Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner - Day 2

 Spreading out cooking over 2 days really is the best.  No waking up before dawn to rush to get everything done by dinner.  The whole family slept in until 8AM, and we had a leisurely breakfast.  I didn't start cooking until after 11AM.  The first thing my daughter and I made was "Bread in a Bag".  We made it for the first time in May as part of her homeschool preschool curriculum.  

It's pretty fun, because she gets to squish it around in the bag to mix, and then also gets her hands all messy kneading the dough.  It tastes really good!  (I guess I forgot to take a finished picture, but it is in the picture with all the other food on the table later.)

While the bread was in the oven, we used food coloring to make orange icing for the cupcakes.  Buying an icing dispenser was such a great investment.  

Next was the homemade macaroni and cheese.  We've been saving a block of Velveeta cheese my mom sent in a package.  It's funny how things that seem so simple to make in the US can become so complicated living overseas.  

I made a super simple apple cider in the crockpot with apple juice and cinnamon sticks.  I even had a few hours to spare to wrap my son's birthday presents and facetime with both sets of grandparents, without any worry about cooking.  I threw some green beans in a pot with bacon pieces and salt and some corn with butter and salt, about 30 minutes before our guests were supposed to arrive.  I heated up the stuffing in the oven and the mashed potatoes in the microwave.  A few stirs and putting some things into prettier bowls, and everything was ready!

The finished Thanksgiving buffet, complete with a rotisserie chicken and cranberry jam!  :)

Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner - Day 1

I thought it would be fun to keep a journal from cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  A few days ago, I made a menu, grocery list, and plan for when to cook which dish.  It's a bit of a juggling act with a small oven and only one burner that works at full temperature.  I've learned over the years that it takes 2 full days of cooking - and that it's much easier to use a rotisserie chicken instead of turkey, especially when living in a foreign country.

Wednesday morning - Sausage Stuffing

I got this recipe from a friend several years ago, and even though it is a LOT of work, it is completely worth it.  If I lived in America, I would probably still use a box of Stovetop stuffing, but this homemade recipe with ground pork is incredible.  

In Romania, it is possible to find celery, but much more common to use the celery root (shown above), called telina.  A couple of Romanian friends helped me learn how to use it - you need a very sharp knife, and it helps to add a carrot or two for flavor.  It takes a long time to chop the vegetables so small.

This year, my 4-year-old daughter helped me cut the bread into cubes.  She did a great job at first, but got tired as she was cutting all 16 pieces of bread.  Her pieces got bigger and bigger, but she finished it all!  I am so proud of her.  Unfortunately, when I asked her to hold the bowl to let Mommy take a picture, she spilled some on the floor.

My husband was, as usual, my hero and cleaned up all the bread.  He also cut more and made sure it was all in small cubes.

The main ingredients

Wednesday afternoon - Cupcakes and Mashed Potatoes

We had another mishap while getting out the ingredients for cupcakes.  Luckily, the cupcake paper baking cups were still inside a Ziploc bag, when my daughter busted an egg on them.  My mom sent the cake mix and a can of icing for my son's birthday, which this year is on Thanksgiving day.  

Licking the beater :)

It's much easier to get the cake batter into the mini size cups with the icing dispenser.  

Both kiddos got to lick the bowl :)

I will put the icing on the cupcakes tomorrow.

I only make mashed potatoes for special occasions, because it is so much work, especially with small potatoes.  But it is always worth it.

Licking the beaters one more time :)

Overall, I feel like I planned well so far.  I even sat down to watch a Christmas movie while the stuffing was in the oven, and I was still finished cooking for the day by 7PM.  Tomorrow we will make homemade bread, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, corn, and apple cider.  I'm looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving and my son's birthday.