Did you have dressing or stuffing for Thanksgiving?

      Personally, I prefer dressing. That is what I grew up with, so that is what I make. It is very delicious! I make mine from Gladiola cornbread mix, so it's not exactly from 'scratch'. I like the way the cornbread mix turns out, and it's not sweet, as some might think. I chop onions and celery and add fresh eggs to the mix, as well as cream of chicken soup, poultry seasoning, cooked shredded chicken, and chicken stock. Some people make biscuits and add, or bread but I don't. It turns out really good and tastes good for several days. I haven't found a stuffing that I like because I associate stuffing with the stove-top kind! I'm sure there are good recipes for it, but I'll just stick with my dressing.

      It was nice to have almost all of the family here to eat and fellowship with! That little Riley is already growing up! She's gained a pound in two weeks! That's OK, since she was small to begin with. We had the girls with us for several days, so I didn't get to write like I thought I would. It's nice to have the house quiet and back in order again! But it was fun while it lasted!

      I hope to find some good prices when I go shopping at Aldi tomorrow. They usually have their hams marked down after the holidays along with other produce. Hope I haven't missed anything! I'll let you know next time if I got a good deal. I did get a good deal on pecans: 5lbs. for $12.50! I am going to get some more soon. Hope ya'll have a good week! Blessings from Bama!

Yasmine loves to hold the baby!

The making of my dressing.

I cooked a hen in the crockpot to go in the dressing. I only used half of it, so I shredded and froze the other half. I used the bones and inner parts of the hen to cooked up a nice chicken stock in the slow-cooker. 

What's left of the Thanksgiving dinner. My Mom and I both made dressing. Mine is in the white dish. They were both delicious!

That was the best pecan pie and sweet potato casserole I've ever eaten!

The collie took to Rubi that day.

Family enjoying the warm temps Thanksgiving day.

Can't forget Daisey and Delilah!

The girls love to swing! Amber has lost a lot of weight! I wished she would do it the healthy way!

Nanny and three of her greats!

Here's all four.

She's looking at the camera!

They are so cute!

I got two quarts of chicken stock.

Five pounds of pecans  turned into this. That is honeycomb I'm trying to let drain of all the honey so I can use the wax.

We didn't add honey to the jars, they just seem to fill up!

Just a little moving around here, on the homestead.

      Saturday, before it started raining, hubby and I were outside trying to clean things up a bit. Before you know it, we had a pile of bricks moved and some limbs on a pile burning. It started to rain a little, but I was already in motion and didn't want to stop. I decided this would be the perfect time to transplant the raspberry bushes. They were very easy to dig up and move to their new home. I also brought in a blackberry transplant from the woods. It's hard for blackberries to bloom and produce fruit there, because of the shade. I'm sure at one time it wasn't as shady there. When I came inside, I poured up the chicken stock that had been cooking in the crockpot and got a couple jars to store in the freezer. I used the same bones and put on another batch to cook. The second batch didn't make as much, but the color was darker. I used some today in my Italian flavored bean soup. I also used home-canned Italian sauce made this past summer. It was delicious with the cornbread cooked in the cast iron skillet. I wouldn't make my cornbread any other way! I also made yogurt in the crockpot, but I forgot to put in the starter until too late. I salvaged some of it but the rest was too watery. I have some in the making now and this time I won't forget to add the starter at the right time! Oops! I ate the rest of the yogurt I was going to use as the starter! I'll scoop out some of the thin, just made yogurt and use that. This batch may be botched as well! I'll be using the yogurt in my homemade sour dough bread, so that way it will get used up. Plus, for individual servings, I want to mix in some of the jams and jellies I've been making. Just a couple of teaspoons will make it fruity and a little sweet. I'll use blackberry jelly and sometimes a little strawberry jam. It tastes much better than store bought, I'm sure! That is, if this batch turns out. If not, I'll be trying it again! I have some photos to share, so enjoy! Also, I'm trying to do the linky thing, so if it shows up on my sidebar, feel free to be a linky follower! Blessings from Bama!

Italian bean soup.

I could have eaten the whole skillet of cornbread!

Yogurt on the stove method, then into crockpot.

Blackberry transplant.

Blackberry transplant.

Black raspberry transplanted into raised bed.

Another raspberry moved into a raised bed.

Strawberry plants look like their doing well. Kept inside fencing or chickens can get to them.

Homemade chicken broth or stock.