Saturday

Cous cous burritos (recipe in the comments from October 24, 2007)
Spinach salad
Red globe grapes

Hot tea
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M was at work tonight for graduate student recruiting (he's recruiting his first student!!!!), so T and I shared one of our favorite meals that M is less partial to, cous cous burritos. I know it sounds weird, but it functions kind of like huevos ranchero, with cous cous for eggs. We love it and ate like kings together. T grinned through his cous cous and said, "Dis yummy, Mama. We eat dis tomowoah 'gain." (Translation: This is yummy, Mama. We should eat this again tomorrow.) It was a great meal to share!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Incredibly easy
Chopping: Bell pepper, tomato
Time: 15 minutes
Make Ahead: The cous cous saves well to be reheated into burritos

Reaction
J: "It's ok that M eats elsewhere some nights."
T: "Dis yummy, Mama. We eat dis tomowoah 'gain."

Thursday - Thanksgiving

Homemade peppery pecans
Cornishons
Mixed olives

Cream of parsnip soup with flash fried onions and sage leaves

Turkey
Gravy (Trader Joe's)
Dad's stuffing
Baked sweet potatoes
Slow-cooked Mediterranean green beans
Autumn harvest salad
Cranberry sauce (Trader Joe's)

Pumpkin pie
Whipping cream
Decaf hazelnut coffee and hot tea
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We really scaled back our Thanksgiving this year to give us more time to hang out with our family and friends and also to have more ability to focus on T during Thanksgiving day. We made the pumpkin pie (I do crust, M does filling) the weekend before and froze it unbaked, baking it early Thanksgiving morning. Regular readers know we froze the soup last week, leaving only the flash frying (all M) for the day of. I made the pecans (crazily easy!) while T napped on Tuesday. This was the first year we haven't homemade gravy (good reviews on the TJs stuff). We eliminated more complex appetizers, mashed potatoes, a second vegetable dish, and the apple pie. While I have some sadness about losing all of these items, the prep and the products were both wonderful. All in all, I think it was one of my happiest Thanksgivings ever.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: The easiest Thanksgiving yet

Reaction
J: "Let's do it again next year!"
M: "Unexpectedly good."

Note: Since I usually only post main dish recipes, I haven't posted a recipe for today. If you want a specific recipe for one of the side dishes, post a comment and I'll respond.