A Kentucky Thanksgiving

The next week, all 6 of us piled into our van and headed to Kentucky for Thanksgiving with Eric, Donna, Logan & Jordyn.  It's about a 12 hour drive so we stopped 1/2 in St. Louis to stay the night.  The boys were perfect travelers.

We had a wonderful time with my brother & his family.  We had not seen them in about 1 1/2 years so it was really fun to see the little ones (Jordyn, Bryce & Drew) A.K.A "the triplets" together.  
They got along so well and had so much fun together.  They played amazingly well together and actually entertained themselves for hours at a time...something my boys NEVER do at our house.  What's up with that?

Bryce & Drew had lots of fun playing with their cousins and Uncle Eric.

Most of all, we were just THANKful to be together for the holiday.  Eric will be deploying again in just a few weeks to Afghanistan so it was good to spend time with him.  It makes me so sad to think that he will have to leave his 3 girls for another year after just spending a year in Saudi Arabia. Hopefully this will be his last deployment before he retires.

We tried to get a cute picture of Mom &Mike with the 4 grandchildren.  Logan & Jordyn look cute but look at my little monkeys!

Thank you Eric, Donna, Logan & Jordyn...we love you all!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble and Family Food Faves

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We were blessed this year to have our friends Brent and Renee here from Iowa. They arrived on Monday and left this morning. The boys had lots of fun having house guests to play with! Brent and Renee taught them lots of silly faces!

One day Renee, me and the boys had a fun day of Christmas shopping while Jimmy and Brent went golfing. The guys got their annual hike in together while I prepared our Thanksgiving meal. Thankfully Renee was here to help keep the boys entertained for me!

Bryce and Drew have never really eaten a Thanksgiving meal before. Bryce loved turkey dipped in gravy and a mediterrannean cheese dip. When he wanted more turkey, he said "More gobble, gobble please!" Drew loved the cheese dip and cranberries!

Stuffing is one of my very favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I grew up eating Stove Top stuffing and still enjoy it, but I prefer something a little more hearty and fresh! This is my favorite "homemade" stuffing.

Sourdough Bread Stuffing

1-pound loaf sourdough bread
8 tablespoons butter
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/2-inch thick in both directions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 to 4 stalks celery with leaves, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
About 10 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
10 to 12 fresh sage leaves, chopped
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread it evenly on 2 baking sheets. Toast the bread in the oven until completely dry and beginning to crisp and brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and a few pinches of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add celery, onion, 2 tablespoons butter, and thyme. Once the butter has melted, cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Add sage and remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl. Pour the chicken broth mixture over the bread cubes and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle with parsley. Bake in the center of the oven until heated through and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove the stuffing from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving.