A Season to be Thankful (and a few good recipes!)

I was really inspired by some wonderful posts I read tonight to talk a little bit about thankfulness.  It seems when this time of the year rolls around..everyone tends to focus so much on the Christmas holiday.  Don't get me wrong..I absolutely LOVE Christmas..and it is my favorite holiday for so many reasons.  :-)  BUT, Thanksgiving is definately a holiday that sometimes..might just be taken for granted a little.  Think about it, the kids all look forward to Halloween..with the getting dressed up and piles of candy (can you blame them?) and the stores are geared up for it for a couple months!  Then once that is past..its hard to not look towards Christmas.  Everyone wants to get ahead (or complete) their shopping lists before December even rolls around.  And who can blame anyone?  The stores push the seasons so much anymore.  The fall decorations (Thanksgiving included in this) are already being pushed to the storage as we speak in all the major stores to make room for Christmas trees, decorations, bows, ribbons, etc, etc.  Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate!  Its a holiday to relish in.  Especially as Christians, we should really take this holiday to heart..because it is the time to reflect on what we're thankful for.  Thats a whole other post in itself (thankfulness)..but its a time for family..for celebration..and for good food as well!  (Like my segway there?)  Lets face it..Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to try out something 'new'..something 'fresh'...since everyone is really gearing up now for the baking season!  My favorite!!  Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake!!  So I wanted to ask you, dear readers, what are some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?  Or perhaps..your favorite pie/cake/pumpkin recipes?  Anything that would pertain to this upcoming holiday..I'd LOVE to hear about it!!  You don't have to write in the whole recipe (unless you feel so inclined to do so!)..but I would love to get some ideas from y'all!  To get the ball rolling, I'll post a favorite recipe (or two) of mine!  Hope you enjoy!



Cranberry Walnut Tart

Shell: 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

5 tab. butter

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tab. water

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 eggs

2 tab. melted butter

1/2 tea. grated orange rind

1 cup walnut halves

1 cup fresh cranberries

For shell:  Combine flour, sugar, and salt.  Blend in butter until you have coarse crumbs.  Add egg and water and stir until it forms a ball.  Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.  Heat oven to 375.  With floured fingers, put pastry in a 9 inch springform shell w/ aluminum foil and bake 10 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer.

For filling:  Combine first 5 ingredients and mix well.  Place walnuts and cranberries in bottom of pie shell and pour mixture over.  Bake 25-30 minutes until edge of filling is firm and center is soft.  Let cool and refrigerate.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups flour

2 tab. brown sugar

1 tab. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

2 tab. oil

1 cup milk

Mix all together in a blender (this works GREAT for making pancakes!) except nuts, if using.  Pour desired amount on hot griddle and cook as usual.