Monday, October 14, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!!! - turkey, strawberry spinach salad, ox tail soup, cheese bread hack, pumpkin ricotta cheese gnocchi & the list goes on...

Happy Thanksgiving!! It's time for the semi annual turkey frenzy again! The two holidays that make us think of turkey are Thanksgiving and Christmas and as soon as one holiday is over we're already looking forward to the next so we can have more turkey! Here's a quick overview of our Thanksgiving feast this year. 


For those families that are quite large in number, you'll know that's no small task to cook an entire turkey dinner. This year we had 8 people, which is a few more than usual, so cooking started early and no minute was spared!


Nom nom, the star of the dinner! The turkey was slow roasted in the oven and basted every 30 minutes or so to make it moist and juicy. We only stuffed with veggies this year to decrease the cooking time. Even with the veggies, it was still in the oven for 5 hours! 


We're on a Strawberry-Spinach-Salad craze so that was part of the menu this year. There's just something about a sour and sweet balsamic vinaigrette with the sweet cranberries, strawberries and caramelized pecans that make this salad dance in your mouth.  The crumbled goat cheese was just the perfect addition.


Homemade Ox Tail Soup with potatoes, barley, potatoes, carrots and celery. This soup has a wide range of vegetables and you can barely tell! 


Some bread to dip in the soup. This Cheese Bread Hack was super easy to do. We bought an Italian loaf and cut it into the squares without cutting all the way into the bread, Drizzle a little bit of olive oil or melted butter, toss in some shredded cheese and chopped up green onions and bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese is melted. 


Thought long and hard about what pumpkin dish to make this year because I didn't want to make a dessert.  I ended up making Pumpkin Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi! It was actually a lot easier than I anticipated. It was pan-fried in butter and sage and it was a perfect compliment to the rest of this Thanksgiving meal! 

We also had some Steamed Green BeansSautéed Onions and Garlic Sweet Potato Mash but I was too excited about eating that I forgot to take a picture of them!!


Even though everyone was super full after the meal, we were able to find that second stomach for some dessert - Apple Crisp! Made with fresh picked golden delicious apples, oatmeal and coconut oil instead of butter, it was a tasty alternative to your usual apple pie or pumpkin pie! 


Needless to say, our pants were noticeably tighter after the meal and I could hardly move from my chair! All the hard work did not go to waste though because it was definitely a tasty meal... only 2 months and 12 days until the next turkey dinner at Christmas time! 

What's on your Thanksgiving plate this year??

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