Then end of another month

 

2025 Thanksgiving is coming to a close and then we enter the Christmas season.  We had our traditional meal all but the cornbread dressing.  I decided not to make it and within 5 minutes of sitting down at the table TBG noticed so I had to promise we would have it at Christmas.  We still had plenty of food.  The turkey turned out really good.  I used about 2 tablespoons of ghee all on the outside of the bird and the skin turned out so crispy.

I tried a new recipe that turned out delicious and I will share the recipe with you soon.  It makes four large dinner rolls, but it is easily doubled.  Soft inside with a good balance of sweet and salt. They were really good the next day without warming them up and that is important to me.  

We are getting all of the decorations out today so we can decorate over the next couple of days.  I really can't believe tomorrow is December 1st.  We will do the tree next Saturday after we get home from our yearly Christmas lunch at Firefly.  We'll be stuffed and likely do appetizers for the evening so that will be fun.

I'm excited to have a baking day with one of my friends next month.  I have all of the supplies ready and am trying to make a list of everything I want to make.  I picked up local pecans this week which is a must every holiday season.  They are so fresh.  

Meals this week...

Big salad

LO Italian beef and Aju on a bun with 'fries'

Sole and a baked potato with a small salad

Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, garlic green beans, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs and dinner rolls.  With a sweet potato pie.

LO turkey warmed with gravy, panfried cheesy potato cakes, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs.

Pizza and a small salad

Tonight, I am making a big pot of Brunswick stew and garlic cheese biscuits. I have a ton of turkey stock so I will use it instead of chicken broth.  I can't wait.  It's cold and a bowl of this will warm your soul.

Culinary Adventures with Lori: Thanksgiving Leftovers

It's going to be a busy week 3 weeks, but I am going to remind myself to live in the moment and that I have two weeks off coming up. 😀

I will leave you with a picture of a vicious panther.  Seriously, look at those teeth and claws.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week as we step in to the last month of the year.  Remind yourself to relax your shoulders and your jaw, take a deep breath and look for all of the joys December has to bring us.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

I am so thankful for all of the friends I have made over the years here in blogland.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

How is Thanksgiving in 3 days?

TBG and I discussed the whole beef instead of or with turkey debate for Thanksgiving and I reminded him that we have always had turkey and we rarely eat it any other time of the year, so it was important and he agreed. I think the pot of Brunswick Stew was the key because he does love that.  Our menu this year will be turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce and cornbread dressing along with sweet potato pie.  All is now right in my world.

The week was busy but productive.  My dental appointment went well and I'm all good for another six months.  TBG got into the Orthopedic office to treat the SI joint that was bothering him for a good two or three weeks.  He isn't back to baseline, but I think he's on his way which is a relief to both of us. 

We ran our errands and stocked up on most things.  We also found this year's gingerbread creation.  Last year we made a gingerbread house for the first time, and we had so much fun we decided to make it a new tradition.  Culinary Adventures with Lori: My Weekly W's  This was last years and while not fabulous, it was cute and held together well.  This year TBG picked this one and I hope it isn't too much above our skill set but we will see.

This is only a three-day work week so of course I am looking forward to that.  Next weekend, we will make the house all cozy for Christmas with the decorations and tree.  One of my favorite things is to sit by the tree with all the other lights off and just enjoy the silence and the sparkling tree.  Confession...I usually don't start watching Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving, but I've been watching them all month and I am not sorry.  The season is too short and there are too many movies I want to see each year.

There are no appointments or commitments this week and I always love that then Saturday is the family Thanksgiving being held at my brothers this year.

This week we ate.

BIG salad x 2

Maine Red fish with rice and small salad

Lamb meatballs, pasta, salad - I used breadcrumbs, an egg and a cube of pesto I made this summer and they were delicious.

LO shredded beef on buns with au jus and "fries'

Chicken stir fry over rice

Tonight, we're having the leftover meatballs over fresh pasta and a salad.

Monday thru Wednesday this week will be light meals, but I haven't decided exactly what yet.  

Well, I am off to do a few things on my list and then I believe I'm going to take a short nap.  It's in the low 50's but gloomy which is a perfect excuse for one.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their day. I will leave you with a picture of Binx in case you need a smile.

My Week

Happy Sunday everyone!!  I can't believe the weekend is almost over.  Why do they have to go by so quickly?

Last Sunday and Monday we had a taste of winter weather.  It was cold and snowy, but nothing stuck since we still haven't had a freeze yet and then Friday and Saturday were in the 70's.  Talk about weather whiplash.  I went out this morning and cut more rosemary and sage and then added more leaves all around the plants to keep them warm this winter. 

TBG announced last week that he doesn't want turkey for Thanksgiving.  WHAT??  He said he would prefer to have another pot roast like I cooked a few weeks ago.  It was really good but SERIOUSLY??  So, I guess I will make pot roast, a bone in turkey breast or a small 12–13-pound bird with the usual sides.  They should all go well with his pot roast.  Not having turkey is not an option for me. I don't want to miss a Thanksgiving weekend without a cold turkey sandwich and a pot of Brunswick stew.  

This week I have a dental cleaning and TBG needs to get in to his doctor regarding some issues he is having, but other than that, we don't have any commitments which is fine with me since I also have to work all week.  Saturday, we do need to do a bit of shopping since we are very close to the time of year that I protest entering most stores. Our beef bundle will be coming this week too so I reorganized the freezer so there is room.

I've been looking through the last two cookbooks I picked up, and I see a lot of recipes I want to try in both of them.  I am glad I was able to visit The Back in the Day Bakery around 2004 in Savannah and everything we tried was delicious.  I was sad when I heard they had closed.

What we've been eating:

BIG salad x 2

Chicken taco rice bowls

Beef and cheese sliders and 'fries'.  It's been many years since I've actually had a slider because I honestly just never thought about them, but our last beef bundle included a package of premade ones, and they really did hit the spot.  

Chicken sausage with veggies and pasta

LO lamb and potato hand pies with a small salad.  These freeze so well and are so nice to have on a night you don't feel like cooking.  

This morning, I made an apple pie for us to enjoy with some of our bounty of apples. 

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season.  Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and then BAM...Christmas. So be sure to slow down and enjoy each day.  I remind myself daily.

Hello November

It's November and the start of the Holiday Season.  The next three holidays are barreling towards us and I love it.  My notebook is filling up with lists upon lists of things to do and I love it.  

We had a nice Halloween with our usual chili bar and cocktails while Halloween movies played in the background.  I can't believe I used to enjoy scary movies and now I don't, but I guess we all change. TBG did a simple pumpkin this year because he left it to the last minute, but it still turned out really cute.  Luckily despite the trick or treaters we had a great night because we only had a total of 4 trick or treaters.  We have NEVER had that little and I was especially shocked because it was a Friday and the weather was decent.  I think because of the downtown trick or treat on Wednesday and so many trunk or treats at local churches a lot of people aren't going door to door anymore.  It's a bit sad to me but like I said, things change.

The last few weeks have been unusually chaotic busy at work for me, but I have two weeks off for Christmas to look forward to so I'm trying to focus on that. I am thankful to be able to take that time off every year to enjoy the holiday, family and friends. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year in my opinion.

Saturday, we ran a few errands and had lunch out.  We decided to check out the new Ollie's.  Neither of us had ever been in one before and honestly, we weren't very impressed with ours other than the book section.  I found two cookbooks I've been eyeing for less than I would have paid for one so that was worth going in.  I have to say ours has a really nice book selection for kids and adults.

We haven't had a frost here yet and this week the highs are expected to be in the high 60's low 70's so the herbs are still doing well. I will cut them all back next weekend. I dehydrated the last of the cayenne peppers, so we have enough for a number of months. Everything else has been cleaned up, the garlic and wildflowers are planted so it's all ready for winter.  

Firefly Lane is a really good book by one of my favorite authors, Kristin Hannah.  A couple of years ago Netflix made it into a series.  I started watching it then but only finished one season.  Over the last week or two I finally finished and I highly recommend it.  It makes me cherish my best friend of 40 years even more.  It is funny with long term friendships how they can remind you of so many things you have forgotten.  An old friend truly is priceless.

Dinners this week...

LO chicken soup and a Baggett with garlic butter

Big Salad 

Chicken Tika Masala with rice and naan

Big Salad with chicken

Chili and ALL the works (why are oyster crackers so good with chili)

Fried chicken sandwich and small salad

I have a pot roast in the crockpot for tonight (it smells SO good) and we'll have potatoes and green beans with it.

The elephant in the room everywhere seems to be the SNAP issue and for good reason. I really don't know how I feel about it. But I think it is about much more than the left or the right, so please don't make this political. Thankfully, I've never needed it and hopefully never will, but a friend of mine did need temporary help probably 30 years ago when her husband cleaned out their accounts and left her with two boys, the house and a car.  She had a job, but she just needed a month or two to help her get ahead.  They offered her $30.00 a month.  She was told that if she needed more, she should sell her house and or car.  Ever since then, I've been a bit bias about that system.  I hope American citizens that need help will receive it whether locally or from the government.

I don't know about you, but I cook dinner on the fly many times every week.  I saw this meme and realized we have had this exact conversation.

I hope everyone is doing well.  Times are a bit harder for a lot of people, and we need to pay extra attention to our friends, family and community to help out when or where we need to. I saw a wonderful commercial last night about paying it forward, but I can't remember the company or organization it was for.  But it was a wonderful reminder.

Enjoy your Sunday!!