What is Thanksgiving without...

my Mother's Cornbread Dressing and Pumpkin Pie? Those are both probably my two favorite must haves for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner. It is a sad Thanksgiving when I don't get my Mother's Cornbread Dressing and Pumpkin Pie. It is such a sad Thanksgiving without them that I opted to have Thanksgiving at our home (instead of opting for a much easier meal at the nearest Cracker Barrel) just so I could enjoy the Cornbread Dressing and Pumpkin Pie.

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with a luncheon first at our house (around noon). My parents and my aunt (my mom's sister) and my uncle (her husband) joined us. I bought a Jennie-O turkey breast from Sam's, so the turkey was easy as I only had to heat the turkey for 1 1/2 hours (since it was already cooked).

And, I made two Pumpkin Pies (my mom's recipe) on Wednesday, and then on Thanksgiving, I got up and made my Crock pot Macaroni & Cheese and Green Bean Casserole. My Mother made and brought her famous (very yummy) Cornbread Dressing and she made a Sweet Potato Souffle as well because I told her that I really wanted to make one, but I thought it would be a lot of trouble to make with a little one holding onto my legs. Because, what is Thanksgiving without a Sweet Potato Souffle? My Aunt brought her famous Pineapple Casserole, and that was the makeup of our Thanksgiving Feast celebrated at our house for the very first time ever! Oh, and I bought a can of Cranberry Sauce too (without the whole berries).

My brother and his wife have always had Thanksgiving at their house, but they moved to New Jersey earlier this year. My brother actually moved away in October 2006, but they didn't sell their house and move the family until 2007, so we celebrated Thanksgiving with them last year. This year, they stayed home in New Jersey. We missed them, but at least I didn't have to fight my brother this year for the Pumpkin Pie! We both love the Pumpkin Pie that my mom has always made, and as siblings, we've always fought for the biggest slice. Fortunately, my mom always makes two pies (because the recipe makes two pies), so we normally have each gotten a pie of our own (after sharing with Mother and Daddy, of course).

Maybe I'll have Thanksgiving at our house again next year.

For our trip to my husband's Granny's house, I made "Puppy Chow" on Wednesday. "Puppy Chow" includes 9 cups of Crispix mixed with a small bag of milk chocolate chips, 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter and a stick of butter. The latter ingredients are melted together before they are mixed with the Crispix. And, then, after the Crispix is tossed with the melted ingredients, you pour a box of powdered sugar over the Crispix and toss until the Crispix is covered. It was a huge hit, and it was finished off before we left his Granny's house on Saturday afternoon.

I now know that some type of finger food is the best junk to take to Granny's to get the "Oohs" and "Aahs" that I normally NEVER get. Finally, at last, I was the Martha Stewart of the Thanksgiving! Ha! Ha! I wish! Everyone really did seem to enjoy the Puppy Chow though, and they all wanted to know the recipe.