Thanksgiving Day

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We spent the afternoon with new friends Wendy and Jack in Harlingen, and their families. Jack is an orthopedic surgeon, and his family comes from Mexico. They have a beautiful home, and were very gracious to open it up to several from both sides of their families, as well as us. It was a perfect blending of Mexican and American cultures of several generations, except the food was All-American Thanksgiving. I was introduced to Jack's cousin Pillar (sounds like pill and rhymes with car), from Mexico City. I said, "Como esta, usted" and she said, "Mui Bien, et tu?" and I said, "Mui Bien, Gracias." I said it with all the correct Spanish accents. Then Pillar thought I was fluent in Spanish and/or was Hispanic and she started a long conversation in Spanish before she caught her breath. I had to explain I didn't know much Spanish! She thought I did pretty well-but now I'm determined that I need to learn more!

My contribution to the yummy meal was a recipe from Paula Deen. No offense, Mom, but it's called Not Yo Momma's Banana Pudding. It is delicious. I changed it up just a bit from the original recipe. In a mixing bowl, I mixed 1 pkg of cream cheese, reduced fat (it's smoother and blends better). To that I added: 1 large pkg. jello instant vanilla pudding, 1 cup half-n-half, 1 cup milk, and 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Then I added 1 regular container of Cool Whip, extra creamy. I put one layer of cookies on the bottom of the casserole pan. The cookies are by Peppridge Farm and are a shortbread cookie with the chess game figures on them. Then I layered 3 sliced bananas and the pudding mixture 3 more sliced bananas and the rest of the pudding mixture, and ended with another layer of cookies, pressed into the mixture. YUMMO!

It was great to spend our first Thanksgiving Day in the Rio Grande Valley with families who love each other and embrace life with gusto!