Pinterest + Thanksgiving =Success

     Using Pinterest for cooking has been a staple in our home.  Propping my iPad on the counter for easy access and going to town on new recipes is exciting for me.   Whether I'm looking for a quick and easy meal or I want to copycat an intricate dish from my favorite restaurant, it can almost always be found within this red app. 

     My question to myself this holiday was,  " Can I make an entire Thanksgiving meal and it also be amazingly delicious from Pinterest?"

     The answer is a resounding, "Yes!"

     So what did I end up cooking?  Well let me just tell you then. 

 

  First up, our main course was a holiday ham from our farm fed pig.  Necessity dictated that I use our roaster due to the oven being full.  I've cooked several hams, but I always come back to the Brown Sugar Ham.  Ours was 18 pounds and I roasted it for 4 hours at 325 degrees and it was fabulous!

    Second up, Green Bean Casserole.  This is the first time I have used frozen green beans instead of canned and it was still a fan favorite, but some didn't enjoy the crispness of the frozen beans versus canned.  I rarely purchase canned anything anymore because they just are not as healthy an option. 

   Third, 7 Layer Salad.  An item my husband loves to add to any menu. 

   
  Fourth, Warm Bacon Cheese Dip.  I could not find a bread bowl at either store I entered so I made my own, but I preferred the garlic, Parmesan pita chips with this dip instead.

  


   Fifth, Twice Baked Potato Casserole.  This is awesome because it's just the inside of a twice baked potato.  How could you possibly go wrong with that?

   

 
Sixth, Candied Sweet Potato Casserole.  To. Die. For.   This is like dessert.  I ate it two mornings in a row for breakfast!

    


 Seventh on the list, Ramen Noodle Salad.  This is one of my personal favorites.   For whatever reason, I did not buy the bag of coleslaw mix, so I had to make mine from scratch, which I like even better.  You can tell it was made with love because the cabbage slices were uneven. 

   

 Eighth, Sweet Hawaiian Bread.  This is so moist, delicious and easy to make in the bread machine.  Love my bread machine!

    

 Ninth for dessert was No Bake Eclair Cake!   I didn't have room in my oven for one more food item and I was tuckered out at this point from baking.  This ended up being a big ticket item though, so simple and yummy. 

      The only dish I did not steal from Pinterest was Rice Pilaf, another easy dish that I'll have to share later.  You can see it was a busy day of cooking, six hours worth and totally worth every minute of it. 

     My only foul up was that I pulled four hot dishes out of the oven just in time to call everyone to eat and I completely forgot to take a photo of our Thanksgiving homemade feast!

   

 So dinner from Pinterest was a total success!

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Deviled Egg Chicks

     I love my deviled eggs and was looking for a different way to make them for this holiday weekend and I found the idea online.

     I don't want to change my filling recipe so I just used the idea and kept my original ingredient list the same.

     Deviled Egg Chicks:

• 1 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 3 Tbsp Miracle Whip
• 2-3 Chopped sweet pickles or 2 Tbsp pickle relish 
• 1-baby carrot
• 3-black olive slices
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1-Boil the eggs, then cool before peeling(I put 1/4 c. baking soda in my water for easy peeling)

2- Cut off the top 1/4 of the pointed end of the egg and put hard yolk in separate bowl

3-Dice the pickles and add all ingredients to yolks and mash together with a fork(I use pickles because I don't like all of the juice from pickle relish)

4-Cut carrot into small pieces to act as the nose and slice black olives to make the eyes

5-Refill the larger portion of the egg to overflowing and add the small top portion of the egg as the cap.  Add the nose and eyes to the filling.

Walaaaa, you have Chicks!

On a side note:  If you must travel with these eggs, I would recommend slicing off the bottom of the eggs to make an even surface so they will still be standing upright and not laying down taking an early nap before their big debut. ;)