on gratitude

roasted brussels sprouts

Thanksgiving is a time to pause — to gather with those most important to us, to prepare a celebratory feast, and to reflect on our lives and recognize what we are most grateful for.

Gratitude seems simple, at first — it is easy to feel grateful for family, friends, favorite foods, good books, funny films, good health, and the privileges associated with a first-world lifestyle — clean drinking water, access to nutritious food, relative physical safety, ease of transportation, important work for which we are compensated, and time and energy to pursue hobbies, interests, and passions.

However, I believe, gratitude is much more complex.  It is very, very difficult to feel grateful for stress, transition, pain, illness, and loss.  Why should one try?  Stress, transitions, pain, illness, and loss are unpleasant at best, and at first glance, seem contradictory to the spirit of gratitude.  In fact, I have noticed many over the years encourage others to “get through” periods of stress, transition, pain, illness, and loss by practicing gratitude — by focusing on all of the good things they still have in their lives.

mini nut loaves

In my opinion, this type of gratitude practice is spectacularly unfair to the person going through a challenging time.  Yes, we do always have plenty to be grateful for, but, in my opinion, ignoring, distracting from, or “gratitude washing” that pain is disrespectful to that person’s experience, and leads to incomplete healing after that period of stress, transition, pain, illness, or loss has come to its conclusion.

Why do we practice “gratitude washing?”  Because, I believe, the alternate choice — coming to a place where we are truly grateful for that stress, transition, pain, illness, or loss — seems impossible to many.  How is one supposed to feel grateful for the loss of a job at a time of economic uncertainty?  How is one supposed to feel grateful for the death of a loved one?  How is one supposed to feel grateful for a miscarriage?  How is one supposed to feel grateful for cancer?  How is one supposed to feel grateful for a divorce that you didn’t want?

It’s tricky, and in my experience, it takes time.  I’m here to tell you, however, that it is entirely possible to feel grateful for a divorce that you didn’t want.  How, you ask?

creamy corn pudding

Simply, I refuse to live my life with regrets.  I have made a million mistakes in my lifetime, some of them big, some of them small, but I choose to never play the “if I could go back in time” game.  Why?  Because all of those mistakes I have made have been mine, and have made me the person I am today.  I would never choose to go back and erase bits and pieces of my life — who knows what would happen?  If I knew three years ago what I know today, I would likely make all of the same choices I made, in regards to my marriage.  (If you had asked me that question three months ago, however, I’m certain I would have answered differently.)

So, how is it that I find myself in a place where I feel grateful for a divorce that I didn’t want?  

I am grateful because of how much I have learned about marriage, about love, about life, about others, and about myself.  I am grateful because I have landed in a season of “radical self-care.”  If I hadn’t had this experience dealing with a divorce I didn’t want, I may never have learned the importance of self-care, and exactly what I need to do to take care of myself fully and completely.

spiced sweet potato casserole

This seems like a silly thing to say at the age of 35, but I am realizing I am just beginning to learn how to take care of myself properly.  I got the basics at a younger age, obviously — I shower, go to the doctor and dentist, eat reasonably, stay active, etc.  However, in processing the loss of my marriage, I found that I really hadn’t been taking all that good of care of myself, despite knowing “the basics.”  

At first, I found myself almost feeling “lost” without my husband — without someone to take care of.  As a woman working in a helping profession, you can imagine how much time I have devoted over the years to caring for others — so much time, in fact, that it comes second nature to me.  Self-care seems to be practiced by few teachers, I believe because it is looked down upon by so many in the field — many believe the children should come first, always.  Work yourself to the bone, skip your breaks, come in early, stay late, shovel in your lunch as quickly as possible so you can get back to work, because, after all, it’s FOR THE CHILDREN.  I disagree, wholeheartedly, with this attitude.  Why?  For two reasons: first, because if the children always come first children learn to be selfish, and second, because it is physically and emotionally impossible to always put another person’s needs before your own.  Sometimes, you just need to eat a snack, take a break, go to the bathroom, or have a bad day, regardless of whether another person needs you at that particular moment in time.

caramelized onion and herb stuffing

In retrospect, I believe I entered my marriage physically and emotionally depleted from years of teaching and not practicing proper self-care.  My cup was empty, and I looked to my husband to fill it.  Others can “top off” our cups from time to time, but expecting another to fill our cup is unreasonable and a recipe for disaster.

True story: that disaster happened to me.  And here I am, on the other side, just now learning how to fill my own cup.  I spend an incredible amount of time alone, walking, reading, practicing yoga, cooking, journaling, and just thinking.  I wallow in my introversion, and do not feel guilty for a second.  I have always been a healthy eater, but I have never been so planful, so careful, so thoughtful about the meals I prepare for myself as I have lately.  I floss.  This seems like a ridiculous thing to be proud of, but hey — I’ve had dentists telling me to floss for 35 years, and I now, for the first time in my life, floss regularly.  I get monthly pedicures.  I buy myself little treats from time to time.  I make exercise a priority — I get out for walks even when the weather is lousy, even when I am tired, because I know I need to.  Even though I spend so much time alone, I say “yes” to more and more than I ever did before — more regular attendance for church choir, more meals and outings with friends, more responsibilities at work.  And surprisingly, I don’t find myself dreading this “more” any more, complaining about these joys in my life like I used to.  Why was everything so hard before?  Because I was depleted.  My cup was empty, and I didn’t have the energy or resources to fill it.

scalloped poatoes

No longer.  I am learning how to fill my own cup again.  Once I feel like I’ve got the hang of this, I will let someone else in again; this time, someone who knows how to fill his own cup, and who can help top off mine from time to time.

For now, I practice gratitude for this season I am in.  A season of radical self-care.  This is why, despite four different invitations to join others for Thanksgiving dinner, (all of which I am grateful for,) I chose to stay in and cook for myself this year.  I am choosing to remind myself that, in my world, I am the most important person.  I am grateful for myself.

the feast

And pie.  I’m always grateful for pie.  :)

crustless pumpkin pie

Vegetarian Cobb Salad

At the social service agency I work for, we have monthly all-staff potlucks.  It's an opportunity for the 100 or so of us who work together to come together for a meal and listen to some agency-wide announcements.  I'm on the committee that organizes the potlucks, and we've come to realize, (I think,) that the potlucks are better attended when there's some type of "theme."  We have had comfort food themes, chili cook-offs, and most recently, to usher in spring, a "salad" theme.  As interim chair of this committee, I penned a haiku, celebrating salads, that went something like this:

Veggies, fruit, pasta,

Beans, grains, Jell-O or Snickers,

Tossed in a bowl.  Yum!

(Yes, there is such a thing as "Snickers Salad."  I'm scared of it.  Has anyone ever tried this?  Is it a Midwestern thing?  A Minnesota thing?  I had never heard of this edible food-like substance until moving to Minnesota.)

Anyhow, I digress.  :)

Personally, I think of salads as something . . . healthier, produce-packed, downright nutritious!  However, my husband is very much an "eggs-n-cheese" vegetarian -- he prefers his food heavy, comfy, and filling.  What's a veggie-loving wife to do?

Enter: Vegetarian Cobb Salad

Ingredients for one salad:

Salad greens (mixed baby greens, romaine, leaf lettuces, whatever you prefer)

Hard-boiled egg

Avocado, cubed

Tomato, chopped

Blue cheese, crumbled

Vegetarian mock chicken patty, cooked and cubed

Coconut bacon

Red wine vinaigrette (I made my own and added plenty of chives, as most of the traditional Cobb salads call for them)

This salad achieves that perfect balance -- plenty of nutritious greens, healthy fats, and quality vegetarian protein, yet heavy, rich, and substantial enough for even the heartiest eaters.

What are your favorite "pleases everyone" meals?

400-calorie dinners (v)

I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle last week for training for work -- so much fun!  I had a chance to eat at Veggie Grill three times, (it was a block away from my hotel, and well, there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try!) at Chaco Canyon with Victoria and Brent, (isn't meeting fellow bloggers you've "known" for years so much fun!), and at Chutney's Bistro with my friend Christine!  Add on the hotel breakfast daily, and a "Snowball" from Trophy Cupcakes and well, it was a tasty trip.  :)

(Victoria, what was the name of the ice cream place we went to after dinner?)

Needless to say, I wasn't counting calories while I was away.  I rarely travel, so I figured I'd give myself a vacation from that, too!  I could see how hard it would be to eat healthfully for frequent travelers, though!

Now that I'm home, I'm back at it!  Three more 400-calorie dinners for you today . . .

MORE pizza:

Half whole-wheat Artisan Bread in 5 crust, topped with olive oil, minced garlic, an entire 10-oz package of frozen spinach, dried tomatoes from last summer's garden, part-skim mozzarella, and feta.   Popeye would be jealous, vampires would run screaming.  :)  216 calories per slice!

The classic soup-n-sandwich:

Creamy Tomato-Basil Bisque, with a half grilled-cheese on the side.  332 calories as-is, (sandwich made using one slice of whole-wheat bread and an ounce of sharp cheddar, cooked in cooking spray,) or you could increase your sandwich portion to a full-size if you were looking for a larger meal.

And, my new favorite meal:

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Sausage.  I used two links of leftover homemade kielbasa instead of the suggested Italian pork sausage; super-delicious!  I had a feeling these stuffed sweets were going to be delicious, but I had no idea they would be quite so . . . incredible.  Creamy, sweet, savory, cheesy, hearty, and filling, but still a calorie bargain at 265 calories per potato half.  Add a huge side salad for a light supper, or enjoy two potato halves for a heartier supper.

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Do you try to eat healthfully when you travel, or do you indulge more?

400-calorie dinners (iii)

As I continue to clean up my diet, watch my portion sizes, and focus on getting more exercise, I find the most indispensable tool in my kitchen, hands-down, is my scale.  (I have this model.  And no, Escali, doesn't know a thing about me, and if you click on that link, I won't earn any money.  I just really like this scale!)  It's easy to use, the batteries last a relatively long time, it's easy to store, (I keep it in its original box on end in one of my cupboards,) and it comes in a wide variety of colors if you enjoy having your kitchen be all matchy-matchy.  :)  (Or you just like orange, or whatever.)  The scale weighs in both grams and ounces, which has been invaluable for this whole calorie-counting thing, as sometimes it's easier to pull out the scale and weigh out 110 grams of cottage cheese, instead of digging the 1/2-cup measuring cup out of the dishwasher and hand-washing it . . . again.  Know what I mean?

I also use my scale often when preparing recipes, (specifically, I almost always weigh grated cheese . . . the cup measurements I find given with most recipes are often WAY off,) and to weigh oils and lye when making soap.  Moral of the story?  My scale gets more than daily use lately, and when I'm not counting calories, I still pull it out several times a week.

Do you have a kitchen scale?  What brand do you have?  Love it?  Wish you had another type?  Use it?  Gathers dust?  I'm curious.

Without further ado, here are a few more 400-calorie dinners we've enjoyed this week:

Spaghetti and beanballs:

First things first . . . there are more than 400 calories pictured above.  (I had a weird day, with little time for snacking, so I had a big dinner.)  I did learn an important and valuable fact this week, however: an ounce of dry pasta weighs about 2 1/2 ounces cooked.  (You can find anything on the internet . . . !!)  My pasta serving in the above meal was about twice what I'd normally eat, topped with a portion of homemade mushroom marinara, and a few Vegan Beanballs.  Delicious!  The beanballs were a cinch to prepare, and have kept beautifully as leftovers for lunches this week.

Burgers and fries:

I made a full batch of Melody's All-American Burgers, divided the base into 16 2-ounce burgers, and froze half.  These burgers are simple to prepare, inexpensive (I didn't have to purchase a single ingredient to make these!), and have classic veggie burger flavor.  I enjoyed my burger with a homemade half whole-wheat brioche bun, (divide the given recipe into 12 equal-sized pieces,) lettuce, tomato, and 2 tsp mayo.  Side of sweet potato waffle fries, some ketchup for dipping, and a pickle!  Yum.

Reubens:

(I must have been craving classic comfort foods this week, because I've made a lot of traditionally "meaty" dishes' vegetarian cousins . . . but I digress!)  You, too, can enjoy a reuben while attempting to clean up your diet.  How?  Homemade rye, (I use the recipe for "Deli-Style Rye" from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,) 2 tsp thousand island dressing, half an ounce of swiss cheese, 1/4-cup of home-grown-home-cultured-home-canned sauerkraut, and two strips of seasoned tempeh.  I cooked my sandwich using a spritz of olive-oil cooking spray, which probably saved the most calories when comparing to a traditional veggie reuben.  Verdict?  Delicious, and I'm not entirely sure John even noticed I didn't cook them in butter.  Only comment I received was, "Good night for a reuben."  :)

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I hope you are enjoying my 400-calorie dinner posts!  Let me know if there's a specific meal you'd like to see as part of this series -- I'm always looking for more meal ideas.

400-calorie dinners (ii)

Two more all-star recipes to add to the 400-calorie dinner collection this week:

Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant:

I bookmarked this recipe ages ago . . . what took me so long to try this?  Light yet filling, with a welcome burst of summery flavors to brighten up the bitterest of cold winter days.  (I can imagine how much tastier this would be when everything was actually in season!)  I did modify the recipe slightly, adding the eggplant pulp to the filling, instead of "reserving for another use."  (Huh?  What on earth would anyone do with just around a cup of eggplant goo?  Hm.)  352 calories, loaded with fiber, protein, A, C, calcium, and impressively high in iron.  John claimed he wasn't all that hungry prior to dinner this evening, but managed to gobble up his portion just fine.  Must have been good!

Sauerkraut & Sausage Casserole:

This dish is as warm and cozy as the previous was bright and summery.  (Hey . . . I crave variety!)  After making my own vegetarian kielbasa, this dish was a snap to prepare, and I love the combination of tangy, salty kraut, (homegrown, home-cultured, and home-canned at our house!), savory faux sausage, sweet onions and apples, and tender-crispy potatoes.  A bargain dinner at 297 calories, packed with protein and loaded with vitamin C, there's definitely room for a chunk of dark rye with butter alongside this entree, or alternately . . .

Dessert!

German Honey Cookies:

If you enjoy simple yet surprising sweets, this is a cookie you MUST try.  There is enough honey in the dough to be clearly present in the baked cookie, yet the copious amount of vanilla and ground ginger sneak in and hang out in the background.  The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, buttery without being overly rich, and friendly to the healthy eating plan at 97 calories each.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe, following a more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together by hand, then stirring in the honey, egg, and vanilla, before finally adding the dry ingredients, and I also subbed in half whole-wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose.  This is only the second time I've made these, but I much prefer this batch -- my first attempt (years ago) was soft, pillowy, and almost cake-like using the technique in the recipe; this batch is soft, toothsomely chewy, and dense -- a perfect cookie texture, in my opinion.  (P.S. watch 'em like hawks, and pull them out of the oven JUST as they begin to brown and are completely set -- over-baking these beauties turns them tooth-breakingly crispy in a heartbeat.  Or, if you like crispy cookies, by all means, over-bake away!  I bet they would make great dunkers, in that case.)  Someday, I'll try these with fresh ginger in lieu of the ground, and likely achieve cookie nirvana.  :)

happy birthday to me!

It was a short week, with little cooking, I guess!  Perhaps we have been eating out too much lately?  :)

(I suppose that's not entirely a bad thing?)

Homemade pizza and roasted asparagus:

The front pizza is topped with olive oil, mozzarella, feta, artichokes, kalamata olives, and dried tomatoes; the back pizza is topped with caramelized onions, asiago, mozzarella, and three different kinds of mushrooms!  The mushroom pizza was definitely the hit -- I give credit to the caramelized onions.  They add an amazingness to meals, don't they?

Pancake breakfast!

I made buttermilk pancakes with half whole-wheat pastry flour, half chickpea flour.  Delicious, albeit a little "beany," (they benefited from a little extra syrup, is all.)  I need to figure out my buttermilk to flour ratio a little more, as my buttermilk pancakes tend to spread too much and be a little too tender (i.e. nearly impossible to flip in one piece.)  Ah, pancakes just aren't my specialty, I guess!  I'll stick to waffles.

My "birthday dinner!"

Yes, we had veggie dogs, coleslaw, baked beans, and veggies for my birthday dinner!  We were supposed to go camping this weekend, (hence, the veggie dogs,) but then with the nearly constant threat of severe thunderstorms, we decided to postpone.  Veggie dogs don't taste quite as good at home, but were still pretty tasty.  I used Liz's coleslaw dressing recipe, adding pepper and poppyseeds, and tossing it with shredded cabbage, carrot, and sliced green onions.  John doesn't like coleslaw!  Oh well. More for me.  :)

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I've enjoyed having the last two days off from work for "birthday fun" -- and we'll keep it up through the weekend!

Lately we've been . . .

1. Watching Oliver get adjusted to his new digs:

I admit, he looks really relaxed and content in these pictures.  He has moments where he feels like that, it seems.  However, he still spends much of the day hiding, and managed to get himself locked in the linen closet for most of the day yesterday!  We finally figured out where he was late afternoon, when we heard muffled meows coming from upstairs.  :)

2. Celebrating John's birthday with Pecan Pie:

And Nutloaf, buttermilk-chive mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and Quick Gravy:

3. Starting plants for our backyard urban farm:

We are ecstatic that we saved nearly enough TP rolls to make little pots!  (Egg cartons to the rescue!)  We spent a total of $4 on cheap baking sheets from the dollar store, and a few bucks at Target on some plastic pots for herbs.

4. Eating pizza:

(It's kind of a Sunday night "thing" at our house.)

5. And still getting organized:

Spice racks went up yesterday!  Wahoo!  Our kitchen is finally organized, which is a big deal for this cook.  Very few unpacking projects remain . . . .

What have you been up to?  Anyone else chomping at the bit to get gardening?

Lately I've been . . .

Watching . . .
"Stranger than Fiction."  While John and I don't watch TV, we do enjoy a movie occasionally, often over the weekend.  Blockbuster's within walking distance of the apartment, and this was John's pick this week.  Cute.  Loved Maggie Gyllenhaal and Emma Thompson.

Eating . . . 

Homemade apple crisp . . .

Tofu Steak with Miso and Ginger, carrots glazed with honey and lemon, and brown rice . . .

Whole-wheat spaghetti with homemade mushroom marinara and Nate's Meatless Meatballs . . .

Planning . . . 
On moving in a couple of weeks!  John and I decided until after our wedding to "officially" move in together, as we had so much else to do to get ready for the wedding.  So, in a couple of weeks, I'll be calling Saint Paul home.

Reading . . . 
The latest issue of Mother Earth News.  We just started subscribing to this magazine, and seriously, it's like someone went inside my head, tallied up all of the things I'm interested in, and wrote a magazine about them.  Lucky me!

Inspired By . . . 
Three-year-olds.  They drive me completely bonkers most days, but then they say things like, "Teacher Catherine, I missed you when you were on your moneymoon."

Excited About . . . 
Our garden this summer.  We're going to till up the whole backyard and grow as much food as we can! I'm going to get heavily into preserving this year -- canning and freezing for sure, and maybe some drying.  Those of you that grow a lot of your own food, what would you recommend?

So tell me, what have you been up to?

late luck

I had planned on making a black-eyed pea and collard green soup on New Year's Day; I finally got around to making it tonight!  I wonder if my black-eyed pea luck will be late?  (I'm guessing not, as it's already been a pretty great year!)

Collard Green & Black-Eyed Pea Soup, topped with Coconut Bacon, and a side of Buttermilk Cornbread.

Off to read The Kitchen House.  Looks like I have a "theme" evening ahead of me!

time for comfort food

I had been battling a migraine most of last week, and wasn't feeling very well when I sat down to do the weekend meal plan on Thursday night.  It was definitely time for some comfort food!

Breakfast burritos!

Even though a burrito might not seem like comfort food for a good little midwestern girl like myself, I can pretty much always eat beans and cheese.  Adding hash browns and eggs just gilds the comfort food lily, in my opinion.  :)

Chickpea Patties!

While the chickpea patty itself doesn't really fall into "comfort food" territory, at least for me, sweet potato tater tots sure do.  :)  (Side dish not pictured!)

Seitan and Dumplings:

I tried a new seitan recipe this time, which I was really happy with.  I find seitan can sometimes be too "strong" tasting for me . . . maybe too much nutritional yeast?  Anyhow, this recipe was quick and simple, offered lovely, light flavor, and worked beautifully in the Herbed Chicken and Dumplings recipe I frequently tweak for a vegetarian option.  (What do I do?  Sub cubed seitan for the chicken, adding it with the broth later in the recipe, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.  I also double the soup base ingredients, and triple the dumplings.  One never can have too many dumplings, if  you ask me!)

Mushroom Potpie:

This was incredible.  Simple to prepare, smelled amazing when it was in the oven, and tasted fantastic.  (I subbed a pie crust for the puff pastry called for, as that was what I had on hand.)  Pot pies can sometimes be too heavy; not this one!  It was rich and satisfying without weighing me down.  (P.S. artichokes on the side!)

And cookies!

I made these Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies to take to church choir rehearsal on Saturday morning, and it's a good thing there was plenty leftover!  John stated that these might be his new favorite cookie.  Rich and crumbly, with big peanut flavor and loads of melty chocolate chips . . . heaven.

How do you define comfort food?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday.  The perfect excuse to have an all-out cooking and eating extravaganza!

This year was no exception . . .

BREAKFAST:

Light and simple, and easy to make ahead.  Not that I didn't want to spend my day cooking on Thanksgiving; rather, I didn't want to spend my day washing dishes!  I did much of the prep in advance, which was a very smart idea, in my opinion.  We enjoyed Pumpkin Muffins (using my favorite baking ingredient . . . buttermilk!) and a beautiful fruit salad with some fresh mint from the garden for breakfast.  I used half whole-wheat flour in the muffins to increase their nutritional value a little bit; otherwise followed the recipe as written.  These muffins are FANTASTIC!  They call for very little oil, yet are moist and tender from the pumpkin and buttermilk.

LUNCH:

I decided we'd snack on a variety of appetizers for lunch, as we were possibly expecting company and didn't know what time they would show up . . .

Brie topped with Double Cranberry Chutney . . . so delicious!  I always want to make cranberry for Thanksgiving, but always end up with a huge amount of it leftover and never know quite what to serve it with.  This was perfect!

Deviled Eggs!

Veggies!  (With hummus, not pictured)

Spanakopita Triangles:

Using Ali's recipe as inspiration, I ended up simplifying a little bit . . . used one egg, one package of spinach, feta, juice and zest of half a lemon, and a little salt and pepper for the filling.  Perfect!  Now, what to do with all that leftover filo?

DINNER:

The big feast!  I really wanted to make everything, but I didn't want TONS of leftovers, (since I was likely cooking for just John and I,) so I selected my recipes, cut them in half (or sometimes in quarter,) and made most everything in 8-inch loaf pans.  Bonus feature?  Our entire dinner fit in the oven at once, even though John only has one rack in his oven!  Woo-hoo!

(P.S. I made everything, except for the mashed potatoes and gravy, in advance, covered the unbaked things with foil, and froze.  Everything thawed and baked up beautifully!)

Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole:

One of the most important parts of Thanksgiving dinner, in my opinion.  :)  I love, love, love this version from Cooking Light -- it is subtle in its spiciness, just sweet enough (although I do cut down the sugar to 1/4 cup in the full-size recipe,) and lively from the orange juice concentrate.

Creamy Corn Pudding:

This pudding may join the ranks with sweet potato casserole and compete for most important role!  We always had some kind of corn pudding in my family for Thanksgiving, and even though most people don't think to add it to their Thanksgiving repertoire, I want to keep a bit true to my heritage, ya know? This recipe is INCREDIBLE.  (With all that butter and heavy cream, why not?)  ;)  Slightly sweet, creamy and comforting, like a softer, smoother cornbread.  Mmmmmm.

Mashed potatoes and gravy:

I mashed my local yellow potatoes with garlic, butter, buttermilk, chives, salt, and pepper.  They were so flavorful on their own, they almost didn't need gravy!  (I said this to John, and he replied, "no, no, no."  Ha!)  A big batch of mushroom gravy on the side -- 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp olive oil, plenty of sliced mushrooms, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 cups mushroom broth.  Simple and VERY delicious.  A perfect vegetarian gravy, in my opinion!

Caramelized Onion and Herb Stuffing:

This has been a repeat my last several Thanksgivings, for a couple of reasons . . . first, it is super-delicious and super-easy, but most importantly, no sage!  I don't care much for sage, especially in stuffing, and it's hard to find a recipe without it.  This recipe is a keeper for me!

Creamed Spinach Casserole:

A new recipe this year, and a good one -- both John and I love spinach, and this was a simple casserole to prepare in advance.  Rich but not heavy, and a beautiful burst of intense dark green on the plate!  (I switched out the traditional cheddar for white cheddar in my version, otherwise prepared the recipe as written.)

Nutloaf:

This may be the best vegetarian entree for holiday meals EVER.  Rich, filling, and "meaty," delicious on its own, smothered in gravy, dolloped with cranberry chutney, or leftover on a sandwich with ketchup.  :)

My plate:

And don't forget about dessert!

John requested pecan pie this year, and although it's not my favorite, I was happy to oblige.  I tried this recipe from Real Simple, and although I generally find pecan pie too sweet, both John and his roommate were happy gobbling down slices.  They reported it was lighter and less dense than many pecan pies they have had, and his roommate stated it was the best she's ever tried!  Score!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed some time off from work with important people.  Now, I better get started planning my Christmas cookie baking!  ;)