I have heard stories about Thanksgiving dinners gone bad. Stressful. Full of family drama. Families not having a dinner. Families eating out for dinner. People eating alone. But my story is different. Its my story. Its one I will share with anyone who will listen about the first Thanksgiving Dinner Josh and I hosted. We started the morning off with mimosas. Actually let me back track...we started the morning at 5:45 prepped the turkey then I ran to Wal-Mart for some last minute things and then we had mimosas. 
Josh and I happened to catch a Food Network cooking show on Thanksgiving turkey ideas and thought we would try it. Turkey can be any size. 2 lemons squeezed inside then left in the turkey. 1 onion cut in 8 pieces stuffed inside turkey and then sprinkle rosemary inside as well. On the outside of the bird we rubbed butter and salt pepper and rosemary mix. Set it in side the pan with another onion cut into however many pieces we wanted and cooked it for 4 1/2 hours at 325. Basting every 30 minutes.
Sweet potatoes on the grill? Yea we did. At first he was going to cook them whole so everyone would have their own potato but we figured that would not go over well. So he cubed them and was going to make the traditional sweet potato casserole. But we aren't traditional people so he mixed up some butter and cinnamon poured it over the potatoes covered the pan with foil and set them on the grill until they were soft. Mashed em up sprinkled on some brown sugar and covered in mini marshmallows. OK. Maybe its a twist on the traditional stuff. :)
OMG....goodness in a tomato! Also cooked on the grill for 10-12 minutes. Cut tomato in half fill with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and cover in mozzarella and parmesan cheese. We also used a basil and garlic seasoning. They were gone in minutes!
Josh had never carved a turkey and was a little nervous about messing it up. It was so tender it was falling apart as he was cutting it. Our story is simple. Our story is no stress. Our story included family. And we ate together. Laughed together. It was a great day. We didn't have to order a pizza. I didn't throw my hands in the air and run off crying because the dressing wasn't cooked correctly or the turkey was dry. I have a wonderful story and a wish that I could have bottled up the smell that filled my house as the turkey was cooking and all the other dishes were coming together. I wish I could have a meal like this once a month so that we could all get together and have this great of a day. Everyone has a story. I had a very blessed and stress-free Turkey Day!
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