Field Day & Thanksgiving Week [+ Recipes!]
Annelise's 4th Grade Field Day was Tuesday, November 24th:
The kids were out of school the next day; I taught Zumba, Annelise came with, & we celebrated life with crêpes at Sweet Paris!!! Our fave: La Canadienne (poutine cheese, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon & maple syrup) and the sweet crêpe of the month: Shockolate (Mayan chocolate infused batter, Nutella mousse, dark chocolate shavings, & chocolate drizzle)
Wednesday night, I prepped for our Friendsgiving with my must-have roasted sweet potato/cranberry/pumpkin seed "salad" and signature gingerbread pumpkin trifle! I posted "formal" recipes ages ago, but my versions have so evolved (read: gotten easier & BETTER) over the years...
Roasted Sweet Potato/Cranberry/Pumpkin Seed "Salad"
• peel, chop up, & roast a bag of sweet potatoes at 425°, spraying or tossing them with the cooking oil of your choice (I use coconut) & sprinkling with ground ginger, salt, & pepper
• when they're totally roasted & tender, dump them in a bowl and toss with dried cranberries & roasted pumpkin seeds
• you can also add cumin to the sweet potatoes and scallions & roasted red peppers to the salad, if you want (that's in the original recipe, but I don't like them, so they don't go in mine :-P)
• if you want a little dressing (I usually skip, b/c I'm lazy & it's delish without) do a thick balsamic glaze
Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle
• bake a pan of gingerbread & let cool (by far the best: Trader Joe's Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix
• prepare one box of instant (sugar-free, if you prefer) vanilla pudding, and mix in one can of pumpkin purée along with pumpkin pie spices to taste (whatever you like: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, etc.)
• in a pretty clear glass bowl, crumble some baked gingerbread on the bottom, pour some pumpkin spiced pudding mix over that, add a layer of whipped topping (a la Cool Whip), more crumbled gingerbread, pumpkin pudding, whipped topping, etc., until you reach the top, and refrigerate
(I cooked my brined turkey a la Alton Brown and JB did his mashed Yukon gold potatoes in the morning. Friends brought a ham, green bean casserole, bread, cranberry sauce, etc.)
By the time I finished, my body realized I could finally crash *hard*, with no cheer for a while & no more Zumba for the week... #claritin #heatingpad #blankets
Thanksgiving with two families of friends over was low key, but still appropriately celebratory. :-) The rest of the holiday weekend included bubble tea, boys' tournament football practice, Praise Team rehearsal, singing Sunday morning, family movie times, ZERO Christmas shopping, & trying to otherwise take it easy. Thankful!
My Sunday afternoon situation: lap beagle, heat dish glow, Christmas tree glow, & REDSKINS DOMINATING!!! #httr
The kids were out of school the next day; I taught Zumba, Annelise came with, & we celebrated life with crêpes at Sweet Paris!!! Our fave: La Canadienne (poutine cheese, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon & maple syrup) and the sweet crêpe of the month: Shockolate (Mayan chocolate infused batter, Nutella mousse, dark chocolate shavings, & chocolate drizzle)
Wednesday night, I prepped for our Friendsgiving with my must-have roasted sweet potato/cranberry/pumpkin seed "salad" and signature gingerbread pumpkin trifle! I posted "formal" recipes ages ago, but my versions have so evolved (read: gotten easier & BETTER) over the years...
Roasted Sweet Potato/Cranberry/Pumpkin Seed "Salad"
• peel, chop up, & roast a bag of sweet potatoes at 425°, spraying or tossing them with the cooking oil of your choice (I use coconut) & sprinkling with ground ginger, salt, & pepper
• when they're totally roasted & tender, dump them in a bowl and toss with dried cranberries & roasted pumpkin seeds
• you can also add cumin to the sweet potatoes and scallions & roasted red peppers to the salad, if you want (that's in the original recipe, but I don't like them, so they don't go in mine :-P)
• if you want a little dressing (I usually skip, b/c I'm lazy & it's delish without) do a thick balsamic glaze
Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle
• bake a pan of gingerbread & let cool (by far the best: Trader Joe's Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix
• prepare one box of instant (sugar-free, if you prefer) vanilla pudding, and mix in one can of pumpkin purée along with pumpkin pie spices to taste (whatever you like: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, etc.)
• in a pretty clear glass bowl, crumble some baked gingerbread on the bottom, pour some pumpkin spiced pudding mix over that, add a layer of whipped topping (a la Cool Whip), more crumbled gingerbread, pumpkin pudding, whipped topping, etc., until you reach the top, and refrigerate
(I cooked my brined turkey a la Alton Brown and JB did his mashed Yukon gold potatoes in the morning. Friends brought a ham, green bean casserole, bread, cranberry sauce, etc.)
By the time I finished, my body realized I could finally crash *hard*, with no cheer for a while & no more Zumba for the week... #claritin #heatingpad #blankets
Thanksgiving with two families of friends over was low key, but still appropriately celebratory. :-) The rest of the holiday weekend included bubble tea, boys' tournament football practice, Praise Team rehearsal, singing Sunday morning, family movie times, ZERO Christmas shopping, & trying to otherwise take it easy. Thankful!
My Sunday afternoon situation: lap beagle, heat dish glow, Christmas tree glow, & REDSKINS DOMINATING!!! #httr
What a fun Thanksgiving week!!
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