It's Turkey Time

This Elf on the Shelf
ballon wonders do you believe? 

Thanksgiving Day...a holiday devoted to family, food, and football!

Like all great Turkey Day fans, mine of course began with the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer were excellent NBC MCs, spewing funny factoids for a full three hours.  For instance, did you know it would take 6 days to bake the poultry featured on Tom the Turkey float?  Twelve marching bands played through the streets of Manhattan, while favorite balloons like Buzz Lightyear and Kermit the Frog dominated the Thanksgiving skyline.  Always the crowd favorite, the Rockettes may have worn less than wowing costumes, but the stars of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular did have perfectly precise high kicks. And, at the stroke of twelve Santa officially ushered in the holiday season, ending the parade in front of Macy's Herald Square.

Now that's one BIG turkey!  

That's one jolly Santa Claus! And, of course, Mrs. Claus is looking quite cute in her velvety-green number.  

Even google's getting in the holiday spirit. 

Paula Deen would be quite proud with the amount
of butter needed for this holiday favorite! 

Next, it was off to my momma's Southern kitchen.  We'd done most of the prep work last night, but a few things remained to be made, like my all-time favorite holiday dish---sweet potato souffle. Thanksgiving dinner may be done, but you should definitely save this recipe and try it out for Christmas!

Potato Souffle Ingredients:
- four 15oz. cans of Sugary Sam's yams
-two eggs
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup butter
-1 cup sugar

Use mixer to blend your ingredients thoroughly.  Be sure to smooth out all the potato chunks because it should be about the consistency of thick paste. Place in a buttered 13x9 dish.  Set aside and mix up your topping.

Topping Ingredients:
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/3 cup flour
-1 cup chopped pecans
-1 stick of butter
-marshmallows

Combine the brown sugar, flour and butter.  Spread the mixture over the souffle and generously sprinkle on the pecans and marshmallows.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350º. Enjoy!

As for now, well dinner's all done, and the dishes have been put away.  Of course, our family's got football on the brain. The Texans beat the Lions 34-31, and in the third RG3 and the Washington Redskins lead 28-6 over the Dallas Cowboys.

Alabama isn't playing Auburn until Saturday, but RooToo and Saban
came to Thanksgiving dinner all  ready for the 2012 Iron Bowl! 

Perhaps a quick nap is in my future as I prepare for our midnight, Black Friday shopping.  We've gone through the Macon Telegraph-which featured an adorable Thanksgiving themed color sheet-and plotted our our plan. Here's hopping for great bargains!

Only in Macon, GA would an entire page of the paper be devoted to coloring a feathered friend!