I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday. Personally, I made it through hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner ever, and I am ecstatic! I learned all of the secret turkey soup tricks from mom, got the hush-hush pumpkin pie ingredients from dad, and saw more of the inside of a turkey than I care to mention – but it was so worth it!

So what was on my menu? I included many Thanksgiving classics, but also added a few healthy twists along the way:

• 14 pound turkey, brined in Williams-Sonoma’s Apple & Spices Turkey Brine for 18 hours
• Rubbed with compound butter: softened butter, mixed with rosemary and sage for flavor

• Hungry Girl’s lower calorie Save-the-Day-Stuffing, with a few of my own twists: a few teaspoons of poultry seasoning, a handful or two of dried cherries, and real egg whites instead of egg substitutes (we tripled this recipe to make enough for 4 + leftovers)
• Taste Test: We cooked half of the stuffing in the turkey, and cooked half of it in a pan. Which one won? They tasted the same! The lesson: Save time and calories by baking your stuffing in the pan, instead of in the bird (same delicious taste, sans the infused fat from the turkey)

• Hungry Girl saved the day again, with her low-calorie Rockin’ Lean Bean Casserole

• Chopped up Idaho potatoes, boiled with a few teaspoons of minced garlic for flavor
• Sea salt + skim milk made these ‘taters delish

• Flour mixed with the leftover juices from the turkey; the salt and herbs from the leftover turkey brine made this gravy the best ever!

• Frozen bricks of squash made this dish easy, but still full of fiber and beta-carotene

• Topped with fresh whipped cream and made with dad’s secret ingredients – you can’t beat it!

.

So dealing with this raw bird was an interesting experience for me. My mom had me digging around in its crevices for unspeakable parts, which I could not find for the life of me. Check out the video below to watch me as I went through the steps. You can hear some of my surprise as the neck was discovered and pulled from somewhere within the depths – eek!

My favorite part of the Thanksgiving holiday? The turkey leftovers soup! My mom makes the best turkey soup, and I was able to work with her first-hand this year to get the insider secrets.

.

Mom’s Turkey Soup

The secret to this soup is improvisation. Have some extra bell peppers? Throw them in! Extra potatoes? Throw those in too! This soup will be unique from year to year, something that makes it all the more memorable – and that much more delicious!

The Night Before Thanksgiving

This recipe begins the night before Thanksgiving, giving you time to relax after your big Turkey-day feast.

» Read more: Thanksgiving Madness and Mom’s Turkey Leftovers Soup