Nov. 22-Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I spent it all alone and enjoyed every minute of it. :-) Since Home Depot was closed, I couldn't order my shutters or buy a dryer. Must do that tomorrow! So, what did I do instead you ask? I cooked a huge meal! I don't know what I came over me. I even looked at recipes! (I don't know who that was in my kitchen but she sure whipped up a delicious meal! LOL) So I made garlicky green beans with almonds, cranberry/apricot sauce and potatoes with garlic, onions, shallots and rosemary. And I bought a precooked chicken and gravy to round out the meal. Not a typical Thanksgiving meal for my family at all, but this wasn't a typical Thanksgiving.


I found the recipes for the cranberry/apricot sauce and green beans in November issue of Real Simple and I modified them. Below are my modified versions:

Garlicky Green Beans with Almonds

1 lb. green beans
2 T olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 c. slivered almonds

Bring pot of lightly salted water to boil. Cook beans for 3 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add nuts and cook til golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain beans and add to pan. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

starting the beans

just a few more left
chopping garlic


see??! it's really me in there!



Cranberry/Apricot Sauce

1 T Earth Balance
2 T minced ginger from a jar
16 oz. frozen cranberries
2/3 c. Sucanat
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. apricot preserves

Over medium heat, melt the butter. Add ginger and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add cranberries, Sucanat, lemon juice and preserves. Cook, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens, about 20 min. You can serve this warm or cold.

I use this instead of sugar all the time



starting the cranberry/apricot sauce
Mmmmm...the finished product.

The potato recipe is a modified version of the one found in the November issue of O Magazine. It called for russet potatoes but I had Yukon gold ones. I had bought those cause I was going to make buttermilk mashed potatoes but then I decided to do something healthier. Here's what I made:

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes with Garlic and Shallots

4-5 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-2" inch pieces
1/2 large red onion, chopped
6 medium shallots, peeled
2 T. fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1/3 c. olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all but garlic in a mixing bowl and toss. Put is pan large enough to have only one layer of potatoes. Bake 30 min. Remove pan from oven and add garlic. Stir and return to oven for 30 more minutes.


a little overdone but nice and hot!



the dry ass chicken that had to be doctored up

Et voila' ! My dinner!Not bad! And I will have leftovers for days! Come over and have some! :)
~ 3 hours

I also spent part of the day reflecting about what I am thankful for. Here are ten things that came to mind:

1. my family~i had a great childhood and my parents are still here to offer their support
2. my friends~some to hang out with, some to talk to, some to learn from...
3. my virtual blogging buddies~my biggest supporters on this journey!!
4. my house~ constantly changing and finally becoming my own
5. my job~not stressful, the kids make me laugh every day and it pays the bills
6. my relationship with God~ there when I need Him most
7. my health~had a successful surgery this year and am basically in good health overall
8. living in a (basically) safe country
9. many opportunities and choices about which direction my life can go
10. beauty all around~ nature, music, photography, cooking, pottery, scrapbooking, drawing, painting, etc!

~ 30 min.

Hope you had a productive day &/or a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
See you tomorrow.