Tag Archives: mimi totes

How Are You Spending the Day After Thanksgiving?

I hope that you enjoyed a good Thanksgiving holiday. How are you spending this day after? For us, we started the day by sleeping in for a bit. We had a lot of sleep to make up, thanks to an emergency room visit and a long Thanksgiving day that ended with a two-hour drive back home. We enjoyed the day, but we all feel tired and a bit achy. Our daughter woke up in her fancy dress, too tired to change when my husband carried her to bed half-asleep in the car. Despite the hot fudge stain on it from … Continue reading →

Recipes for Leftover Turkey

Unless you had extremely hungry guests or you bought a smaller bird than usual, then you likely have a refrigerator full of leftover turkey this morning. Forget about making cold turkey sandwiches; rather, consider using your extra bird in the following hot dishes that are sure to brighten up any guest on this Black Friday. Both recipes are easy to prepare, kid-friendly, and extremely affordable. TURKEY PRIMAVERA Ingredients: 2 cups fresh broccoli florets 1 cup sliced carrots 2 tablespoons water 6-ounces Turkey breast 1 cup pre-made Alfredo sauce 1 package (9 oz.) fettuccine, cooked 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese Directions: … Continue reading →

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

You may have finished your Thanksgiving grocery shopping days ago, but there are many home cooks who are still scrambling to piece together their Turkey Day feast. I know because I just drove past a parking lot full of them outside our local market. (Hard-core shoppers and it’s not even Black Friday yet.) Regardless, it just goes to show that there are some people out there who have yet to finalize their Thanksgiving menu yet. If you are still searching for the perfect dessert to share on this day of giving thanks, then consider the simple pumpkin creations listed below: … Continue reading →

Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving with Your Spouse

How do you normally celebrate Thanksgiving? Do you stuff yourself on the traditional turkey fare? Once stuffed, do you then collapse in front of the TV to half nap, half watch football? Do you rush between houses to see all branches of the family tree? Or does your whole family gather in one place and play games, like perhaps a friendly match of touch football? Last year Wayne and I went to Denver, where our families both live, and caught up with everyone. That was a big deal for us, because most years we’re pretty low key. Either we get … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Menu: Then and Now

Leave it to domestic diva Martha Stewart to school her own cooking guest about the dishes served up at the very first Thanksgiving dinner… on national TV. Did you see Stewart doling out her on-air corrections last week? Whereas I felt bad for the visiting chef, I did learn a lot about what was really on that first Thanksgiving menu. Did you know that the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it is only about 150 years old? Back in 1863, following a stalwart campaign by Sarah Josepha Hale (a writer best known for penning “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), then … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Love Stories: Home for the Holidays

Last year at this time Wayne and I were in Denver to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family. I remember being so excited about getting to spend a whole week with Wayne. Thanksgiving, Then and Now It was a big deal because we’d spent months apart enduring a commuter marriage. But then Wayne decided not to stay with the job in Jacksonville and to get his old job back here in Nashville. I was over the moon! (Mostly because I was tired of trying to keep the house show-ready and over only seeing him on weekends.) Last year, Thanksgiving week marked … Continue reading →

7 Frugal Reasons I Won’t Be Going Shopping on Black Friday

Frugality and Black Friday go hand in hand right? Hmm, not for me. This year (as the years before) I will not be going out to do any shopping, unless it is to pick up a gallon of milk for my eat-me-out-of-house-and-home dependents. In fact, maybe I’ll do all my freezer cooking shopping, since the grocery stores are bound to be empty. While I could give you many reasons to avoid Black Friday shopping from the point of avoiding the stress of long lines and maniac moms with sharp shopping carts, the truth is that I never found Black Friday … Continue reading →

Free Thanksgiving Decorations and Ideas

Turkey Day is almost here. Hopefully you have your plans all made for Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving meal. How about the decorations? Here are some ideas for decorating, as well as links to some free printable decorations. If you have rubber stamps, you can make some great napkin holders. Just stamp out a “thanks” message, a general design or even a turkey on to a piece of colored paper. Cut the paper into a strip, wrap it around a rolled napkin and tape in the back. Family Fun Family Fun Magazine’s web site has a lot of great step by … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Recipes: Gourmet Appetizers

What time do you eat Thanksgiving dinner? Some families dine as early as 2 p.m. while others wait to break bread at the traditional dinner hour. If your family waits until after the Turkey Day football games are over before digging into your Thanksgiving spread, you aren’t alone. I’ve spent many Thanksgivings with families who wait until late evening to eat their holiday feasts. In most cases it’s planned that way because it takes that long for guests to get their appetites back after chowing down on tasty appetizers. The following recipes are not your average chip and dip, mini-meatball … Continue reading →

Not Your Mama’s Thanksgiving Recipes

Back in my previous life as a TV journalist, I had the opportunity to cook with local “celebrity” chefs when they appeared on our morning show. I actually did more eating than cooking, but I learned some culinary tricks just the same. The holidays always included a steady stream of cooking segments featuring proud pro chefs whipping up unique dishes. The following is a sample of some of the recipes I saved from those segments. They’re nothing like my mom served us on Turkey Day, but boy were they popular with our studio crew. THANKSGIVING GRAVY Ingredients: 1 can cream … Continue reading →