Thanksgiving Menu: Salads

I love Thanksgiving. The last several years I have gotten to play host and I LOVE it...I know shocking, right? Haha.

So I figured for Recipe Thursdays this month, plus an extra day each week I am going to showcase a Thanksgiving recipe I use and then list some other options of the same menu item that I have used or that simply sounds yummy.

So break out your pen and paper.

Start jotting down and formulating your Thanksgiving menu.

Oh and make yourself the cutest and EASIEST Thanksgiving Day hosting apron ever...

tutorial tomorrow 

because Thanksgiving is only three weeks away.

Today lets plan our SALAD menu.

Salads are a great part of your Thanksgiving menu. There are SO many kinds of salads that if you pick a couple you are sure to please everyone's tastes.

Today's feature salad recipe is one I have posted before, but honestly it is my favorite salad for fall so I am posting it again. It is DE-lish and it is lovely to look at...just like me..hehehe.

Apple Spinach Salad with Sugared Pecans

Ingredients:

Salad


1 bag of baby spinach
3/4 cups craisins
1 cucumber, sliced
1 red apple, sliced and diced
1 cup of pecans, sugared ( 2 tablespoons of sugar)


Dressing

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp Worcestershire 

1 TBS poppy seeds

1/2 cup light flavored olive oil

Sugar pecans by heating with 2 T sugar in small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly. Sugar will melt and coat pecans in a delightful little sugar crust.

Combine all salad ingredients except pecans in large bowl.

Combine all dressing ingredients BUT poppy seeds and olive oil. Blend ingredients in blender/food processor/magic bullet. Slowly add in the oil. Add poppy seeds last.

Top with pecans just before serving. You can pour the dressing over the salad just before serving OR what I do is serve them separate and let the eater decide how much dressing she wants. Plus this way if there is left overs they store better.

Here are some other ideas for Thanksgiving salad recipes:

*note don't hate the jello salad, it can be made beautifully and it is a definite kid pleaser

Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad

this is a family favorite

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 T, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 package of cream cheese
1 8 oz container of whipped topping
2 3 oz packages raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 10 oz packages of frozen raspberries
whipped topping for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

CRUST: mix pretzels, butter, and 3 T sugar. Press mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

CREAM CHEESE: In bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.

JELLO: In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add the raspberries. Pour over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time. Cut and serve with whipped cream.

Winter Spinach Salad from Your Homebased Mom

Honey Lime Fruit Salad from My Kitchen Cafe

Romaine Salad with Chicken and Cranberry Vinaigrette  from My Kitchen Cafe 

Hopefully this list will help with your Thanksgiving Menu. If you have any salad favorites I would LOVE to hear about them.

Next Thanksgiving Menu installment: Breads/Rolls

I Heart Mail

FIRST- I realized I never announced a winner for the Abbisolutely pattern giveaway...blame it on my Halloween costume coma.

So our winner is-

#12 Alyssa, congrats! Email me with you info and I will get that to Abbie.

NEXT- I HEART mail.

Who doesn't right? 

When something comes especially for you...that isn't attached to an amount due by or a lucky you, you qualify for our new credit card..but that is beautiful and just glorious and sent for the sole purpose of making your day.

Well a couple of weeks ago I got just such a delightful piece of mail.

Remember Jessica from Just Enough Style and her lovely earrings?

Guess what? 

She sent me a pair of my very own beautiful earrings. 

Oh how excited was I! I mean seriously, get past my no make up face and that fact that I took this shot of myself, and how wonderful are those earrings in all their corally loveliness???

I LOVE them. I have already worn them a TON.

Go and check out her site. These earrings come in so many colors and they are so affordable. I already have them on my gift list for my favorite girlies.

Pirate Party

This cute pirate had a party.

His crazy Momma went a little insane with the color theme.

Tutorial on banner and super scurrrrvy (no not the disease) pirate hat coming soon.

What happens when you give a room full of boys felt swords.

Walk the plank you scurvy dog! Arrggg!

Whew it is done. Whew we made it out alive. Whew everyone had FUN.

Sharing the fun here-

Made by You Mondays- Skip to My Lou
Market Yourself Mondays- Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Pink Hippo Party-  Pinkapotamus
Something I Just Whipped Up- The Girl Creative
Pity Party- 30 days

Toy Story Halloween- abridged

I have tried since Friday to post about our long awaited, much labored Toy Story Halloween.

Alas life happens-

mom gets sick, barely makes it trick or treating

birthday party to plan/throw

blogger loading pictures wonky

laundry to fold/house to clean

absence of the perfect photo session picture

So Happy Halloween. Even with an absence of the perfect photo of Buzz, Woody, and Green Alien, my Little Men had a fabulous time...and yes Buzz was the hit of the evening. Thanks to our friends for letting us tag along.

Don't be surprised if you get a Halloween wrap up with more photos a little later...sorry but with all the hard work I did this year I want them to have their photo spotlight.

Hope you all have had great Halloweens!

Chipotle Chili with a Surprise

Halloween is almost here. Some of you may have already had Halloween parties, some of you may have them coming. Some of you may just be getting ready for actual Halloween. To me nothing says Halloween party or Halloween dinner like soup or chili. It is something that warms ya up and gets the kiddos all toasty and ready to go.

Tonight we go Trick or Treating...that's right. Our community always picks the Thursday before if Halloween falls on a weekend night. So tonight all my Little Men will get their costumes on and run the neighborhood in a frenzie loading up on the good stuff.

Buzz and Woody have already had their debuts at our church party, but alas I was one of the adults in charge so I got absolutely NO pictures. This is the best picture I have so far...but tonight the boys are going to be forced to do a photo session with their loving mother (yes they will love it can you sense my sarcasm).

So that means you get the complete photo run down of our families Toy Story Halloween tomorrow.

Yes, I bet you are excited.

Today, lets talk chili.

For our  church party we had a chili and chocolate cook off. Basically families could bring one or the other to be judged for prizes. As I was searching for recipes I came across this one from Best Bites...it was all in the title, I knew I had to make it.

Chipotle Chocolate Chili 
yes that is right, CHOCOLATE


1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
3 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (not the kind for chocolate milk)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotles)
1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate (1/2 of  1 oz baking square), shaved.
3-4 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar

sour cream
cheese
green onions

Heat some olive oil in a large soup pot over med heat. Saute onions, garlic, red pepper, and turkey until turkey is cooked through, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, tomatoes, beans, and beef broth. Add all of the sauce from the can of chipotles (here I dumped the can into a strainer that I had over my soup pot. ALSO...if you don't like a lot of heat I would only put in half of the sauce).

Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until thickened. About 30-40 minutes. If you like more heat add some chopped chipotle peppers. Here add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and a small amount of the shaved unsweetened chocolate. Do it until taste. Too much chocolate will make it taste bitter. I did use about the whole 1/2 oz and I think it tasted great. Taste as you go to get your preference.

Serve with sour cream, cheese, green onions. Whatever you chili toppings you like, throw them on top.

Thanks Best Bites for this yummy recipe. GO over to their site they are having an amazing giveaway plus they are in a Better Homes and Gardens cook off and they need your VOTES.