12 for Tuesday: Dining Out on Thanksgiving.

So, last week we gave you several (actually 12) options for those of you who want to celebrate turkey day at home, but are looking for a little help in the kitchen. For those of you, who would rather just sit back & relax, and let someone handle the headache of cooking, here's a list of 12 restaurants offering Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Anaheim White House, Anaheim
2. Back Bay Bistro, Newport Beach
3. Charlie Palmer, Costa Mesa
4. Chart House Restaurant, Dana Point & Newport Beach
5. Chimayo at the Beach, Huntington Beach
6. Don the Beachcomber, Huntington Beach
7. Five Crowns, Corona del Mar
8. Hilton Anaheim, Anaheim 
9. Maggiano's, Costa Mesa
10. McCormick & Schmick's, Irvine & Santa Ana
11. Salt Creek Grille, Dana Point
12. Summit House Restaurant, Fullerton

xoxo, K

Thanksgiving: Takeout Style

image via flickr

Sometimes with all the chaos that comes with life making a Thanksgiving dinner seems impossible, so thank goodness there are great places to get the perfect Thanksgiving meal to-go in Orange County.

Claim Jumper has a great spread everything from the Turkey to dessert complete with directions on how to prepare each item.

Boston Market offers a traditional meal for only $11.99 and you can order everything online.

Creative Cuisine provides a tasty menu that includes a Waldorf Salad.

Clay Oven will provide a turkey infused with wonderful spices and cooked tandoori style, your turkey will also be accompanied with a cranberry chutney.

118 degrees provides a delicious vegeterian Thanksgiving to dinner to bring home to your loved ones.

Whole Foods, Gelsons, Bristol Farms, and Trader Joe's are also great resources to put together a quick Thanksgiving Meal to go.

Happy Dining!

xoxo, C

The Perfect Thanksgiving Ending: Dessert

So... Thanksgiving is this week. Are you ready? Already we've given you possible ideas for appetizers, soups, salads, sides as well as the turkey. All that's left to discuss is the dessert. I'm sure pumpkin pie will be on your menu, but what else? Here are some ideas just to get you going...

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Spice Cake with Coffee Toffee Crunch

Classic Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

& here's a recipe for a new family favorite. (Don't be fooled by the name, it's delicious!)

Pumpkin Dump Cake

1 can (30-ounces) pure pumpkin

3 cups evaporated milk (about 2 cans)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 yellow cake mix (rumor has it that it's tasty with a white cake mix too)

1 cup chopped pecans

4 eggs, well beaten

1 & 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cloves

2 sticks of butter, melted

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, cinnamon, ginger, eggs, sugar, salt & cloves together well. Pour into a well-greased 9x13 pan. sprinkle with cake mix & drizzle with melted butter (try to cover all of the cake mix with butter), then sprinkle with the pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.in my personal opinion (which i know doesn't really count for much), i think it tastes best when it's well-cooled, & topped with cool whip or vanilla bean ice cream (those little black specks are the best!).

xoxo, K

Oreo Cookie Turkeys

These yummy turkeys make a quick and easy Thanksgiving-inspired project for your little ones. Crafting with Oreo cookies, malted milk balls & candy corn? What could be better? As one of the comments said, "Even failure would result in eating a few Oreos. You can't beat that!" Find instructions HERE.

xoxo, K

Cooking up a Thanksgiving Turkey

So we've covered appetizers, as well as soups, salads & sides. So it's time to move onto the main event.... the turkey. Although, I have a confession. Turkeys scare me. Not actual turkeys (like the bird), nor the thought of eating one (because they're yummy), but the thought of cooking one kind of freaks me out... you have to make sure it defrosted, you have to remember to remove the gizzards & whatever else may be hidden up inside the bird & they take forever to cook. It sounds like a lot of work.

Rather than conquering my fears & actually "cooking" a turkey, I learned to use a crock pot. Which was great, because as with most crock pot meals I just have to dump the ingredients in, let it cook all day & come dinner time we have a tasty turkey. No defrosting or gizzard grabbing required. So if you interested in taking the "easy" way out, here's one of my favorite turkey recipes.

Creamy Mushroom Turkey
Ingredients:
1 smaller (it's gotta fit in your crock pot) boneless turkey or turkey breast, frozen or defrosted
2 cans (10.5 oz) creams of mushroom soup, condensed
1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces, drained
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Place turkey in a greased slow cooker. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients, except sour cream, & spoon over turkey. cover & cook on low heat for 8-10 hours. An hour before serving, break turkey into large chunks with two forks (another bonus, no craving required). Stir in sour cream. Cover & cook for remaining hour.

If you are looking for a turkey that's a bit more "hands on", try one of these recipes:
Gabi's Brined Turkey & Sausage Stuffing
BBQed Turkey
Martha's Perfect Roast Turkey
Ojai Roast Turkey with Rosemary, Lemon & Garlic
Paula Deen's Roasted Turkey with Maple Cranberry Glaze
Homestyle Turkey
Butterball's Brined Brown Sugar Deep Fried Turkey

Bring on the turkeys, baby!

xoxo, K
image via norman rockwell.

A Gratitude Jar

I spotted this jar on Oh Dee Doh from Inchmark a while ago, but forgot to mention it last month.  As Thanksgiving approaches I think this concept would be great if you turned it into a gratitude jar.  All you need is a jar and to instruct everyone to contribute by writing down on a piece of paper something that they are grateful for in their day to day (little ones could just draw pictures).    You could put the jar out all year, for the rest of the month of November, or even just the day of Thanksgiving for guests and family.   During Thanksgiving dinner read all the slips of paper by taking turns around the table and you will be sure to bring the spirit of gratitude to your holiday. 

xoxo, C 

Thanksgiving Shopping List at Trader Joes

As I have mentioned before Trader Joe's is my favorite grocery store and they manage to save some great goodies just for the holidays. This is what I try to pick up for Thanksgiving from TJ's:

Cranberry Orange Relish

Pumpkin Butter

Pomegranate Cider

Pumpkin Bread Mix

Pumpkin Pie

Spiral Cut Ham

Turkey Gravy (just in case I do something wrong the day of)

Fried Onions Pieces
Corn Bread Dressing

Cranberry Nut Clusters Popcorn (makes a great hostess gift for the holidays)

Peppermint Joe-Joe's (they always run out by Christmas)

What are your holiday favorites from TJ'S?

xoxo, C

Thanksgiving Soups, Salads & Sides

So last week we gave you a list of starters for your Thanksgiving meal. This week were moving on to (what I personally think is) the most delicious part of the meal. Everyone's going to be eating turkey... so what really is going to set your meal apart from all the others are the soups, salads & sides. So here you go, here are some ideas to get you started.

Orange You Glad it's Thanksgiving Soup
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Pumpkin Soup

Spinach Salad with Creamy Apply Poppy Seed Dressing
Mixed Greens Salad with Strawberries and Avocados
Spinach Salad with Avocado and Orange
Jello Pretzel Salad

Lion House Dinner Rolls
Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots Recipe
Green Bean Casserole
Corn Bread Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese
Creamed Corn
Cornbread Sausage Stuffing
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash with Brown Butter

Hope you find something that sounds tasty!

xoxo, K
image via here.

An Easy Thanksgiving Menu for a Crowd

Whenever I have to cook for a crowd I turn to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. She always has great ideas that are delicious without being overwhelming to make. I was looking on Oprah's website and spotted a great menu for a crowd by Ina for Thanksgiving:

Hors d'Oeuvre
Smoked Salmon Spread
Entrée
Baked Country Ham
Sides
Cranberry Fruit Conserve
Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples
Zucchini with Parmesan
Sagaponack Corn Pudding
Desserts
Raspberry Cheesecake
Pear and Cherry Crisp

Thanks, Ina!

xoxo, C

Thanksgiving Appetizers

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays... friends, family & an excuse to eat lots of food! With turkey day just a few weeks away, it's never too early to start planning your Thanksgiving menu. There are lots of tasty-looking recipes out there, & in the next few weeks I'm sure will see plenty more... but here are a few of the appetizers that are definitely on my "potentials" list.

Sweet Pumpkin Dip
Brown Sugar Smokies
Sugar Coated Pecans
Pumpkin Butter Cream Cheese Puffs
Super Stuffed Mushrooms
Sugared Almonds & Pine Nuts
Flashback: 1981 Holiday Bacon Appetizers
Parmesan Puff Pastry
Tom the Turkey Vegetable Tray

xoxo, K
image via HERE.

Centerpieces that make a Statement

Thanks Domino for all the inspiring centerpieces.

xoxo, C

Thanksgiving Countdown

I love counting down to anything. It just adds a bit of fun & anticipation to any & every event. & just because today is November 3rd, doesn't mean it's too late to start counting down to turkey day. I'm loving THIS calender made for Pottery Barn Kids. I saw it in the store last week, & it really is darling. (I also love that it comes with I am Thankful cards that promote the act of gratitude.)

But if you're feeling a bit crafty, you could easily make your own Thanksgiving countdown...


Over at Make & Takes, Marie put together THIS great "Counting Down to Turkey Time How-To". It's quick & easy and perfect to do with the kiddos. You can remove a feather or day, or better yet, write down one thing your grateful for each day. Either way, it definitely makes counting down to Thanksgiving a little bit more fun & exciting!

xoxo, K

Martha's Thanksgiving Workshop

I know, I know, Halloween hasn't even happened yet... but that doesn't mean you can't start thinking about Thanksgiving yet. Starting November 3rd Martha Stewart & her crew, will deliver their best tips & tricks, menu inspirations, shopping lists, crafts & decorations right to your inbox. You definitely don't want to miss out. Sign up HERE.

xoxo, K