Today me and mum braved Schnucks on the day before Thanksgiving. And, except for the fact that we were in a time-cruch because mum had to get to work, it wasn't bad. They had everything we needed, and it actually wasn't too crowded. I bought all the stuff we need for our little mini-Thanksgiving tomorrow, and for the big extended family one on Saturday. Then, we went to the Hallmark store and bought the cards I picked out online. And I already signed all 36 of them and put return address stickers on the envelopes. I am top of this holiday thing!

We had a half day today in school. In math class, we were supposed to do travel and currency exchange related problems as a little fun thing, but instead we looked at Crowell's photo albums all hour. There was this big scrapbook from when he studied at Cambridge in London, and pictures from France and Germany and all over Europe. He even brought in his wedding album, and he was adorable before, but this just made him cuter. He had on a pink tie! Crowell looks just like Ryan from the Office, and I was flipping through the wedding album and saw this guy that looked just like Jim, and I was like "Whoa! Cool!". And he and his wife are adorable, of course. The London pictures were cool too. He's doing this weird jump in the air during a game of cricket, and he got his picture taken next to a giant Gollum poster and Lego statues of Harry Potter characters. I was jealous, and Hannah was like "Lol, you're such a dork". I <3 Crowell and my math class. It's a great start to a long school day.

It was cold and rainy today, and after I got home from the store, I changed into my pajamas and curled up with a blanket and watched M*A*S*H, which, in my opinion, is the solution to most problems.

Anyway, Saturday we're going to a big family Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt Jayne's house. (Real name, real spelling. I'm so lucky to have an excuse to name my kids after Firefly characters.) Dad's smoking a turkey, and soaking it in a brine this year, and it will be DELICIOUS. I'm making desserts. (Thankfully, not all the desserts. I'm glad I don't have to feed thirteen people.) I'm doing a chocolate creme Oreo cheesecake, and cookies made from cake mix. I would've made my trademark Oreo ice cream dish, but Jayne has a tiny freezer.

I figured I would share. Here's the recipies for the aforementioned desserts, if you're curious. They all come from my Grandma's recipie catalog.

Oreo Cookie Frozen Dessert

1 large package Oreo cookies, crushed
1 stick margarine, softened
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
1 (16 ounce) chocolate fudge topping
1 can Spanish peanuts, divided
1 carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
Combine crushed cookie and soft margarine as for pie crust. Reserve ½ cup mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in a lightly buttered 9x13 inch pan. Open ice cream carton and with a large knife, slice thick slices and place over crumb mixture to cover completely, using all ice cream. Pour chocolate over ice cream and spread to cover. Sprinkle peanuts over chocolate. Cover with whipped topping and reserved crumbs. Cover and freeze.

Chocolate Crème Oreo Cheesecake

Makes 12 servings
Prep: 30 minutes + refrigeration
Bake: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Crust
1 cup crushed Chocolate Crème Oreo Chocolate Sandwich cookies (about 13 cookies)
Press cookie crumbs onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan
Filling
4 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 package Baker’s Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Squares, melted, slightly cooled
4 eggs
20 Oreos, quartered
Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Blend in melted chocolate. Add eggs, mixing on low speed just until blended. Gently stir in 1 ½ cups of the quartered cookies. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with remaining quartered cookies.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour 5 minutes or until center is almost set if using a silver springform pan. (Bake at 300 for 1 hour 5 minutes or until center is almost set if using a dark nonstick springform pan.) Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with thawed Cool Whip, raspberries, and mint leaves.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 pkg. cake mix (any brand, any flavor)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Stir ingredients with a spoon. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of milk, if needed. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in sugar.
Bake 375 degrees on a greased cookie sheet for 8 to 9 minutes. Take cookies out of oven while still soft. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet.
You can also add flavored chips (chocolate. butterscotch, etc.)

I've only ever made the Oreo and ice cream one, and it takes a while because the ice cream keeps melting, but it's worth it. My girl cousins all flock around it when I make it for Kearney parties. This weekend will be my first attempt at the other two desserts.