Being Thankful Part 2.

So now that the water works are all done and out in the open, I'd like to share with all of you the fun Hubby and I had with our family over the holiday weekend. Our Thanks giving was spent hanging out with family and chowing down on some great food and though not everyone could be there (we missed you Shannon and John) we sure did have a good time!

I even got a few recipes share with you all because my family is nothing if not fans of a family potluck.

This year for thanks giving I made some pumpkin cupcakes like I did for Halloween. But this time I left the bugs off and opted for a swirled color effect with orange food coloring, a little edible shimmer dust, and an edible pear on top. I thought that was a bit better for the setting then bugs: P.

I also made apple sauce, which I didn't get a photo for but can add the recipe here if anyone asks, and a jello salad.

This was actually the best photo of it that I could get. I know it looks a little mangled but it was really good. You can tell because half of it is missing! XD. Well... that's my excuse. Anyways, I found the recipe on pinterest but I thought I'd cut out the middle man for you all... here's the link to the recipe.

Of course, I wasn't the only one to make some great grubs; my cousin Melissa made the most amazing trifle that was so good I almost stole the left overs and took them home... no joke. She was so sweet she even gave me the recipe!

Its called Pumpkin Cream Trifle and here's the recipe -

 You will need : a 9x 13 baking dish, large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl whisk, rubber spatula, a trifle hurricane, or a clear glass bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 oz) packaged spice cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 Cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 T spoons Pumpkin pie spice ( or use your own with ginger, all spice (or cloves), and nutmeg to taste; used only 2T spoons for this recipe and save the rest! )
• 2 Cups cold milk
• 2 (3.4 oz) packs cheese cake flavored instant pudding and pie filling
• 2 Cup whipped topping ( you can make your own with heavy whipping cream,sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer until its firm but not yellowish. Add in about half a cup of sugar and about a 1/2 T spoon of vanilla extract and vuala! It makes more and is cheaper and taste better!)
• 1 Cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1 Cup English toffee bits.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease the baking pan.
2. combine the cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin puree, water, oil, eggs, and pie spices in the large mixing bowl. Pore into the prepared baking dish.
3. bake in the oven for 45- 50 minutes. When done, let cool completely to room temperature.
4. Once cooled, cut the cake into 1 inch cubes.
5. In your medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and cheese cake pudding mix. Allow to set (about 2 minutes).
6. In the trifle hurricane or clear bowl, layer on 1/3 of the cake cubes. On top  of the cake, layer on the c1/3 of the cream mix. top with 1/3 of the pecans and toffee bits. Repeat this until all the ingredients are used. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

I'm thankful for all the wonderful food me and my family got to enjoy and the awesome conversations we got to share and talk about. Really though, they are some of the most vocal people I know and I just love it! Thanks for having us everyone (if any of your family memebers are reading this) and I hope every one enjoys having a bit of trifle for themselves!