have a fridge full of yummy leftovers.

I made homemade stuffing.  I also found this recipe on the Pioneer Woman site.  It is made from cornbread and french bread.  I had to pull out a huge washing tub to mix it up in because we don't have any big bowls.  It was a bit of a pain to make but was worth it in the end.

We also made Candied Yams/Candied Sweet Potatoes.  This dish is a Southern Tradition but strangely we got the recipe and ingredients as a wedding present in Utah.  I have decided to share it...so that if I ever lose it I can find it again.

Best Ever Candied Yams

2 #2/2 can yams/sweet potatoes

2/3 cup butter   

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup syrup from yams and from pinapple

1 8oz can crushed pinapple, drained

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 taspoon cinnamon

1 package minature marshmallows

Remove yams from can, leaving syrum.  Mash well until smooth.

Combine drained pinapple juice with the yam syrum (bring the measure to 1 1/2 cup).  Place in small saucepan and bring to bnoil.  At the boil, turn off heat and add brown sugar and butter.  Stir to mix; add the yams.  Then add crushed pinapple, nutmeg, and cinnamon and mix all together.  Put mixture in large glass baking dish.  Bake uncovered for at least one hour at 350 degrees, until mixture is firm.  just before serving, top with marshmallows and broil for about 2 minutes until the marshmallows are browned.

I also made my mom's home-made rolls.  This may be the first time I have made them since I lived in Provo.  They turned out beautifully and we had tons of leftovers for turkey sandwiches.

Seth made strawberry-banana Jello.  He said his last few attempts at Jello have not been successful...luckily this attempt was successful.  He topped it off with blueberry yogurt since we were low on Cool-Whip.

Seth also made mashed potatoes and gravy...yum.

It was a wonderful first Thanksgiving for us.  Here we are after eating entirely too much.  Next year we plan to share our gigantic meal with others...anyone want to come and visit?