Delicious Thanksgiving Wraps, with Tortilla Rolling Tips

We have a good amount of turkey and 'fixins left from Thanksgiving and in case you do, too, here is my new favorite way to enjoy them!

Thanksgiving wraps! 

So much less work than turkey pot pie or a turkey panini or even turkey soup! A tad bit more work than a turkey sandwich with mayo, but much more yummy.

Bonus points for being portable. We actually took a version of these to Colmar last year so we could still have "thanksgiving dinner" and they were great as a make-ahead meal. 

It's something you can make a bunch of at once and toss in the fridge for hungry scavengers to find! 

Tortillas, cream cheese, cranberry sauce, leftover deviled egg filling, and turkey. It's more of an "add what you have leftover still or add whatever you think will taste good" kind of thing. Not really a hard and fast recipe.

The cream cheese is important though. And also the turkey and stuffing. Otherwise I don't feel like you can call it a Thanksgiving wrap ;-)

We had some leftover veggies from the turkey tray and I've also used lettuce or spinach. I like a crunch in mine, and the green stuff makes me feel better about the boxed stuffing and the canned cranberry jelly ;-)

And that's it! Super easy! We're having them for dinner and lunches a couple times this week till the leftovers are gone. Hurray for not having to cook! I just wrap them in foil and pop them in the fridge.

Also, for those who are baffled about how to roll a tortilla tightly, fear not... 

This is the way I roll up our breakfast burritos, too. Helps keep everything together nicely!

I hope you're enjoying your Thanksgiving leftovers as much as we are! 

Did this post give you some good ideas? Please pin it to remember for later!

Post-Turkey Day Reflections | The Ever-Changing Face of My Military Family

First of all, can we agree that everyone's veggie trays would be totally lost without Pinterest?

I mean seriously! How did we ever used to get creative before? Who knew a humble bowl of ranch could transform into an adorable turkey??

Anyways.

Second of all, let's all say "good job Jessica" for keeping it simple... because cleaning the toilets and throwing that turkey-veg-tray together were the extent of my hostess-fanciness. 

Unless you want to count this adorable fruit punch I made, but I don't think you can call this hard or fancy or stressful in the least. It only involved pouring a bunch of sparkling cider, sprite, and cranberry juice into Kirsten's beautiful punch bowl.

The most creative part was that I froze (!!) the slices of orange and the cranberries and those were the ice cubes. 

It looked super pretty. 

But was arguably kind of annoying when trying to ladle out your punch. Whatever, sometimes you have to make small sacrifices for pretty food/drink ;-)

If you want the punch recipe, check it out here. And check out her blog even if you don't want the punch recipe because her branding is adorable... "I should be mopping the floor" haha yes.

Speaking of floors, I am blogging right now instead of mopping my floors.

Literally. #procrastination

Julia snapped the following candids and I am eternally grateful. 

Because at this moment I was cooking the gravy and getting the food on the counter, which was seriously the only moment I felt a tad busy. And it's so special that she captured a bit of that fun chaos!

I was literally dancing for joy over how good my bacon-shallot gravy smelled.

 

 

All in all it was one of our most successful Thanksgivings, yet! We had so so so much food, but isn't that kind of the point?

We also got to introduce Julia's friend Vita to her first ever American Thanksgiving, which made the experience all the more special!

I'm sure no one is surprised that the fried turkeys turned out fabulous. Because that's pretty much the definition of anything fried, right? I used to think that real women own turkey basters and know how to use them. But then I was introduced to a tiny German oven and the concept that if I get my man a fryer, I don't even have to think about the turkey till I eat it. WIN!

As is the case with most things military life, this holiday was a tad bittersweet.

There are precious faces in this crowd that won't be around for our next Thanksgiving in Germany. 

But even though it hurts to be getting ready to say goodbye to Kirsten & Dana and Pedro & Julia, this holiday reminded me of the other side of the coin of PCSing...

When you live overseas and are painfully far from your extended family, it's a comfort to know there will always be new faces, new friends, to celebrate with and be thankful with.

I am thankful for you all... I was so happy to share our turkey with you! 

Once Upon a Thanksgiving, I Almost Burned My House Down

Apparently I can't be trusted with decorations involving fire.  Especially if I'm going to be glued to the kitchen the whole night.  I really should have given a friend the task of keeping an eye on the candles.

But seriously, wanna know what the most delicious smell is?  To have in your living room about 20 minutes before the turkey is ready?  Burned popcorn.  And not the kind that comes out of your microwave or stove top when you aren't paying attention.  The kind that comes from your candles when you've decorated them with flammable objects.  In this case, popcorn.

I came up with these candles all on my own.  Mostly because I was like "oh crap I'm hosting a holiday party with Martha Stewart  Kirsten and I didn't even think to decorate!"  This was cheap, easy, and fast.  I already have the glass jars in my pantry, plus the curling ribbon (which is about as fancy as I get), and the taper candles I had purchased by mistake and never returned.  All I needed was the popcorn!

When I had finished them, Jesse jokingly asked if the point was that the candle was supposed to burn down and pop some of the popcorn.  Then we laughed that people would probably think that.  Then we popped some stove top popcorn later that evening... and we both got the same idea... so I put some freshly popped popcorn on top of all the candles. And we laughed at how confused people would be.  We thought we were being so witty!

Fast forward to Thanksgiving night.  The candles had been burning for a few hours and at first I was doing a good job of checking them at intervals and pulling the tapers up when the flame was getting too close to the popcorn.  Until witching hour when we were frantically calmly working to get all the sides warmed up properly before the turkey was done.  

And Shawna asks me "do you smell something burning?"

Yep.  The popcorn (and even some of the kernels!) had burned to a nice, charred, smelly crisp.  OOPS!  Classy... like I said, a delicious smell to have right before serving Thanksgiving dinner!  Thankfully no harm came of it.  And everyone forgot how nasty the room smelled once they started eating all the yummy food!  

Next year?  Tea lights.  Tea lights sound safer.  And just say no to popcorn near your open flame.

The end.  

Gobble Gobble

What a great great GREAT Thanksgiving we had!  I hope yours was great, too!

Looking back through the pictures makes me smile.  Especially now that the house is back in order... and my laundry is almost done (getting to the point where I just can't take two days off or I'm SO far behind!)... and we've already got the Christmas tree up and decorated.  But yeah, Turkey Day 2012 rocked.  

This is one of Shawna's cherry pies.  The other one was no longer photogenic as Sam poked her finger right into is as soon as it was set on the counter.  From that moment on the babies were banned from standing on chairs to "watch" the ladies at work in the kitchen!

Martha Stewart  Kirsten made this adorable menu board!  She spent four hours on this thing!  That's what I call a dedicated fancy-pants host.  Simple Sally that I am, I LOVE having K in my life!

In classic Jessica style, I was a) in the kitchen almost the whole day and b) taking pictures of food almost the whole day. I assure you my guests were smiling and having fun, just off camera!  And sorry if the food pics make you hungry... hopefully you still have some leftovers in your fridge you can go snag ;o)

Kirsten's homemade fudge... that has a secret family ingredient that she seriously will. not. tell. me.  And some really yummy stuffed mushrooms she made.  And put on her Texas plate.  

Shawna's cranberry scones and deviled eggs.  Now I really want to go make more eggs...

I don't want to forget about this idea... some friends of K's brought smoked gouda paired with grapes, apples, and cherry tomatoes.  SO GOOD!  

Making my spiced cider!

K's holiday punch!

Not only did the girls' Air Force Aunties hold them on and off all day AND let them sample food (like whip cream for Kirsten's pie) but they also got to have one on one time with Tali and her pal Lexi.  Tali is Randy and Shawna's daughter and she always loves playing with my girls... I could have kissed her when she offered to take them upstairs to play! Which she did a couple times!  

And here is my hero of the day (the husband, not the turkey).  Jesse stood in the cold for hours turning two turkeys into hot juicy crispy bundles of joy!  A big thanks to Randy and Shawna for buying the fryer!  It was so much faster to cook them that way.... plus it left my oven free for warming other dishes and it helped my blood pressure stay at a normal level.  It was nice to have the triumph of my first turkey last year, but the fear of screwing it up still exists! 

Kyle approved.

What a raving success!  Turkey, ham, homemade gravy, cranberry-pomegranate sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, gorgonzola squash, sausage and onion casserole, and homemade rolls.  

Shawna and Kirsten, I couldn't have done it without you!  Thanks for all your help on the big day, but more importantly for being my partners in crime the weeks before... planning, organizing, delegating, taking on TONS of baking prep.  You two worked much harder than I did and no one will ever even know!  I'm extremely grateful for you both.

And a big thanks to everyone else for coming and bringing appetizers, sides, desserts, and drinks.  It all came together so deliciously!

I think the final count was twenty guests.  

Twenty happy, stuffed, Americans all celebrating together in Germany.  

It was lovely!

Well then you know how it goes when I try to take a photo with this kid.  Chaos!  

This one is funny cause it looks like we're dancing but really I'm trying to stop him from giving me bunny ears!

And this one is my favorite because he is giving HIMSELF bunny ears.  Sucker!  

Happy Thanksgiving from two crazy Jesses.

Happy Thanksgiving: Missing Family and Excited to Hang with Friends

I'm torn this morning.  Half of me is thinking of family back in the States... mine is all gathered together at Uncle Floyd and Aunt Janet's in Lancaster, PA.  I have so many memories of Turkey Day at their house!  And Jesse's family will be together in Massachusetts... Lily's first Thanksgiving was on Cape Cod...

*sigh*  I wish I could be three places at once!   

Because as much as I want to be with family, I'm so thankful for my Air Force Family and I'm very much looking forward to our celebration today.  We have another awesome crew of about 20 people coming over today.  Old friends, new friends, and soon-to-be-new friends.  We'll be frying TWO turkeys!  And Kirsten, Shawna, and I have been busy bees in our own respective kitchens the past few days... I can't wait till the three of us bring it all together in my kitchen to spend the day laughing and cooking as a team!

May you all have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving.  If I'm related to you, please know you are in my heart today. I love you all so much!!!

Oh and insert a quick little fun fact about Germany... take it from Nina, my hairdresser and resident German authority on Thanksgiving: this is an American holiday that the Germans are super jealous of!  She always makes her best friend from the States cook her a Thanksgiving dinner when she visits... even if it's in March.  So enjoy your coveted American holiday!

And think of me as you get to watch the Macy's Parade live while you cook your food.  It's another one of those silly things I miss about living in the States.  

Peace, love, and turkey from Germany!

Top Seven for "Friendsgiving"

#1.  My pie.  I don't really love pumpkin pie.  And last year's pecan pie was a bit too sweet.  But this was a good compromise.  I'm torn about leaving the pecans whole (which I find pretty) or chopping them up (which makes it easier to cut it pretty).  All in all, a delicious Thanksgiving pie.

#2.  Jen's turkey-veggie-tray.  I just "gobble-gobbled" it right up ;o)  And I think I'm going to make it a Thanksgiving tradition for the rest of my life.  Because after all the sugar we consume... we must have veggies.  And it's so cute it just begs "eat me. now." 

#3.  The turkey.  I can't believe how good it was!  I used this recipe and I nearly peed my pants a few times... but all was well!  I barely fit all 19.6 lbs of it in our tiny German oven... but thankfully I was smart and bought a foil roasting pan so I could bend it, yes BEND IT, to fit in.  Also, I just finished straining the stock and picking through the carcass and I got over 6 quarts of stock plus enough extra meat for two batches of soup.  Turkey and rice soup anyone?

#4.  The crew.  14 adults and 5 kids.  Unless someone was in the bathroom for this picture.  Four of the friends pictured were new to me friends.  One was Amber's Mom who is visiting all the way from Florida.  A few are single guys from the squadron.  Two of those lovely ladies have deployed husbands right now.  One handsome man in the back is the father of my children and the Love of my life.

I'm so thankful we were able to host.  It was a blast!  I'll never forget the feeling in my heart when people were packing up leftovers to head home.  One of the gals thanked us because she was feeling depressed thinking about the upcoming holiday until one of her friends invited her.  And one of the guys said all he ever eats is microwave food in the dorm and I almost felt the urge to give him every last bit of leftover turkey... almost ;o) 

Everyone left with a smile on their face.  Which is hard (or at least, it is for me) when you're celebrating a family holiday miles and miles away from family... knowing they're all together and you're on the other side of the world... but we did it.  And we had fun.  Go-go "military family!"

#5.  The history.  Everyone humored me by filling out my two little posters I made... one was "What are you Thankful for?" and one was "What's your Favorite Thanksgiving Memory?"  The best that jumped out to me:  "Being in Germany and having great military friends to help me not miss my family so much" and "The year my little brother decided to quit doing drugs."  Gathering together is so important.  Being thankful for what we have... especially family.  I love it!  God is so good.

#6.  The little things.  Like learning a new card game... watching the Macy's parade and football... seeing the look on Lilo's face when I brought her a plate of food for dinner... hearing the kids laugh and play while building block towers together... watching Lily stuff her face with pretzels and then refuse to eat turkey, but bum pie off of three different people later in the day...

#7.  The ending.  What a great sky!  Full bellies, a full fridge, and full hearts. 

If you aren't on facebook here's my link to the rest of our Turkey Day fun.