Hello all, and happy almost Turkey Day Friday!
We’re less than one week away from the grandest cooking day of the year. I’ll be cooking for family and really need to get started on creating my menu! Maybe I’ll just copy Ina’s. If I could, I’d probably do a whole table just of sides, because I love them THAT MUCH! Okay, I may still have to do my rotisserie turkey above, it’s seriously the best turkey I’ve ever cooked.
New faves Creamed Swiss Chard, a healthy-ish real food Green Bean Casserole (coming Monday) and Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta will sidle up next to our favorite classics Yam Souffle and my husband’s classic Corn Flambe. Oh and Carrots with Tarragon. My husband won’t let a Thanksgiving Day pass without ’em.
So here’s my question: What’s on your menu? Are you a stuffing or dressing kinda eater? (Stuffing! always.) Dark meat or light meat? (Light, please.) Pecan or pumpkin? (Definitely a little of both.)
But above all else I’ll be grateful for what I have, what I hope to be, and the favorite people in my life.
One of my favorite phrases in my planner is, “The real gift of gratitude is that he more grateful you are, the more present you become,” from Robert Holden. I am hoping to be more present this whole holiday season, and enjoy every minute of it. Also, I’m trying to be better about following these 5 easy ways to show gratitude. To myself!
And…the Nourished Planner will be celebrating Black Friday, too, so check out what we’re giving away and Black Friday sales deets on the site or @nourishedplanner next week.
But First…I Need Your Favorite Cookie Recipe!
Okay guys, Christmas is nearly here and I need your favorite Christmas cookie recipe, because I want to feature YOU! Mine might be these White Chocolate and Peppermint Christmas Wreath Cookies I’ve been making since I was in the 5th grade.
Submit your cookie recipe by November 20 and if it’s the one I choose…
- You’ll win a $50 VISA gift card
- I’ll share your recipe and YOU here on le blog on November 29
- And I’ll be sharing it and credit YOU on a new LIVE cooking show on Facebook that same day!
This LIVE cooking show is going to be different than anything you’ve seen on FB before, totally unchartered territory here folks, so you’ll either want to tune in to see the greatness, or tune in to witness the eruption of chaos. Either way, it’s gonna be a sweet one to see :)
Submit your Christmas cookie recipe here. Deadline is November 20, 2017.
Oh, Also…I Have a Free Gift for You. Okay…25 of Them
Okay, one more…
To thank you for a wonderful year and add a little inspiration to your Ho-Hos, I want to give you something, something small but meaningful to add a little joy to the season, because it’s my favorite of all!
Crushing On Christmas is like an advent calendar in your inbox, like a mini-holiday-themed Friday Faves delivered every day through the month of December. These aren’t necessarily physical gifts, but gifts intended to help you embrace the holidays and have a little fun too. New recipes, tips and ideas to make your holiday season a success, a few of my favorite things, and oh yes, there will be giveaways, too. At the end of each email, you’ll find links to the gifts that came before. If you miss one, or want to revisit one of your favorite gifts, the list makes it easy to go back.
If this is something you’d like, sign up here to learn more when I send out the official announcement next week.
Okay, enough of all this! Let’s dig into this week’s list of Friday Faves…
Gosh I love Jim Carrey
An amazing and uplifting story about showing kindness to strangers.
Everyone is visiting this spot for a coveted selfie.
This has to be the coolest library on the planet. I would seriously come here every day.
Kids who look just like their celebrity parents. This is so fun!
Can’t. wait. for this. movie. Love Hugh Jackman!
Did you see this peek into Joy the Baker’s home? All the flour and all the paper flowers.
The best audiobooks for your holiday road trip. Do you have a fave?
Having the crowd over on Thursday? You need this for your guests (and you) to get the turkey trot going.
10 rules for mastering Thanksgiving dinner.
20 incredibly easy turkey day table decorating ideas. I think I’ll steal #8, unless my daughter and nieces want to get crafty.
How to carve a turkey. V. helpful.
And, in case you’re making turkey for two, or just need more of everyone’s favorite white meat.
Make ahead gravy. Totally doing this with my favorite stock.
I need this salad, pronto.
Homemade green bean casserole + crispy cheddar topping? SOLD.
Was looking for a new sweet potato dish to try this Thanksgiving, saw these, and called off the search.
This swirled chocolate and pumpkin tart is enough to make me totally forget about pie!
and…
11 Thanksgiving desserts that aren’t all pie…
however, I still need…
This essential pie making toolkit.
Which squash makes the best pumpkin pie. Who-da thunk?!
6 Scrumptious Pies to Make for Thanksgiving:
- Brownie Pecan Pie
- Apple Cranberry Pie
- Cranberry Pear Pie
- Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie
- Chocolate Fudge Pecan Pie –> this is my soulmate!
13 books you can (and should) read over Thanksgiving weekend. Totally doable. Or is it?
Mac and cheese for Thanksgiving. #totallyappropriate
Can’t wait to try this super easy, comforting skillet dinner next week.
These doughnuts look absolutely perfect.
I love these colorblock kitchen towels. (And pssst, they’re on sale!)
The best cookbooks of 2017 (and I want them all).
Loving the shape of this pretty cutting board.
The best Black Friday beauty deals guide…
Time to get started…
These little plates are so fun and festive for the holidays.
20 stocking stuffers under $20. Must have that yoga dice and iPhone charger tassel keychain.
Are you a How It’s Made nerd? If so, you’ll love watching how Maybelline mascara is made. #geekingout
Been hearing incredible things about this book, and now it’s at the top of my “to read” list. Have you read it?
Crushing on this dress from Target. Would be so cute for the holidays.
Okay friends, I hope you have a successful Thanksgiving prep weekend.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. All opinions are always my own.
Thanks for reading and subscribe to FoodieCrush to have each post delivered straight to your e-mail box.
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kemparaju
There is a reason why I bought a Mac, it was not to be one of the cool kids that wanted the best of the best. No it was because of the music production I do on it. Hours and hours sitting in front of my Mac copying, pasting, moving, deleting, hour after hour just beating on my Mac in a endless assault to get my work done. That is the key part, my work. I work from home, it is great, but even if it is from home it is still work and it still needs to get done. So my Mac, I have it because it is fast, gets the job done and comes back for more.
But what happens when it doesn’t want to do those things anymore?
I move around massive amounts of information and yes even on the almighty Mac this can cause a problem after a while. Things fragment, programs get corrupted issues come up. My light speed Mac slows down to a crawl and all of the sudden I simply can not get any work done. Because I work from home there is no IT guy to call and ask to come fix it. No instead I have to figure out what is wrong. I am lucky, I did, but not after trying everything under the sun first and wasting countless hours looking for one program that can do what I needed instead of ten programs. One program to lead them all….okay that was a lame Lord of the rings reference, but that program was/is Detox My Mac. A simple to use program that did not just fix my issues, it put my Mac on overdrive again. A few clicks and my Mac was clean and ready to rock and roll again.
Read more here:- http://detox-my-mac.com?vhbshygdf398432
Kristen Berry
Hi Heidi! How much butter to you use to make the cranberry sage butter you posted in the Christmas Advent calendar series?
Thank you!
Kristen Berry
filmywap
The next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t fail me as much as this one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read, but I genuinely thought you would probably have something helpful to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Jio4GVoice
Jessica Orika
My love for Turkey… It looks so perfect, sitting there ready for eating. I so look forward to Thanksgiving!!! Thanks for the list. Friday Faves still rocks!!!
Joseph Turner
Thanksgiving is around the corner.Thank you for the amazing list and excited for the competition.
Laura | Tutti Dolci
That turkey is Thanksgiving perfection! :) Thanks so much for the doughnut love, and your advent calendar sounds like a must read – can’t wait to see it!