thankful november

it's been so long!

thanksgiving/black friday/small business saturday/cyber sunday-monday really kept me busy

so let's get caught up on what i'm thankful for

1.

pitiful puppies that are sad about missing out on turkey.

2.

turkey trots and ridiculous hats.  warning: if you wear said hats you WILL be interviewed by the local news.  i was too embarrassed to watch- but i've heard it's on whas11 's website after it aired on the noon news. also, in the past 3 years, this is by far the best weather we've had for thanksgiving.  we've battled cold and rain previously.

3.

post run starbucks - per tradition.

4.

oh and post run, pre-thanksgiving mimosas.

5.

this book.  which i discovered sitting in the in-law's sunroom.  i'm sure it's an inspirational read.  and the reviews on amazon are off the charts:

4.0 out of 5 stars Turns letters, write books, does sit ups - I LOVE HER!!!, December 7, 2003

By 

"idioteqnician" (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanna Speaks (Hardcover)

I bet that at any given moment, somebody, somewhere, is writing a Master's thesis called something like "I'd Like To Solve the Puzzle: B-Celebrities and Why We Love Them".From the very get-go in chapter 1, when Vanna tells you how she does her sit-ups then gives you instructions to make her favourite afghan, right to page 190, at the very end, when Vanna shamelessly plugs McDonald's, Spring Air mattresses, and Nestle's chocloate (and including more than 32 pages of photos inbetween!), I thought this book was brilliant and brainless. Apparently, just after this book was shortlisted for the Man Booker in early 1987, some scandalous, unauthorized photos of Vanna were published in Playboy.


6.

black friday shopping.  and crazy people.  for everyone who thinks their too good to go out shopping and that we're all just a bunch of consumerist freaks.  you're right.  and you're also boring.  there's something humbling about standing in line for 30 minutes to buy sweatpants for $5.  and how often do you get to talk to complete strangers who have been up for 22 hours and are wearing antlers and pajama pants?

7.

 margaritas - for after talking to grown women wearing antlers at macys while wearing pajama pants

8.

covered football arenas.

9.

and  friendly fans...who even though you're rooting for the away team (buffalo), don't heckle you when your quarterback can't throw a touchdown pass to save his life.

10.

a husband that drives all the way up and all the way back in one day while i can lay back and read buzzfeed.

11.

friends who are willing to watch our little bundle of brittany spaniel while we're out for the day.  bless his heart he was so tired when we got home - he ran us over to get in his crate to sleep.

12.

lastly

i'm thankful for my health, bill's health, family and friends to get together with, friends that are far away but keep in touch, opportunities and blessings that are occurring in our lives,

and

pie.  thank you jesus for pie.

turkey day eve and pizza

happy turkey day eve!

anyone else goofing off at work today?

i'm biding my time until i can go home and get on my sweats running clothes - i need to get a couple of miles in before tomorrow's turkey trot.

it's crazy how just a couple of months ago i was running 16 miles on the weekend and 30+ miles in one week.

but now

6 miles seems like labor.

per tradition i've ran the 6 miler, but i just haven't prepared to do that.  and i really don't want to walk 6 miles.

so i dropped down to the 2 miler - which means i can bring woodford with me!  he's going to need to get his ya-ya's out anyways since we'll be traveling and not home all day.

in other news

i made pizza again last night.

i didn't get to try any of my veggie pizza last weekend - it was gone when i sat down to eat, so i just had a mozzarella and tomato mini pizza i had made.

oh my goodness.

 this is some of the best pizza i've ever had.

seriously.

if you're a fan of papa murphey's then you have to make this - it's so easy and tastes even better than papa murphey's

if you would like to recreate this for when you're tired of turkey this week

make some dough

followed exactly - except i don't have the dough enhancer :( - my birthday is coming up....

even though the dough enhancer probably does make an even more delicious crust - it really isn't necessary.  also - i used 3 cups all purpose flour.

the dough says it will keep in the fridge for 3 days - and it's best to make this at least a day in advance anyways since the flavor will enhance as it sits in the fridge.

ok.  so the day after you make some dough...or maybe 6 hours after you make some dough.

deflate and divide into 2 balls.  (if you want really thick crust just leave as one ball - but half of the dough in a cake pan will rise and still make a "hand tossed" style crust)

since i am limited on pans - i made one thin crust and one hand tossed - if you have a fancy pizza stone you could use that as well.  i don't have a pizza stone.  but my birthday and christmas are right around the corner...

knead and press your dough into a 9*13 pan and gently stretch and toss your other dough ball into a circle-ish shape.  we're not going for perfection here.  just try and pinch any holes closed and do your best to form...a shape.

now preheat your oven to 450.  this will let your dough rest and rise some more while your oven heats up.

ideally you want your thicker crust to rise 30-60 minutes while your thinner crust only needs to rest 15-30 minutes..

if you forget this step - it's ok - everything will still turn out fine.

now.  i pop my thin crust in the oven to bake first so my thick crust can rise some more.

bake for 6-8 minutes and then remove.

add your toppings:

about a cup or so of good spaghetti sauce.  <-this is key.  you can beef up your own tomato sauce or buy pizza sauce - but i think buying the "fancy" flavored spaghetti sauce (preggo, newman's own, kroger private select)  is what made my pizza taste great

sprinkle a healthy dose of shredded mozzarella

top with diced green peppers and thin red onion strips.

you could of course create your own flavor combinations - but i'm pretty simple

then - this is also key

top with another healthy dose of mozzarella or a combination of mozz and cheddar

*while you're adding toppings to the first pizza, you could be baking the other one for 6-8 minutes and then switch them out when the time is up and add toppings to the second

now pop your 1st topped pizza back in the oven for an additional 8-12 minutes - until the cheese is bubbly and browning slightly.  your crust will get somewhat golden but not overly - unless you brush it with butter or olive oil.

repeat with the thick crust

and serve!  i dare you not to eat a whole pizza.

i hope you have a happy thanksgiving tomorrow!

please travel safely and not get in too big of a hurry on the interstate - we'll all get there when we get there!

non traditional thanksgiving

let's talk turkey

i love thanksgiving.

actually

i love the idea of thanksgiving.

thankfulness, naps, football, a parade

traditional thanksgiving meal?

blech.

after a brief hiatus, i'm back on the vegetarian bandwagon (which i have been for several months now) - the grass wasn't greener on the carnivore side.  actually, my meals were missing a lot of greens.

and well...things weren't regular.

so let's go ahead and cross off the main centerpiece of the meal - the turkey.

so that leaves us with dressing.  which, even if it's not made with turkey flavorings - it's still pretty mushy.

mashed potatoes?  green bean, sweet potato, broccoli casseroles? - all mushy and overly rich.

and don't even get me started on cranberry molded in the shape of a can.

i'm not trying to be a scrooge about the meal - because honestly - i don't have to cook, and i'm definitely not volunteering to do a whole thanksgiving meal - so i should just shut up right?

i'm just laying it out there - that when bill and i have our own family, and i venture out to do a thanksgiving day meal - it won't be traditional.

i can already tell you bill is shaking his head and saying no way - there has to be turkey and potatoes - and he better hope someone else is fixing them.

because this is my thanksgiving meal taking place sometime in the future - and i want tofu pad thai.

or a create your own burrito mexican thanksgiving.

i can compromise if needed

we can have a non traditional symbolic thanksgiving day meal

but it will include

field roast hazelnut cranberry roast en croute



field roast grain meat is probably some of the best meatless main dishes available

and i want lightly blanched broccoli

roasted potatoes

and roasted carrots.

and for heavens sake i will cook my own cranberry sauce -> this one to be specific

but i'm definitely not fixing that this year...

so that leaves the question what will i be eating at our family's gatherings?

pie.

i love pie.  and i'm not ashamed to say that i will get my yearly fill of pumpkin pie and hopefully a couple of other desserts.

i mean, it is a glutinous holiday and i don't want to disappoint... 

please tell me i'm not the only one who isn't a fan of traditional thanksgiving food?

 

turkey trot

we're now 8 days away from thanksgiving!!!

and for the past 2 years bill and i have ran the 6 mile turkey trot together on thanksgiving morning

and i haven't been running in probably a month and a half.

i had plans to run the past two mornings

but it was rainy

and cold.

and now i have 7 days to try and get myself ready to run 6 miles.

i'm pretty sure i could knock out 3 or 4 tight now.

but 6 sounds like a lot.

so.  really this is just a public plea

to hold me accountable.

i really don't want to walk all 6 miles

because walk or run - i'm finishing

it makes that pumpkin pie taste so much better.

and...we may have procured turkey hats to wear for the run....