i am thankful for my favorite thanksgiving recipe.

i am not much of a cook. it's not that i don't think cooking is a great idea (saves money, much healthier, etc.), it's just that...well... i can't get into it. one year i decided to make martha stewart's pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for thanksgiving, and i was all excited and ran out to buy every.single.ingredient. we're talking flour, salt, sugar, EVERYTHING. (unless a recipe calls for frozen pizza or peanut m&ms, the ingredients aren't in my pantry.) the cupcakes were a HIT (martha is a goddess), but jeeze louise, for the $50 i spent at the grocery store i totally could have bought some martha-worthy treats at the bakery down the street.

but! i still have a recipe (of sorts) that i'm excited to share. i just learned it for a little shin dig that went down at my place over the weekend. here goes:

ingredients: 
apple cider
brandy
cinnamon sticks
nutmeg


directions: 
pour apple cider into a crockpot
add 4-5 cinnamon sticks
add some nutmeg (not sure how much exactly -- just make it look all pretty on top)
turn crockpot to high and wait for cider to get really hot
turn crockpot to 'warm'
add brandy (not sure how much exactly -- just keep pouring until an onlooker says, 'wow, that's a lot.'
ladle portions into adorable mugs and serve

this is pretty idiot-proof, even for my fellow anti-marthas out there AND it's a crowd pleaser.

enjoy!