My Afflation

Josh carving the turkey. Even though it was only 13lbs, there was A LOT of meat left over. Friday: Make stock Saturday: Finish making stock and eating some of the leftovers. I have missed King's Hawaiian rolls so much. Like, crack. Good thing I don't plan on moving much the rest of the weekend. So much stock. I wonder if I should try Phở? Sunday: Turkey Shepherd's Pie  with sweet potatoes - modified from Paleo Shepherd's Pie. Monday : Turkey (Noodle) Soup Tuesday : Turkey Pot Pie Wednesday : Turkey Waldorf Salad Turkey Waldorf Salad from FoodNetwork.com Thursday - Saturday - someone else is doing the cooking. What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipes?

My daughter declared these the absolute best mashed potatoes she has ever had. So of course I had to get the recipe. I think these will replace garlic mashed potatoes as the Thanksgiving staple. Chef Mickey's Creamy Parmesan Mashed Potatoes Recipe from Chef Mickey's Official Photo folder Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Total time: 40 minutes Yield: 8-12 servings Ingredients 8 cups peeled and diced Idaho potatoes 1.5 cups heavy cream (or half & half) 1/2 cup butter 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Cooking Directions Boil potatoes until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in large mixing bowl (or reuse pot) Heat cream and butter in saucepan over low heat until butter is melted and warm. Add warm cream and butt...

Checking on sweet potato pies as I work on the cheesecake Not everyone in my immediate circle is a fan of sweet potatoes, though I am slowly wearing them down. As a compromise, two years ago I made my first cheesecake -- pumpkin flavored! At the time, I took lots of pictures because I meant to blog it. Well, I'm finally getting around to that. Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe by Adapted from Pillsbury Classic Cookbook #344 pg. 73 Prep time: 35 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 25 minutes Total time: 8 hours 40 minutes Yield: 16 servings Calories per serving: 440 Fat per serving: 28g Ingredients Crust 2 cups cinnamon graham crackers 1/4 butter, melted Filling 4 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened 1.5 cups granulated sugar 4 eggs 1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix) 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom or allspice ...

This isn't quite the recipe that I made growing up, but it's pretty darn close. And I get to use less sugar than the original.  Sweet Potato Pie Ingredients 1lb sweet potatoes (orange flesh not yellow, might be labeled yams) 1/2 cup butter softened 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (or to taste) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (or to taste) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (9in) unbaked pie crust Directions Peel sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks and boil for 30 minutes or until soft.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Drain sweet potatoes, then break apart. Add butter and mix well. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, spices, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.  Notice the orange hue. If it's yellow, you got the wrong kind of sweet potato. Pour filling into pie crust.  Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before serving. Whip cream is optional. Pin It

Operation Burn the Turkey is off to a good start. The day before Thanksgiving I weighed myself and I was 194lbs and change. The day after I was also 194 and change and this morning I was: 193.6lbs 1lb lost! (Though it is a 2lb gain from last week). Still, not bad. I figure I could easily be back up to 196lbs. Because yesterday's shenanigans totally threw off my mood (post on that coming soon), I didn't get in my weekend workout. Hiking around Disneyland should count though, right? One inspiration since Thanksgiving is wearing a pedometer constantly. I actually got in a little over 1000 steps just in my kitchen on Thursday! Now that I am back at work, my mileage is down considerably. I was so out of it yesterday I didn't pack my gym bag for today, so it's a bust. I may get in a walk after dinner though and burn off extra calories trying to keep warm . I need to stop talking myself out of working out. Making excuses and procrastinating. I'm really good at t...

is some rest, peace, and quiet. And I got it. Out of the blue. Out of the kindness of a stranger’s heart. Tonight I was offered hospitality, and I took it (partly feeling like a heel, but would it have been ruder to reject the offer??). I felt a little weird accepting such a gracious and spontaneous offer, but you know what, I’m glad I did. Joy is not too thrilled though. She wanted another night in a hotel, which was my plan for this weekend. My current situation makes everything harder on everyone. I don’t know how to fix it (anyone want to adopt me and then leave me a small fortune?) One of these days I will get things figured out. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy this time of respite.

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