Thanksgiving Travels and a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It has been awhile since I have posted, and for that I apologize.  There has been a bit of a change to my online presence.

Last year, I became a certified Trim Healthy Mama Coach, and maintained my certification for a full year.  When the time came to renew, I decided not to pay the renewal fee because I did not charge one single person for my services.  I taught and encouraged folks, both in person and online, but I just could not bring myself to charge people for it.

I plan to continue doing just what I have been doing, just not as an "officially certified" THM coach.  (Shameless plug:  check out my Instagram page @trimhealthylittleredhen).

Ok, that's done.  Moving on.

Last week, my hubby and I headed south for Thanksgiving with his mom in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  It is oh-so-convenient that my adorable granddaughter - and her dear parents, of course - live in Nashville, which also happens to be the halfway point on our journey south.

Gratuitous photo of granddaughter Everly enjoying an S meal. 
This girl ADORES blueberries... AND food in general, just like grandma.

Anyway, it is also very convenient that my halfway point of Nashville is home to the Trim Healthy Mama retail store. And since I did not pre-plan any Thanksgiving menus to cook at my mother-in-law's house, I simply picked up some THM baking blend and Gentle Sweet, fully intending to wing it with desserts.  But then later, I realized that I did not bring my beloved Trimstastic Holiday Pumpkin Roll recipe with me.

Ugh.

Serene and Pearl to the rescue.  While checking my email in the car, I received a link to their quarterly E-zine, which features 85 holiday recipes, including the pumpkin roll.  (God bless those ladies!!)

Not only was I able to make the pumpkin roll, but I also made the green bean casserole and the cranbrerry upside down cake.

Here is a link to all eighty five of those glorious holiday recipes.  Enjoy!

However, it is confession time.  I had to make the cranberry cake twice, and here is why.

On my first attempt, for some reason I used a springform pan.  And for some reason, I didn't put that pan onto a baking sheet, even though I meant to.  When the cake was done, I opened the oven and was treated to billowing smoke and a puddle of burnt butter on the bottom of the oven.

Attempt number one:  Great Smoky Cranberry Raspberry Upside Down Cake

The cake tasted good, although it had an essence of smokiness to it.  But all the guests were polite about it and ate it without complaining.

Today, however (Sunday) was a day for redemption.  I had some fresh cranberries that still needed to be used up, and I was determined to make that cake again, only with more success.  I used a regular cake pan so that none of the buttery goodness would leak out and burn all over the place.

Let me tell you that the smells coming from that baked cake were simply divine.  We will not be digging into it until tonight, when we get home from the new Mr. Rogers movie.

Attempt number two:  Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake.  Jackpot.

It is now Sunday evening.  We are home from the movie, which I absolutely LOVED.  I cried all the way through it.  All of our remaining Thanksgiving leftovers are currently heating in the oven, preparing to be devoured.

I hope that you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, and I wish you peace and joy during the rest of this season.  Watch for more seasonal goodies soon (especially Hanukkah - my favorite December holiday).