Thanksgiving week is upon us! Hooray for some time off and great food. My sister and mom and I are emailing each other and suggesting the “must-haves” for our Thanksgiving feast. It is a carb-heavy list, of course (Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes!)

This corn is DE-LI-CIOUS! There is not a healthy thing about it. It is just creamy, buttery comfort. I took photos last Thanksgiving of this so I could post it, but then spring came and it just didn’t seem fitting. The photos aren’t terrific. This dish is not aesthetically beautiful. That’s not its strength.

It is made in the crockpot, which is a win in many ways- not occupying a burner on the stove, can be prepared and left unattended, and stays warm and waiting for you to scoop it up.

There’s only one trick. You must buy your corn early! At least in our neck of the woods. Last year Dave went to 3 stores to find frozen corn the week of Thanksgiving and came home empty handed! He returned the next day to one of the groceries and it had been restocked. Who knew? So, if this Creamed Corn sounds like something you want on your Thanksgiving table, I suggest you buy it soon!

Crock Pot Creamed Corn (or “Stewed Corn”)

from Central Baptist Church of Bearden Cookbook– submitted by Marsha Dance

2 (16 oz.) bags frozen white shoepeg corn (do not thaw)

1 stick butter, cut into slices

6 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 pint (2 cups) half and half

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Break corn loose with fingers and place in a crock pot.  Add butter, flour, half and half, salt and pepper.  Cook on low for three hours or a little more depending on the heat of your crock pot, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally.

That’s it!

Now, about gratitude.

I need to pause and focus on giving thanks. We probably all do. Life is full of overstimulation and too much to do, and so much angst and hurt swirling around in our country and world. It’s overwhelming!  I need to pause and be still and be thankful.

I’m trying to determine what gratitude practices to pursue this season.  In the past, we have made family gratitude trees and thankful lists. I’m going to ask my kids at our family meeting this weekend how they want to focus on gratitude this week collectively as a family.  I want their adolescent-buy-in.  I downloaded the Giving Thanks study on the She Reads Truth App in hopes of centering me in the next few weeks .

I also am reading through this lovely and creative book of every-day liturgies that came out last year, Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey. It is chock-full of gratitude and I highly recommend it for your Christmas list.

Enjoy the gift of making dishes and feasting with people, “prepared as acts of love and blessing” (as the Liturgy for Feasting with Friends says).