All the Trimmings

After twelve years of marriage, today we are having our first Thanksgiving on our own. We live too far away from family to spend the holiday with them, and flying is a big no-no for me at the moment. I guess we won't be totally alone since we've been invited to have pie with some friends, but the bulk of the meal is up to us.

The last time I cooked a turkey was when Bryan and I were dating. I remember thinking it was the grossest thing ever. I think, after three children, my gross meter has been readjusted, so maybe it won't be so bad now.

We spent a chunk of yesterday cooking and preparing things to be cooked. We pretty much just have the turkey, the rolls, the sweet potatoes, and the stuffing to do today (which sounds like most of the meal when I list it out), and the sweet potatoes are already cooked and waiting to have butter and marshmallows added to them.

My favorite holiday food is homemade cranberry sauce. I did a quick search and was surprised to find that I've never put the recipe on here. It's time to remedy that.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup honey (or 1 cup of sugar if you prefer)
• Combine water and honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil, add

• 1 pound fresh cranberries, rinsed (frozen is fine)
• 1/2 a sweet apple, chopped
• 1/2 an orange, peeled and chopped
• Let all the ingredients cook for a long time, until most of the cranberries have popped and are mushy
• Turn off fire and let cranberries cool, refrigerate before serving

This is a tart dish, so if you like your cranberries sweet, you may want to add more honey or sugar.

Happy Thanksgiving!