The Menu

Both of my sisters were in town this weekend, so we had an early Thanksgiving meal of sorts.  Of course, it was anything but traditional as we ate in shifts while the guys helped move Grandma into a house right across the street from Mom and Dad.  The move in itself is a reason for giving thanks. Having Grandma that much closer to Mom will make things easier for everyone, and her new house is really nice.  All of the cousins enjoyed spending time with one another, and we were able to swap kids clothes, too!   Anyway, I made a really easy and yummy dessert to share with everyone, and I thought I'd include the recipe here.

The menu plan is week is shortened for the holiday:

Monday--leftovers
Tuesday--Sloppy Chicken  (crockpot)
Wednesday--Soup and Sandwiches
Thursday--for my part of the Thanksgiving meal, I'm thinking fruit, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie, and possibly bacon wrapped feta-almond stuffed dates  (yes,  I have a stockpile of dates left from the Daniel Fast:)

The rest of the weekend we'll be hanging out with the Blocks!

Happy Thanksgiving!  May your holiday be filled with many opportunities for gratitude!


Black and Tan Chocolate -Pumpkin Trifle  (From Rachael Ray)

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
One 7.5 ounce jar marshmallow cream
Six 1.4 ounce Heath bars, chopped
One and a half 9 ounce boxes chocolate wafer cookies  (such as Nabisco Famous)

1.  In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate with 1/2 cup cream over med.-low heat, stirring until smooth.  Let cool
2.  Meanwhile, using an electric mixer with an whisk attachment, whip 2 cups cream with 1 teaspoon vanilla until stiff but not dry.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and marshmallow cream. Fold in the whipped cream in 2 parts; refrigerate.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to the mixer bowl and whip until thickened.  With the machine on, slowly add the chocolate mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until stiff but not dry.
4.  Spread one-third of the chocolate cream in a 4 quart clear glass trifle bowl.  Layer with one-third of the toffee bars.  Stand 8 cookies on their edges around the perimeter of the bowl.  Make 1 stack of 4 more cookies sandwiched with some pumpkin cream, topping with more cream.  Repeat with the remaining cookies and more pumpkin cream to make a total of 14 cookie stacks.  Place 7 stacks in the trifle bowl.  Top with the remaining pumpkin cream and half of the chocolate cream.  Sprinkle with another third of the toffee bars.  Top with the remaining 7 cookie stacks and chocolate cream.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.  To serve, sprinkle with the remaining toffee.