Polish meatballs (an old family recipe...with a twist)

I used to ALWAYS have ground beef in the freezer...I check the sales every week..and whenever it was a decent price ($1.69 or less per lb.) I would stock up...

but for whatever reason..I haven't seen ground beef go on sale in over a year! and with the every day price being comparable to that of a decent steak...I just can't bring myself to buy it :/
who would have ever thought HAMBURGER would become a LUXURY item?! my stockpile has been gone for a few months now...

but last week, our regular store FINALLY had it on sale (for $2.69 a pound..good grief :/ ) ...as much as I never would have imagined I would ever find myself getting excited about ground beef (especially at THAT price!) ..I did my little happy dance! hahaha

it seemed like it had been FOREVER since we even had ground beef in the house! I started mentally flipping through my recipe files..and landed on one of my very favorite old family recipes...as I started to gather ingredients I thought it might be a nice idea to share it here..as most people have heard of SWEDISH meatballs...polish meatballs are probably not as well known...and well..that just ain't right!

actually..there are many variations in all 'nationalities' of meatball...traditional polish meatballs are very similar to swedish meatballs..the easiest difference to see right away is that traditional swedish meatballs are served with a creamy gravy...polish are served with more of a salisbury steak-like 'brown gravy'

my family recipe has a slight twist from the traditional...and then I go ahead and give it ANOTHER twist of my own

where traditional polish meatballs are made with torn bread or bread crumbs and marjoram in the mix and are often cooked on a bed of onion & celery (which is later used to make the gravy) ...somehow my family (probably in an effort to use up leftovers and make the meat stretch even further) decided to mix the meat with prepared stuffing..yup...stuffing..like from the thanksgiving turkey!

because the stuffing is full of celery & onions and seasoned with poultry seasoning, which contains marjoram..you get all the traditional flavors...but with the added awesomeness of pillowy little bites of delicious stuffing all throughout - YUM!

then I twist it a bit further by scrapping the traditional brown gravy...instead I use a component of another old family 'recipe' ...my grandfather's favorite..stuffed flank steak..which is braised in a tomatoey sauce..thanks to the gourmetification of all the old 'undesirable' cuts of meat..I can't afford things like flank steak..but since that recipe is also made with regular old stuffing..using the 'sauce' from this seemed logical to me...actually I was confusing the two in my head but thought what the hell..polish meatballs would be awesome with a tomato-based gravy! ...especially since they're served over buttered egg noodles :)

so anyway...here it is (actual recipe below)

first you make some stuffing...

unless you already have some leftover stuffing..in which case I suggest you skip this step! hehehe

then you mix the stuffing into some ground beef...divide evenly and shape into patties (I know..not very meatball-y...that's just the way we've always done it...I'm sure you could make them round instead..whatever floats your boat! :) ...and brown on each side..add the sauce fixins (a whoppin' TWO ingredients..woo hoo!) and let it all simmer together until the meat is cooked through...

not the best pic..but you get the idea...if the sauce isn't thick enough for ya you can add a little corn starch/water to it..just make sure ya cook it a couple more minutes to cook out the raw corn starch flavor...but ya want it to be able to coat the egg noodles nicely...like this :)

I tried to get a decent pic of the inside of the 'meatball' so you could see the way they're studded all throughout with soft delicious bites of stuffingy goodness...but bein' winter in NY there was no natural light at that time of night to get a decent pic...hopefully ya get the idea :)

the recipe: (makes 4 good size patties)

for the meatballs you'll need:

1 pound of ground beef
6 slices of white bread - I like to toast mine
1 medium onion - chopped
4 or 5 celery stalks - chopped (including leaves..they add great flavor!)
1 egg
a tablespoon or so of poultry seasoning - I use BELL'S
salt & pepper to taste (I almost always forget to add salt and pepper...the rest of the ingredients are so full of flavor I don't even notice...but ours is a very low salt house you may feel differently)

for the gravy:

round about one part beef broth - preferably low sodium it's always best if YOU control the salt!
to two parts tomato juice...in this case I used V8 because that's what I had available

I just used one 14 oz can of beef broth...and used that can to measure out the tomato juice

directions:

saute onions and celery in a little butter & olive oil until soft and starting to get a yummy golden color...let cool
mix celery & onions with the toasted bread cubes, egg and poultry seasoning until it's all nice and mixed together
combine stuffing and ground beef and form into 4 patties
brown on each side and then pour tomato juice and beef broth into the pan and let it all simmer together slowly until the meat is cooked through...about 15 minutes
thicken gravy with a little corn starch mixed with cold water...make sure ya cook it another couple minutes just to make sure there's no raw corn starch flavor
serve over buttered egg noodles

note: I'm the queen of lazy so I do this all in one pan...if I have to make the stuffing I then cook the meatballs in the same pan I sauteed the onions & celery in...ya just have to make sure ya use a pan that's deep enough to comfortably hold the gravy!

~enjoy :)

sometimes ya feel like a nut...

I've mentioned before that I have a bit of a PINTEREST addiction...but I've decided that I'm NOT gonna be one of these people who pins a lot of stuff and then never does any of it (I have enough of THOSE projects in my craft closet already haa!)

so my plan is to pick at least one craft, DIY project or recipe a month and do it...not just START it..but actually FINISH it...and post about it here

this will kill two birds with one stone as far as my new years resolutions (make better use of my time, doing things I enjoy AND don't neglect my blog!)

yesterday I had a wicked headache and spent the first half of the day curled up on the couch...but after a little muppet therapy I started to feel better...my headaches can be fierce and I'm usually stuck with them till at least the next day..therefor I had already resigned myself to the idea that I wasn't gonna get any housework done
so I decided to make the most of the little time I had left before it was time to start dinner..and make some dessert hahaha

come on...admit it..you'd do the same thing if faced with a choice between laundry and CHOCOLATE!!

like I said..I had found this recipe on pinterest and being a HUGE fan of chocolate and coconut I was dying to try it..I already had all but one of the ingredients in the house so I made sure the last time I was out..to pick up the one thing I was missing..coconut oil (just because I always like to follow a recipe as best I can for my first attempt at making it)

it drives me NUTS when I read reviews of recipes and people are like 'this recipe sucked' or 'it was ok' ...but then they go on to say all the ways they altered it to the point of it not even being the same dish anymore! ...what did you expect and why the hell are you reviewing it if IT isn't actually what you made?! ...IDIOTS..Aagh!!

anyway...let me just say that this recipe was anything but sucky!! ...not only are they absolutely delicious..but they were SO easy that if you had the ingredients in the house (all of which are pantry items that can sit for like..ever!) ...you could easily bang them out as a last minute hostess gift or dessert for unexpected company...and they'd think you slaved all day :)

the balls rolled like a dream...

the recipe says to chill them and then re-roll just to smooth them out and chill again so that they are nice and smooth before dipping...but I was lazy and forgot this step :/ ...after all this WAS just a test run...I might have made them prettier if I actually planned to share..heh!

personally I think they're fine like this...the 'messiness' gives a nice hint as to the coconutty deliciousness hiding under all that chocolate...

and it certainly doesn't detract from the enjoyment of eating them!!

I couldn't wait...had to have one before they were fully set :) ...you can see it was still a little soft

somehow I refrained from devouring the entire tray...AND managed to keep the spousal unit from gobbling them all up

so I took another pic today...as you can see..they set beautifully and hold their shape well

I doubled the recipe but only ended up rolling half...when I do the rest I think I'm gonna stick a whole roasted almond onto each before I dip them...mmmm homemade almond joys!! ...so much for the eat better/get healthy portion of my resolutions hahaha

just kidding...I've been workin' on that too...but all work and no play make brandiland a very unpleasant place!! :) ...besides..isn't there a law that says a girl and her chocolate must never be parted?! ...yeah..yeah..I'm pretty sure that's a law anyway..if it's not..it SHOULD be!!

anyway...the recipe is from HERE... but I'll post it here anyway (with my own notes etc.) because I think if you like coconut you should make these truffles like...NOW!!
but in like 20 minutes when you're nibbling on your finished product...cause they're THAT easy..I promise!! ...you should go check her out :)

Gooey Chocolate Coconut Truffles

makes about 24 teaspoon-sized truffles

3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted *
1 1/2-2 cups milk chocolate chips, melted **

in a large bowl, combine coconut and sugar and mix to combine. add in milk and coconut oil (I just threw it all in at once and smooshed it all together..cause I'm lazy)
mix constantly until a gooey coconut filling results (she used her hands and so did I!)
roll into balls about a teaspoon size (or a little larger) and place on a parchment-lined (I don't have parchment so I used waxed paper) baking sheet.

if you want them to look all fancy and professional..freeze for 15 minutes, then remove from freezer and roll again between your palms to smooth any coconut edges. freeze for 10-15 minutes more. while freezing, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave. remove coconut balls from freezer and immediately dip.

I obviously skipped all that freeze/roll/freeze business and just went right to the dipping (had the chocolate melting while I rolled the balls)


she says to refrigerate until ready to serve...I didn't do that either cause I'm not a fan of cold candy (and neither are my teeth!) ..but as you can see they hold up just fine at room temp

* if you had to I'm sure you could use melted butter instead..but it would obviously change the flavor...not that I've ever noticed butter changing the flavor of something for the worse hahaha
however...coconut oil is much healthier and has a much lighter flavor (like almost non-existent)

**I always add a bit of grated beeswax to my dipping chocolate...this gives it a pretty shine AND helps it set up nice and not be all gooey on your fingers when left at room temperature :)

ok now go make some truffles...you WON'T be sorry!! :) ♥

good riddence...

I'm looking very forward to a new year and a fresh start...

for me this past year has been like the roller coaster from hell...by far one of the most emotionally draining times of my life..I've laughed and I've cried..oh boy have I cried!

my heart is still floppin' around in the dirt..but I have to press on...

this year I will focus on bein' a better person, wife and friend...

I'm extremely blessed with time I know so many people wish they had...one of my main sources of guilt is that I take this time for granted...so this year I'm gonna try to stop doin' that...I'm gonna spend more time doin' the things I love and just take time for myself so that I can better care for the people who care for me

I will eat better so that I can feel better and have more energy to enjoy life and the people in it...

due to certain events this year, I'm feelin' very vulnerable and kinda like I just wanna shut everyone out...but I will try not to let the hurts of the past cause me to put up too high a wall...

I'm gonna work at makin' a dent in this stack of books...I miss reading! (stupid OCD!)

and last but not least...I will try to be less neglectful of my blog!

doesn't seem like much...but trust me..this will all be a huge challenge

and now...it's time to start my very favoritest weekend of the year...2 straight days of the sci-fi channel's new years eve TWILIGHT ZONE marathon (yes..even though I have the definitive collection box set AND it streams on netflix...it's TRADITION dammit!! sheesh) and..the FEAST of the FINGER FOODS ♥ ♥ ♥ (this year I'm tryin' to make it a little healthier :)

anyway...I hope ALL our new years are better than the last!!

keep the magic alive...

a friend of mine posted this on fb and I just thought it was too cool not to share...

I totally would have flipped over this when I was a kid..I remember one Christmas Eve I was so excited about Santa..I heard something outside that sounded like sleigh bells and I almost peed my pants!! 30+ years later I STILL remember the excitement I felt tryin' to get to sleep that night!!

kids grow up so fast..especially nowadays...ya gotta keep that magic alive as long as possible...let them dream and fill their minds with memories that will last a lifetime :)

anyway..check it out...you input a pic and some info..like things they've achieved over the year..things they could work on for next year..what they want for Christmas etc...and Santa sends them a personalized video message...for FREE!!

  click the pic  you can even make one for us big kids...try making one that says you've been naughty..the choices are too funny!!

oh and if you have a few bucks to spare to take it one step further...HERE is a place where you can upload a pic of your living room/tree and drag & drop a pic of Santa into it...and you get a printed pic of Santa right in your own house!! ...ahh I LOVE technology!!

HAVE FUN!! :) ♥

what's the time?

it's time to feel OLD! hahaha

CONGRATULATIONS to the BEASTIE BOYS for makin' the cut!! ...ROCK & ROLL hall of fame..who woulda thunk it?!

boy do I ♥ me some beasties...I think I drive my poor husband crazy sometimes...especially in the car!! but he's not here now so it's YOUR turn hehehe...sit back and enjoy some old school AWESOMENESS from my boys Mike D, Ad-Rock & MCA!! :)

I can drink a quart o' monkey and still stand still...

I got more rhymes than I got grey hairs..and that's a lot because I got my share...

beer drinkin' breaf stinkin' sniffin' glue...

too sweet to be sour..too nice to be mean...

I got money in the bank..I can still get high..that's why your girlfriend thinks that I'm so fly...

 oh-my-gawd it's a mirage...

like a lemon to a lime - a lime to a lemon..I sip the def ale with all the fly women...

with Cypress Hill...oh yeah!!

♥ ♥ ♥

gobble gobble hey!

I didn't know whether or not I was gonna bother with thanksgiving this year...it's a long story..which I'm sure I'll get into soon enough..but I have no use for most of my family at the moment..and the spousal unit's clan all kinda splits off and does thanksgiving with their spouse's families...so it was just the two of us..and let's face it..my hunny ain't the most festive guy you'll ever meet..so it's kinda hard to get psyched for any holiday

even one that is almost entirely centered around FOOD!

but then I saw an article in a magazine about things to do with your turkey day leftovers and I thought..no feast=no leftovers...that just won't do! ...besides..I had two good sized birds taking up way too much room in my freezer anyway

usually when my family gets together there is a coma inducing amount of food..not that I'm complaining mind you..it's just...thanksgiving is a holiday that is already loaded with copious amounts of foods so bad we reserve them for that ONE special day...how much do you REALLY need?!

so I scaled it back..ONE hors d'oeuvre vs. the usual half dozen or so we usually have...and I tried to make it at least SOMEWHAT nutritional...rather than going with the ever popular 'heart attack bites' (a cracker or piece of bread layered with cheese and wrapped in bacon) ..sausage stuffed mushrooms or kielbasa & crackers...I went with my fave (and ALWAYS a HUGE hit) mini spanakopita cups

if you're not familiar with spanakopita..it's a savory greek 'pie' made with spinach and cheese, wrapped in phyllo (paper thin, flaky pastry) ...usually either in one large piece (think strudel) or 'flagrolled' into individual triangular shaped bites...but one year I couldn't get my hands on regular phyllo..all I could find were the little phyllo cups so I improvised...and have never gone back to the traditional method since!

that being said..I highly recommend (if you are so inclined) that you try it the traditional way at least once...why you just have not lived until you've worked with sheets of phyllo dough hahaha

anyway...like I said I had two good sized birds in the freezer so rather than go out and buy a turkey I just cooked them..after all it WAS just the two of us..it didn't have to be totally traditional..chicken would do! there's not too much difference..actually I tend to prefer chicken anyway...PLUS two 8 pound chickens cook A LOT faster than one 16 pound turkey!! ...especially if you can use two ovens..which I did..YAY for mom living next door..WOOT!

since there weren't gonna be a bunch of people expecting things to be a certain way I decided to be slightly more experimental than I would normally be...although I did the stuffing like I always do because I'm never happy when people try to get creative with stuffing...

here is my hunny (bein' a dork!) helpin' me cut up bread for the stuffing...ignore the mess!!

I came late to the green bean casserole party so it's not quite a tradition yet..but I gotta admit it is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me...y'all prolly know I'm NOT a huge fan of packaged products (anything containing scary sounding, unpronouncable ingredients) and the traditional green bean casserole is basically a showcase for the products it's made with..all the 'recipes' are pretty much the same...you can find them on the label of any of the 'ingredients' (green beans, condensed soup, french fried onions) all of which are full of a whole lot of preservatives and garbage!

since the day I was introduced to this delicious concoction I've dreamed of a less 'garbage-y' version...but as I was never the one in charge of the green bean casserole..AND I usually already had way too much other work to do, I never bothered pressing the issue...

but a few days before the big day I was watchin' Guy's Big Bite..he was doin' his twist on thanksgiving which included a TOTALLY from SCRATCH version of the traditional green bean casserole...I was SO psyched!! ..green bean casserole made completely from ingredients you can find in nature??!! even the crispy onion topping!! oh yeah!! :)

I've seen other recipes for green bean casseroles but none ever looked THIS yummy to me...actually it's pretty rare that I ever use any of the recipes I see on tv...but this one was a MUST TRY! even if it wasn't thanksgiving I would have pulled out one of these chickens just for an excuse to make it!

as you can see it LOOKS pretty much the same, right? and it TASTES pretty much the same...except BETTER because it's not loaded with salt and chemicals!!


Guy also made twice baked sweet potatoes...I thought that was a nice alternative to the usual dried out, cubed up (sometimes marshmallow topped) sweet potato situation...I started out with good intentions...how nice it would look for us each to have our own neatly presented little individual bundle of sweet potato goodness

but I kinda lost interest when I realized the skin came away from the potatoes when baked (too long perhaps?) and scooping out the potato leaving enough inside for there to still be some structure to re-stuff wasn't gonna work...so I did everything as planned only in a casserole dish instead of individual servings

his sweet potatoes weren't much different from what I usually do only they were mashed, obviously, for re-stuffing purposes...basically sweet potato (mashed) with a bit of butter and cinnamon...then topped with a butter, brown sugar and chopped walnut crumble...I think his might have actually called for pecans..I didn't pay that much attention...it's food NOT rocket science!

I don't normally put nuts on sweet potatoes but it was DELICIOUS...added a really nice nutty crunch...in a perfect world I probably would have chopped them up a bit smaller..but I was getting tired by then..it turned out it didn't matter cause it was totally awesome just like it was!!

also there was no quivering blob of can shaped cranberry jelly...I made my own cranberry sauce...that's actually nothing new..only I added a bit of orange zest cause that's how I like it..turned out my mother filled up a plate too (I used her oven..ya didn't think I wasn't gonna share did ya??) and she (who ALWAYS claims it has to be HER way!) LOVED the added pop of flavor from the orange...so YAY!

it's a sucky picture..but whatever...it tasted better than it looks! hahaha

normally my mother makes the pumpkin pie...I don't know if it's just cause she doesn't like it or what..and no offense to her..at least she tries...but she always screws it up in some way! ...she either burns the crust or it's raw on the bottom...one year she did SOMETHING to the spices and they were all chunky throughout the pie..you could actually SEE chunks of different spices..it was WEIRD...and CRUNCHY!! :/ (or so I'm told..I don't like pumpkin pie either)

anyway...I was recently reminded of how ridiculously easy it is to make pie dough from scratch so I was pretty excited to actually make my hunny his yearly punkin pie!! I'm not freakin' Martha Stewart..so it's not like I was using FRESH pumpkin..how difficult could it be?? ..yeah you heard me..I used canned pumpkin..the only ingredient listed was PUMPKIN so it's ok..see..I'm not unreasonable! hehehe

first of all ignore my pitiful crimping skillz...I'm definitely the kind of person who needs to create a decorative edge or something to hide the fact that I actually can't do the simplest thing..like pinch pie dough between my fingers!! secondly ignore the cracks - those are caused by repeatedly opening the oven door to make sure I wasn't burning the crust..I didn't care what it LOOKED like..I just wanted it to TASTE good :)

not TOO bad for my first 'custard' pie...ya can't even tell that I totally forgot to put SUGAR in the filling!! ~sigh...and so continues the curse of the pumpkin pie!!

if I had known then that I did this I would have used the remaining pie dough to make a replacement pie...instead of these cute little pie crust cookies...ya can't really tell from the pie pic but here you can kinda see how perfectly flaky and awesome the pie crust came out...so..yeah..I did SOMETHING right at least hehehe

roll, cut, sprinkle with sugar...

like I said..I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie..but I AM a fan of pretty much ANYTHING with a graham cracker crust...so I made myself these delicious chocolate coconut bars..they weren't half bad if I do say so myself!

I have to admit that leading up to thanksgiving I was kinda bummed..as much as I complain..I DO like getting together with other humans once in a while..I actually look forward to holidays if for nothing else than to just have a little change of pace...

the spousal unit HATES holiday get togethers and every year it's a friggin' struggle..like trying to drag Damien (from the Omen) to church......he usually tries to get me to agree to skip holidays altogether and just go to the movies or something..and there have been many holidays we did not spend together just because he can be such a miserable prick! in fact I'm pretty sure he took up hunting just as an excuse to get out of thanksgiving dinner!

but I hafta say this thanksgiving was soooooooo relaxing...I don't know WHAT I've been fussin' about all these years! I really think holidays for two are where it's at!! I mean really...no getting dressed or trying to entertain AND cook at the same time..no people creating more work by trying to be helpful..so many fewer dishes!! ...PLUS no disgusting DOUBLE DIPPERS!! maaan I HATE double dippers!! ...the benefits are endless :)

I don't even think I was done eating yet when I started planning our awesome CHRISTMAS feast...since it will most likely be just the 2 of us again I think we'll splurge on a nice piece of beef..MMmmm...meat for 2 costs A LOT less than meat for 12!!

oh yeah..if you'd like to try any of these holiday yummies..click the links below:

SPANAKOPITA

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BARS

~enjoy :) ♥

Irene...

I was gonna write about something else today..but an fb friend posted a video this morning that reminded me that I've been meaning to post about this for a while...

at the end of August hurricane Irene visited the northeast..actually by the time it got to NY it had been downgraded to a tropical storm (btw did you know that the ONLY difference between a hurricane and a tropical storm is wind speed..39-73 mph for a tropical storm..74 mph or higher for a hurricane) ...for at least a week before it hit, Irene was all anyone talked about..it was the top news story for DAYS...especially where I'm from which is very close to NYC

this time I guess I'll cut 'em some slack...normally I would joke about how the city flips out any time a potentially serious weather event is predicted (somehow to them 2 inches of snow is a potentially serious weather event...or at least it used to be..I think they might be getting over themselves now that the earth seems to have shifted on it's axis)

anyway..like I said..Irene was a major news story for days and days...people were preparing for the apocalypse..stocking up on canned goods..building arks and whatnot

as the day approached I was totally PSYCHED...I LOVE severe weather..the windier the better!! ..of course I was mildly concerned about our house getting flooded AGAIN...but for being in a valley..we're high up and far from the river..the chance of any kind of devastating flood damage here seems pretty unlikely

 

being the dork that I am I can't help but keep an eye on the weather reports and whatnot...I get a kick out of seeing the city streets completely empty but for soaking wet reporters holding inverted umbrellas..pointing at trees and street signs blowing in the breeze...

my only real concern personally was losing power..but we live smack between the local fire house and police station..so even though this whole area is generally neglected by the power company (and news) we very rarely lose power for any significant amount of time...so really I knew we'd be ok short of a tree falling on our house or something like that...

for me and the spousal unit, Irene was just an excuse to laze around the house in our PJs and listen to the rain...y'all know I LOVE rainy days!! :)

when all was said and done we had nothing more than a very rainy day...there was plenty of mild to moderate flooding nearby AND in the city, long island etc. but nothing particularly newsworthy...we've been through worse (in fact we just were a couple weeks ago when we had a major snow storm at the end of october)

so...because the city and surrounding areas made it through virtually unscathed news of Irene fizzled out pretty quickly...

unfortunately this means that most people are under the impression that once again the big northeast storm hoopla was as usual..much ado about nothing

when nothing could be father from the truth!

what you likely didn't hear about was the complete and utter DEVASTATION of entire TOWNS in upstate NY!! (less than an hour from me) 

as you can tell from these videos below..this is NOT an affluent area..and these people lost EVERYTHING!! ...many of them have had to be separated from their families in the process of finding more permanent lodging/waiting for FEMA to approve them for trailers etc.

 

 

what you can't see in the videos is that even the houses that LOOK ok were hit with massive flooding and are now filled with mud..and rotting from the inside out!!

if you click THIS LINK you can see video that was taken just a few days ago of the same area...sadly not much has changed! 

in addition to the loss of homes and personal belongings..businesses were destroyed (more jobs were lost!) people lost pets..farmers lost animals and entire crops were completely wiped out!!

here we are now over 2 months later..and still so many people there are displaced..wearing donated clothes, eating donated food and drinking donated water...they have NOTHING but the love and support of their neighbors and a whole lot of HOPE!

I've been doin' a lot of moping around lately..so when I saw my friend's vid on fb..instead of sitting here feeling sorry for myself..probably re-writing for the 20th time a letter I'll probably never send..to a person who probably doesn't care anyway...I decided to write this post 

when I watch these videos I can't help but be reminded of how absolutely fortunate I am...so what if I'm a little wounded emotionally..at least I still have this roof over my head..all my family photos and keepsakes..and I don't hafta pick through donation boxes for something to wear or eat or drink! 

thanks to the economy it won't be the best holiday season for most people this year...but we all still have a lot to be thankful for..so as we prepare for the national day of stuffing our faces and giving thanks for all the awesomesness in our lives (home, food, pets, those crazy people gathered around the table with us) ..it couldn't hurt to send a few good vibes to those less fortunate...like the people you probably never knew existed in the mountain towns of upstate NY...who are holding their lives together by a donated thread :) ♥