An Early Thanksgiving Dinner

I celebrated Thanksgiving a little early this year.  Not with family, as that will be next week, but with friends!  On Wednesday, my roommates and I had “Roomie Thanksgiving.”  The four of us are rarely ever home at the same time, so it was nice to have a sit down dinner all together for once.

We each contributed something to the cooking, and tried to make our selections as healthy as possible!

First up?  Drinks!

Pomegranate Sangria

As the designated apartment bartender, Miss Slesh whipped up some delicious pomegranate sangria for us to try.  I had a glass two glasses with dinner.  For the recipe and more details on this fruity cocktail, you should check out her blog post!  She’s Cait @ A Twist and a Shake.  I just can’t bring myself to call her Cait all the time (Who’s Cait?!).  But Slesh & Cait @ A Twist and a Shake are one in the same!

Next?  The meat!

“What do you mean you don’t eat no meat?!”  –My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Turkey Tenderloin

This was much easier than making a huge turkey in the middle of our busy week!  Trina just popped this baby in the stove and spiced it up a bit with sage, thyme, rosemary, pepper and garlic powder.  Great flavor!

The loins were very moist and tender.
(Sorry, couldn’t help myself).

Look at this slicing action, disabled hand and all!  Go Trina!

Now for the sides!  We made a lot.

Butternut Squash with Goat Cheese, Sage, and Toasted Pecans

Remember this recipe!?  Super delicious.  Combining all these flavors is like magic in your mouth.  I made this for the first time in October with Tim and wanted my roommates to experience the amazingness too, so this was one of my contributions.  Note – I decided to opt out of the balsamic reduction part of the recipe completely, and it was still just as good!  I think that replacing that reduction with a little bit of low-fat balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing would be just fine if you still wanted the flavor.

No Crust Spinach Quiche

Thank you to Mimi (Bridget’s grandmother) for this recipe!  I knew this one just HAD to be good since Mimi makes it.

Ingredients

• 2 packages of frozen spinach (either two 10 oz or two  16 oz)
• One small yellow onion
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 package of sliced white mushrooms
• 3 eggs
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Saute the onions in a pan until they are clear
2. Microwave the spinach for about 6 minutes
3. Make sure to remove all excess water from the spinach
4. Crack the 3 eggs in a separate bowl and whisk them together
5. Mix ALL of the ingredients together – except for the salt and pepper
6. Add the salt and pepper to the mix (not too much, but enough to taste)
7. Pour the mix into a casserole dish
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Do-It-Yourself Green Beans

This recipe is extremely easy, and I’m super psyched for a new quick green bean recipe.  Usually I just make my Greek Style Green Beans, but now that Bridget has introduced me to these I’ll be having them more often!

Ingredients

• 2 packages of green beans (Bridget used the microwaveable packaged ones, this could also be done with fresh!)
• 1 package mushrooms
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Directions

1. In a large pan, pour in some EVOO – about enough to drizzle the whole pan.  Don’t put too much in the pan, remember we are trying to be healthy!  If you don’t want to use EVOO, spraying Pam on the pan will do just fine!
2. At a medium heat on your burner, add the mushrooms for about two minutes.
3. Microwave your green beans for 2.5 minutes.  The package calls for 4 minutes but 2.5 will be perfect!
4. Add the green beans to the pan.
5. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over the mushrooms and green beans.  Use as much (or as little) as you want.
6. Cover the pan for about 3 minutes
7. Cook the green beans until they are to your liking (Bridge suggests taking them off the burner between the 5-7 minute mark).

Mashed Cauliflower

Otherwise known as the healthier version of mashed potatoes.  There isn’t really any specific recipe to follow for these – Slesh just steamed them in chicken broth until she could mash em all up.  She put them in a food processor, but you definitely don’t have to.  Also in this mix?  Some butter and shredded cheddar, and I’ve also heard of some adding some garlic powder or minced garlic for extra flavoring.  This is great for a lower carb option, and cauliflower is high in nutrients!

Stuffing & Gravy

Probably the least healthy option on our food menu?  Stuffing right out of the box.  But Slesh made it healthier by adding chopped celery and some Craisins.  Right?!  And we topped it with gravy.  ORGANIC gravy.  Obviously healthier.

Healthy No Bake Pumpkin Pie

None of us wanted to spend too much time or calories on a big dessert the week before Thanksgiving, so I opted for a healthy pumpkin pie recipe that I found on one of my favorite healthy living blogs, Run Eat Repeat.  Will you believe me if all this pie takes is mixing a cup of plain Greek yogurt, a cup of pumpkin, 1 box of fat-free/sugar-free butterscotch pudding mix, and a little pumpkin pie spice?  And then pouring the mixture into a store-bought crust?  Well, it’s for real.  You don’t even need to bake it – just goes right into the fridge.  Perfect for those days you need something sweet but are short on time!  Thank you, Monica, for the inspiration!

The Whole Spread

My Only First Plate

We had a lot of laughs, picked names for our roommate Secret Santa, and planned a fun Christmasy night to have with the boyfriends in mid-December.  Looking forward to it!

Be Thankful Challenge?  I’m thankful for fun friends / roommates.

Question(s) of the Day:  Do you have more than one Thanksgiving dinner?  Have you ever had a “friends” or “roommates” Thanksgiving?  Think you’ll try any of these recipes next week?  What’s your favorite way to make a traditional Thanksgiving dish a little healthier?

Happy Friday!  Make sure to tune in Monday morning for my next REALLY exciting giveaway!