I'm not skilled at cooking and I was on a budget so this is the best I could come up with.

Entry #1 - Ham and Cheese Sandwich
I decided to do one entry with either ham or turkey and since I already figured I'd do something with a potato that I'd go with ham. This thin slice ham I found on sale was super tasty. I'm also glad that I decided to give the mozzarella slices a try instead of swiss. I really liked this combo.


The ingredients here are ham, mozzarella cheese, mayo, and bread.



I spread the mayonnaise thinly on one of the slices.




The ham slices were very thin and unusual sizes so I wasn't sure how much to add. I looked later to see that a serving size was 5 slices. I tried to spread the slices to cover everything. At this point, one of our cats Gizmo decided he liked the smell and tried to keep getting up on the table to investigate/eat it. From now on I'll be adding the cheese first and the ham second.



Added the cheese slice.




Finished sandwich!




I tried to get a picture of Gizmo when he jumped up after I took the picture of the completed sandwich but he looks like he could pass as an alien himself with the way the picture blurred.








Entry #2 - Pepper Russet Potatoes
I like boiled potatoes with pepper and I happened to have a couple potatoes leftover in case I messed up carving one of them for the carving contest. I usually use red potatoes but I figured I'd give it a shot. This turned out honestly better than I thought it would but I'm not the pickiest when it comes to potatoes.


I can't remember which of these two potatoes became tonight's victim. I'm kinda tempted to plant surviving potato #3 but not sure how it'd fare during colder months.



I cut off the eyes wanting to sprout and anything that looked a bit greenish, and then cut the potato up into chunks. They then got tossed into boiling water for about 15 minutes.



Drained the water off and added butter and pepper. Simple but tasty.







Entry #3 - Cinnamon Bread
I don't know if this has a more proper name but my mom would make these occasionally. They're simple and tasty.

You need bread (Mom always used hamburger buns), sugar, cinnamon, and butter.



Spread the butter on the buns. I had trouble with the butter not wanting to spread so I tried sticking the buns briefly in the oven to help melt the butter. Normally I wouldn't do this.



Mix cinnamon into sugar. I don't really know how much. I just always look at the color to tell how much cinnamon to add.



Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the buttered buns.



I wasn't sure how long to put them in the oven since I'd already heated them up before to melt the butter. I think I did something like three minutes and then added a minute or two maybe.

A Very Strange Thanksgiving...... Text Messages to my daughter!

Me: Lorrie!
Me: Lorrie!
Me: Lorrie! Are you awake? I know there is 2hrs time difference.... but come on! Wake up!
L: Mom, what the heck, I am trying to catch up on sleep on my day off!

Me: You won't believe what happened today, Thanksgiving Day, of all days!
L: *sigh*.... what now, mom....

Me: Dad was flying Uncle John around in the Cessna for some fun while Lisa and I worked on dinner. You won't believe what they saw and nearly hit! This funky little UFO! I didn't believe them at first, no pictures! What were they thinking! Get the camera out boys! But... then, I had to believe, they brought two of them home with them!
L: Come on mom, I am still half asleep. But even I don't believe you or them!

Me: Believe it! Their funky little ship followed them home after they had landed in Simsbury. 20 min. away.... and it just flew behind them! Landed in Uncle John's backyard, right on top of garden! Good thing they were done for the year! When Dad and Uncle John ran out back, 2 small aliens stepped out of the ship! Just then, Aunt Lisa and I ran out the door, they turned to us and asked what was smelling so good? We explained about Thanksgiving and how it is a time to be thankful and share our love with others. They asked to join us!
L: Mom..... seriously (>_<)

Me: Look, we are making appetizers, 7 layer taco dip!

Me: All done! Get the tortilla chips ready!

L: Mmmmm, mom, you know I love that dip!
************

Me: Next we worked on veggies to have our alien friends try. Something brand new, Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Garlic! So buttery!

And the finished dish!

L: I need that recipe!
*****************

Me: On I worked.... Dad's favorite Cheesy Broccoli! Gathered all the ingredients!

Me: All done! Isn't it a pretty dish!

L: Do you think that I could drive to CT in time for dinner???
***************

Me: Probably not, but I could save some left overs! Last night I made homemade cranberry sauce for the first time! I didn't take a preparing pic, but I took a pic with all the ingredients and the final product! I know you hate cranberry sauce.... but seriously, you would love this recipe! Just enough sugar with a hint of cinnamon! Your Aunt Lisa got fresh picked cranberries from Cape Cod last week! It made a huge difference... not sure what she is going to do with all the rest of them, she still has 3 pounds left!

L: That sounds really good! Can you make it for Christmas when I come home to MI?
*****************

Me: Sure thing, honey! It would be a pleasure! Are you finally starting to believe that we were feeding aliens... why else would be make so much?
L: MMMaaayyybeeee....
Me: Well, look at this! The best way I have ever made turkey! Aunt Lisa got it from America's Test Kitchen site!

Me: This was the best turkey ever! Very moist, even the white meat! And the stuffing.... yum!

Me: The buffet is set!

Me: Here is the plate of food I made for one of the aliens!

L: Oh gosh mom.... stop torturing me! That looks so good! And yes, I believe you! Were are the desserts??

Me: Oh, I didn't make those, Aunt Lisa's sister sent a pumpkin pie, apple pie and peach pie! With homemade whip cream! Yum! But, alas.... no pictures of those! The guys ate them all up before I could take a pic!
L: You know, I want all of that when I come home, right? You can't treat aliens better than me!
Me: LOL! You know I love you, little one!
L: I know you do! <3

M: Our little Aliens flew off into the beautiful sunset after eating a huge meal! They thanked us and asked for recipes.... although I have no idea how they will get the cranberries? Not to mention everything else! They were gracious little guys, and I hope they come back someday! Can you see their funky ship fading away in the picture?

L: I think so.....

If I choose to feed some aliens, I would probably drive to the nearest take-away, since I am not a very good cook!

Anyways:
Smoked Salmon Open Toast:


French Toast:

Looks terrible, but still tasty.

Cookie in a cup:

Ran out of eggs, and used baking powder instead. And oops, didn't use enough baking powder and the end result looks like a sad, sad cookie. If you squint you can probably see the last one picture is cooked. Still pretty tasty however.

I did: stirfried onion, pepper, carrot, and garlic; baked potato with some cheese; a cut up apple; pumpkin spice hot chocolate (from a jar mix and boiled milk)

Unfortunately had no green items in the house to make it look prettier. So lots of browns and reds
Done -

WIP pic -

Action shot lmao -

Start - some ingredients didn't make the pic such as onion, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, apple, and some herbs from the garden -

The hot chocolate mix is pretty good, it's from whole foods of the brand silly cows or something. The stirfry ended up really yummy. I simmered it a bit in beer while I was making the hot chocolate to give myself more time, idk if that affected the flavor. I'm not a cook, I just do whatever, which is why there is a random apple flower haha.

I'm sure the aliens would feel right at home with my family, we're pretty strange XD

So first up is the main dish, turkey XD

1. I have thanksgiving with my parents, so I usually only help with the cooking. My task for the turkey was to check on it once it was in the oven and add butter to it XD

2. Next we get the stuffing out of it, my mother agreed to pose for the action shot XD

3. Finally the turkey is carved, and put on a nice plate:

Close up of the yummy turkey:


Next dish is the mashed potatoes, my personal favorite :D

1. Potatoes are peeled and washed

2. After they have been washed they are cut into cubes so they are easier to mash later XD

3. Potatoes are cooking away now :3

4. Gathering up the items I'll need to mash them after they are done cooking

5. All done and looking delicious!


Next up is my mom's favorite dish, sweet potatoes!

1. We used canned sweet potatoes so first we baked them

2. My favorite step, adding the marshmallows XD

3. Back in they go with the biscuits

4. Hot out of the oven!


Final dish, biscuits!

1. Biscuits are spread out on a cookie sheet

2. In the oven they go!

3. All done and looking good with a festive napkin XD


The whole Thanksgiving spread!


This was a lot of fun, I hope everyone had a great holiday XD

... does imgur hosting not work on Sylestia anymore? :/ Will edit shortly

Unfortunately we didn't make thanksgiving dinner this year, since it was just my parents and myself, we went out to eat. And I only had a chance to make one of the dishes I wanted to before having to come back to school (where I don't really make anything... don't have the supplies or the ingredients, because pre-made stuff is so much cheaper and money is a thing >.<). Still, thought I would post what I did manage!

Spaghetti sauce! (Unfortunately without the noodles and bread to go with it, which was the original plan)



A pound of ground beef to brown, with some salt and seasoning thrown in



All browned up, with more seasoning added!



Crockpot and sausages, ready for use!



Too many cans of tomato product. Why is it necessary to have three different kinds? I have no idea! Just following instructions.



Tomato products and browned beef all added to the crockpot



Time to brown those sausages, and slice one open all down the side so the flavor will leak into the sauce, but not make it too spicy



All added and mixed up! Now, just to wait for about, oh, a little over twenty four hours... and then, the most delicious spaghetti sauce I have ever tasted! So much better than anything from a jar. I'll ruin those aliens for jarred sauce in one fell swoop!

Selected Winners

Prizes: Free Stable x1, [Wheel of Themed Ticket] x2, Restricted Trait Disruptor of Choice x2

Winners: Dragoil, GoldGryphon, Kyokai, Lightningstorms, Zelly

It was impossible to just choose one winner and still difficult to even narrow it down to 5! 'Bonus points' were given to submissions that really had fun with the whole 'alien' theme along with detailed preparations of meals.


All Participants

Prizes: Title: Master Chef, [Wheel of Themed Ticket] x1, [Philter of Trait Disruption] x1, [Perfume of Themed Attraction] x2


Thank you to everyone who participated! We know that this was an incredibly time constrained contest and so we greatly appreciate all of the effort that was put into it anyway. If we decide to do this again next year, we will be sure to give ample notice.