Paleo Thanksgiving Prep- Day Three No Rest For The Weary!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! The last day of Thanksgiving prep is upon us! First thing, this morning, I put my big turkey to brine.  This is how we do it Cajun style, in an Igloo ice chest. I followed the recipe from Danielle Walker's ebook "Thankful". All I can say is, it smells delicious.

Once my turkey was secure in it's salt bath, I prepped dish after dish. I prepared my gluten free sausage and apple stuffing, traditional green bean Cassarole, Paleo green bean Cassarole, and mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar apples and pecans on top. I like to do one dish at a time. That way I can pull out all the ingredients for one dish, put it all together, and wash every utensil, bowl, and pot before moving on to the next. This also helps to avoid cross contamination if I'm preparing allergen containing dishes.

Next, I took a break away from the kitchen. I ran around the house, moving furniture (again!), vacuuming, cleaning the guest bathroom, doing a load of laundry, ironing the table linens, and putting yet another leaf in the dining room table.

Back to the kitchen I went! I'm not proud of it, but I shoved a banana in my mouth for lunch. My Paleo, Crustless Pecan Pie was my next project.  I like to eat my pecan pie cold; so, I had to bake it today so I could refrigerate it overnight.  I know, I'm the only person I know who does this. It's just one of my quirks!

It looks so yummy!

By the time I finished baking my pie, it was time to cook dinner.  I could have taken the easy way out; but, I didn't. I made Chicken Parmesan with gluten free breadcrumbs and pasta. I realize it's not paleo. But, I have so many gluten free items in my pantry that I bought before I knew I had to go hard core paleo.  I don't like to waste food.  Besides, I was exhausted!

After dinner, I tackled the setting of the table. I like to set the entire table the eve before the holiday. An hour later, I was done.

Almost done!

Finally, it was time to chill!  I removed my snood and let my hair hang free. In case you don't know what a snood is, it's basically a fancy hairnet.  I didn't want to take a chance of losing some hair in the food I worked so hard to prepare.  Lately, it falls out by the handfuls. I would be mortified if one of my guest ended up with a mouthful of hair. Yuck!

And what was Boho doing as I toiled away?

She was snoozing!

So, everything is ready to go. Tomorrow is the big day, Thanksgiving! I'll let you know how it all works out.  I'll be putting our turkey in the oven at 9:30 AM. I have everything scheduled for the time each dish needs to go into the oven. I'll prepare the remainder of the veggie dishes and the two different gravies (one is paleo). I'm hoping to get dinner on the table by 3:00 PM. We'll see how that goes!

Right now, it's 11:30 PM. As soon as I post this blog, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!