Suzy Freakin' Homemaker

That bitch pisses me off. Happy all the time, making people smile, creating things with the wave of her magic wand. Wait, maybe that's a fairy godmother. Anyway, I think I'm turning in to her. I think I already did.

I was going through the Thanksgiving menu, trying to figure what we needed, what I wanted, where the hell am I going to put it all. Then there was the great coupon hunt for groceries. I pulled all the recipes I'll be using. I planned for the homemade stuff. Well, here we go.

My niece and nephew are coming over for a few days during the Thanksgiving break. I figure sandwiches are cheap. I did pick up some bread that's not nearly as healthy for you as what we normally buy, but I didn't want to freak them out too much. I did make mayo. It is so easy. A little egg yolk, some mustard and a dash of salt. Mix that together then start adding oil. I used a combo of walnut and olive. So stinking good. I'm buying good for you lunchmeat because the nitrates/nitrites in lunchmeat will kill you. Literally. I'm balancing not so good healthy bread with great for you other stuff. Hello, Suzy.

Well, since you only use yolks for mayo, I had 6 whites staring at me, and I don't mean the kiddos. So I made meringue cookies. All you need for that is egg whites and sugar. There is another recipe that adds vinegar and chopped nuts. I didn't use that one, but I did add cocoa powder to make chocolate cookies. And I used sugar. And I ate about 6 of them. They are so good. I'm paying for it today. The kids would have eaten them all yesterday if I had let them. Hubby, too, when he came home. Suzy strikes again.

I'm making cream of mushroom soup. We're having broccoli rice casserole. You have to have cream of something soup and cheese. I planned out when I need to have it done, how much I need, and how much I'm going to make because it will be dinner one night. Probably Tuesday or Thursday. Score one for Suzy.

The kids have decided they want to help make desserts for our meal. The baby wants to make a chocolate pie. So what did I find yesterday? A chocolate pie recipe. My niece will help if she wants, but poor thing won't get to eat any. It's for our Thanksgiving meal and she won't be here for that. The big girl is going over the IL's to learn how to make an apple pie. She won't get to eat it until our meal. Hubby brought home a recipe and we're swapping out the yuck for better for you. Oh, Suzy, look at you go.

The boy is making a pumpkin pie. I have a schedule for that, too. I have to process pumpkins for that. I have 3 pie pumpkins sitting on my counter. They'll get processed on Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, I'm hoping to make pumpkin cookies with all the kids. They'll get to eat those, thankfully. I don't have Thanksgiving cookie cutters, but I do have Christmas, so that's what we'll use. Suzy seems to be slipping just a little.

The turkey has to get brined. Have you ever brined your turkey? It makes it tender and juicy and you almost can't screw it up from there. That gets done late Monday evening. Wednesday that bad boy comes out and gets rinsed off and is ready for cooking. We stuff our turkey. Yeah, I do everything but bake the bread and grow the veggies. Well, some of the veggies. I use ciabatta bread. So lovely. Suzy is back at it.

I'm making veggie stock on Sunday. I need stock for the stuffing, broccoli rice casserole, brussel sprouts, and gravy. By Friday, I'll be making turkey stock. Suzy may need comfy shoes.

Cranberry sauce. I fogot to add cranberry sauce to the mix. If you have never made your own, you should try it. Super simple, super easy. I can do that the night before and it'll be nice and set come meal time. If I don't eat it all before then. I may have to redo my schedule. Suzy officially deserves a massage.

I'm not bragging, I promise. I'm just trying to get things right in my head. Why do I do this to myself? Because I'm Suzy Homemaker and I love it. I never knew I would. I was always too independent to be tied to the kitchen. Really, it's one of my favorite places to be. I'm a throwback, I guess. It's hard to do all this with the amount of time we're gone, but it's worth it in the end. I can't imagine doing it any other way. I love the comments: You're home all day. You have time to do that. Guess again. My friends say:You're never home. When do you have time to do that? Because I'm Suzy Freakin' Homemaker and that's what I do.