Holiday Traditions
Michelle's Day After Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich
This is my husband Dave's favorite meal of the year. I first made it for him 23 years ago, our first Thanksgiving together, and have made it every year since. This is more of an unrecipe, you can't really do it wrong.
Ingredients:
Hearty White Bread (Ideally Homemade) - sliced thick
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole
Sausage Stuffing
Instructions:
Toast and butter the bread.
Heat up the turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and sausage stuffing.
Slather the bread with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Layer on heaps of turkey, top with sausage stuffing, cranberry, and gravy.
Attempt to cut it in half and serve with a fork and knife.
Enjoy!
Jenni's Meditation for When Things Get Heavy
I get super excited for the holiday season and have a ton of traditions, but let’s face the facts… it can also be stressful AF to hang out with family for long periods of time. My absolute favorite holiday tradition is hosting a calming sound bath for my friends and community! This immersive experience takes the build up of stress and washes it away as the vibrations of the crystal sound bowls mix with each person’s energy field. It’s the best feeling in the world, like you’ve spent a day at the spa. We all feel lighter, blissful and more free. I highly recommend finding a local yoga studio in your area that may have a sound bath so you can experience it and see if this may become a treasured holiday tradition for you too! :)
Peg's Favorite Holiday Skirt
Some people have a favorite holiday sweater, and some people have a favorite holiday skirt. At least that’s what I tell myself each year when I dust off my annual holiday skirt. With its corduroy woodland scene and hunter-orange embroidery embellishments, it’s certainly not your average holiday article of clothing. But who wants to be average?! This skirt has carried me through nearly two decades of holiday fanfare. It has been a safe landing space for gravy drips, wine puddles and dinner roll crumbs. It has never failed to bring me unfettered joy. Except maybe that one time during a post-holiday dinner hike, I had forgotten that I had loosened my skirt strings to make room for pie. Halfway through the hike, my skirt fell off. Oddly it took about 20 minutes before I or anyone noticed. When we retraced our steps to search for it, it was nearly impossible to find. A woodland skirt in a woodland is no easy feat to spot. But phew, we eventually found it curled among some leaves. I love holiday traditions, and although my traditions seem to evolve each year, my one constant is always my holiday skirt.
Emma's Gnorwen the Knitted Gnome
Every year I knit a gnome or another fun creature for a special someone! I love sharing my love of knitting with loved ones without getting so overwhelmed by a big garment project that may or may not fit them. It's so fun to see these creatures come to life on my needles! Last year I knit the All Work, Gnome Play designed by Sarah Schira in Quince & Co. Tern for my daughter's teacher to put on display in her classroom. Meet Gnorwen
Emily's Pecan Pie for Grandpa
For the last seven years or so I have made a pecan pie for Thanksgiving dessert. I am not sure how the tradition started but I believe the first year I made it, it was such a hit I just kept making it! It is also my grandfathers favorite type of pie and that just makes it more sweet to make every year. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is sitting around with everyone and sharing a meal together. While sharing memories and what we are thankful for each year. What a wonderful time to sit back and be grateful for what is around you. Recipe here from Gimme Some Oven.
Ingredients:
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
- 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 4 cups pecan halves, divided
Instructions:
- Heat oven. Heat oven to 400°F.
- Blind bake the pie crust. Chill the unbaked pie crust for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator or freezer. Use parchment paper or aluminum foil to line the inside of the chilled crust, shaping it gently around the inner edges to form a mold of the crust. Fill the bottom of the crust with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven, carefully lift out the foil/parchment and weights, and set them aside. Decrease the oven heat to 350°F.
- Prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the butter turns brown and fragrant. Slowly pour butter into the sugar mixture, and whisk to combine. Chop 2 cups of the pecans, then stir them into the butter and sugar mixture until combined.
- Assemble. Pour the entire filling into the prepared pie crust. Line the top of the filling with the remaining pecans (about 2 cups, more or less).
- Bake. Bake the pie for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. After the first 20 to 25 minutes of baking time, you are welcome to loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the whole pie if the crust or pecans seem to be browning too quickly. The pie will be ready to go once the top has puffed up into a dome (which will sink to become flat again, once the pie has set and cooled). Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it rest until it reaches room temperature.
- Serve. Slice and serve pie at room temperature (or you can refrigerate and chill the pie, if you prefer), garnished with a dollop of whipped cream if desired. Cover and store leftover pie at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Regan's Time in Nature
