So with my boyfriend’s schedule, we were unable to make it home for Thanksgiving this year. We actually planned to drive up to Mississippi to spend it with my best friend, but that was very quickly out of the question once we received the schedule as well.

With that, I officially cooked and curated our very own Thanksgiving for the first time EVER. I’m going to be very honest here, I am not the best cook and Joey does most of the “important” cooking; and by that I mean the cooking where if it isn’t done correctly, you’re either going to die or end up very sick. My arena is mostly sides, veggies, desserts. I can also make a pretty excellent salad! So I vowed to do the entire Thanksgiving meal on my own!

Because it was just the two of us, I didn’t want to shell out $50 for a big turkey that we’d have no way of finishing. Instead, I went and bought 1 pound of already sliced turkey breast from Trader Joes. For sides, I used my mom’s recipe for almond roasted green beans (to die for) and Joey’s mom’s recipe for the mashed potatoes (granted I had to do things a tad different since I don’t have a mixer). We added corn and bread rolls to the mix with some cinnamon butter that was delish. 

And then the best moment of the day (in my eyes), dessert! I bought a pumpkin pie because there was no way I felt ready enough to try and make my own and added some pumpkin spice macaroons I picked up from Trader Joe’s. But! I did make the same pumpkin loaf I made for Halloween.

Throughout my day of cooking I sipped on warm apple cider (my absolute favorite), which I also bought at Trader Joes and warmed in the crock pot with some cinnamon sticks.  If you haven’t tried it you really should! It’s really good and the cinnamon ads a bit of a kick to the cider. Or if you like to have an alcoholic beverage here and there, you can always add some Fireball to the recipe!

Of course it was hard being away from family on Thanksgiving, but we Facetimed and felt a lot better 🙂 All in all, I really enjoyed our first solo Thanksgiving. It was for sure different but it was nice to just focus on the two of us for the day and spend it cooking together, watching the Macy’s Day Parade, listening to and dancing around the kitchen, and finally watching a movie snuggled in bed together (with my baby Bentley) 🙂 By the way, if you haven’t seen “Bad Moms” you totally should- it’s hysterical.

I hope everyone out there celebrating had a great Thanksgiving! And Happy Black Friday!

xoxo,

Amanda