I really love Thanksgiving.

For me it is a holiday with less pressure than Christmas and one that holds more meaning for me than Easter.

I have talked a lot about the place of gratitude in my life and how a practice of gratitude brings you more to be grateful for.  I try to practice daily.

So you have probably already shopped (if you are going to) for your dinner this weekend but here are three things I love at Thanksgiving.

1. This cranberry sauce recipe is an oldie but a goodie. I use a gingery marmalade and lots of toasted slivered almonds.

I took this recipe out of an old file folder I had and i cried a little at all the old recipes in there. It reminded me of another time in my life when I was really into cooking and being the ‘perfect’ (ha ha) wife and mom. I went through that folder and got rid of more than  half the recipes – I won’t be making ‘healthy’ chicken fingers anymore! But this recipe is a keeper.

Cranberry Almond Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 water

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/4 cup marmalade

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Nutmeg

Combine sugar, honey, water boil stirring 6 minutes. Add cranberries boil reduce heat and simmer 3-4 minutes till berries pop. Stir in marmalade, almonds and a little nutmeg to taste.

2. This alcohol free alternative to Champagne is really quite good! It is a little fruiter than the real thing but it is not to sweet.

Loxton Sparkling Brut.

You can buy it at Safeway and everyone can drive home without worry! 🙂

3. This last one is a guilty pleasure for me. It is a plain cheesecake that is only $6 at Superstore in the frozen food section. Of course we will have pumpkin pie but not everyone is a fan. This is so inexpensive and easy as a second dessert. Just add some blueberries (thawed from frozen and warmed slightly is yum!) and boom – you are done.

What are some of your thanksgiving favorites? And what are you grateful for? xoxo