Breakfast: I made my Buttercrunch Ricotta Pancakes for breakfast.
I took off for a long walk around the lake near my house. I figured I'd get exercise in before the post turkey tryptophan coma kicked in. It was a beautiful day.
I came home and started the feast preparations. We ate at 3-ish so it was lunch/dinner. This year's feast...
Lunch/Dinner: Turkey, Roasted Butternut Squash, Quick Spinach Gratin, a plop of Cranberry Sauce.
Shelly's Quick Spinach Gratin
1 Yellow Onion, diced
4-5 Mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Spelt Flour
dash Nutmeg
dash Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup Milk
1 pound bag frozen Spinach, cooked
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 cup Shredded Gruyere (or Jack or even Mozzarella would work)
Saute onions and mushrooms till golden. Add butter, spelt, and seasonings. Cook for a minute or so till golden. Add milk and Worcestershire sauce slowly. Stir till thickened. Add spinach and cheeses. Stir till combined and cheeses are melted.
Roasted Butternut Squash: Preheat oven to 425. Place cubed squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher Salt. Toss to coat. Bake for 45 minutes turning 2 or 3 times during cooking. I cheated and bought already cubed & peeled squash from Costco (I've seen it at Trader Joe's, regular supermarkets) because I value my fingers and butternut squash is a pain in the you-know-what to chop up.
After dinner I removed all the meat and Tupperwared it for the next few days of easy meals. I have some fun things planned for those turkey leftovers. I put the bones in a pot with water and set it going for stock. Strained it and picked off a little more meat for what will be the start of a soup.
Snacks: Lots of coffee and for dessert I debated making my usual Crustless Sweet Potato Pie but decided I would make that this weekend and instead I made a version of my Fluff Stuff. It was super refreshing, a nice light finish to the day and bonus it's protein packed.
Shelly's Thanksgiving Berry Fluff Stuff
1 cup Boiling Water
1 box (4-serving size - the small one) Sugar Free Strawberry Jello Mix
3 1/2 oz. (about half a small container) Greek Yogurt
1 single serve packet Celebrate Vitamin's ENS - Multivitamin, Calcium, & Protein Shake in Strawberry flavor
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup
1/2 cup leftover Cranberry Sauce
In a quart sized bowl pour boiling water slowly over jello mix. Stir till dissolved. Set aside. Mix yogurt, ENS & Torani syrup (I used SF Vanilla or any fruit flavor would work) together till well combined. Add to Jello mixture. Beat with an electric mixer till well combined. I use this gadget.
Place in fridge for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and beat again for 5 minutes till fluffy. Add cranberry sauce. Put back in fridge and allow to set fully (about 2 hours.) I served a scoop with a squirt Homemade No Sugar Added Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream. The protein and the fruit are optional and can be omitted but try it with.
Now I'm sitting here listening to Phillip Phillips new CD. It's awesome. I'm a huge Dave Matthews Band fan and it feels a little like DMB meets Mumford & Sons. So if you like either of those two you'll love this.
Ooh you have to see the Fall wreath my Mum made me before it gets packed away tomorrow. I'm going to clean the house and get ready to pull out the Christmas stuff this week. Is it just me or is this year flying?
Hope everyone had a lovely day filled with family, friends and good eats.
More days in my pouch
