A Day of Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We planned on spending the day at my parents this year. The days are getting closer to the anniversary of my grandma's death - and I am really feeling the need to be near my mom and family. Plus - with the holiday navigation of food preparation, the days leading up to the day my mom called me a few times to see how she could make things so that I could still eat them. She's lovely! She put me in charge of the green beans this year. I decided to make 2 different kinds. Why? I didn't want to hear anyone complain that I didn't make the old-time classic green bean casserole and I simply wanted some veggies myself. I made everyone's favorite and made a different kind for the health conscious peeps in the fam too. Here's a brief (very brief - I don't even have photos of the turkey and potatoes) rundown of the spread:

Green Bean Almondine
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes

2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
zest of one lemon
2-4 oz. crumbled blue cheese

Bring pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat sauté pan over medium heat and toast almonds until just turning golden, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and reduce heat to low. Melt butter in pan, then add shallot and cook, stirring once or twice, until shallots are golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add a pinch of salt to boiling water and blanch green beans for 4 minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water and add to pan with shallots. Add almonds and lemon zest and toss gently. Top with blue cheese and serve. If you make this ahead of time, reheat in oven just before serving, then top with blue cheese immediately upon removing from oven. Or set the blue cheese on the side for people who can not have cheese or don't perfer the flavors of blue cheese.  

8 servings.

Recipe Review:
The Green Bean Almondine was grand! Super easy and a great side dish for the turkey and taters I was allowed to eat. The savory lemon flavor was a nice change of pace for me because I haven't done with veggies besides roasting them. The blue cheese gave off a great final touch, but could be omitted and the recipe would still be delicious. It was a great day to give Thanks!

This photo is a reminder for Mama B to remember to send me this wild rice recipe. She said it was easy to make in the slow cooker. It made her kitchen smell delicious all morning and most importantly, all the ingredients are ones I can have!

This was another dish that graced the table at Thanksgiving. My Aunt made this dish and said it was easy as well. I didn't try it because I didn't know who made it or what was in it, but the Mister gave it rave reviews and said I should make it at home. 

Lastly, I didn't touch this one - or any deserts. My Uncle said they picked this pie up from Costco. It probably weighed about 10 pounds! I'll have to get confirmation, but I think he said each piece was about 500 calories and I'm not kidding. Maybe we should all give thanks for our health before digging into a piece of this!