My Stuffing Recipe

As mentioned previously, every year I'm in charge of making stuffing for our

family Thanksgiving feast. I've tweaked it over the years and feel like I've now got it

down to an almost perfect dish. I love this recipe because it has all of my favorite components:

sweet, salty, crunchy and most importantly, it's a comfort food.  Below is the recipe, enjoy!

Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing:

Serves 8-10 people

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)*
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock, walnuts  and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm.

*When I am short on time I substitute cubing and toasting my own bread with Mrs. Cubbison's Stuffing, I only use the dried bread and follow my own recipe.

Thanksgiving Tablescape Ideas

 Every year at Thanksgiving I have two assignments, make stuffing {I'll post that recipe soon}, 

and setting the table. I love doing both of these things so it doesn't feel torturous to me.

I am no Martha Stewart nor do I aspire to be so, but it's fun to get creative with 

setting the table each year and making it a special and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone. 

This year I've been wanting to do something different, so of course I turned to Pinterest which always

has loads of ideas. Here are some I've been liking. We'll see what I actually end up doing.

All images via Pinterest

Thanksgiving

  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year.  

It consists of all the things I love, 

my family and delicious comfort foods.

It was a great evening followed by our tradition of watching

movies together and just relaxing.

Hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving surrounded by

loved one and delicious food as well!

 

^^ My cute mom, and the most amazing cook.

^^All that yummy comfort food!

 ^^My nephew Odin, I'm grateful to this little guy who keeps me laughing.

Thanksgiving {Instagrammed}

Apologies for the radio silence.

I was enjoying all of the Thanksgiving festivities with family...

so much so that I really only got a few snaps.

But I think that's what this great holiday is all about, just

relaxing, eating and enjoying time away from work;

all of which I did. I even tried Black Friday, 

my first and most likely last time doing that craziness!

I'd rather sit home, relax by the fireplace and watch some

Christmas movies.  But had to try it at least once.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving filled with

family, love & food!

Thankful Thursday

With the Thanksgiving Holiday nearly upon us, I can't help

but get in the spirit of it all and start listing off all of 

the many abundant blessings I'm thankful for.

My mind starts thinking of everything from 

the small seemingly insignificant things like

my new spacious closet, to my favorite yogurt, 

putting on a new pair of shoes to the things that

are much more significant like having good health, 

the most amazing loving family, friends, & a job.

I also can't help but be so grateful for this 

wonderful country I live in.

Which brings me to this past Sunday and

how it all started for us Santamaria's.

My family, immediate and extended are

very close knit. How can we not be when 

we are as Latin as they come, half Italian, half Chilean.

We are some cooky version of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', 

I'm sure you get the picture.

This past Sunday we went to my Uncle Tito's to celebrate

my cousin Nikki's birthday.  After dinner we always sit around

and chat around the dinner table while sipping on some sort of 

hot drink.  My dad and his brother {Uncle Tito} were reminiscing

of their first few months as new immigrants to the states {New Jersey to be exact}.

All of thekids, cousins, gran-kids were gathered round

listening intently to the two talk about they're hilarious

experiences,  not speaking a lick of English, 

all the misinterpretations, first times in NYC, 

learning a new culture, they had us laughing so much we were crying.

I had a moment of such gratitude for my parents

for being brave enough to leave everything they knew

more than 40 years ago to have a better life.  

And by golly, it's been a good life, a beautiful one!

Feasting and Giving Thanks

Well Thanksgiving was glorious as usual.  I was in charge of making the stuffing 

and setting/decorating the table.  

I had lots of fun with that part {thank you Pinterest for the ideas}.  

It's such a great Holiday that allows me 

to reflect on all of the things I'm grateful for and there are so many:

Family, friends, Sunday dinners, key lime yogurt{Oiko's brand - my latest obsession}, 

sunsets, early morning workouts, checking things off from my to-do lists, 

fresh clean sheets, smiles from strangers, nieces and nephews, books,

music, and oh so much more.

Truly my cup runneth over with all of the wonderful blessings I'm thankful for.

Images from Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving

Last Thanksgiving I was here:

{Kauai}

It was so wonderful to wake up to the sound of waves crashing, an agenda of absolutely nothing other than making sure my tan was even, eating pineapple galore and reading a good book. It truly was a slice of heaven.

But I missed having the traditional family Thanksgiving we have every year where I pack up my overnight bag and head to my parents place. My brothers are up early for the turkey bowl, my mom, sister-in-law's and I are in the kitchen baking away and the aroma's of turkey, stuffing, pies, rolls, & potatoes fill the air. After enjoying a delicious meal, we all go put on our sweats & head to the family room to watch movies.

So I am eager as can be for tomorrow's traditions!

Thanksgiving always gets me thinking of how thankful I am for everything I have. The list truly is so long it could go on forever, which that in itself is something to be thankful for. Lately my thoughts of gratitude are for the same things they are every year, but with deeper appreciation for those things such as the gospel, family, friends, having a job, and having good health.

So here's to another year of gratitude--Happy Thanksgiving!

Fancy Feast

Last Sunday my tummy was happy, oh yes it was!  

Ashlee and I decided to have an early Thanksgiving party at our place.  Neither of us had ever cooked a turkey before, so we knew we were in for an adventure.  Luckily our mom's have been cooking turkey's for years and helped us along the way.  

We went all out decorating the house-we think Martha Stewart would be proud.  We spray painted pumpkins and gourds gold, we had a million candles everywhere, white lights on the ceiling, good music, good food and most importantly good company-about 30 in total.  The evening was wonderful and for first time turkey cooks I would say we got an "A" on the assignment.

{Yes we pulled out the construction paper and had our guests make pilgrim hats and Indian head dresses-one is never too old for construction paper fun!}