the crazies....

yesterday was a great thanksgiving! my dad, brothers, sister, ryans sister (and boyfriend), and us all together....it was fun! the girls had a blast!

we attempted (and succeeded) at frying our first turkey! well ryan (with dad and joes help) did the frying....with about an hour of trying to get the oil temp just right...

notice pot of oil (right) is not on the burner (left)...we had to make some
temperature adjustments creatively.

we just gave up after a little bit and decided to just throw the bird in and let it cook....here was her before pic, wasn't she a beaute?

ignore giant mess in background!

here's her close-up!

notice joe's holding the turkey and the pot is still off in the snow bank,
not sure what ryan's job is in this shot....

poor birds gettin all cold, here ryan actually looks busy!

turkey's in!

this was by far the best turkey we've ever had! it took a total of 55 minutes once we got it in the oil....that's not including our hour of trying to figure out what the heck we were doing! we injected the bird with some buttah, rubbed her with some rotisserie (sp) chicken spices (hence the red bird in the previous pics), and plopped her in the peanut oil. they say the important thing is to make sure the turkey is done in deep fryers....however ours was measuring well over temp. wise and was still the juiciest (not greasy at all) turkey evah!! here's the after pics...

a little scarey looking i know...believe me i was scared to
cut into this baby...that it'd be nothing but crisp, but it was far
from it...moist and juicy! Delish!

i'd have to say it turned out to be a super delicious (not at all healthy) meal. although i am trying to eat healthier and feed my kids healthier i'd have to say i probably used more butter in this meal than i have all year! it was yummy though!



none of the alcohol in the background was consumed

during the preparation of this turkey dinner!





homemade taters (not even outta a box!)



pre-baked green bean casserole

(we are in minnesota)

i had it in my head to snap pics of the meal before we ate...however after messing with the oil forever and then almost forgetting the gravy (you don't get drippings from a deep fried turkey...so i had to cheat!) i completely forgot the after pics! so all you get is a couple before pics...the rest was already in the oven...and i wasn't stickin my camera in the oven!

all in all it was a wonderful day. great family, great food. i have to say i was a little nervous as it was my first thanksgiving with my parents divorced. it's been very hard on me as it is the rest of my family i'm sure...especially my dad. so i wasn't sure how it'd go. but it was a blast! we had fun!

today i went shopping with by friend/daycare lady (and the rest of all the crazies!)...she's a riot! i just love her! she's had the girls since they were both born and i'm pretty sure i'd flip out if she decided to quit before they are out of daycare stage (2 years, 4 months, and 22 days....just kidding...i don't really have a countdown).

it was a blast though. we just kept it completely casual and meandered through all the stores....notice the girls adorable flannel jammers:

aren't they jes the cutest girls in the world...
i think so...messy hair and cups in face and all!

found a couple good deals...missed my hubby though! i've been spoiled with always having him be able to come with. soon enough we'll be able to take a little shopping trip...just him and i!

it's been a great thanksgiving week! i'm so thankful for my great family God has blessed me with. i'm so thankful for all the wonderful things in life!

happy friday!

XOXO,

Erinn