Show Us Your Life- Thanksgiving Recipes and Traditions

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2009/11/show-us-your-life-thanksgiving-recipes.html

Today over at Kelly's Korner is  "Show us your life--Thanksgiving Recipes and Traditions." I thought I'd share a couple of recipes that I enjoy every year. And, as much as I love green bean casserole, I'm not going to write that one down since it's on the back of the green bean can. :-) The following salad is one that James introduced me to 6 years ago when we first celebrated Thanksgiving together:


Cherry Fluff
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 container of Cool Whip (we use the larger one)
1 small can of Eagle Brand milk
1 package of mini marshmallows
1 small can of crushed pineapple
Chopped nuts optional (pecans, walnuts, almonds are good choices)

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, stir all together and chill for several hours or overnight.

Note: My husband likes to add the entire bag of marshmallows. I usually use about half. This really is just a dump and stir type of salad. And, it's oh so good!!!

Ok, one more recipe. This is one that I haven't made, but I think I'm going to try it this year. My mom has made it for us, and let me just say that it's more like desserert. It's absolutely delicious! :-)

Butternut Squash Bake
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups mashed cooked butternut squash

Topping:
1/2 cup crisp rice cereal (eg, Rice Krispies)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions: In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir in squash (mixture will be thin). Pour into a greased 11-in x 7-in x 2-in baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until almost set. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over casserole. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 6-8 servings.

This year we are heading to Texas to see my hubby's family. We're leaving the cats in Nebraska with my parents but will be taking the dogs with us. I've only met James' mom once...on our wedding day...so I'm looking forward to spending some more time getting to know her. His parents are divorced so we will be spending time with his dad/stepmom first and then with his mom/stepdad. And, hopefully we'll also get to see his sister's family (four nieces/nephews) and brother. It should be a good trip/vacation. We will be gone for two weeks. The last time I took two weeks off was for our wedding last year. I will be taking work with me, however, so hopefully I won't come back to mass chaos in the office. But, who cares anyway? It's a holiday!

I can't say that we really have any specific family traditions. When I was younger we used to have big Thanksgiving dinners even though I come from a pretty small family. I always dreamed of having a big family of my own so that we could begin to create our own traditions, and I'm still praying that someday James and I will have lots of children so we can have those big family dinners once again. But, that's in God's hands!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...early!