I just wanted to let everyone know that the meal planning posts will probably be pretty light until after the first of the year. We have so much going on with parties and dinners that we probably won’t be eating at home very much this month. I don’t really mind though because that means we will be spending time with our wonderful friends and family. I will still post some photos and a few recipes though, so don’t stop checking in.
Last week Jace and I flew to Athens, Georgia to have Thanksgiving with his family. It was a great reunion because we hadn’t seen Jace’s brother and sister in law in about a year. We also got to meet our niece Mary Elise for the first time. She had me wrapped around her little finger the moment we walked through the door!
I have made a few observations about Georgia. The main one is everyone uses more butter in a meal than I would use in a month. I thought it was just Paula Deen that had the butter obsession, but no. Its everyone in Georgia! My other observation was that everything we ate was amazing! So Georgians, keep shoving butter in everything and I will visit and eat all that I can. However, my arteries can only handle once or twice a year so I’ll have to make it good while I’m there. Needless to say, we had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing and so much more.
Can you see the heavens shining down on our turkey? It was that good!
I also got to go to my first Christmas tree farm. I was so excited. We have always had fake trees and while they have been great the real ones were so pretty. There were rows and rows of trees in all sizes and shapes. You could even get a Charlie Brown Christmas tree if you wanted. We picked the most perfect one, chopped it down and took it home. You think Griswold’s Christmas Vacation was outrageous? You should see us trying to get the tree home. It was quite entertaining.
It was a great week. I am truly blessed to be a part of this amazing family. I always come home feeling so loved and I couldn’t ask for a better group to be loved by. You guys are amazing. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives. Justin and Margaret, thank you for opening up your homes and lives to us even if it was just for a week. We appreciate everything you did, from the wonderful meal to your gracious hospitality. We love you so much!
You can see more of my Thanksgiving photos here.
This week we are having healthy meals to try to get over all of the amazing but fattening food from Thanksgiving. I couldn’t help myself! It was all so good that I ate way too much.
Here’s the plan for this week.
Monday: grilled chicken with zucchini cream sauce and rice on the side
Tuesday: roasted pork loin with mashed potatoes and green beans
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner
Thursday: take out
Friday: date night!
Here are a couple of tips on how we make our meals healthier:
*Use canola oil instead of butter and if you must use butter use half butter and half oil.
*Veggies, veggies, veggies. Put them in everything!
*Leave the food in the kitchen and fill your plate in there. You are less likely to overeat if it’s not right in front of you.
*Eat smaller portions. I’m a firm believer that you can eat what you want just in very small amounts.
*Bake instead of frying. We do baked fries all the time and they are just as good.
Happy eating!
Since we are going to Georgia this week I won’t be doing a meal plan, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of what we will be making next week.
It is grilled chicken in a zucchini and bell pepper cream sauce. This has to be one of my favorite dishes that we’ve made.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I found this recipe on a food blog that I love called The Pioneer Woman. I never dreamed making refried beans could be so easy. It literally took me 10 minutes. No joke!
I started by heating some leftover beans over medium heat. I had made beans and cornbread a couple days before and the leftovers were perfect for making refried beans.
Throw in some diced jalapenos or any pepper you would like.
Get your handy-dandy potato masher out and start mashing…
…keep mashing
Now, no one panic… add a table spoon of lard. Yes, I said it, lard. It’s only a tablespoon and its not like you are going to eat the whole pot of beans by yourself. I promise it will make them so much better.
Mash them up some more.
And now you have refried beans.
