Post Thanksgiving eating

Since I was craving Portillo's, T did the second best thing he could find; he made us burgers, and brats.

I don't know how he assumed I could finish this meat fest because I only had room for one hot dog and burger and that was even a stretch!

Nerds.

no tree yet but Sonoma and I are ready for Christmas! Bring on the lights, tree, and most of all Christmas music!!

We're making some headway into our turkey leftovers. We sure had a TON left!

on to my next craving: Tacos.. doesn't quite beat that artificial meat Taco Bell taste but it was a good substitute :)

with all the fixin's

my taco turned into a taco salad.. guess that's what happens when you overstuff your tacos!

more Thanksgiving leftovers.. T made his version of a Shepherd's pie with leftover ground meat, turkey, and mash potatoes.

 

he added some spinach because I was dying for some greens!

leftover taco/shepherd's pie turned salad for lunch

Papa Sultani's turkey gratin- cheesy, gooey, decadent, and delicious!

I think I may have to lay down after this meal!

blueberry/banana/peanut butter smoothie with some fun chocolate/sprinkle toppings.

Now this is a yummy way to get my daily dose of fruit.

pancakes and eggs this morning for breakfast

 

I heated up this roast chicken for lunch along with some cooked veggies, brown rice, and beets.

sliced mushrooms sauteed in EVOO, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

yum! It felt so good to be eating healthy again after so many heavy meals!

my vice on a somewhat healthy roast chicken is the skin. Can't. get. enough. 

Book  recommendations: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (just finished it and thought it was such a classic Nicholas Sparks love story). I'm now starting the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I'm hooked so far!

Thanksgiving in London

We started our Thanksgiving morning with a hearty and very cheesy omelete with spinach, peppers, and cheddar cheese.

I can't make omeletes myself but I sure can enjoy them!

After a quick clean up, I got ready for class, and then at the last minute changed my mind about going. What about the Thanksgiving holiday screams going to class? Heck no! The baby wanted to stay home and cook :-)

T made these pumpkin pies the night before. I highly suggest prepping, and baking the day or night before so the day of can be that less stressful. *our day still was a bit stressful* but isn't Thanksgiving meal prep always a tad bit stressful?

T was in charge of the bird, mashed potatoes, rice stuffing, and pumpkin pie.

He seasoned this bird with his dad's middle eastern recipe with lots of earthy spices.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/southern-biscuits-recipe/index.html

I was in charge of:

• Southern style biscuits- Thank You Alton Brown. His recipe is amazing! I made these 3 hours before everyone came but I highly recommend doing it last minute so they come out hot and buttery. Yuum.
•  Green bean casserole- I used everything besides the French's fried onions. I found a so-so UK substitute. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/campbells-green-bean-casserole/detail.aspx
• Stove top stuffing
• Sweet potato casserole

da bird!

Now that's a tasty bird!

and we have lots of leftovers!

the sweet potato casserole was a hit as well. I followed this recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/yummy-sweet-potato-casserole/Detail.aspx

classic stove top stuffing. Simple and delicious.

 

I got lazy and forgot to take a picture of the other table. Who can really blame me with all this delicious food around.

my huge plate of a little bit of everything.

I of course had leftovers this afternoon and probably for a long time to come. That's what I love about the holidays: good eating, and great company. The only thing missing this year was my family, but I've been used to that for 2 years.

Tarek also made us turkey bagel sandwiches on top of that huge plate of food I fixed for myself. I ate half the sandwich and left the potato salad, which wasn't very appetizing after all that homemade food.

all that gooeyness is red leicester cheese (pasteurized of course!)

and why didn't I notice this before? Someone brought us a HUGE bottle of champagne..

compared to the regular sized bottle, this one looks humongo! Maybe we can make use of it after the baby is born, hehe.

Cream of Mushroom casserole

I was really craving a chicken sandwich for dinner last night, and thankfully, we had most important ingredient in the house: mini chicken filets. Phew.. I haven't been in the mood to leave the house lately, so I'm not sure what I would have done without having a stocked fridge!

The chicken was seasoned w. salt and pepper and cooked on the stove top with a bit of EVOO. The sandwich had a butt load of spinach, mayo, and siracha. YUM! I love me some spicy chicken sandwiches :-)

a side salad on the side with ranch dressing- gotta get more veggies in!

T made a cheese and spinach omelet this morning. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the delicious, yet processed Kraft American cheese in the middle.

the cheese made the omelet extra soft, and gooey.. mmm..

I used a recipe I found online to make a cream of mushroom casserole. I omitted the white wine and mushroom slices.
http://mgwhite.hubpages.com/hub/Cream-of-Mushroom-Soup-Casserole-Recipes

• chicken breast fillets
• 3/4 cup dry wild rice
• cream of mushroom soup 
• 1 can water
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt
• pepper

I layered the casserole and baked it for 1 hour at 175 degrees C. It turned out pretty tasty..

I wouldn't recommend putting this on a bed of spinach since it muddles the flavors of the casserole, but the babes needed the extra veggies!

Someone is in the dog house and had flowers delivered to our flat this afternoon.

why hello flash! If only flowers could make one forget. sigh.. they are beautiful though..