Tag archives: thanksgiving

Thankful for Rotten Grapes :: The Legendary Hash Brown Casserole

amoloA year ago after my sister took a trip to Africa, my kids and I chose a little girl to sponsor through Compassion International.  Prisca is the same age as my daughter and lives in a high AIDS risk village in Uganda.  When we received our first letter from the child I realized how incredibly fortunate my little family is.  For less than what one meal at The Cheesecake Factory costs me, Prisca is provided with food, clean water, medical care and an education.  As I sit and contemplate what my children are going to receive from “Santa” this year, Amolo will be rolling her hoop in the dirt with her siblings.   

I am thankful for the roof over our heads.  I’m thankful for my daughter’s winter coat.  I’m thankful for the grapes that are rotting in the refrigerator.  I’m thankful for this jacked up economy that we complain about so much.  May we all take a moment and remember how good we really have it.

The Legendary Hash Brown Casserole
recipe by M*M

hashbrowns

Before my husband passed away, he loved this dish so much that my mother made 2 casseroles every Thanksgiving – one for Robert and one for the rest of us.  Haha!

Preheat oven to 350° 

Mix the following ingredients and spread into casserole dish:
1 32oz bag of frozen hash browns thawed (I prefer southern style cubed)
1 can cream of chicken soup
16oz sour cream
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup melted butter

Top with:
2 cups of crushed cornflakes mixed with ¼ cup of melted butter.  Spread over the top and bake for 1 hour

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Be Thankful If Your Family is ABNORMAL :: Aunt Betty’s Sweet Potatoes

thanksgivingThanksgiving is upon us and I thought that this year I would leak some not-so-secret family recipes that are staples at our Thanksgiving table.  I’ll post one recipe as well as something I am thankful for until I run out of meal ideas or thankfulness.  Depending on the PMS variable, who knows when this topic might end!  Hope you enjoy!

Be Thankful If Your Family is ABNORMAL

My parents have been married for 44 years and counting.  My sister is my best friend.  My brother is one of the most honest and strong men I’ve ever known.  Even though distance separates us, all of my aunts and uncles would be there for me in a time of need.  My cousins are a web of friends that gather on occasion as though time and space is not a factor.  We don’t fight.  We don’t take sides.  We have a solid foundation built on unconditional love and faith.  It’s taken me nearly three decades to realize how WEIRD my family is and how incredibly thankful I am for them. 

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sweet_potatoes

Aunt Betty’s Sweet Potato Casserole

As a general rule, I’ve always hated sweet potatoes.  However, since this recipe really is just dessert with some yammy goodness hidden in it, it does not fall into the “eL. hates sweet potatoes” category.  Thank you Aunt Betty!

Preheat oven to 350°

Mix the following ingredients and spread into a casserole dish:
3 cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup melted butter
*Mix all of the above and spread into a casserole dish.

The topping is the best part:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup of self-rising flour
1 cup of chopped pecans
1/3 cup of melted butter

Bake for 30 minutes, ignore how much butter and sugar you added and ENJOY!

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The Thanksgiving Hangover Blog

Blugh. I’m still full. Are you?

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as I did. My holiday adventure began on Tuesday. I was NOT feeling very well, was very tired and missing my purse, wallet, keys, iPod and half of my brain apparently. Thankfully angels surrounded the faithful XTerra and we made it safely to North Carolina to celebrate Turkey Day with my family. My parents recently moved into their dream home, a gargantuan log cabin perched high above the Pisgah National Forest. No joke. Here’s the view from my bedroom window. Be jealous.

Thanksgiving began on Wednesday. My mother cooked ALL day for dinner to be gobbled up in just 15 minutes. There was a rant at the table over cell phones and texting that escalated into a wrestling match and my dad throwing my Treo across the living room at the Christmas tree. Thankfully, no cell phones were harmed in the making of this blog. We ended the evening with our ritual game of Hand and Foot, an ultra long card game that you must use 19 decks of cards to play. Dad suggested we play strip poker which is still causing me indigestion. Cough… Cough….

The actual day of Thanksgiving couldn’t have been more perfect. Just after noon, I cracked open Twilight, uncorked a bottle of vino and climbed into the hot tub with my mom and sister. Nothing like a spectacular mountain view, a wine buzz and fantasies of vampires to feel all thankful inside!

On a more serious note, I didn’t have much of a choice but to zone out yesterday. I woke up feeling more alone than I have in many months. It’s been six months almost to the day of Robert’s death and there was no way that I was going to make it through the day without feeling the sting of him not being here. We all felt it. When we went around the family circle naming off the things we were thankful for, my kids chimed in at the same time and said “My Dad” as if on cue. Mom even omitted the making of a household staple, hash brown casserole, because it was my husband’s favorite. No joke, he ate the WHOLE casserole last Christmas. Thanksgiving will never be the same without him, so why celebrate it the same? I spent hours in the hot tub. Robert understands. J

In less than ten hours I finished Twilight and began my search for a copy of the sequel. Not a bad book at all, might I add.

Today, my best friends in all of Nashville are headed this way and I’m sure many more adventures will be had before we journey home on Sunday. I don’t really have anything overly important to say, just wanted you to know that I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please drop me a line, I’d love to hear all about it!

Much love…. eL.

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