Hosting My First Thanksgiving

Okay, last year we had Thanksgiving at our house but I didn't prepare it. I was supposed to so my mom stayed over night and was supposed to help me along the way but she ended up doing everything because I was pregnant, tired and sick last year. So this year I wanted to do everything and I must say that everything turned out great! I was super nervous because I didn't think I was domesticated enough to prepare such a meal (I know, it's silly) but I was totally fine. It was also Nylah's first Thanksgiving so I thought it would be better if everyone came over instead of us taking her out and making rounds, Here is my menu;

Menu

Turkey

Ham

Baked Mac and Cheese

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Collared Greens

String Beans

Cranberry Sauce

Dinner Rolls

Sweet Potato Pie

Cheesecake 

I was off the day before Thanksgiving so I had a good amount of time to prep. My mother-in-law gave us what I thought was a chicken months ago that I had stored in the freezer (I discovered that it was a turkey some time before Thanksgiving). I was nervous about making the turkey but I followed all instructions and it turned out great. I seasoned it and rubbed it all over with butter, put it in a bag and it came out juicy and tender! I purchased a ham and so did my mother-in-law so I let her make her ham and decided to save mine for Christmas (I just love keeping giant animals in my freezer...not really). My mac and cheese was prepared the day of and took not much effort to make. I peeled and chopped potatoes the night before and left them in cold water overnight. I threw them in my crockpot the next day for 4 hours. They softened and then I put them in my mixer to cream them down. I made fresh collard greens; chopped them up the night before and cleaned them. Left them in some water overnight (in the fridge) and cooked them the next day. My string beans and cranberry sauce were canned so that was easy! And we had yummy Hawaiian rolls!! I'm a baker so I of course had no issues with my pie and cheesecake. My mom also brought a homemade sweet potato pie as well. We just had some close family over; laughed, talked, watched football and watched my little sister perform songs from the movie "Frozen". It was a pretty awesome day!