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?

 

granny's bean chili made vegan

first off

i've added a page to the blog filled with info on the lovelaughwag home

so check it out :)

and now - i wanted to share my favorite chili recipe

i don't like cincinnati chili - cocoa in my chili?  uhm no, that's not how we do it in kentucky.  keep that north of the state line.

i don't want noodles in my chili either.  i mean at that point it's like spicy spaghetti.

the recipe - if you can even call it that - is the same one my mom and granny have used for years.

the recipe - which, let's be real, is just a dump of lots of yummy things into a big pot to make one big yummy thing -is quite easy.

i've omitted the meat from this recipe to make it vegan - and still 100% awesome.

this chili is full of folate, fiber and iron.

and if you have a new soup mug - i highly recommend making this to break it in

ingredients
1 large or 2 small yellow onions ($1.29 lb - roughly 1lb of onion)
drizzle of olive oil -stock
3 15oz cans black beans (88 cents ea)
3 15 oz cans kidney beans (88 cents ea)
1 large can of tomato juice (2.50 (estimated)
2 packets of mccormick's chili spice mix - i use 1 mild and 1 hot - adjust to your personal preference (low sodium options are available too) (kroger brand were 70 cents each)

roughly chop onion and saute with olive oil for 5 minutes in a large dutch oven or soup pot
while onions are sauteing rinse and drain beans
add tomato juice, spice packets, and beans to pot

bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 10 minutes until everything is heated through.

serve with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips - or keep it vegan and top with avocado slices and daiya cheese.

*total cost $10.47
*total cost per serving - i'm going with a generous 10 servings (even though i think you could easily get 12-15 servings)  $1.05  

 *note, you can easily make your own chili spice mix - but when making a big pot of chili i hate using all my EXPENSIVE spices to flavor it- the spice packets are much more affordable - mccormick's is what my granny always uses - but kroger mirror's their product and at 70 cents a packet the overall cost of this meal is so affordable per serving.

*if you want to make it like my grandma does - leave out the black beans and add cooked and drained ground beef (about 1-1.5 lbs)