Thanksgiving Dinner

Tomorrow is our first Thanksgiving away from our family. It also happens to be the first Thanksgiving we are hosting. We were originally going to have just a couple Marines over but now Dean informed me over lunch that there will be most likely at least seven hungry Marines coming over. He invited his fellow Marines in his squad who does not have a place to eat on Thanksgiving but at the chow hall. I completely agree with him and we have more than plenty of food to share (except maybe the pumpkin pie) but this has brought the pressure to another level. I'm sure they will be expecting really good, taste-just-like-Mom's Thanksgiving dinner and not having any experience in this department scares me. Last thing I want is to be known as the Marine wife that cooked inedible food and ruined everyone's Thanksgiving. I wonder if there's a pizza place open tomorrow...?

I'm sure, however, that the pressure is much greater on Dean. He is in charge of cooking the turkey. I agreed to having a full feast Thanksgiving dinner in one condition: I will not be touching, preparing, or cooking the turkey. Now, at least with me, if one of my side dishes fail, one of the other three is bound to taste good. And if my pumpkin pie doesn't taste good either, we could always just have ice cream for dessert. But what are we going to do if the turkey doesn't come out great? Let's just hope these men coming over are too hungry to really care!

I want to thank the Sergeant that signed Dean up for a $50 voucher at the Commissary. It surely helped a lot with preparing for this dinner and it's very much appreciated especially since it was unexpected. And because of this, we feel even more obligated to share this, what I hope will be a, wonderful meal.

Here's our Thanksgiving Menu:
Homemade Cheese Ball & Crackers
Herb Roasted Turkey
Savory Turkey Gravy
Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Low-Fat Pumpkin Pie & French Vanille Ice Cream

God bless,
Diana