Tag: Thanksgiving

Crafty Thanksgiving Tradition

Published on by Charlotte Cajun QueenLeave a comment

It’s nearing that time of the year where family traditions are shared amongst your loved ones. In preparation for the upcoming turkey day, I’d love to share with you a tradition that I’ve started with my kids, which carried over from something I used to love doing as a child and continued into my adult life. Thanksgiving name place cards. I actually have no idea how it started – it probably began one year with me coloring everyone’s name on an index card, glorifying them with fall related stickers. Either way, I remember it being something that I looked forward to doing every Thanksgiving. Now with my kids, it’s something fun and creative that we can do as a family and also creates a keepsake for years to come.

The basics:

  • Start with some form of card stock, scrapbook paper, or even buy cheap pre-made place cards from local craft store.
  • Write the names on the cards.
  • Decorate with fun stickers, glitter, feathers and other crafty add-ons.
  • Hint: tiny hands make for cute turkeys!

Here is one of my favorites from recent years past made courtesy of Brooks.

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We cut glittery scrapbook paper into squares, added painted hand turkey with googly eyes, and finished them off with more glittery pumpkin stickers and glitter glue names.

 

Last year we took the easy road (aka waited until the last minute and also had a 7 month old) and bought the pre-made fold over cards and added giant 3-D turkey stickers.

This year we are going to “pimp out our pine cones”! Since there is no shortage of pine cones in Asheville, which is where we are travelling this year, I thought this would be an easy and cheap project. Going on the hunt for pine cones will be half the fun and I think any kid would love to paint them and who knows, maybe add a little sprinkle of glitter.

I’d love to hear about your family’s holiday traditions and ideas for place cards. Feel free to leave a comment below. Happy Turkey Day!

It’s Fall Yall.

Published on by Charlotte Cajun Queen3 Comments

Of course one of the first foodie posts has to be an ode to FALL. Above is my little pumpkin from last year.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It used to be summer, but as I get older, I’ve learned to love the cooler temperatures, cozy leggings and scarves, and all of the yummy goodness that comes with this time of year. Although I will admit, I’m not a PSL fan. I know, I will probably lose some of you over that statement, but I just can’t get into the hype. Nevertheless, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite fall recipes. This side dish is a perfect accompaniment for your Thanksgiving feast, but can also be put together (yes, it’s more of an assembly meal than actual cooking, so any of you can do it) for a potluck or served alongside a grocery store rotisserie chicken for a scrumptious dinner.

Sweet & Salty Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash

This recipe is adopted from Julia’s Album, and linked above. I found it for Thanksgiving a few years ago and it has since become a staple every holiday. It’s a simple recipe and requires very little cooking knowledge or experience, but makes people think you spent time more than what it actually takes.  The colors are beautiful and represent the hues of fall – red, green, orange, yellow, brown – I love it!

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Photo cred: Julia’s Album

Personally, I am not a huge recipe follower, which is why I love to cook, and not bake. A little of this and that and you can’t go wrong. However, I follow this recipe fairly closely. The only minor adjustment I make (and maybe this will win back some of those PSL lovers) is the addition of BACON. Everything is better with bacon. For the brussels sprouts, sub out 1 TBSP of EVOO for 1 TBSP of the bacon drippings reserved from the cooked bacon. Then add the crumbled bacon at the end with the dried cranberries and walnuts. Yep, I prefer chopped walnuts over pecans, but you do you. Also, I do not add the extra syrup at the end as I find it makes it too sweet. Last thing, make your life easy and buy the pre-cubed butternut squash in the produce section at the grocery store. You can use the time you would have spent sawing a butternut squash drinking wine. You’re welcome! Enjoy!