Thanksgiving Recap

Happy Monday! It's back to reality after a nice long weekend. Sorry that this post is delayed, but it's better late than never! I'm happy to report that my first Thanksgiving was a success! We had a group of 9 that joined us in Chicago, and I was finally able to use all of my serving dishes! On the menu:

• Appetizers:
• Apple Brie Crostini
• Stuffed Red Potato Bites (stuffed with light artichoke dip)
• Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Pita Chips
• Dinner
• Turkey (I ordered it from Honey Baked Ham because I didn't want my oven to be taken up for 8 hours)
• Cornbread and Turkey Sausage Stuffing
• Mom's Mashed Potato Casserole
• Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips
• Field Green Salad with pomegranate seeds and feta
• Homemade Orange Cranberry Sauce
• Dessert
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Pie

Dad carved the bird. 

Everything turned out as planned, and I even shocked my guests by showing them that traditional Thanksgiving dishes can be made healthy! After dinner, we went to Second City for a holiday comedy show. For those of you in the area, I highly recommend seeing the Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue. You will literally cry from laughing so much!

Only half of our dinner

All in all, I love hosting! I've already been volunteered to host Thanksgiving every year, but we'll see what next year brings!

In the mean time, here is my recipe for the fruit salsa that I made for an appetizer. You can serve it with cinnamon pita chips, graham crackers, or just eat it by the spoonful! Enjoy!

                                                                      Fruit Salsa

Ingredients

1 Pint of Strawberries
1 Large Honey Crisp Apple
2 Kiwi, Peeled
1 T All Natural Raspberry Preserves

Instructions

1. Dice the berries, apple, and kiwi
2. Mix together in a medium sized bowl
3. Add 1 T of raspberry preserves and mix well
4. Chill for 20 minutes and serve with cinnamon pita chips or graham crackers

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Month of Gratitude:
Today I am grateful for our Chicago "family." We moved to this city with no friends, and happened to stumble across a group of people through rugby, and have not separated yet! They are a crazy bunch, but I wouldn't trade them for anything!