Another year of Thanks{giving}

I have so many things to be thankful for.

But mostly,

I'm thankful for this group right here...

My hubs, little girls and Granny.

{Although, Gracie has recently changed Granny's name to "Grandma".}

4 {entire} straight days together.

No agenda.

Except talking, eating, sippin' tea, watching Christmas movies, laughing...

and shopping {on Black Friday, that is}.

Our girls were thankful Granny stayed with them

during this shopping scavenger hunt.

We were too...

Since we were able to save $50 on a Christmas gift for Nator!

Oh, and we also enjoyed hearing the girls laugh hysterically while beating their Uncle B and Aunt D on Mario Kart.  The Wii makes it cool to connect with family while in another state.

Here's a couple yummy goodies we consumed
that actually came from my kitchen.
Hold  your applause.
I didn't cook a turkey.
We went out for that meal. ;)

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Thanks Ruthanne

{This is a Weight Watchers recipe,

but don't hold that against them. Ha!}

6 small sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 (15-ounce) can pear halves in juice, undrained
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries or raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 375.

 Wrap potatoes in foil; bake at 375 for about 50 minutes or until done. Let cool slightly. Cut a slit in the top of each potato; carefully scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell.

Drain pears, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Place pear halves and reserved juice in a food processor; process until smooth. Add potato pulp, sugar, and salt; process until blended. Stir in cranberries and 4 tablespoons of pecans.

Stuff shells with pulp mixture; sprinkle with remaining pecans.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet; bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

{I had to cook my potatoes a lil' longer. 

I normally wrap them in parchment paper too and I used walnuts instead...

They were de-lish!}

 

Banana Nut Bread

 {This one's for you, Granny}

1 3/4 c. flour {Bob's Red Mill}
3/4 c. pure cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed bananas {roughly 2 large}
4 oz. apple sauce
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1/3 c. {rice} milk
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans

Mix ingredients.
Grease 9x5 pan with coconut oil.
Bake 1 hr. 15 min @ 325 degrees.
{Most "applesauce"-instead-of-"oil" baked items taste best
fresh out of the oven.}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of cooking...
While preparing to have dinner with friends, Nator was helping me peel sweet potatoes.
{I know. I have a thing for sweet potatoes.} 
I thanked her for helping me.
My sweet lil' 9 year old said,
"I can't ever imagine a time that I wouldn't help you."

Tissue please?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh... Granny,
Did you notice that I didn't post any embarrassing pictures or videos yet?  

You're welcome. Hehe!