And a mother's days are full of preparations of food. Such was the case for me leading up to our Family Thanksgiving together, with anticipation of two dozen family members home! The long list of things to do and prepare can sometimes feel overwhelming. And I sometimes get caught up in the tasks, and the checking off of things on my list. But I purposed to stay in the moment, treasuring the joys of home and of delicious, beautiful food. Capturing the beauty - so much beauty!
Thanking God for filling me with joy in the moment as I prepared ...
And thanking God for four daughters who brought delicious salads, sides, and rolls to add to our Thanksgiving feast!
One thing that I love doing when hosting a dinner for a large group (we had 23 family here for Thanksgiving!) is to work ahead with the meal preparation several days before the big day.
Preparations on Monday:
pie crusts for Pumpkin Pie
munchy snacks for our evening snack spread (not shown in photos)
Preparations on Tuesday:
Mashed Potato Dish (refrigerated, and then baked Thanksgiving Day)
Spicy Cran-Apple Sauce
Pumpkin Pies (baked, and then stored in refrigerator)
Preparations on Wednesday:
Sweet Potato Casserole (refrigerated, and then baked Thanksgiving Day)
Herb Dressing (prepared, and cooked in slow cooker Thanksgiving Day)
Citrus-Scented Brined Turkey (marinated for 17 hours in refrigerator, then cooked Thanks. Day)
Apple Pies (baked straight from the freezer, frozen a month earlier)
Working ahead is a life-saver for me, leaving time for other preparations and time for enjoying my family on Thanksgiving Day. Thanking God for the joy of family, and for good times together around beautiful, delicious food!
I will possibly be adding recipe posts for some of these dishes in the future. Click here for the Pumpkin Pie recipe, already on this blog.
(Digital scrapbooking credits: Page Template: JSM_dD-pageGrids01 and 02; Background Paper: KittyDesigns_YouAlone)
Linking up with:
Tasty Tuesday
One Project at a Time
Trick or Treat Tuesday
Heart and Home
Hearts4Home
I'm Lovin' It
Saturday Show and Tell
It was a most delicious meal... and we're still enjoying it! Thanks, hon, for all your work... and thank you, God, for a very special time with our awesome family!
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