Friends-giving

So for the second year in a row we had a "Friendsgiving" at our house the night before Thanksgiving.  A lot of our friends have to work on the holidays or have family out of town they may not be able to see so we have our friends over for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  It was super fun last year and I think it was even better this year!  We provide the turkey and beer and then invited our friends and asked them to bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish.  Man alive our friends can cook!   Our house was packed with about 20 of our friends and it was wonderful.

 

I bought a 29lb. turkey from Frys and started cooking that sucker about a week in advance.  (Actually it only took about 6 hours but that bird was HUGE. I will post the recipe for that soon)  

Yes, that turkey is dominating my cookie sheet.

I had to buy a new XL roasting pan

I also tried two recipes from Our Best Bites, their Turkey Cupcakes and their Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes.  The sweet potatoes turned out to be SO good and how cute are these cupcakes?!?!?

We had so much food, I mean look at this FEAST!

So many friends helped out, I hope I don't miss anyone...

Brad brought a great green bean casserole

Nord brought rolls

Jessica brought herb rolls

Adrianne brought dessert for everyone (two desserts and homemade whipped cream, are you kidding me?!)

Garett brought wine, pie, and an extra table and chairs

Steve brought a caprese salad for everyone to snack on while we finished turkey

Ruben brought his awesome stuffing and carved the turkey

Teresa brought mashed potatoes and made the gravy for me (thank you!)

The Duncans, Ben, Spencer, Sam and I am sure other people brought booze to share (a much needed treat)

And a HUGE thank you to Jessica, Britney and Sam who cleaned my kitchen after, you are BRAVE women

Here are some more pictures from the night:

The night was so much fun and I was so impressed by how much our friends pitch in, including Jeremy emptying the garbage before it toppled over.  It was great just hanging out and enjoying a wonderful dinner all together.  Thanks again and we will continue the tradition next year!