Cinnamon Roll Turkeys and Thanksgiving Dinner

A long time ago I pinned a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Turkeys that led to the Pillsbury website. I thought it would be an easy and fun breakfast to have on Thanksgiving morning while we prepare the other food for the main meal.

Our version of the cinnamon roll turkeys turned out quite different from the food-styled pictures on the Pillsbury website. Nonetheless, it was a quick breakfast before we dove into the food preparation for the Thanksgiving dinner.

 

The ingredients include:

1 can (17.5 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
10 slices bacon
5 candy corns
5 red mini candy-coated chocolate candies (I didn't use these)
10 candy eyeballs
15 mini pretzel sticks, cut in half

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.

Set icing aside. Separate dough into 5 rolls; place about 3 inches apart on cookie sheet. Unroll each roll about 1 inch; tuck dough into roll to create neck of turkey.

Bake 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towel-lined plate. Cut bacon slices in half. Tuck 4 halves of bacon into back of each cinnamon roll so they stick up and look like tail feathers.

Drizzle tops of rolls with icing. Decorate turkeys with candy eyeballs, candy corn and candy-coated chocolate candies. Before serving, place halved pretzel sticks underneath each turkey to resemble turkey’s feet.

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We had 13 people gathered at the farm for Thanksgiving.  We were missing my nephew and niece, and my nephew's girlfriend. However, my nephew's girlfriend's sister and brother attended Thanksgiving at our farm which was nice. They had never been to one of our Thanksgiving dinners before, so it was nice having them here.

There was a prayer on Pinterest that I saw that was printed onto a table runner.  It is a simple one, but one that is "general" enough to not offend anyone. It is:

Thank you for the food before us,
The family beside us, and
The love between us.

I planned on having someone say it before the meal, but it didn't work out that way. I forgot the cheesy potatoes and dressing that were staying warm in the oven, so the meal started out a bit less "formal" than I thought. That's fine...everyone was eager to begin eating anyways.

We had the traditional components to the Thanksgiving meal that family members expect or request: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cheesy potatoes, banana bread, and salad. My brother brought the rolls and beverages; and sister brought the pies and brownies.
 

This year, I made some new recipes including: peppermint cookies and blueberry pound cake. I made molasses cookies (my grandma Olive's recipe) and oatmeal raisin cookies, but there were plenty of other desserts to choose from so we didn't offer these as an option.

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After dinner, we had a bonfire in the backyard. We had a rather large brush pile because of branches that came down due to storms this past summer.

We wanted to burn the brush pile before rabbits and birds began using it for their winter homes and spring nests. If that was the case, we'd have these huge pile of branches and sticks lasting until next Fall. They have plenty of other brush piles to use on our farm.

After we had dessert, the kids and teens played games, played the piano, and talked. There was lots of laughter which was good to hear.

My brother, sister, and I went through pictures and books that my parents had and chose ones we wanted. The others we agreed to let go. There are many more slides, photos, and books to go through still.

It is quite a process - even 2 years and 3 months after my mom died (and 5 years and 10 months after my dad died). It's the personal items - the photos, especially - that are the most difficult to go through. However, the longer it has been, it has gotten a bit easier.