Thanksgiving Cooking & Baking

I always love the week of Thanksgiving. Streets are bustling, yet commuters are winding down. Everyone is getting ready for cooking, baking and basking in time with family and friends. I always use this time to do a viewing of You've Got Mail, admitedly one of my favorite movies of all time. 

And somehow, I always sign up to make way more than I can handle. But that most likely does not come as a surprise. Tomorrow, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving twice. In the earlier part of the day, we'll be eating and watching football at Shaun's parents house. In the late afternoon/evening, we'll be doing about the same at my aunt's house. I never mind eating two Thanksgiving dinners, and I think this year, Baby H will also agree with me on that one!

Here's what I've got on tap for cooking and baking for tomorrow:

For my in-laws:

My grandmother's cranberry mold

Maple cornbread

Pecan pie

Pumpkin pie

For my aunt's:

Maple cornbread

Pumpkin pie

Salted caramel apple cheesecake

Whew!

Slightly ambitious, no? We'll see how my legs and back hold up for all of this.

I'm also breaking the cardinal rule of baking and trying some new recipes for the holiday, but I'm excited to change it up a bit and am hopeful that they will turn out well!

What are you making for Thanksgiving?

What are you most looking forward to eating? I love ALL Thanksgiving food, but I especially can't wait for my mother-in-law's sweet potatoes and my aunt's stuffing with Mom's gravy on top. Eeee!

And in case you are on the hunt for some last minute Thanksgiving recipes, here are some of my personal favorites!

Rustic cheeseboard. Couldn't be easier and comes together in about 5 minutes.

Cranberry-topped Brie. One of my favorite dishes ever...use some canned whole cranberries for the topping!

Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip. Always a crowd pleaser and looks so pretty!

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes. I'm obsessed. Gooey, sticky and delicious. Oh and super duper easy to boot.

Caramel Apple Cider Shakes. Super easy and very sweet. Just the way I like it.

Gingersnap Crusted Pumpkin Pie. I always MUST have pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving! It is one of my favorite dishes of all time EVER.

Apple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting. Another classic and I'm pretty sure I've gotten more compliements on these than any other dessert I've ever made!

For even more recipes of the autumnal variety, check out our Recipe page!

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes

I'm recovering today from a wonderful surprise baby shower yesterday. I cannot wait to recap for you as soon as it all soaks in and I can go through all of the photos. I am overwhelmed by how many friends & family came to celebrate and am so lucky to have the best mom, dad, sisters, in-laws (mom, dad, brother & sister-in-law!) and husband ever who put together this amazing party.

While I'm still floating on cloud 9, I'm also excited for a shortened week in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. I have grand plans for cooking and baking for multiple Thanksgiving celebrations, but we'll see how long my feet and back hold up :) 

Meanwhile, after doing extensive research on what to make for Thanksgiving, I'm so glad that I found Thrifty Veggie Mama's maple glazed sweet potatoes as part of this month's Secret Recipe Club since it's a simple, healthy yet seemingly decadent side dish that's worthy of this year's Thanksgiving table.

I really loved searching around Jamie's blog for a recipe to make. One looked better than the next! Jamie has a beautiful family and made the decision for them to go vegetarian two years ago. I promise you, her recipes are all so gorgeous that you won't even give meat a second thought.

I truly loved this recipe. It was so simple and SO.DELICIOUS. I'm notorious for loving my sweet potatoes to be sweet...despite Shaun's best efforts to convince me otherwise. This recipe is fantastic because it's healthier yet feels like a real treat! The result of roasting these taters in maple syrup, cider vinegar and cinnamon was a soft sweet potato with a light gooey glaze...could they look any prettier?!

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes

*Adapted from Thrifty Veggie Mama

**Note: I halved Jamie's recipe since it was just for Shaun and me! For a bigger portion, double this recipe, or head over to her site for the original recipe!

1/3 C maple syrup

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut bite size chunks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together the syrup, vinegar, oil, water and cinnamon. Pour over the sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Spread into 9-inch square pan and cover with foil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the syrup mixture is gooey and bubbly, stirring occasionally.

Serve immediately and try not to consumer entire pan in one sitting.

Easier said than done, in my opinion.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and consider it for your Thanksgiving tables! I'll be eating some for lunch today as a nice little treat :)

Easy DIY Thanksgiving Table

When we hosted Sweatsgiving on Saturday, there were a total of 8 of us. It was just enough to fill up our table and so I didn't want any table setting that would be too cluttered or overdone.

I decided to keep it super simple while still showing off the colors and bounty of the season. I started with a seasonal table cloth and coordinating runner. I love this look because a tablecloth feels so fancy while a runner adds a bit of contrast and a little fun!

Next, I sent Shaun out for some fall flowers, which I placed on my favorite cracked glass platter. I use this platter all year round for just about every occasion. It never gets old!

For some moodiness, I definitely wanted some candlelight. I took two little glass bowls that I had on hand, filled them with water and some fresh cranberries and dropped in 3 floating candles per bowl. These looked so pretty and festive! And with bowls and floating candles from Michael's and cranberries from A&P, you could make a few of these for under $10.

When it was eating time, I moved the flowers off of the table so that everyone could see each other. I simply put the two candle bowls, still burning, on the glass platter to keep a sweet and candlelit vibe that stayed out of the way.

After the party, I put the table back together to include some more gorgeous flowers that were gifted to us at the party. I'm still enjoying my little table set up days later!

So that's my super simple table setting for this year's Sweatsgiving. It feels so fall and festive in here and I plan to try and keep my table set up until things turn over for Christmas time...in just another couple of weeks!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!