Thankful Feast!

It's been more than a month since I posted anything on my blog so I apologize to my regular readers (as if haha)!  Anyway, I can't miss this opportunity to share our Thanksgiving get together last night as we had a fun potluck dinner and of course, our usual Settlers of Catan session.  We're able to recruit a couple who had fun playing (and winning) the game - boohoo, beginners luck hehehe! :-)

It was my first time to make Thanksgiving staples - no turkey this time around, but we had stuffed cornish hens instead.  I used the no-fail lemon-butter-garlic-rosemary recipe and put some stuffing I learned from the Food Network show, Pioneer Woman.  I'm not really a fan of stuffing, but this recipe caught my eye because it had Italian Sausage and mushrooms - yummy.  For dessert, I took the risk of making Sweet Potato Cheesecake, and added my own spin at the topping - cream cheese whipped cream.  It's not the type of cake that everyone will love, but I think it was pretty good, considering it has  "kamote" haha.  So of course, I had a backup dessert - again a no-fail recipe - Ice Box Cake.

My Sweet Potato Cheesecake and Stuffed Cornish Hens

Apols' Baby Back Ribs and Haidee & John's Bacon-wrapped Asparagus

Ela's Puttanesca Sauce and Haidee's Mashed Potatoes with Dill & Cream Cheese

Tin & Jeff's Chicken Wings and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our Thanksgiving Spread and Dessert Table

Last year, we had a fall-themed housewarming party so I had some paraphernalia to use... It was a great investment in a way, well, at least until this year.  I realized I had so much potpourri and empty vases... so, voila - see photos below!  And the house smelled so good too - cinnamon and spice and everything nice (with a hint of roasting cornish hen ;-)).

My attempt at a fall-ish Thanksgiving theme...

Friends and of course, Game Night!

Hosting parties are really fun, but also exhausting.  I only cooked three dishes, but I think with my growing belly at six months, getting tired so quickly is no surprise.  BUT, I am thankful that I get tired.  Because I get to invite friends over, have a great time, get to make lambing to my hubby so he does things for me (and I feel his love so much more), and knowing the fact that a new life is forming inside of me.