The Simple Life of Delta Daisies : Thanksgiving Menu

I love Thanksgiving time. It's so much fun getting with your family and enjoying a wonderful meal. My brother is a fireman, so he will be working Thanksgiving day, so we are having our Thanksgiving feast a day early. I'm excited to help with all of the cooking because my husband and I won't be home for Christmas this year. I want to help as much as I can because I know it's going to be a lot of work at Christmas without my set of hands. I absolutely love to cook, so I'm excited to help! I usually make the usual Thanksgiving recipes, but I wanted to change it up a bit this time. For appetizer, I am making a jalapeno and bacon cheese ball. We love cheese trays in my family, so I think this will be a hit. We loooove green bean casserole, so I am keeping that on the menu, but just changing it up a little. Instead of using the usual "cream of mushroom," I'm going to use a recipe called, "Grandma's Green Bean Casserole." It looked a lot more divine and homemade than just throwing a can of mushrooms and green beans in a dish. Next, I decided to make a seven layer salad instead of just a regular tossed salad. I got the idea from my friend, Heather, over at her blog. I found an awesome recipe off Pinterest, so I can't wait to try it out! I'm also going to incorporate a new mashed potatoes with gouda and bacon crumbles this Thanksgiving. We usually just have regular mashed potatoes or potato casserole, but I'm going to "amp" them up a little. I adore gouda, so what could possibly be better than mashed potatoes, gouda cheese, and bacon? Absolutely nothing...For dessert, I am making a pumpkin bundt cake with a caramel icing. I cannnnnnot wait. I think I adore the fall time because I get to have pumpkin in everything! I don't know what it is about bundt cakes, but I love them. I don't know if it's because they are so simple to prepare, slicing is easy, or that they hold their moisture, but I love to make them. I hope my family will adore this recipe. I've used it for a friend before, so I'm excited to get my bundt pan out and make it again. My dad is smoking a turkey and I'm sure we'll have other sides from different family members. It's going to be a great Thanksgiving meal and I cannnnnot wait. Good thing I am running a 4 miler that morning, so I won't feel bad about gorging in all the scrumptious food.

1. Grandma's Green Bean Casserole