The Girl Can Cook (And Bake!)

The prepping started on Monday...that was when she discovered (and accepted) that there was not a can of pumpkin to be found nor a frozen pie crust in The Netherlands.... wait for it....wait for it....yes, she made a pumpkin pie FROM SCRATCH!!!! ( WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES IN THIS POST... SHE HAD TO PROVE SHE COULD DO THIS STUFF!)

homemade pie crust...a first for her!!

And we mustn't forget the U.S. turkey which was expertly smuggled in by her husband in our checked luggage this summer.  AHHH...Nigeria taught us well!!:)

 And of course...there was no canned cranberry sauce to be found......

 So..she made it from scratch!!

 And the stuffing, too!!

 We had some small friends over yesterday for a pre Thanksgiving treat!:)

 And today, it was on to the mashed potatoes....

 The green beans...new recipe she has never tried...

 She missed her mom who is back in the U.S. ( a.k.a. her partner in crime in the kitchen)....

 A few recipes she used were from this book from a dear friend.:) The girl began to think that maybe she was a pioneer...afterall, the kitchen was a foreign land to her...and she was actually making things from scratch which were good!!

mashed potatoes..her mom's recipe

homemade stuffing/dressing

 She decorated her home in The Netherlands with her Thanksgiving treasures from years past...

 and of course, her wonderful husband has the turkey fryer ready!

Her mini me (in personality only) helped in the kitchen when she got home from school....

 And a new friend she met at her children's school gave her some flowers because she knew it must be hard to be so far from home and family and friends on such a big holiday....

We started this Thanksgiving wreath centerpiece a few years ago Whoever is with us on Thanksgiving writes one thing they are truly thankful for, and we keep it.  Every year, we count all the blessings of our family and friends.:)

The turkey is done!!!:)

Nothing like a good old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner...

They LOVE their chocolate pie!

She is exhausting..but she makes me smile!:)

The girl realized that life as an expat is hard at times when you know you are missing special times with family and friends.  But she remembered that when you remember the ones you love, they are never far from your heart!

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends in the United States today and all my friends from all parts of the globe both silver and gold! Today is a day to remember all the blessings we all have in our lives!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Doei!:)