SOL Day 12: Thanksgiving in March

My family loves Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed peas and cranberry jelly. But we don't wait for November anymore. I'll tell you why.

A few years ago, my mother-in-law decided that it was too difficult to make a turkey for the entire family. At the time we would have about 16 people for dinner, so the bird had to be pretty large. Now, my MIL has very little upper body/arm strength so I can understand why it would be difficult for her to lift the turkey in and out of the oven. So, that year, she decided she would make Cornish game hens

instead. What a disaster! Not only did they not taste very good, but they were way too much work! From that point on, two things happened.

First, my husband offered to cook the turkey whenever it was his mother's turn. She and his aunt would take turns with the holidays. One did Thanksgiving and the other did Christmas. And he does an AMAZING job of it. I can't even begin to describe what he does, but the meat is so moist and tender it just makes my mouth water.

The second thing brings me to tonight's dinner. Around Thanksgiving when the turkeys go on sale, he will buy five or six of them and put them in the freezer. We have an extra fridge/freezer and a small upright freezer in our garage. Just enough room for them. Then, about every other month or so, my husband will make an entire turkey dinner with all the fixings. We make it a big deal and even pull out our wedding china.

So, even though we are no longer eating Cornish game hens for Thanksgiving dinner, we get the added bonus of Thanksgiving dinner the way WE like it several times a year.