Sam Ousey:
I have some recipes and some traditional celebrations I could share that we cherish here at the Ousey household, but most of all I wanted to practice the power of gratitude with you. As busy as we all are with work, children and social demands, it is almost a forgotten part of our lives! This time of year is so meaningful to me; I get to spend time with my family and friends enjoying all of our favorite foods and great conversation. The smell in our home is of comfort and love. We all gather in the kitchen and share in our contribution to the big meal. Kids peel potatoes while we laugh and sing Christmas songs and of course watch the Macy's day parade!! The planning, shopping and preparation culminates in everyone's satisfaction from the creation of the meal! I have seen our family grow with new relationships that bring us new members, that bring us marriage and children. We have seen some leave us and yet they are still with us every moment of the day. We have friends and neighbors who stop by all day to join us in our celebration. We never really know who is coming for dinner!

When I look at how I celebrate Thanksgiving, it is truly how I practice my contribution to HMC every day. The  planning, the fun, the communication, the contribution by all of us that truly makes us successful. We create the big meal every day! I have watched new faces come and seen some go. I have watched many stay and grow as part of the family. I am grateful to you all for all that you do for the residents we serve. They are truly the reason we do this work, and the gratitude they have for us caring for them. I had an intern call me the other day after she had completed a project for some residents creating a new dining experience and I was deeply touch when she said, "they hugged me and kissed me they were so happy I cried!" That is what makes me grateful to have my job!!

God has blessed me with many gifts and I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to have you all as my partners in this journey! May you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving and you will all be in my prayers and thoughts as I gather with my family to give thanks for all we have, to live for and look forward to!  And remember do not gobble till you wobble!!

Lee Tincher:
My family was blessed in the 1970's to purchase a timeshare cabin on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Each year we would take our three children out of school for the week and have a nice family holiday together before the busy Christmas season ahead. This is my 33rd Thanksgiving at Lake Tahoe. Even though we are away from home, I still cook the full Thanksgiving traditional meal. One year we had 17 family and friends present for dinner. My children, now all adults, are continuing the family tradition.
In the 1990's as the corporate dietitian, I realized how diligently the dietary supervisors and staff worked during Thanksgiving week to prepare a celebration meal for the residents and some of their families plus staff. During those years I arranged for all the DSS' to be off on Christmas day and I would cover all the dietary departments that one day. A great trade for Thanksgiving week off with my family.

Jennifer Dinsmore:
My favorite thing to make at Thanksgiving is deviled eggs. My recipe? That's the fun part! Anything in the kitchen is subject to getting thrown in the mix; it just depends on my mood & what spices I have. There's always the basics- mayonnaise (low fat, of course!), mustard, salt, pepper, tabasco, worcestershire sauce, pickle relish... The other ingredients? I've used curry, cumin, cayenne, jalapeño or Dijon mustard, or anything else that gets in the way. How much? That's a mystery too- a little of this, a little of that, until it tastes right. It's kinda like Forest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." Never the same twice! I think its fun, but you creatures of habit (like my husband) may not be so fond of it. Have any other ingredients you'd like to share? Send it my way; I'd love to throw it in the mix!

Veronica Oteyza:
I tried Paula Deen's turkey recipe last year and it was very good! Look for recipes here or here

Judy Morgan:
My kids and I make homemade pumpkin pie from real pumpkins; we buy extra pumpkins at Halloween, cut them up, steam the chunks, remove the skin, put the soft chunks in a food processor and puree until smooth. We freeze the pureed pumpkin in large plastic ziplock bags until time to make pie or even pumpkin bread and muffins if we have too much.
Then we follow our favorite pumpkin pie recipe and substitute the canned pumpkin with the fresh defrosted pureed pumpkin. We use cream or half and half instead of evaporated milk, and a homemade pie crust recipe from my son's high school Foods & Nutrition class that is wonderful.  Extra filling that won't fit in the pie shell makes a great custard too; we just bake it in a little glass custard cup till set and eat for breakfast!
No counting calories or fat grams on Thanksgiving!
Click here for a pdf of our pumpkin pie recipe.