Friendsgiving- a pseudo-holiday created by millennials for Instagram, right? Can I go on a limb here and say for me and my friends, it is the most cherished holiday season tradition.  Why do I love Friendsgiving? First, it’s not locked into a specific date. With crazy hectic schedules- we pick a day that works for everyone and it marks the start of the holiday season!

Second, the food is amazing- we go potluck style and our friends bring their culinary A-game. The Gilly’s host each year but this year marked my very first time making the turkey. THE TURKEY! Is this intimidating to anyone else? By some miracle, it was AMAZING (if I do say so myself). Everyone else  brought a side dish or dessert. Honestly, everything was DELISH. One friend (while shoveling food into their mouth mid-meal) even let out, “My poor momma, this puts her meal to shame.” Needless to say, we were proud of ourselves.

Another reason I’m obsessed with this tradition is friends are like the family you choose, they deserve to be celebrated. There is no better way to kick the holiday season off than by celebrating genuine and lasting friendship. It’s amazing to me to see relationships become marriages and new people added to our tribe each year. It’s fun to think back to last year trying to pull this off in our small apartment living room  and this year we were able to gather in our new house around the dining room table, hold hands, say grace and just enjoy each other’s company. We topped the night off with mulled apple cider and a game of Loaded Questions.  I cannot wait to continue this tradition and see where life takes all of us in years to come. Do yourself a favor, host Friendsgiving with your friends–you won’t regret it, I promise!

I absolutely love having our friends and family in our home, anytime, any day. It fills me up, but I also know that sometimes stress accompanies that joy for me when it comes to entertaining or hosting. HEAR ME- Don’t let perfectionism get in the way of having people in your home this holiday season and always. It’s TRULY not about how cute your centerpiece is, or how fabulous your decor is; no one remembers these things. It’s about opening your home to create a place where love lives, where your friends and family feel welcomed, where life doesn’t have to happen alone,  and where the best of memories are made.

Happy Friendsgiving Friends!

XO,

((Scroll down for recipes))

Thought I would share some recipes with you that were a total hit. To anyone who’s made the Thanksgiving Turkey- kudos to you because it’s stressful. You hear horror stories of dry turkey or undercooked turkey (sorry mom ☺ ) which makes for an intimidating undertaking. I started researching on Pinterest and Google and found WAY too many options, to brine or not to brine, to stuff or not to stuff, to use a bag or not, and then you have 10045 options on what flavor to use. So, with the advice of both moms- I went with using a bag and I highly recommend it. Now it wasn’t the prettiest turkey I’ve ever seen- but it was moist and tasty. For flavor- I chose to wing it. Here’s what I did:
Turkey
1 Turkey (we did a 21lb Butterball for 12 people and there was plenty, but we didn’t have leftovers for days)
1 Onion
3 Oranges, 2 sliced, 1 halved
3 Sprigs of fresh rosemary (Two for the herb butter one for inside the turkey)
1 Bunch fresh thyme (Some for the herb butter some for the inside of the turkey)
1 Bunch of fresh sage (Some for the herb butter some for the inside of the turkey)
1 Bulb of garlic, minced
¼ cup of butter (remember I’m dairy free so I used Smart Balance and no one noticed)
1 Oven bag- turkey sized
1 Stalk celery, chopped
1 pop up thermometer

Defrost Turkey per instructions in manufacture label; pre-heat oven to recommended temperature for the size of your turkey. Remove innards from both cavities; rinse well with water and pat dry. Melt butter in sauce pan; add minced garlic, fresh herbs and simmer until it becomes fragrant. Rub melted herb butter under the skin of the turkey and the top if there’s extra. Sprinkle the breast of the turkey with fresh black pepper and salt to taste. Fill the large cavity with 2 oranges sliced, onion, celery, and the rest of the fresh herbs. Place turkey inside the bag and inside of the roasting pan; add third orange halves into the bag. Place pop up thermometer in breast of turkey. Tie bag per bag instructions on box. Bake per instructions on turkey’s manufacture label for your size turkey. Our 21 pound turkey was finished in 4 hours- the pop up thermometer popped- and I double checked temperature with a second thermometer; again, refer to the turkey’s manufacture label for recommended temperature/ cook time. Remove turkey from oven, let sit for 30 minutes before carving. You may use the leftover juices to make gravy by simply boiling it and adding a standard cornstarch//water mixture (about ¼ cup). Happy Turkey Day.

Sweet Potato Casserole
Inspired from Ruth Chris- Got the recipe from my MIL 😉 I made it with modifications to make it GF & DF and again, no one noticed!! I can eat this for a side dish, dessert, and for breakfast for the following week – it’s that good.
Filling:
Mashed Sweet Potatoes (4 Large Cans) drained
1/3 cup melted butter (I used Smart Balance)
1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs well beaten
1 tsp cinnamon

Crumb Topping:
1 cup oats
½ cup melted butter
1 1/12 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour (I used a mix of coconut flour and rice flour)
1 cup nuts (almonds)
Mix all filling ingredients thoroughly with electric mixer. Pour into buttered baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Set aside; serve warm!

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