Bring on the Bourbon!

This was my shopping list for Thanksgiving:

• Turkey
• Sage-Seasoned Sausage (fresh)
• Sage (fresh)
• Rosemary (fresh)
• Thyme (fresh)
• Celery
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Onions (white)
• Onions (yellow)
• Shallots
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Mushrooms
• Eggs
• Butter (lots!)
• Cheddar Cheese
• Evaporated Milk
• Olive Oil
• Brown Sugar
• Green Beans
• Corn
• Creamed Corn
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Chicken Broth
• Vegetable Broth
• French-fried Onions (sold out)
• Bread Cubes (I wanted bakery dried)
• Cranberry Sauce (had dried, but not canned)
• Pickles
• Black Olives
• Green Olives
• Sparkling Apple Juice
• Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
• 1-Gallon Zip Bags
• 1-Quart Zip Bags

The only items I couldn't purchase at Aldi are in red, the sage sausage is in green because it came from Trader Joe's (owned by Aldi). Have you been near a regular grocery story this week? Do people only eat once a year? The trip to Aldi took less time than the trip to pick up the items in red. There were fantastic sale prices at the other grocery stores, but I still saved $27 dollars by choosing Aldi.


I'm making two new recipes this year. One is stuffing with sage sausage and the other is sweet potatoes on the grill with fresh rosemary and olive oil. I'm on my 14th year doing an herb-infused turkey, which is a big pain in the butt, but worth it. We're also having our die-hard traditional mashed potatoes with shallot and herb gravy, green bean casserole and bourbon corn pudding. My mom is bringing dessert and rolls (my favorite).


This Thanksgiving I am feeling especially thankful for my husband. He offered to take everyone out for dinner this year (even researched places to go) because of how rapidly my health has deteriorated in the last 6 weeks, but I couldn't do that to the kids; so instead, he drove me grocery shopping and is planning to chop, dice and slice with me for a few hours tomorrow night to get ready.


Wishing everyone reading this a Happy Thanksgiving full of friends and family and good things to eat!

---

Bourbon Corn Pudding

• 3 large eggs
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 cans cream-style corn
• 3 cups corn (frozen or drained from can)
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 5 tbsp. bourbon (my friend Sara said molasses works great as a substitute and they carry it seasonally at Aldi) 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Beat eggs and evaporated milk together in large bowl. Stir in all remaining ingredients and pour mixture into baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until slightly browned and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

---

P.S. I still can't get the formatting right for this blog since I switched to a Mac!

Easy (i)Mac

I was pretty far up Bill Gates' butt, cheering him on as he amassed his fortune, and singing the praises of Windows. I jumped on the bandwagon at Windows 1.0 and never gave up, we're talking nearly 25 years of Windows. 20 years ago, I was gleefully telling my coworkers that soon everyone would be using Windows, it was the future. This sort of talk sickened the real programmer I worked with, he would sneer at me and tell people I was neurotic. Didn't phase me. Then, along came a mandate that hundreds of work stations needed to be transitioned to Windows 3.11. Guess who became the neurotic? It's been a great marriage.


So.. last week, I converted to Mac. It's been fairly smooth so far, mostly since I realized that Mac chose left-handers over right-handers and said, "now you live in our world, deal with it." It's not easy to go against 90% of the population and survive, and then thrive. 


I'm still learning that "X-ing" out of something doesn't really end it, it just makes it hide. "Quitting" something is where it's at. I am considering a name change to . 


Bill Gates, I quit you.


We all know that a major relationship breakup requires some comfort food, and what is more comforting than..

---

Easy (i)Mac (and cheese)

• 8 oz. macaroni, cooked and drained
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 stick butter
• 1 can evaporated milk
• salt and pepper

Melt butter in Crock Pot.
Layer macaroni and cheese (saving some of both cheeses).
Beat eggs and add both milks and pour mixture into Crock Pot over macaroni and cheese.
Top with remaining cheese.
Cook on low for 3 hours.

---

Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.