I've been a member of MOPS (Mothers of Pre Schoolers) for five years now since Toby was just 3 months old. It has been such a blessing to have other mamas to do life with. I'm so thankful for my friends who invited me to join because I thought it was for moms of kiddos that were in preschool as in 3-to-4-year-olds haha
Generally, we meet twice a month during the school year. We have a speaker who shares on things like motherhood, marriage, friendship, and spiritual growth, discussion time, fellowship, and—pre-COVID—a wonderful potluck! We also get together for monthly playdates and a "mom's night out." This past weekend was my favorite moms night out event: Friendsgiving!
Not long after having kids, a mom will realize that mealtimes will never be the same. Whether it's balancing an infant on one arm while eating with the other, or learning the fine art of cooking THEIR food first so yours is—hopefully—still hot when you actually get around to eating it. Chances are that by the time you sit down they'll be ready for seconds and you'll have to get back up anyway. And that's not counting all the messes you'll have to deal with.
Bottom line: sit-down meals kinda go out the window.
So, that's why I love Friendsgiving with MOPS. We get to eat a meal in peace, enjoying uninterrupted conversations over still-hot plates of food. It's kind of magical.
This year I got the idea to make a pie charcuterie board after seeing one on Pinterest. Of course, I later realized the one I saw had used those 50 cent pies for Walmart on theirs, while I had painstakingly made all of mine completely from scratch - but it was worth it of course.
Here's a roundup of the recipes I used!
Easy Pie Crust - I quadrupled this recipe to make enough dough for all three types of pies I made.
Mini Pumpkin Pies - I used a snowflake cookie cutter to make these pies even cuter. I also discovered that I had to cook them 8-10 minutes longer than the recipe called for. I just kept checking every 2-3 minutes until a knife inserted came out clean.
Mini Apple Pies - These came together quickly! The only trouble I had was moving the lattice onto the pies, so enlisted the help of a spatula which made it much easier.
Reese's Pie - I messaged my mom for this recipe from an old cookbook she has. It's been a family favorite holiday pie for most of my life!
Reese's Pie
Ingredients
1 baked pie shell
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large box chocolate pudding, made according to directions.
Cool Whip
Directions
Mix peanut butter and powdered sugar. Put 3/4 of the mixture into the pie shell. Pour prepared pudding on top. Sprinkle the remaining peanut butter mixture over the pudding. Then top with Cool Whip. Cool and serve.
For the mini pies, I cut out 20 (because that was more than enough for what I needed) three-inch circles of dough and pressed them into greased muffin pans, making sure the dough reached the top of the pan. Pierce the dough several times with a fork. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until cooked through. You can use the flat side of a spoon to press the pie shells down on the bottom and sides as they may puff up while baking. Allow to cool completely before sprinkling a little of the peanut butter mixture into the bottom, spreading prepared pudding on top, sprinkling more of the peanut butter mixture on, and topping off with Cool Whip. I did have leftover filling, even with making 20 mini pies, so I just put them in cups and the boys were happy to have a special snack.
With Thanksgiving this week I'd love to hear your favorite dish or family recipe!! Another must-have at our gatherings is sweet potato casserole (not the marshmallow kind) I also brought that to Friendgiving and returned with a completely empty dish! Let me know if you want that family recipe!
Filled with Hope,
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