Tuesday, December 1, 2009

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!

14 comments:

  1. Nice Family.. May GOD bless you all. Happy Thanks Giving.. kinda late though...

    www.e-dirts.com

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  2. I'm glad you had a good time. Mine was quite a bit crazy.

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  3. Sounds like y'all had a great time! Good Stuff!

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  4. Thanks for keeping some things out of the blog worlds eye! has a great time, Love you guys, Granny or Grandma what ever works.

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  5. Love the pictures and it sounds like everyone had a wonderful time. Stuffed sweet potatoes? I've got to try those. Your sweeties say the nicest things. Blessings, SusanD

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  6. Sounds like a great time! Love the pictures.

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  7. i just love your photos! The girls look adorable in their little hats.

    Can't wait to try the sweet potato recipe! that looks SO yummy! and being that it is a weight watchers recipe makes it even better ;)

    {I can't ever imagine a time that I wouldn't help you} yes, tissue! how sweet is she????

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  8. Sounds like a wonderful holiday. The sweet potato recipe sounds delish...I may try it for Christmas as I need something new.

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  9. what a beautiful family!!!

    those are great pictures.....the food too!!! :)

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  10. OH my goodness! What a sweet comment from your mature little girl! You must be a wonderful mother :)

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  11. beautiful family and great pics! love the collage :)

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  12. Sounds like you had a great time! And that is a wonderful photo of everyone.

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  13. Love all the photos! Sounds like you had a wonderful time with your family!

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  14. Sounds like a fabulous time! Love the pics, the food looks yummy :)!

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