Thanksgiving!

When we flew out to Chicago on the morning of Thanksgiving Day, I was so excited about sitting in the airport to wait for our flight while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.... except for once we arrived, I quickly realized that NONE of the tv's in the airport were showing the parade that morning.

Big time bummer. I guess I did have unrealistic expectations.  I still love reminiscing on Thanksgiving mornings growing up as a little girl.  I would always sleep in the living room at my Grandmommy's house with my cousins, then wake up and sit at the table in her kitchen watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while eating delicious Pillsbury Orange Rolls. YUM!

So, since I didn't get to watch the parade at the airport, Kyle and I sat in the airport and talked about Thanksgiving Day traditions and the fun that it always was growing up as a kid. Anyone else have traditions on Thanksgiving Day?

Once we arrived in Chicago, we enjoyed lots of fun, food & family time.  It was such a great trip and was so refreshing!

Too bad I left our real camera at home. Here are a few phone pics for a glimpse into our weekend!

Our amazing Thanksgiving tablescape designed by my very talented Mother-in-law!

 Complete with the traditional chocolate turkeys! Find them below?

We watched lots of football, ate yummy food, stayed warm by the fire & enjoyed each other!

After Thanksgiving dinner, we made homemade Turkey Pot Pies with all the leftovers. The recipe my Mother-in-law made was originally from The Pioneer Woman.  (See below!)

So, go get all those leftovers out of the fridge and make yourself one for dinner.
You won't regret it.  It's delicious!

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
1 pie crust (1/2 of Perfect Pie Crust recipe)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 cups leftover turkey, light and dark, diced or shredded (or both!)
1/4 cup flour
2 to 3 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth (more if needed!)
splash of white wine (optional)
3/4 cup heavy cream
Frozen peas (optional)
Fresh thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)
3. Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)
5. Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not underseason), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.
6. Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.
7. Roll out crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using. Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until very golden and bubbly and the crust is done. Allow to cool for a little bit before serving. Serve with a large spoon.
Delicious!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!