I have a Thanksgiving secret

Besides the cost of living, the ONLY other bummer thing for me about living here in San Diego is that we are 6 hours away from any family.  (Which is not that bad---and my Arizona brother..hmmmm...Kevin, could have come, but failed to plan).  My other family is either in Utah or across the nation on the east coast or up in the Pacific Northwest, which...believe me, is NOT close {especially when you drive it}.  When we lived in Utah our home was holiday central since most of my brothers were either living in Utah for work or finishing up school.  Those that weren't had flight benefits.  Here, our friends all have family that live near, so community Thanksgiving doesn't happen like it would in 'the mission field.' 

So my point being that unless we travel north, we spend the holidays...just with our little {BIG} nuclear family.  I used to long for that day, and now we have it, so here's to appreciating the beauty in all things:  

I love it that we can establish our own traditions and have our own time schedule...that it is free of drama, but I do miss having my extended family gather for such wonderful occasions... drama or not--doesn't that come with every family?

I love it that there is no one around to mock me, or become jealous...  when it only takes a couple of minutes to prepare our Thanksgiving feast...

Our home still has the aroma of a cooking turkey---because it is, well, 'cooking.'

I make a double recipe of lion house yummilicious rolls (recipe below) and typically I'll make pecan pie bars and a few pies.

I love to whip out my special china, handed down to me from my dear Grandma...and remember Thanksgivings past spent at her home with the same china.

I love having my family 'dress up'--a tradition my dad used to enforce. {at my house, shoes are optional}.

...and I love sitting around ONE table so we're within earshot of all the little funnies the kids spew. 

...I love to enjoy my dining room tablescape...because Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are the only reason I have a dining room table -- I would ditch it in lieu of a library in that spot...but that's another story.

When you have picky eaters, it's tough to justify spending 4-6 hours in the kitchen slaving over the meal that will be half-eaten and picked at in 10 minutes.  I can never come away from Costco + Albertsons shopping for an occasion as this, having spent less than $200 once everything is considered.  

It all started when I was complaining of these things and so Curt's solution was this:

Can you even see it?  Mimi's Cafe.

They have a take & warm Thanksgiving feast and boy, do they know how to make a feast.  My kids adore their sweet potatoes--probably because brown sugar and marshmallows are the main ingredient.  Give Curt a leg or two and he's happy for HOURS.  The turkey is to die for--competes with the best brined turkey I've ever had.  They even give you pie, whip cream, the best cranberry sauce I've ever tasted, gravy, veggies, chunky homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a few loaves of their yummy gourmet breads.  Seriously, can't beat Thanksgiving in a box for $80.  It is supposed to feed 6-8, but we have leftovers for a week.

What a deal.  And that's my secret.  This is why everyone can go enjoy a movie the morning of Thanksgiving and why clean up takes 10 mintues-maybe 20.  I love our Thanksgiving tradition for my picky eaters.  It makes for a happy mommie who can enjoy the simple things on this day of gratitude, rather than being so exhausted and over-heated from the day in the kitchen.

Some tips:  When you dissolve the yeast...make sure you do it quickly after the powdered milk is dissolved so the water is still warm.  Let it sit for a minute, then add the sugar and stir and let it sit for a few minutes.  The way you can tell if the yeast is active or not is if the mixture bubbles up and grows a little bit.  

This is what I do to help my dough rise faster--I pour HOT water in a big bowl, then put my covered bowl of dough on top of it (it's not necessarily sitting in the water, just over the hot water in it's bowl).  I then turn on the dryer for 5 minutes or so, turn it off, then place the dough sitting inside the water pot for about 45 mins until it rises double.  Just make sure your kids/hubby doesn't turn on the dryer cause that wouldn't be fun mess (we haven't ventured in that direction yet).  Line your pans with parchment paper---it yields a better roll.  After placing the rolled dough on the parchment, spray one side of your plastic wrap with PAM and place wrap on top of rolls (so they don't stick).  Turn on the oven to 200...turn off, then place your rolled rolls in there and let rise as oven cools down.  They'll be ready to bake in 30 mins or less!