Stuffing. Dressing. Even farce or forcemeat (ew). Whatever you call it, for most Americans, it will be integral part of Thursday’s feast. At its most basic stuffing is just seasoned bread, moistened with stock and perhaps bound together with some egg. Beyond that, the variations are endless.
Here’s a list of what I like to add to mine:
celery and onion sauteed in butter
water chestnut (for crunch power!)
dried cranberries or cherries
Granny Smith apples
toasted walnuts
browned ground sausage
seasonings: poultry seasoning, dried sage and thyme, fresh parsley
To save space in the oven, I cook it in the crockpot. Just add all your ingredients and turn to high for 30-45 minutes. Then turn down to low for 4-6 hours. Yummy!
What do you put in your stuffing/dressing/forcemeat? Regular bread or cornbread? Oysters? Mushrooms? Share your secret ingredients in the comments. I promise not to tell anyone…
Because most of our house looks like this: Pepper is happily vacationing at our favorite boarders, Newt is spending a couple of days with a friend and Walt and I have have retired to a hotel. I think this may be the first time we have been alone at a hotel since Newt’s birth more than 11 years ago. I know what you’re thinking… second honeymoon? I’m not gonna lie, we were thinking something along the same lines. We started with a date at our local $3 movie theater. We saw Contagion. Romantic, no? After the movie (and some serious hand scrubbing) we returned to our own personal disaster area to pack some things for our hotel stay. We were tired and rushing around throwing things in bags, trying to decide what we might need without really knowing how long we’d be gone. In my hurry, I didn’t pack well and I may have sort of left the business end of a razor kind of sticking out of a bag (foreshadowing alert). All the running around and packing amongst the ruin of our home felt a bit surreal because I was still feeling the emotions of the movie; I felt like we were trying to evacuate… When we arrived at our hotel, Walt and I each grabbed carts and started piling them with all our stuff. Suddenly, I noticed that Walt was gripping his hand and bending over like he was in pain. Good thing I have a first-aid kit in the car. I don’t *think* his finger will need stitches. So much for our second honeymoon. Let’s talk about something else, shall we? Our hotel room has a kitchenette. I packed up a bunch of food, planning a quick menu on the fly. I’m thinking oatmeal, eggs, toast, green smoothies, cinnamon rolls, chicken enchiladas, butternut soup, salad, baked potatoes, black beans and rice, sandwiches, and fruit. For the most part, it’s all good food, but there were some concessions made for my family’s comfort (I’m looking at you cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa and ranch dressing. Separately. Because together, that’d be really gross.) Care to see exactly what I brought? Scroll on, my friend.
The kitchenette is fully equipped, but I did grab my spare blander and a sandwich press. Tomorrow, I’ll run home for some olive oil and my crockpot. I don’t think I did too badly for planning on the fly. I probably took ten minutes to figure out what I wanted and throw all this stuff in bags. Well, Walt just went to bed. I think I’ll bring him some more Motrin and turn in too. Hang up that Do Not Disturb sign, things are about to get cra-zy! If he’s not in too much pain, and I’m not too tired, we might even cuddle for a minute or two.
Next week, it begins: A seemingly never-ending parade of rich, gooey, sweet treats that break our wills as they fill our stomachs. Break out the fat pants ladies; it’s the holiday season. You know, it doesn’t have to be like that. We don’t have to be slaves to the almighty Christmas cookie and we don’t have to feel that don’t-want-to-step-on-the-scale January regret. Last year, from October to January, I actually lost weight. Eleven pounds to be exact. I did not exactly go on a diet. I did not really begin a new exercise regiment. I made one little change and that one little change led to another, then another. Last fall, I started having a green smoothie for breakfast every morning. After a few days, I realized that my energy level was much higher than usual. I also had no cravings for late-night snacks of chips, crackers, leftover Halloween candy or any of the other things that would normally call to me from my secret hiding places kitchen. The better I felt, the more smoothie I’d drink, usually between two and four cups a day. With all the energy I had, getting out for a walk or jog was easy. If I wanted to eat a piece (or two) of pumpkin pie, I did. If I wanted to sample some Christmas cookies, nothing was stopping me. The thing was, I just didn’t really want to. I was able to keep my stretchy pants in the closet all season long. I’ve written about green smoothies before, but in case you missed it, this is my basic formula:
Basic Green Smoothie Instructions 2 cups of liquid (water, juice, coconut milk/water) Add greens (spinach, kale, chard, parsley) a bit at a time and pulse in blender. Keep adding until you have about four cups of greens and liquid. Add fresh or frozen fruit a bit at a time and blend. Keep adding until you have about six cups of smoothie. Sweeten, if desired, with raw honey, agave nectar, or dried fruit. Optional add ins: flax or chia seeds for omega oils, yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter and/or cocoa powder for extra flavor Makes about six cups. Leftover smoothie can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Shake before drinking.
Looking for a bit more inspiration? Why not try this sweet and tangy little number I made for breakfast today. Go ahead and give your fat pants the holidays off this year.
I whipped up a cranberry smoothie this morning that was yummy and pretty. Try one for breakfast or before you head out to a party and banish the siren song of Christmas cookies.
All month, I’ve been practicing being grateful. It has come in handy over the last couple of days. Example 1: Saturday morning, we woke up to a flood. I think it was Confucius who said: A clogged toilet in the night will lead to an unhappy morning. We had to pull up the carpet and pad from the hall, our bedroom and the dining room. In order to do that, we had to rip off our baseboards. It looks like we’ll have to disinfect and dry the sub floor thoroughly, replace the pads with new, put the carpet back down, shampoo and replace the baseboards. Oh yeah, and a new toilet seems to be in order as well. It’s a big job and I’ll be talking to our insurance agent about it later today. Reason to be grateful: the carpets really did need to be shampooed. Example 2: I always cook Thanksgiving dinner. So far this year, I have done all of the following to prepare: [crickets chirping] Um, right… I wasn’t a bit concerned though because I was sure Thanksgiving was still a few weeks away. That is until I actually looked at my calendar yesterday and realized that we only have about a week and a half until the big day. Kindly refer to example number one. Reason to be grateful: I have a really cute table runner, all ready to go. Want to make one? It’s really easy to whip up. Here’s how: Measure your table. Your runner should be about 1/3 the width of your table (though you could go a bit wider of you like) and about 2 feet longer than your table’s length. Cut two pieces of fabric to your desired size. I used muslin; I liked the texture, color and cost. (It’s super inexpensive, generally less than $2 per yard.) Sew fabric, right sides together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Be sure to leave an opening to turn runner right side out. Good. Now go ahead and turn your runner right side out. Iron the seams flat, then hand or machine sew opening closed. Okay, ready for the fun part? Let’s make the handprint turkeys. Trace your family’s handprints on scratch paper. Raid your fabric stash (or ask your mom for hers) and choose a fabric for each turkey. Pin your scratch paper pattern to your fabric, but don’t cut on the line. Cut about 1/4 inch outside the line, making the handprints slightly larger. Arrange turkeys-to-be on your runner and pin down. Sew about 1/4 inch from the edge. This way, when you wash the runner, the edges will fray and ruffle up a bit. Hand embroider or use fabric pens to add details like eyes, feet, beaks and those red hangy things snoods. If you like, you could also do a simple running stitch around the edge in a complimentary color. While you are at it, be sure to stitch or write the year somewhere. Won’t it be fun to use each year and see how your own little turkeys have grown? Another thing for me to be grateful for: making a fun centerpiece is also really easy. Here’s a shot of what ours looked like last year: I wrote up a little tutorial for an edible Thanksgiving centerpiece last year, if you are interested. One last reason to be grateful: We may be eating our dinner in an uncarpeted mess, but at least the table will be cute.
It’s cold. Can you feel it? Here in Oregon, cold goes hand in hand with wet. That damp chill seems to just settle right inside you and suck out your will to do anything more than curl up under a warm blanket. With a book. And a cup of herbal tea. Made by someone else… Or is that just me? On cold mornings like these, a good hot breakfast is a must. Pancakes fit the bill nicely, but I want a recipe that is good for my family, tasty, quick to whip up and easy to clean up after. Blender Wheat Pancakes to the rescue! Smother them in melted butter, apple-butter and real maple syrup. You’ll forget all about being cold.
I’ve seen versions of this recipe in home food storage books for years. I’ve taken one of my favorites and swapped out some the ingredients for healthier ones. Start by blending milk and whole wheat berries in your blender. Yup, the actual berries – not flour. Looking for sources? This post has some great ideas on where to buy your own. Blend on high for four or five minutes, until smooth. Note, I have a really, really good blender now, but once upon a time a had an old cheap wedding gift one. This recipe still worked; it just took longer to blend. Sometimes I’d start to smell the blender overheating. Then I’d have to turn it off to let it rest for a couple minutes. Even with babying a fussy blender, this recipe is really easy. Add the rest of your ingredients. Blend on low until well mixed. Pour straight from the blender to your pre-heated griddle. Cook as you usually do. I like ’em dark. Eat until you are nice and warm, inside and out. Of course, if you still want to curl up with some good herbal tea, I won’t stop you. That is, if you’ll bring me a cup. And a blanket.
Whole wheat haters? Even if your family prefers that their pancakes come from the blue bag or yellow box, they'll like these. They are light, tender and just that good. And with all the ingredients mixing up in the blender, clean up is easy too. What's not to love?
Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat berries
2 eggs
2 Tbs melted coconut oil or olive oil
2 tsp baking powder (non-aluminized)
2 Tbs sucanat, honey, or sugar
1½ tsp salt
Instructions
Put milk and whole wheat berries in your blender and blend on high for five minutes or until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients and blend on low.
Cook pancakes on a hot greased griddle. When pancakes are bubbly and edges look dry, flip.
Serve warm with butter and real maple syrup or freeze for later use.
To reheat frozen pancakes, pop them in the toaster.
1. The Candy Monster came. He/she/it had to leave an IOU since he/she/it did not have time to make it to the store. Newt and I went to one of our favorite bookstores today to redeem it. She got a paperback version of one of the Harry Potter books. We have the whole set in hardcover, but Newt thinks paperback is “more comfortable” to read. 2. I finished Newt’s quilt last week: 3. I have the best friends. 4. Confession: I love real food, but while running errands today, I stopped at Taco Bell. I ate two Taco Supremes. I wish I hadn’t done it, but I can’t say that it will never happen again. 5. Speaking of tacos and confessions, I really like Chipotle. No one else in my family liked eating there, so I might have manipulated Newt into changing her mind about them by showing her this video:
6. Newt likes Chipotle now. 7. Another confession: the Candy Monster takes the Halloween candy and gives it to Santa, who uses it to fill stockings. Recycling is a good thing. 8. Newt and I sat on the driveway for an hour today watching a man replace my windshield. We even took photos. He said had never experienced customers like us – I guess he doesn’t work with many homeschoolers? 9. We ignored a science project in progress to watch said windshield replacement. I was tired (perhaps from the Taco Bell lunch?) and just sitting on the driveway seemed far more appealing. 10. Number 9 was another confession, wasn’t it? It feels good to get these things off my chest.
Lies to children for fun and profit. NYT Bestselling author of Hook's Revenge, Hook's Revenge: The Pirate Code, and Giraffes Ruin Everything.
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now, but once upon a time a had an old cheap 
