Thanksgiving...Turkey Style...

When we moved to Turkey in August, we knew we weren't going to be able to be "home for the holidays".  Little did I know, we would make such great friends to share this holiday with.  We all decided that we would make one big Thanksgiving meal, and share it together.  I decided I wanted to make my first turkey! Between my grandma and my mom, i've always had AMAZING turkeys to eat for the holidays, so I had some big shoes to fill! :)

We only had 6 of us, so we had a small 12 lb turkey. I thought I was prepared for cleaning out this turkey, I had my latex gloves(yes, I went there), my tongs, and was ready to go. Umm....I didn't get very far.  It grossed me out! haha Thank God J-Twice was here to take over! 

He took complete control, getting the yuck out (in it's plastic bags--haha), cleaned it and dried it off.  We stuffed the turkey, got it in the oven bag and let it do it's job of cooking!

We had said we were going to eat at 3pm, it was about 12:30-12:45 when I got it in the oven (yes, behind schedule because that's how I work) I worked on the side dishes I was preparing for the meal, our guest started arriving, and we snacked on veggies and cheese. And waited. And waited. And waited for the pop-up timer to pop. FINALLY, it popped! It was about 430-445....but it smelled and looked soo yummy!!

James was given the job of carving the turkey, and he did a great job! 

We couldn't wait to dig in and enjoy all the side dishes.  We had the complete meal: Turkey, Ham, sweet  potato casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, deviled eggs, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, salad, homemade rolls...deliciousness! 

We all ate WAY too much, but it was good!! The boys enjoyed theirs while watching football, and us girls enjoyed ours at the table together! :) Sorry boys, I'll have to get a bigger table for next time! 

As if we had room for it, we cleaned up and set out the desserts. The best part of the meal, right!? We had pumpkin pie (of course), pecan, chocolate pie, and whatever Aunt Mary calls her dessert! :)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the Thanksgiving we enjoyed here in Turkey.  Our close friends become our family when we have to be so far away.