thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Lake Delta Rome NY
This is Lake Delta, a beautiful lake not far from our village.
 

I want to share one of my favorite writings with you today. It’s a short letter
that Fra Giovanni wrote to his friend in 1513. It’s called – “Take Peace”

 

I salute you. I am your friend and my love for you goes deep.

There is nothing I can give you which you have not got. But there is much,
very much, that while I cannot give it, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instance.
Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.
Take joy!

Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty . . . that you will
find earth but cloaks your heaven.

Courage then to claim it, that is all! . . . And so I greet you, with profound
esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and
the shadows flee away.

 
 

May your table be surrounded with love & laughter this Thanksgiving, and may your heart
be filled with thankfulness, as you’re reminded of the many blessings that God has
brought to your home.

Pearl

How To Cook a Perfect Turkey

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With the season of feasting upon us, I thought I would share a new way of preparing the PERFECT turkey, that my
friend Sue shared with me!

How to cook a turkey

Wait a minute… is there really a perfect way to cook a turkey? What you need to find out is, what is the
perfect way for you & your family 🙂

If the thought of …
Juicy dark meat, as well as juicy white meat
All the skin being crispy, instead of half of the bird having soggy skin
Quick cooking times
Delicious juices to make gravy
Having a platter filled with beautiful slices of meat
And my personal favorite… not having to spend half the day picking a carcass clean to get the meat

Then you’ll love this cooking method!

It’s called “Spatchcocking” your turkey.

Here’s a full video to teach you these “secret” methods 😉

Enjoy your feast… and the compliments on the juicy meat… and all the extra free time you’ll have!!

Savory Sausage Stuffing With Secret Ingredients!

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Stuffing Recipe

At your first glance over this stuffing recipe, you might find yourself with at least one raised eyebrow. I know I did the first time I heard what was in this dish during one of our family gatherings. But, to my surprise, I absolutely loved it! As a matter of fact, everyone loved it!

To be honest, I just wasn’t used to having fruit as an ingredient in a main course, so I had no idea how tasty it was! Of course, my taste buds have certainly grown & expanded in the last few years, and I now enjoy all sorts of fruit, meat, and salad combinations!

This recipe is not exactly like the first one that I tasted, as I’ve added a few more “goodies” here & there.

Feel free to add, take away, or change amounts of any of the ingredients as well. My mother tells me that I am a lot like my great-grandmother Pearl, who never really used recipes or measuring utensils, but rather added different ingredients until it looked & felt right! So, with that being said, I hope you enjoy this special recipe!

Savory Sausage Stuffing Surprise

12 Cups bread cubes
8-16 ounces ground pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Maple sausage)
1 1/2 Cups chopped onion
1 1/2 Cups diced celery (save inner leaves, dice & add as well)
2 larger cans of chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 Cups chopped granny smith apples
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 Cup dried cranberries
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chicken broth (more if needed)
1 cup butter

You could buy pre-made bread cubes, or make your own with a loaf of your favorite type of bread. To make your own, simply break the bread into small bits (1-2 inches), spread on large cookie sheet, place in 250 degree oven for about 10 minutes – just to dry them out. Then remove bread & set it aside.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet, being sure to break it up into smaller pieces while cooking. Using a slotted spoon, drain the drippings from the sausage before you place it into a large bowl. Add the butter, onions, celery & celery leaves, mushrooms, and all seasonings to the pan & cook until tender. Add chicken broth and simmer for approx 5-10 minutes.

In the large bowl, add the walnuts, cranberries, and apples to the cooked sausage and mix well. Then, stir in the bread cubes and mix until well blended. Lastly, pour contents from the skillet into the bowl & mix until all the ingredients are coated & moist. You can add more chicken broth if the mix is to dry.

Place stuffing in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with poultry seasoning, and bake until thoroughly heated and golden brown.

I know that you will enjoy this wonderful new twist to your traditional holiday dinner as much as we do!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

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Thanksgiving

I wanted to take a moment to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends!

This week is set aside throughout our nation, as a time of giving thanks. Although it seems as though many people may have forgotten the meaning of this special time, we need to cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving in our hearts & homes, not just on this special day, but every day.

To the world around us, Thanksgiving has become:

– Food (turkey day)
– Football
– Macy’s Day Parade
– First day for Christmas TV specials
– The day before black Friday – or the onset of the Christmas shopping season!

*** Although we can enjoy these different traditions, may we never forget that small group of believers, who came to this new land in search of a place to share their freedom to worship. Even in the midst of sickness, many deaths, and a future that was still unknown, they took time to give thanks.

I’m sure, that when you think of Thanksgiving in your home, your mind is flooded with many memories!

I’m sure that I could ask all of you to share a special memory about Thanksgiving around your table, and we would hear so many different kinds of stories!

Here’s a childhood memory of Thanksgiving in my home.

In our home, we grew up not having a lot, but having everything – if you know what I mean! I am truly so very thankful for my mom, dad, and brother, & I would never trade my childhood for anything! I grew up very thankful for all of God’s blessings in our lives, and I got to watch as God came through for us every time we had a need!

Thanksgiving in our home… I remember my dad going out to hunt on Thanksgiving morning. I thought it was wonderful… how our dad was going out to gather the family goose for our special meal. Little did I know, that the real reason dad was going hunting was that we weren’t able to go out & buy our turkey. But, in my little mind… I didn’t see our lack… I saw God use the skill of my father, and provision of the hand of God!

Mom & dad were always up very early so they could start preparing the family meal.

We would sit down & dad would give God praise for His blessing in our lives, and for providing the bounty that was set before us.

He cultivated an attitude of gratitude in our home.

Although we no longer have to hunt for our family meal, the attitude of gratitude that was “cultivated” in our home has only grown as our little family of 4 has now expanded to need a much larger table to fit our family of 14!

Never forget…

Thankfulness is something that we must “cultivate” in our hearts & homes, because we can only reap what we have actually sown! I don’t know about you, but I want to have an attitude of Thankfulness in my grandchildren – and great-grandchildren – and those that will come long after I’m gone. It’s never to late to start… and today is the perfect time 🙂

I hope you have a very blessed day!

May your table be…

– filled with the wonderful bounty of the harvest
– overflowing with thoughts of thankfulness
– and encircled with many friends & family!

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

How to Carve a Perfect Turkey for Your Holiday Table

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With Thanksgiving almost upon us, I thought I would share some helpful information about the main dish that will be gracing most of our tables… The Turkey!

Many families have different traditions for their Thanksgiving table. Some families have the whole stuffed turkey on the table for a picture perfect presentation. Then, dad takes the carving knife, and serves the pieces one at a time.

Some families decide to pre-slice the turkey, and serve it on a platter. Sometimes this choice is made due to ease of serving, less time waiting for each plate to be filled, or maybe your turkey didn’t come out of the oven looking like the Norman Rockwell paintings that we all strive for 😉

In any case, whether you place the turkey in the middle of the table for presentation, or you pre-slice it and serve it on a platter, I’m sure the following video will help you decide where to begin when you pick up the carving knife 😉


Happy Thanksgiving!

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This morning my husband & I woke up early to pray & give God thanks for everything He has done in our lives. As we were sharing all of the things we were thankful for, the sun starting waking up as well. We’ve had quite a long season of rain, so you can imagine the joy of seeing the sun – especially on this joyous occasion of giving thanks.

I decided to put on my coat & shoes and go out to save a few memories with my camera.

This is one of the beautiful views from my office window. I love the way the sun was sparkling like thousands of tiny dancing crystals as it kissed the frosty blanket that the forest woke up with this morning.

As I was walking through the woods with our 2 little dogs, I could hear the church bells playing Thanksgiving hymns such as “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” down in the little village below. I love to hear the bells, especially on holiday mornings such as this.

It has been our tradition for the last several years to come together as a family at my brother’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving. This year we will bring, sauteed green beans, candied carrots, and apple crisp. It is always such a wonderful day.

I tend to cook a lot like my great grandmother Pearl. I usually go by how something feels & tastes more often than what the recipe says 🙂 My family really enjoys these carrots, so I wanted to share them with you. They are so easy – but so yummy!

Candied Carrots:

– Peel & chop carrots (I like to use baby carrots)
– Cook in a pot with water until tender – but not to soft
– Drain water
– Mix equal amounts of maple syrup & brown sugar enough to coat carrots.
– Add to the pot
– Add 1/2 stick of butter and salt/pepper/garlic to taste
– Heat through

A few thoughts for the day…

No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
~ H. U. Westermayer