A Thanksgiving in progress...

I woke up this morning to a small turkey in the slow cooker...

A small one because there's only 4 of us eating today...

But that didn't stop me from making another loaf of this Cranberry Walnut Orange Bread.  You can never have enough side dishes or sweets on Thanksgiving...or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Yesterday my orange zest was more like orange goop, I don't know what was wrong with that orange but it's peel did not want to grate.  But today it worked perfectly! So of course I had to take a picture of the perfectly grated orange peel to brag.

I like the version of the bread I made yesterday...but it wasn't quite perfect for my taste. As soon as I tasted it I was already thinking of modifications to perfect it to my liking.

I proceeded to make my kitchen a complete mess again, that's what Thanksgiving is for right?

Modifications I made the the Cranberry Walnut Orange Bread:

-1 Cup AP Flour and 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour instead of 2 cups AP flour
-3/4 yogurt instead of 4 ounces butter
-1/2 cup granulated sugar instead of 3/4 cups sugar
-Added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp ginger (might add more next time!)

How did it turn out? Soooo perfect.  A little more dense and moist than the one I made yesterday and less sweet, which means I could eat more of it ;)  Totally more my style!  Hearty sweet breads are really the way to my heart.

Other things that have already been made today, Pumpkin Pie, with my Grandma's Secret Recipe.

And with the leftover dough my mom and I made these little twists.  SO delicious!  We rolled them in maple syrup and then rolled them in a mix of brown sugar, granualted sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  Ohhh my they are already all gone.

Seriously don't waste that leftover dough it can be put to good use!

Hope your busy in your own kitchen with your family baking/roasting/cooking up some goodness as well!

Home is...

...where the delicious (but slightly nutrient weak and sugar high) breakfast of my high school years reappears in my life.

...where there is always a hot pot of nice expensive coffee...and a chilled version in the fridge as well.

...where the snow (still) is.  Only this time it has little doggie tracks in it.

...where there are Christmas lights hanging in my window.

...where my room has been transformed into a (second) gym.  I'm really happy about it. (We already have a weightlifting gym in the garage, yes I definitely know where I get my love of working out from)

...where I can watch Glee and drink coffee and not feel guilty about missing class/neglecting homework.

...where my babies are...and where I have to go through too much barking and sass just to get one picture of them together.  (After saying "NO BARK" too many times)

...where it snows even more, but this time I have a cutie to model the snow for me.

...where the ingredients (er...funds and transportation) are in order for me to make this bread that has been on my mind forever.

...where nobody cares that this is how I made my kitchen look before I baked the bread.

...where there is always my favorite ice cream in the fridge to keep me occupied while I wait for my bread to bake.  Home is also where nobody cares that I eat ice cream out of the carton because we're all family anyways.  And nobody ever asks me why I'm eating ice cream with a fork because they know I'm weird like that and think it tastes better with a fork!

...home is where there is always good enough light somewhere in the house to take decent pictures of the amazing bread I made.

But most importantly...

Home is where the heart is...

Home is where I can bake a perfect bread and not feel any guilt about scarfing half the loaf, because my best friend for all twenty years of my life is right there next to me doing the same thing.  Thanks Mom!  Who really notices how much bread is being eaten while we're planning our Thanksgiving recipe list just a little late anyways?

And finally home is where my favorite afgan in the entire world is. 

I am currently snuggled up in it watching Sex and the City 2 (it finally came to Redbox- I refuse to pay more than $1 to watch a movie that I know is going to be awful.  But I still just HAD to see it) with my two doggies and the fireplace.

I love coming home.