Pursuing Heart: In the Kitchen

Taking time for my once-a-month post - In the Kitchen - covering some of the things that happened in my kitchen - this time, in November!

THANKSGIVING month is the time for giving of thanks, and for celebrating with the gifts of FAMILY, and of FOOD! And, of course, for those of us who are responsible for the food prep in our homes, November was a busy month in the kitchen ...

As I planned for our Thanksgiving feast with our whole family home (22 in all for Thanksgiving Day!) ... I knew that I needed to prepare as much as possible ahead of time. My heart is so full when all our kids and grandkids are home, and I want to be able to focus on them as much as possible, so there were many dishes I prepared ahead of time: breakfast scones, appetizers, side dishes, pies and other sweets, snacks, and also one of the main dishes, ham. And I am also blessed to have four daughters who are great cooks ~ they helped by bringing side dishes, as well as appetizers and desserts for our evening snack spread!

Sausage Wonton Cups was a new recipe that I tried out - perfect, as it could be made ahead of time and put in the freezer to be heated up when needed.

Pumpkin Spice Scones was another new recipe for me - they freeze well, and are easy to thaw and microwave for a bit to serve warm. They were great to use for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.

Delicious pies are such a great part of a Thanksgiving feast! I made three of my traditional Pumpkin Pie recipe, and daughters brought three more: Apple Crumb Pie, Apple Pie, and a Coconut Cream Pie ... all so delicious! I prepared my pie crusts a week ahead of time using my Make-Ahead Pie Crust recipe, froze the pie crusts already rolled into the pie plates, then thawed them and filled to bake a day or two before Thanksgiving.