Weekend to be Thankful …

What a fun weekend it was like a 4 day break, but I had to work a short time on Saturday like usual but 3 hours was nothing.

As most of you know I spent most of Wednesday after working prepping and cooking and then cooking before my guest arrived for Dinner.  Sadly my dad was sick so he stayed home and my cousin and family didn’t stop by so it was very small with lot’s of food … lol.

If you’re needing some yummy weight watcher friendly holiday foods here are my two post of what I made.

First off I noticed that wow my roots are looking crazy long … then I counted and I was a few weeks overdo for a color.  I gave our cousin a call and she was so sweet and squeezed me in after hours.

Thanksgiving was a great day, my mom and grandmother stopped over for dinner.  The boys even got to stay the night with my parents! Yeah!!

Now the stores went and moved Black Friday up to Thursday PM which wasn’t bad it was kind of nice to do it early.  So I put my teenies on and my hat (Well at first the wrong one … lol).  Rick decided to work for his security job they took on security for Walmart shoppers.  That left me shopping by myself.  I was a little nervous to go by myself.  Then by God’s hand I ran into a old friends mom, I hadn’t seen either of them in almost a year.  We said hi and then I went on.  I looped around and again and ran into both of them got to talking and I had instant shopping buddies which was really cool.  So we finished up Walmart & went on to Target.  NOW the only bad thing was Fred Meyers stuck to their 5am so after we tried two restaurants to come to the conclusion who is going to be open Thanksgiving pm, we headed to my friends house for a snack and coffee.  We killed 3 hours watching Son’s on Anarchy, my first time watching.  By 6am I was done with my Christmas shopping.  I finished the boys, the boy at church Cole picked to buy for, Rick and even for me.  Plus I had a pile of things to go back, I have the grab and return later if I don’t need theory .

By Friday I had the presents wrapped and the boys home.  Rick brought down the tree and put it all up for me and even put the presents underneath.  The rest of the weekend was kind of lazy, except Sunday for church and then the boys and I helped decorate the church.  Now to finish up the stocking stuffers and we’re done!

So how was your Thanksgiving?  Did you Black Friday shop?  Is your shopping done?

Our Thanksgiving Feast Part II

I started my Turkey day up at 7am to make sure everything was done up right and ready to go for my guest to come visit.

The night before I made my list of what I needed to do and the order I needed to do it in.  Made my day run smooth.  I even found a way to put up my note with a magnet on my stove hood … lol

My morning started with taking the turkey out of the brine rinsing it and putting it in the oven. Then came next on my list to do the Mashed Sweet Potatoes Brulee. Which turned out so yummy.  I had Rick take his torch to the top to caramelize it … lol.

Next on my list was a veggie I hated as a child but now as an adult I love (I’m sure it had nothing to do with it being paired with Pancetta either .. lol).  These Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta were so yummy I think I may have to make them every week.

And then of course the best part and you all know my love of pumpkin, which was a perfect way to end our course with Skinny Pumpkin Pie.  Mine wasn’t as pretty as the recipe I got it from but it sure did taste good!

Hope you enjoyed the meals you had and might like want to make something here.  Thank you again for being a blessing in my life.  Have a wonderful day and I hope a great meal tonight.  Anything special planned for tonight?

Our Turkey Day Part I

Well my all weight watcher meal turned out very yummy and no complaints!  Sadly my dad was sick and my cousin didn’t stop by this year so it was a very small gather with LOT’s of food left over.  Now I must say I didn’t make the end photos all dressed up like I usually do.  My guest showed up an hour later then I planned so it was a little rush at the end to just get everything out before it was too cold.

Let me start with the items I made the night or prepped the night before to make the next morning run so smooth!

First off I started with Brined Turkey that was so easy and turned out VERY most.  I have never done a brine before and was very surprised how it turned out.

Next on the list to make was the Cranberry Pear Sauce that was so yummy.  I’m not a big cranberry fan (ok except the jelly in a can I know STOP judging me). The pears in here cut the bite and made it so delish!

Next on my list was a favorite of Rick’s done on the light side. These Skinny Scalloped Potato Gratin were very yummy.  While did get a little crispy on top due to guest late and they had to go back in the oven to warm up, but STILL very yummy!

And my last prep of the night was the Chicken Sausage and Herb Stuffing. I MUST tell you this was the BEST stuffing I have had in a long time and it was nice not to feel guilty eating it.

So there you have it my night before prep work made the day of so much easier.  And thankfully everything turned out wonderful!

How did your Thanksgiving go?  Did your meals turn out?  Did you try anything new? Or did you do like me and do everything new?

Thanksgiving Meal Plan

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I want to first off say thank you all who stop by, you make my day and are true blessings in my life.  I give thanks to you all who have touched my life more then you will ever know!

I know we’re all busy and I won’t be around much today but I thought I would give you a taste of what I will be doing around here.  I’m going to try to do a all Weight Watcher Friendly Meal, wish me luck!  All recipes and pictures are from my favorite site Skinny Taste.

Brined Turkey

Chicken Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Skinny Scalloped Potato Gratin

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Brulee

Cranberry Pear Sauce

Skinny Pumpkin Pie

Thank you to Skinny Taste you have the best recipes and I can’t wait to have everyone try them today!

WWW ~ Kids Clinic, Playdates & Thanksgiving!

Wowzer time is just flying by and you add in the holidays and it seems like it is harder and harder to fit everything in. Does the early nights with the sunset make anyone else feel like your day is passing you by??? Gosh I am sick AGAIN, I swear these little germ carriers I call kids keep making me sick and it stays FOREVER!! I've missed a few Wednesday Weekend Wrap ups so I merged them all together for a quick overview :). Yup I'm always thinking about you ... hehe yes I know my life is so not the do or die but it's still fun.

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We've had a few Lowe's Kids Clinics. Ok if you haven't done one get your butt up on every other Saturday, you go it's free and the kids have fun!! Here is a few we've done in the last few weeks!

We've had a few playdates and a fun Birthday party at a gymnastic place. The boys and I have been having some fun, staying in from the cold outside!

Second I had a baby shower to go to. Usually I make a huge diaper cake that takes me like 6+ hours I whipped up one real quick in about 4 1/2 hours. OK so I get there a girl takes the cake I warn her it is not stable. About 10 min later Cole comes running up and whispers in my ear mom they are putting your cake in a bag. OH no she didn't I go down to the gifts to find them shoving (YES shoving) my cake not even into a gift bag but a brown bag! I walk over and they are like oh it fell apart we're just putting it in a bag. YOU got to be kidding me 4 1/2 HOURS of work and you're not even going to come get me to fix it! They go oh do you want to fix it, I snap you THINK I only spent 5 hours on it (I gave myself a 1/2 hr ... lol). Finally someone did come help but say the least I was a unhappy camper! So sadly not my prettiest cake and a little worse for the ware but hey it was thought that counts I guess.

Thanksgiving brought us a dinner at church with all our friends there on Sunday. Tuesday brought us a snowstorm of no school for the week! And Thursday came for family coming over! Ok so I have a friend that I offered to come over she said she had no $ for dinner. Then it became her mom & son. THEN Thursday AM she called to say her brother was coming also?? Ok she kicked this person out for drugs. I'm sorry I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, also my family doesn't care for this person I initially invited so I was already sticking my neck out. So I told her sorry this isn't going to work. She was going to go with me BF shopping since I didn't have anyone to go with. She then says I have a $1000 & I'm going with my family. So she was going to bring the whole fam here for dinner and do a dine and dash! Yup the doormat is rolled in, no more welcomed! Then I was blessed my mom said she was surprising me & taking the boys over night!! This is the FIRST time both boys have spent the night, and Cole's like 6 time staying there. THEN Rick surprised me and said he was going to go with me!! He even had to work the next AM. YUP so all works out in the end. I learned a valuable lesson and actually had a good family dinner. Only a few comments when I wasn't in the room about Cole and being hyper and how another grandkid would NEVER be like that :). The favorites are always the favorite but no matter what Cole did a pretty good job!

Few that is the world we've been having, some highs and lows but over all so much fun and no matter what anyone says my boys I'll take you hyper with all the hugs and kisses and I love yous :).

Manic Monday Meals ~ A Few Thanksgiving Meals

Thanksgiving is done, do I look stressed??? hehe it was fun I got up early and cooked my little heart out overall good comments and everyone seemed to enjoy the different parts. Always some drama but I promise to go into that later. Today I picked a few of my recipes I tried to share, tomorrow I share the others didn't want to over load you. Now some are thinking but thanksgiving is over, but believe me you can make these anytime! Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving ala Alexis AKA MOM!

Ingredients

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 apples, cored and halved
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
  3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used sparkling cider, 3 apples and margarine. This was the moistest (I know it's not a word) turkey I've EVER had. It had a GREAT apple taste and it was a hit with everyone at the table!

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Every year I try out a new stuffing mix (yes it drives everyone nuts). I just love to try new things, something about having a new recipe to keep things fresh :).

Ingredients

• 16-ounce bag stuffing cubes
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping
• 1 pound fresh sage sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (See Note)
• 2 eggs, beaten

• Directions

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

  Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

  Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack thedressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkeypan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top iscrisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.

ALEXIS NOTES: I think I would scale this down a bit the bag I bought was 12oz I think that would be enough. I used Jimmy Dean sausage they were out of the sage flavor. So when I cooked up the sausage I just added some sage. I toasted the walnuts in the microwave all the burners were busy on the stove :).

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Third on my list is always do a Mac & Cheese but you know me not the same old one :).

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter, for greasing
• 8 ounces macaroni
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk
• 4 ounces provolone cheese, coarsely grated
• 4 ounces aged Asiago cheese, coarsely grated
• 2 large eggs
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 3 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 3 strips bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart shallowcasserole dish. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain; transfer the pasta to the prepared casserole dish along with 1/4 cup of the cold milk. (This will cool the pasta and prevent it from becoming gummy.)

Meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a small bowl. Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk in a medium bowl. Add the scallions, bread and half of the cheese to the egg mixture; set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoonsdrippings from the pan. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon salt; cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and 3/4 cup water to the skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking until thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese. Add the sauce to the macaroni; stir to combine.

Crumble up the bacon and add it to the egg/bread mixture. Spread evenly over the pasta. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven; let sit 5 minutes before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I of course used turkey bacon the big hit in the house. I just cubed up some wheat bread (we never have white here). I did double this recipe which left me with way too many left overs. I also used whole wheat pasta from the bulk section. I found Asiago in a shredded package, the provolone was in a mix with mozzarella but it was great.

Manic Monday Meals ~ Thanksgiving Ideas :)

I love Thanksgiving flavors and try to incorporate them into more meals during the season! My crockpot of course is my friend so I have to throw in one of my meals that way and a few others that can be used in Thanksgiving Day!

Here we go! I have some can goods (don't shutter hey sometimes I do get use them). And sorry my non pork loving friend Amy ... it was on sale :).

Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes

Found on Sparks Recipe

Ingredients

6 Pork chops, trimmed of fat
3 or 4 sweet potatoes, cubed or 1 can sweet potatoes
1 can whole cranberry sauce
salt and pepper to taste




Directions

Season pork chops to taste. Layer pork chops and cranberries in slow cooker. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours. If you use fresh sweet potatoes, add on top of slow cooker at start of cooking time. If you use canned sweet potatoes, add at last hour of cooking. Makes approx. 6 servings

ALEXIS NOTES: I used canned sweet potatoes & cranberry. Yes the cranberry can was labeled upside down you had to open the bottom to get htem out ... lol. I used whole cranberries added a little something nice to the plate :). Don't forget your crockpot liner!

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Second Recipe is one I made for the Church Thanksgiving Dinner we had last night. It was a huge hit, I even had people that wrote their email address down to email to them :).

Mom's Turkey Stuffing Recipe

by Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
• 3/4 cup of currants or raisins
• Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
• Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

METHOD

1 If you haven't already made the stock, take the turkey giblets - heart and gizzard - and neck if you want, and put them in a small saucepan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to a simmer; simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Strain the stock into a container for use with the stuffing. Alternatively, you can use chicken stock or just plain water with this recipe.

2 Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.

3 Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side. Note, if you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.

4 In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, raisins, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it). Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

5 Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serves 8-10.

ALEXIS NOTES: I doubled the recipe for the event at church. I used golden raisins & chicken stock. I toasted my walnuts in the microwave, in a hurry girl :). I ended up toasting the bread and then putting in a big pan, did the same with veggies in the stock pot. I ended up putting it in the oven so it would be crunchier :). Sorry no finished pic, I had to run out the door to church when the timer went off. Yes I was late, I swear one day everything will line up for me.

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And my last recipe was my desert for the church event. When I came by to get one I ended up getting the last one, and oh boy I'm so glad I got a chance to get one it was fab!!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

by Betty Crocker

Cookies

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1	tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1	egg

Filling

2/3	cup marshmallow creme (from 7-oz jar)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3	cup powdered sugar

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1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and flour. Add remaining cookie ingredients; stir until stiff dough forms.
2. Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by 36 rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart. Lightly press tops with floured fingertips to flatten slightly.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. For each whoopie pie, spread about 2 teaspoons of the filling on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press together. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar just before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I actually stuck to a recipe, I know get that! LOL ok but NEXT time I'll switch the cinnamon out for pumpkin spice. I'm so glad I bought a cookie scoop it made it so easy. NOW I bought a cheap $3 at Walmart BUT I may go look online for the pampered chef one. This was truly yummy and easy, Cole my helper did a great job!