Home on the Range

I guess I’m not shocked that the year we ended up missing out on our annual trip to Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving is the same year that holidays are looking different for most everyone.

In recent months I’ve increased my obsession with America’s Test Kitchen. I just can’t get enough of their cooking videos; I subscribed to both Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country this year; and I scored not one, not two, but THREE of their “best-of” recipe collections. So, I’ve been trying new recipes and learning lots of new cooking techniques.

For our little at-home thankfulness dinner, I did not make turkey or any other traditional-to-us foods. But, I made 3 yummy recipes from ATK and we got a lot of mileage out of the leftovers.

Main dish: Beef Stew. 

This was my second time making this, in the Dutch oven I got last Christmas, which has been such a boost to my enthusiasm for making roasts and stews and braises.

Side dish: Cheesy Corn Casserole

This one came from The Best Of America’s Test Kitchen, a freebie I recieved for subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated. I was planning to make this for the Tahoe event, since the standard dishes are well-established and brought every year by specific people. I thought maybe this would become a new must-have traditional item. We sure liked it! Maybe next year will be its Thanksgiving debut.

Dessert: Cowboy Cookies

The kids helped me mix the super-easy dough. I rarely bake cookies so this was a real treat for us.

I’m thankful for, among many things:

• My family and our health
• Our warm, safe home
• My husband’s job and the option to work from home
• Financial stability and plenty of food to eat
• The freedom and ability to homeschool, and our Classical Conversations community
• My small church family. The small size of our group means we have been meeting in person most of the time.
• Extended family in California, Arizona, and recently-moved to Washington.
• Our neighbors and friends we’ve been able to connect with this year.
• New activities and opportunities for my kids: karate class and piano lessons