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our turkey day.

mmmmm... thanksgiving.  seriously, what better holiday is there?  i got to spend the day with family doing one of the things i enjoy most - cooking.  this is really the only time of year when i go all out cooking for a couple of days for one meal.  for christmas it's way more low key as we're all wanting to play with our new goodies and simply enjoy the day.  and because of all the cooking i did last week, i'm going to slack and not post a menu for this week but will be back in the routine of things next week. 

as a random tidbit - the winning favorite dish this year seemed to be the german chocolate pecan pie.  i would put it on the recipejournal, but um it was eaten and i neglected to take photos.  the good news is that i'm going to take it to bible study this month so it will be up for christmas.

and would you believe i snapped only four photos the entire holiday weekend?  i suppose when you're cooking and wondering why the thermometer in the turkey isn't registering at a higher temperature than it's reading than photos are the last thing on your mind.

 

said turkey.  mmmm... look at all that maple/butter/thyme goodness.  although really, it's hard to take an appetizing photo of a turkey in my opinon.  the same recipe from last year.  andy's thinking he likes the other turkey i've made in the past that uses a port gravy.  as i don't eat the gravy, i'll let him make that executive decision.  and i've even decided that i actually just enjoy making the turkey and eating it as leftovers on the next day.  of course leftovers for pot pie are scrumptious as well.

andy carving said turkey.  his jobs on thanksgiving include taking all the nasty things out of said turkey and putting it in the roasting pan and then carving it when it's cooked.  otherwise, he was able to spend the day playing with the girl and watching football.  a well deserved break for the guy that didn't get home from work wednesday until 1:30a thanksgiving day.   

the girl enjoying her first thanksgiving meal.  and enjoy it she did.  it was funny to see what she ate as she switched it up when she had leftovers.  she LOVED the turkey.  l-o-v-e-d.  she's not a real meat eater unless it's really mixed into something, covered in a sauce, etc., so i was surprised to see her going to town on pieces.  she also would gobble to let us know she wanted it or was referring to it.  andy brings the turkey up from our fridge downstairs where it was thawing - she sees it and gobbles.  she sees it cooking in the oven - she gobbles.  she's eating it - she gobbles.  hilarious.

 

then there's the photo of the three of us before the girl's bath.  this mama is looking a bit haggard and my feet were killing me from standing most of the day.  but it was such a good day.  even if nobody wanted to rub my feet for me.

this is from saturday and because it includes both of the crazies, it's being included.  the girl has deemed herself the only one worthy of serving thomas his treats these days.  he was begging on saturday and i had put some in her hand to put in his dish but instead of putting them there, she emptied her hand on the floor.  and then proceeded to push each treat in thomas' direction.  they are comical.  that is when they both aren't being naughty.

and because i neglected to put up my 24 week belly photo - because my husband needs to learn how to use the focus points on my camera so that i'm actually in focus - here is the belly at 26 weeks.  how is it already 26 weeks?  i swear none of my shirts are going to be long enough come march.  why doesn't anyone make TALL maternity shirts?  gap - do you hear me?  and this photo proves that i do wear clothes in other than black.  sometimes.

menu plan monday : 11.23.09.

what a week of advanced menu planning!  i made sure i did all of the grocery shopping yesterday when andy was around.  usually it's just a mama and the girl activity, but i knew that the cart was going to be overflowing and i had three lists that i was shopping off of - my weekly coupon list, my thanksgiving list and the everything else we're eating this week list.  it was tiring just to even think of it all, so it was nice to have the extra help!

monday : cajun sausage + pasta.  for some reason when menu planning yesterday i thought of this one.  i first started making this dish when andy and i were dating.  i remember making it for him at his apartment.  and i can't remember the last time i made it.  mmmmm. 

tuesday : pomegranate beef.  this didn't get made two weeks ago so into the crockpot it goes tomorrow.

wednesday : leftovers or out.  since i'll be doing a lot of kitchen work on thursday, i'm taking wednesday off!

thursday : thanksgiving 2009

• maple glazed roast turkey w/ apple cider gravy.  this is the turkey i made last year and i really liked the end result.  (obviously as i'm making it again, right?)  will get this one on the recipejournal as well.
• aunt ruthie mashed potatoes.  it wouldn't be the holidays without them!  i love that even my sister-in-law refers to these potatoes by that name.  aunt ruthie is famous!
• sweet potato casserole.  this really could be a dessert but it's thanksgiving which means that i can make it a "vegetable" and everyone else buys it.  i've made this one for the last three years.
• citrus cranberry sauce.  another tried and true. 
• crockpot cornbread stuffing.  i made this for the first time last year and it was so nice to free up the space in the oven.  
• green bean casserole.  because really, it's thanksgiving and andy might go crazy without his fill of french fried onions.
• brussels sprouts w/ bacon and apple.  the recipe that has stood the test of time since i started cooking thanksgiving myself.  it's served each and every year.  even the people that say they don't like them end up eating them.
• slab apple pie.  a new one this year.  i'll likely make this one tonight as i can put it in the freezer and then bake on wednesday or thursday.  andy thinks that apple pie is a requisite for thanksgiving and i don't hear the end of it if i don't make it.
• upside down pumpkin pie.  i've already made this this month for bible study but truly you can't have enough.  this is a recipe from my mom that always is a hit.  i made it better for you by using light cool whip since it does have two sticks of butter in it.  take that paula deen.
  
• german chocolate pecan pie.  another newbie to the table this year.  and yes, there will only be four adults at my thanksgiving table yet we're having three desserts.  that's actually a better ratio than year's past, thankyouverymuch.
  

friday : homemade pizza.  i got the crust recipe from my csa farmer and haven't made it in awhile.  yum!

saturday : pasta fagoli soup.  another easy recipe so that i can enjoy time with family instead of in the kitchen.

meatless supper club : week 8.

week 8?  already?  i really enjoyed taking part in this experiment over the past couple of months and will definitely continue making one of our dinners a meatless option during the week.  the only difference is that they likely won't get their own post here as they have been but rather i'll talk about them in my menu monday posts and over on my recipejournal.

for this last week of environmom.com's meatless supper club, i submitted peas + cheese tortellini.  it includes three of the girl's favorite food groups : peas, cheese and pasta.  even better?  it was super easy to throw together and tasted great.  definitely a great comfort food on a grey day which we've been experiencing a lot of as of late.

cupcake hat.

i keep telling the girl i'm done knitting her things for awhile.  because there is another little someone i need/want to knit a few things for and then she ends up with something else.  i finished this hat up on tuesday.  a quick and easy knit and she loves it so everyone is happy.  you saw a sneak peek of it in yesterday's post.  she got lots of compliments when she wore it to get her vaccine - because every girl needs to look glam in their finest knit apparel when doing such a thing.  i love being able to make her things that she's able to wear and more importantly enjoys wearing.  and she needed another hat for the season so this was perfect.  

and last night, i started the matching mittens.  and that's it.  then it's on to something for the baby.  because i'm crazy and decided within the last week or so that they need their own coming home outfit to wear from the hospital and shouldn't have to wear their big sister's outfit.  even though she wore it for possibly four hours at most.

storming the castle.

this morning, the girl and i stormed the castle and returned victorious.  or you can read that as we finally got her a h1n1 vaccine.  i had already gotten one from my doctor since i'm pregnant.  and andy had already gotten one since he's a healthcare worker.  so that left the girl.  when i saw on friday night that they were having a clinic today i decided we better give it a whirl.

the gates didn't open until 9:30a for the clinic that started at 10a.  so we drove around and parked in random parking lots for thirty minutes as we arrived around 9a to check out the situation.  luckily we got to watch a train cross the road - the girl loves trains right now - and saw numerous geese flying about - also a love - so she was amused enough in the car.  it was almost amusing seeing all of the other parents swarming the area and just driving around before the gates opened.  as if we were all preparing for battle.

in line, before the doors opened, we saw a friend from playgroup and another friend from story time.  and because i'm the overachiever/competitive person that i am, we had all paperwork downloaded from online and filled out so we didn't have to waste time once we were there.  luckily, the lines moved quickly so that we were home less than an hour after the clinic started.

she doesn't look like she's any worse for the wear, right?  (consider me impressed as the photo is from my blackberry so that we could show daddy that we survived.)  although i did have to do a bit of convincing to the woman giving her the shot that she was indeed only 20 months old, even though she's as big as your average three year old.  the only bad news is that we have to get the second dose of the vaccine in mid-december.  hopefully it won't be so hard to find.  until then, this day is going down as a success. 

meatless supper club : week 7.

so let me begin my saying, don't dismiss this one yet...

for week 7 of enviromom.com's meatless supper club, i submitted these cauliflower fritters.  every time i cook with cauliflower, i automatically think of andy's grandfather and how he liked cauliflower at holiday meals.  although i'm not sure of the exact recipe the he usually ate, i'd like to think these fritters would be a pleasant compromise.  

a super simple recipe to throw together for a light lunch.  and they were very good.  i'm not a big fan of cauliflower unless it's pureed to resemble mashed potatoes.  since the recipe looked like it would yield something similar to potato pancakes, i thought i'd give it a whirl.  so glad i did.  who's to tell me that i couldn't have just one more fritter.  it's a vegetable, right? 

a weekend perfected.

here it is tuesday and i've yet to get to talk about how great of a weekend we had.  the weather was finally autumn like allowing us to get outside and enjoy it.  and of course the best part was andy being off and home on a weekend for the first time in over a month.

 

saturday morning we headed to the zoo for likely the last trip of the year.  you can tell the shenanigans were in full force with these two.  we had the stroller but the girl enjoyed walking and getting a ride from daddy most of the time instead.  here she thinks it's hysterical that she's putting her finger in andy's ear.  i actually have a whole series of shots that tells the story that makes it even more humorous.  

 

proof that we were indeed at the zoo.  this was the first trip that the girl was actually interested in the giraffes.  it was great to see all three of them out and enjoying the sunshine.

 

and the requisite one photo with mama to prove that i was there enjoying my time as well.  this was as we were heading out and ready for lunch.

sunday was a lazier day of sorts.  church and naps all around.  and finally got andy to snap a shot to document week 22 - although it was really the beginning of week 23.

 

and it really is not a flattering photo at all.  i also realized that each belly shot has be wearing a black shirt.

 

likely my favorite shot of the entire weekend.  as the sun was setting, we went for a quick walk to the part to milk every last bit of daylight the day had to offer.  and one of the girl's bunnies made the trip as well.  who knew bunnies liked to swing?

menu plan monday : 11.9.09.

a busier week this week, which always dictates the menu.  and with my track record for how things went last week, i'm going to play it a bit safer.

monday : tacos.  we haven't had these in forever.  okay, maybe like a month or so, and i'm looking forward to it.

tuesday :  salsa chicken and black bean soup.  a new one, but appears to be easy one to throw in the crockpot in the morning.

wednesday : pomegranate beef.  another new one to use a roast that i already have in the freezer.

thursday : leftovers.

friday : pizza night.

i should note that i used today's lunch as my meatless meal today so that i could insure that i'd get it submitted for meatless supper club this week.  stay tuned for it to appear on the recipejournal - it was so good!

new recipe reviews from last week :

moussaka.  ugh.  talk about frustrating.  this one had a lot of potential, but because the vegetables weren't roasted enough, the finished dish was watered down.  i did like the use of cottage cheese on top though and might try that again for a different recipe.

vegetarian chili.  another one with a lot of potential.  but i flubbed and bought canned chopped jalapenos instead of green chilis.  it was still good and andy even liked it, but i think i'll stick with my regular chili recipe.

goat cheese and corn quesadillas.  tasty.  especially when dipped into salsa verde.  the girl ate an entire quesadilla so i'm guessing she liked it.  quick to put together, so i'll hang onto this recipe.

meatless supper club : week 6.

i love how something as simple as adding one meatless meal a week to our dinner menu has become a habit in only six weeks.  granted andy might not be too thrilled, but he's going along with it for now.  for week six of environmom.com's meatless supper club, i submitted this cherry tomato + ravioli soup.

first, i need to admit that i did not share a drop of this soup with anyone.  no members of my family, no friends and no random other somebodys didn't get a chance to taste it.  why you ask?  because i ate every last bit of it.  so.  very.  good.  and simple.  and hearty.  love that it was easy enough to whip up for lunch and then enjoyed the leftovers for a few days afterwards.  i'll be making this one often!

the crazies.

this photo illustrates either one of two things... [1] they really are crazy and do the most random things to catch my attention and make me bite my lip to keep from laughing hysterically.  and [2] sometimes they can indeed share with one another.  a week after washing the slipcover to the girl's chair, thomas continues to deem it as the only appropriate place for him to sleep.  although usually if he comes within a foot of me, the girl is running at me to jump in my lap so that he isn't able to.  something tells me she better figure out this sharing thing in the next four months however i don't really see it happening.

speaking of the littlest little, holy movement batman.  sometimes i think this one is moving around more than the girl ever did.  andy felt him/her moving around monday night for the first time.   and now since andy has told the girl that there's a baby in my belly, she came up to me twice today with her shirt pulled up saying "bay" [meaning baby].  i've had to explain that her belly is just a belly and only mama's belly has a baby in it.  yesterday before bath time she lifted my shirt to give the baby a kiss and then tried to feed him/her a goldfish cracker.  how she thought that was going to be accomplished i do not know.

see, the antics around here never stop.  we're truly an entertaining bunch.