the one with the fauxgiving

In honor of Thanksgiving Eve, I'm posting about one of my favorite new traditions....celebrating Thanksgiving...rather "Fauxgiving" with some of our best friends. On Saturday, several of the young married couples at church got together for a huge turkey dinner - and it was an absolute FEAST. The feast allowed me to try out some new recipes. I decided to make some southern classics: macaroni and cheese and sweet potato souffle. And now - I have the privilege of sharing them with you:) 

Macaroni and Cheese: 

I got the recipe from the Food Network (it was the highest rated recipe) and it turned out deliciously!! Here it is before and after the oven:) Look it up here. 

Sweet Potato Souffle:

I don't have a picture of the souffle but this was one of the favorites of the evening. It was rich and sweet...and totally Southern:) It was diviiiine! And you can find the recipe here...Paula Deen, baby!

Although everyone made some delicious food - the best part of Fauxgiving was spending it with friends. I feel so blessed to live in a place with so many people in our stage of life. The first couple  months of marriage have been wonderful but also new, crazy, emotional, etc and we've needed peer friendships like never before. I'm so thankful that God has blessed us abundantly in this department. 

Isn't Alex such an adorable hostess?! She and Jay made the turkey and made this night come together:) 

Can you believe that actual Thanksgiving is tomorrow?! I know I can't. J and I are spending the holiday weekend with his family up in Syracuse, NY and it's going to be a great time. This is my second year with his family (although last year we stayed in town) and I'm really excited about it. Although I always miss my family this time of year - I'm so blessed to have the in-laws that I do. They make me feel so loved and included. Special note: Jesse's sister will not be joining us this year. And I'm so mad - thankfully she's sitting right next to me until her flight this afternoon. So I'm getting my Jenna-fix a little early this year:) 

It's hard to believe that this time last November, J and I were still dating long distance. The last year has brought so much to be grateful for - God is good. 

Thanksgiving 2011