Now It's Cold INSIDE Baby!

Yeah our apartment is just always cold, and we still haven't fully accepted the heater yet...it's on but just a little. I hate watching the gas bill get out of control in the winter!

Lunch and Dinner were great! Wednesday I had packed my lunch for today. I brought in a Morning Star Farm black bean burger, sides of sour cream and salsa, along with some roasted broccoli I made last night!

I toasted half of a whole wheat pita for my burger and spread the light sour cream and salsa inside!
Roasted broccoli with garlic...I also sniped one of these from the kitchen at work...someone brought in a box of them...Heaven in a gold wrapper...if you like Nutella or anything chocolate-hazelnut...you will LOVE these...amazing.

After work I hit up the gym for 35min of cardio and some arm work...biceps, laterals, triceps, rows :)

I came home starving!! I wanted something hot but quick...so I went to the freezer!

Gotta love the Trader Joe's frozen section
I love this stuff...take it out of the freezer, throw it in a pan with 1T olive oil, and cook for 6-8 minutes. I also added some fresh cut up cauliflower to pump up the veggies.
The frozen dish with cauliflower...then 6-8 min later...
Mmmmm...and I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow :) Here's my plate with my side of pickle...I went back for 2 more pickles later.
When the dessert craving hit, I still wanted something warm...so what else but Hot Chocolate! I had a sample of this at WF's one day and it was so yummy I bought it right then...
I know it says "latte" but it's chocolate brown!

Apartment Thanksgiving 2008!

Earlier I started talking about my Thanksgiving I make every year for my friends on the Sunday before the real day. This has become such a favorite tradition for us and I can't wait to keep it going.

This years menu will consist of:

- Roast Turkey (obviously...simply seasoned with S&P and butter)

- Stuffing! (Family recipe...I never use a recipe because I season it to taste, but I think I'll pay attention this year to how much seasonings go it)

- Mashed Potatoes (this is usually just a standard boil, mash, milk, butter type thing...BUT this year I think I'm going to follow a recipe...I'm thinking Caramelized Shallot Mashed Potatoes )

- Green Beans (this is also usually the standard casserole...which is damn good, but last year my Aunt made these other beans that I fell in love with. They were just sauteed in pancetta and sage and we FABULOUS...I am definitely switching up the beans)

- Squash (Another change!! I'm making my other Aunts squash souffle...its the most incredible thing ever...can't wait to share this one)

- Carrots (I always boil carrots for 2 reasons...#1 as another veggies, but more importantly #2 in my family you use the cooked carrot water for the gravy! The sweet carrots make this great for the gravy...but I think this time I want to add some sort of glaze to the cooked carrots...ideas??)

- Gravy (using the drippings from the Turkey, carrot water, chicken bullion, and a little flour/water to thicken...simple yet delicious)

Then there's the desserts, but that's a whole separate post worth of information ;)

Good Night!!