thanksgiving dinner.

we had our early, mini thanksgiving last night. & although i was only cooking for the four of us (2 of whom, or should it be 2 of which? either way... two of them are 3 & under). anyway, there were so many delicious sounding recipes, we ended up with a quite a feast. on the menu?

1981 holiday bacon appetizers
brown sugar smokies
craisin apple salad
easy, breezy, no fuss turkey
creamed corn
brown sugar-glazed carrots
cream cheese mashed potatoes

although everything was oh so tasty, i think my favorite was the salad. it kinda tasted like candy. the funny thing? the salad was a total accident. i started out with every intention make THIS salad. but i forgot some of the ingredients for the salad dressing. luckily i had the ingredients for THIS one on hand & amazingly, it tasted sooo delicious (& the colors were so pretty). so here's the recipe:

craisin apple salad
1 bag of baby spinach, wash & dried
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy & crumbled
1 green apple, cored & thinly sliced
1 small bag of craisins
small onion, thinly sliced (optional)
candied pecans (or almonds), for candy-ing how-to go HERE.

mix the salad ingredients & add the following dressing just before serving:

poppy seed dressing
2 T poppy seeds
3/4 apple cider vinegar
2 cups light salad oil
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dry mustard

combine in a jar, shake well & let sit

image via here.