Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

The other day while searching for some vintage Thanksgiving Day images.  I came upon a bunch vintage Thanksgiving card.  Some of them were, well, bizarre.  The illustrations are so... um... creative.  I was laughing & saying "what in the world" a lot.  What makes these even funnier is the fact that they were done in all seriousness & that people actually sent these to love ones as a honestly loving gesture.  Artists got to make a living somehow I guess.

I'm not getting the appeal of children & turkeys interacting.  Turkeys kind of always freaked me out when I was a kid.  

The last thing I ever wanted to do was ride a turkey...

...or run arm & arm with one.

Turkeys driving a corn car with lemon wheels.  Yep, that makes perfect sense!

Who in their right mind wants to envision the turkey they're about to eat smoking a cigar.  Somehow cigar smoke & turkey meat just don't mix well for me.

Hmmmm.

Open-face Apple Pear Pie

I love open face pies like this.  So easy to put together without sacrificing on taste & tons of yummy pie crust.  Inspired by the galette, this pie looks pretty & the fruits are sliced thin.  This is a great pie to pull together in a jiffy.  A good Thanksgiving pie, pulling fruits from the current harvest.  Here's the DL...
Ingredients
1 full recipe for  Flaky Pie Crust
3 large pears cored & thinly sliced
2 large Gala apples peeled, cored, & thinly sliced.
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon butter melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix sliced pears & apples with the sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Roll out cold dough onto lightly floured surface into a circle shape.  Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.  Gently fold dough in half & then in half again.  Transfer to a cookie sheet & unfold into circle shape again.  Pour fruit onto the middle of the dough.  Fold dough over the fruit allowing for the center to remain uncovered.  Brush entire top, including fruit, with melted butter.  Brush the crust with the beaten egg.  Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is brown & flaky.  Slice it up & enjoy!

*The apples I used were very large.  If you have smaller apples you may need to bump up the quantity.
Make the crust a day or two before to save time on Thanksgiving day.

Mashed Potatoes Two Ways

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching.  And unless you're Charlie Brown you will be having mash potatoes on your table.  If you are Charlie Brown, enjoy your toast & popcorn!  Here are two ways that I like mashed potatoes.  Hope this helps in your Thanksgiving dinner planning.

My Favorite Mashed Potatoes

I can't resist these potatoes.  They don't need any gravy & they are full of cheesy goodness.  The crunchy top adds a perfect texture.  They taste even better the next day.
Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
4 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Topping
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile peal potatoes & rinse with cold water.  Cut potatoes into quarters.  Remove pot from burner & add potatoes, then return pot to burner & bring to a full boil.  Cook for 20-30 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.  Drain potatoes & return the pot.  Put on the burner on low heat.  Add butter & mash until all the lumps are out.  Remove from burner.  Add milk & using electric beaters beat on low speed until smooth & creamy.  Stir in the cream cheese, cheddar, & Parmesan.  Add the salt & pepper to taste.  Put into a baking dish.
In microwave melt the remaining butter for the topping.  Stir in the parsley, remaining cheeses, & Panko crumbs.  Spread mixture evenly on top of potatoes
Bake for 20 minutes or until top is brown.  Enjoy!
*This recipe also works great with instant potatoes.

Standard Mashed Potatoes

It's hard to beat a good ol' standby.  Here's basic mash potatoes in their purest and yummiest form.
Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup half & half
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Bring large pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile peal potatoes & rinse with cold water.  Cut potatoes into quarters.  Remove pot from burner & add potatoes, then return pot to burner & bring to a full boil.  Cook for 20-30 minutes or until fork can be easily inserted into potatoes.  Drain potatoes & return the pot.  Put on the burner on low heat.  Add butter & mash until all the lumps are out.  If you want them really creamy take the beaters to them on low speed.  Stir in the sour cream & milk a little at a time until desired consistency.  Add the salt & pepper to taste.  Serve up warm with some good ol' gravy.  Enjoy!

*You can make these ahead of time.  Just put into a casserole dish & refrigerate.  They will keep in the fridge for a day or two.  When you're ready pop 'em into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Good Ol' Green Bean Casserole

I like green bean casserole because it taste so good & because it is so easy!  This is a must at any of our holiday tables.  Green bean casserole is a great dish to have your kiddos pitch in for the meal & make... it's that easy.  Here's the DL...
Ingredients
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cut green beans
1/2 cup milk
1 cup French's fried onions
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix soup & milk together.  Add in beans & stir well.  Pour into casserole dish & bake for 30 minutes.  Stir again & sprinkle fried onions on the top.  Return to oven & bake 5 more minutes or until onions are golden brown.  Enjoy.

House Reveal: Living Room

We have been in remodeling stage of our house since July.  And although it's not totally done, we are getting close.  Today I thought I'd share our living/dining room with you.  Here are the before & afters.

We decided to do a whitewash style of stain on the main wall in the living room.  I wanted to brighten the room up a bit & decrease yet another version of wood grain in the room.  A lot of different wood grains in this house... a lot.

I love our living room.  The cathedral ceilings make it feel so open.

And there are so many windows that no matter what the weather it is bright inside.  I love having a 180 degree view our of my living room.  

The major change we did in this room is replacing the banister with a wall.  We had to have the banister replaced & brought to code before closing because it was so dangerous.  I was afraid that I myself would fall through those pickets.  So this project was one of the first on our list.  I decided to do a wall because A)I needed more wall space in this room, there was very little on account of all the windows.  B) It closed off the family room/kid zone in the basement & greatly decreased noise between the main & bottom floors.  I love my new wall.

The fireplace makes this room so cozy & inviting.  (Those hieroglyphics are an old fan system that was in the fireplace before the gas insert.  I have plans to put mortar over the black caulking to make it blend in with the rest of the fireplace.  Or maybe I'll leave it so people can wonder what kind of weird stuff I'm into :)

It is a great place to gather.  The other major change we made in the living room was we added the dining area to it.  Before the dining room was over there to the right, directly in front of the sliders.  We use the sliders as our main door for the most part.  So having a big table in front of it was not good.  I didn't like the flow of it from the moment we first saw this house, & I knew I would change it right away.

So we placed it over on the other end of the living room creating more of a great room feel.  It works great with the flow of life & allows for a big table, which we need with a family of six.  Now we have a big entryway as well where you can sit & slip off your shoes.  Everything is almost done in this room.  Just two ceiling light fixtures & the top of the banister to finish it up.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.