Thanksgiving Feast

We're hosting Thanksgiving for my side of the family here at our house this year.  That meant that today was a day for baking like crazy!  I love my usual roll recipe but wanted to try for something new this year.  So I tried THIS RECIPE and they turned out awesome!

I am also a little embarrassed to admit that pie crusts scare me.  They are so hit-and-miss!  But I went for it and tried two different recipes this year.  I'll have to let you know which one turned out better.  I made my fruit pies using THIS RECIPE my friend Michelle shared on her blog.  Everything she makes looks amazing and she has a lot of kitchen experience so I figured her favorite crust recipes were worth a go.

  

And then I made two pumpkin pies using the pie crust recipe in my trusty old Betty Crocker Cookbook.

The best thing I invented today were these:

I'm not sure why I never thought of doing this before.  I used to try to wrap little strips of foil all around the pie and they wouldn't stay on half the time.  These are just like little pie hats!  I folded some aluminum foil in half, cut a circle out of the center and couldn't believe I never thought of doing them this way before.  Why didn't anyone tell me there was an easy way to do this?

Thumbelina thought the leftover dough was for playing with.

 I also made frozen cranberry salad, something Allen's mom always makes for Thanksgiving and we all love.

I got the recipe from here, our family cookbook:

Tomorrow I'll make a big pot of mashed potatoes with lots of butter and a sweet potato casserole that tastes more like dessert than a side dish.  

And the next day I'll rest.