Luscious Leftovers

"This is so good.  This is so good.  This is so good."  Yep, I moaned this repeatedly after my third (not consecutive) leftover turkey sammy.  But, let me back up the story a bit.

This recipe was passed on from my Mother, the best cook I know.  She told me it was a really great recipe.  So, I picked up a turkey breast roast from Costco last week.  Turns out a roast is really a couple big pieces of boneless turkey tied up (I cut the string bag...turns out you weren't supposed to).  She said it would probably work just fine.  Oh, boy, did it ever!

1 turkey breast (bone in or boneless), thawed
1 15oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Rinse turkey breast and trim off any excess fat.  Place turkey in slow cooker.  Combine ingredients.  Pour over turkey.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  Note: Mom usually cooks it on high about four hours, then on low another 3 hours.  Depends on the size of the turkey.

The turkey was so tender and flavorful...texture similar to pulled pork, but not icky stringy.

Now on to the sammy.....perfection.  Heat up the turkey in a pan.  Generously butter crusty sliced sourdough bread and place it on a griddle.  Top it with the warmed up turkey and a couple of spoonfuls of cranberry sauce.  Toast on one side and carefully flip it.  Toast the other side, then get ready to eat up.

Yes, the bread is as big as the griddle.

Yum.  We've had three sammys so far, and Emil will finish off the last one tomorrow at work.  Lucky guy!  We joke about returning to Costco to pick up a few more turkey roasts to toss in the freezer.  Guess I know what we're having for Christmas.  Let the countdown begin! 

Kudos to my lovely Mother for the recipe!  She's also the best hostess I know...and taught me all about Southern Hospitality.  Thank you!

5k and Giving Thanks

I convinced Emil to do the "I Like Pie" 5k this morning...get up early, shiver, run, and eat pie.  It was worth it!  Over 1,000 people participated in an untimed 2k, 5, 10k walk/run along the Deschutes River.  After the run, there was plenty of free pie and even a pie baking contest!  All the proceeds went to a local food bank.  Emil's time was really good...mine was decent, considering I haven't ran in three weeks.

Hot coffee, cocoa, and fire pits kept folks warm and energized.

Before the run...

Donating some canned goods to NeighborImpact.

Our pie:  peach, cherry, cranberry, and chocolate nut

For Thanksgiving, I wanted to do something non-traditional and keep it simple.  Maybe a tofu curry, lasagna, or enchiladas.  We also wanted to spend the day alone, cozy in our pajamas, and watching football...since we've hardly seen each other the last three weeks.  Leaving the couch was optional.

We compromised and cooked our favorite foods, along with a wonderful recipe from my Mother.  Thanks for the great turkey recipe!  I also skipped the diet food and desserts, but stuck to small portions.

Crockpot Turkey...it's so easy and delicious.  Four ingredients!

Emil's favorite cranberries.  Less sugar this year.

Twice baked taters - low fat sour cream.  We split one!

Perfectly round Rhodes Rolls.  Bake them in a cupcake pan!

Apple pie, no nuts by request

My plate.  I'm saving up for dessert.

Our cute little table with non-matching plates, cups, dishes.  Sigh.

Now we're looking through store ads, contemplating a shopping trip, and looking forward to homemade apple pie (for Emil since I don't like pie), and brownies (for me).

On a side note:  I watched Twinkies sell left and right on eBay last night.  We dashed out at 10 p.m. and went to three stores to buy boxes to sell.  Since Bend is so healthy and full of granolas, we did not have success.  Darn hippies!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A most welcome visitor

Tommy Boy came down here for a few days before heading to Tacoma for the holidays.  I splurged on good food, he drank great beer, and we played ukes every night.  I hosted a few music parties at our house, and we explored the neighborhoods in the rain and wind.

Between the eating and drinking, we found time to hang out and just chat about life.  A needed convo.

A little duet on the couch.

WOW!  Check out that cool cigar box uke.  I wonder who makes them....

Delicious coffee at Thump.

Tommy eating a gingerbread woman at Sparrow Bakery.

Our 10th brewery of the day (just kidding)...Boneyard Brewery.

Pepper steak sammy at Brother Jon's downtown.  I'll stick to the Captain Jack Sparrow.

Good times for sure.  So glad he came to visit for the third time.  Hmmmm....maybe he likes Bend and the 15 breweries!