

Questions: How do you "balance out" your meals? Do you sometimes feel like something "fresh" after eating a lot of cooked foods? And, it's the final day of our flossing challenge! So you sure flossed today, right?
Be well,
Andrea
[Edited: I am submitting the Turkey Mushroom Pea Pie recipe (below) to Natasha's 5 Star Makeover Challenge.]
I hope all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a nice day yesterday. We had a very nice day even though the toddler’s sleep schedule was completely “off.”
This morning, the teenager and I got up at 4:00 a.m. to hit some stores by 5:00 a.m. We got some good deals, and it was fun having some one-on-one time with him. I am realizing more and more that it’s only a few more months until he is off to college… I also realized this morning that teenagers can be extremely patient when it comes to waiting in a line if it’s for something they want. We ended up standing in line for over an hour to buy two video games ($5/each).
I mentioned before that I’m not the biggest turkey fan, but I do like the dishes I make with the leftover turkey. Last night I made some turkey soup after hubby carved all the meat off the turkey. He actually watched some videos online and did an awesome job carving the turkey this year!
I cooked the bones in about 10 cups of water for 2 1/2 hours with plenty of rosemary and thyme. Every once in a while I skimmed off the foam that built on the top. Then I took out the bones and strained the soup. I also skimmed off the fat after the liquid had cooled a bit. I sautéed some onions, garlic, celery, & carrots and added the soup back to the pot. Lastly, I added some cut up turkey meat. I really enjoy a cup of turkey soup in the morning the day after Thanksgiving!
I also made some Turkey Mushroom Pea Pies with a mashed potato topping.
I started by sautéing 8 ounces of mushrooms. Then I added some frozen peas and cut up turkey meat. I finished the sauce with a few tablespoons of half and half.
I filled my small ramekins with the mixture.
Then I topped the ramekins with leftover mashed potatoes.
I baked the pies in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes got a bit of color.
Questions: Do you like to “make over” your leftovers? Did you hit the stores this morning? Did you get any great bargains? And, finally, you are still flossing, aren’t you?
Be well,
Andrea
The other day I bought some fresh garlic pasta at the Farmers’ Market. We haven’t had a white sauce in a while, and I thought mushrooms in a creamy sauce would go well with the pasta.
Ingredients
I started by sautéing the sliced mushrooms in a bit of olive oil. After the mushrooms cooked for a few minutes, I added the minced garlic and the spinach. I cooked everything until the spinach was wilted and then added the half and half and cooked everything for a few more minutes. Here is a picture of the finished sauce.
And here is the sauce mixed with the pasta. I also tossed the sauce and the pasta with some Parmesan cheese.
And here is an individual plate with a bit more Parmesan cheese and some basil.
Question: What’s your favorite pasta sauce?
Be well,
Andrea
The other day I bought some marinated tofu at the Farmers’ Market for an easy dinner. I sautéed some onions, garlic, mini sweet peppers, mushrooms, carrots, & celery for a few minutes and then added the tofu until it was heated through. I seasoned the stir fry with just a bit of low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. I served the tofu over brown rice.
The toddler was busy “sorting” his food: tofu in one bowl, everything else in another.
And then he swirled the pepper rings around his fingers.
After he was done exploring his food a bit, he finished every last bite and had another bowl (which he sorted again…).
Well, this is a short week, so I’m not planning a lot of meals:
Tuesday: Garlic pasta with creamy mushroom sauce & a salad.
Wednesday: Kabocha soup.
Questions: What are your strategies to keep Thanksgiving healthy? What’s your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal? I like mashed potatoes, gravy, & stuffing. And, you haven’t forgotten about the flossing, have you?
Be well,
Andrea
Well, even here in California the tomato season has finally come to an end. This week, we enjoyed the very last tomatoes that we bought at the Farmers’ Market. They were delicious, and we enjoyed every bite! I said it many times before: tomatoes are my all time favorite food!!!
In the last few weeks, I have received a couple awards. Thank you to One Fit Foodie, My Little Space, & Simply Life! I enjoy each of these blogs a lot. And I truly love this blogging community. My blog has truly enriched my life, and I so enjoy having you all in my life. Over the past few months, life has been truly challenging, and my blog has allowed me to focus on the positive things life has to offer. I enjoy reading and commenting on blogs (although I have unfortunately not been able to comment as much as I’d like to in the past few weeks), and I look forward to your comments, encouragement, and friendship every day.
Okay, here are the awards I got. First, a few weeks ago, I received the Kreativ Blogger Award from Naomi at One Fit Foodie. I love Naomi’s blog, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, head over there!
I am supposed to share seven things about myself with you. I already shared quite a bit about myself with you in this post and this post; here we go again:
I also got the following award from My Little Space:
Thank you My Little Space! If you haven't yet, check it out!
And finally, Simply Life gave me another award:
Thank you Simply Life blog! Again, an awesome blog, check it out if you haven't yet!
Again, thanks to One Fit Foodie, My Little Space, & Simply Life for the awards, and thank you to all my readers for your friendship. So why don’t we all try to get to know each other a bit better? I would love it if you left a comment and told me something new (to me) about yourself. And yes, I’m also talking to all my readers who never comment! Let us know who you are!
Questions: What is something I don’t know (yet) about you? And you aren’t forgetting to floss, are you?
Finally, if you haven’t had a chance yet to find out why Holly is collecting money for a well in Cambodia, head over there now.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Be well,
Andrea
It’s sometimes easy to forget how lucky we are in California to have access to year-round Farmers’ Markets and that the growing season is so much longer than in other parts of the country. For example, I just took the very last tomatoes off our plants the other day…
We go to several Farmers’ Markets most weeks, but I haven’t taken any pictures in a long time as chasing after a very excited toddler and taking pictures at the same time just isn’t really an option…
So over the weekend, I dug out an old friend in the back of the trunk: a stroller. At first the toddler was almost in disbelief; I think he was in fact too shocked to say his usual "no way"when I put him in...
But once I got him a pretzel he was much happier… And since he ate almost an entire pretzel by himself, I was able to take some pictures without too many interruptions…
The variety and quality of the produce is truly amazing, especially considering that it’s November!
And here is what we got:
I see some fresh salsa in our near future!
And I also got some “splurge” items:
In addition, we also got some organic whole grain bread, some pretzels, and some marinated tofu.
I truly enjoy shopping at Farmers’ Markets and getting to know the farmers and vendors. It makes me feel connected to the food we eat, and I feel truly fortunate that we live in an area where we get to shop at a Farmers’ Market all year long.
Questions: What was your last fun food shopping experience? What was the last interesting/new (to you)/amazing food item that you’ve bought?
Be well,
Andrea