Happy Thanksgiving!

"Almost" Acorn Squash and Corn Stew

Since we ate so much for Thanksgiving week I wanted to make something a bit lighter. I had two acorn squashes that needed to be cooked so this is what I came up with to make for dinner.


Here is the recipe that I was inspired by -- with my changes in red!

Acorn Squash and Corn Stew
Inspired by The Border Cookbook

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (I used 2 medium onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 5 garlic cloves)
1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) peeled, cubed acorn squash (I don't know how much my 2 squashes weighed but I did not peel nor cube them. I cooked them whole in the microwave for 8 minutes, after piercing them with a fork 4 times as suggested on the sticker which was on the squash.***)
1 1/2 cups (about 1/2 pound) green beans, sliced in 2-inch lengths (I used frozen french green beans "haricot verts" from Trader Joe's.)
1 cup corn kernals (fresh off the cob, or frozen)
2 small tomatoes (Italian plum tomatoes work well), diced
1 mild green chile, fresh or frozen, chopped (For both the chile and tomatoes I used one can of Red Gold Hot Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies)
1/2 cup vegetable stock (I used a ladle-full of my turkey stock from yesterday's turkey soup)
1 can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tablespoon wine vinegar
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Warm the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until onion begins to soften.

2. Add squash, green beans, and chile and saute for another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer mixture for 30 minutes, until squash and beans are very tender. Cut the ***cooked acorn squash in half and remove the seeds. Fill the center with the vegetable mixture and some shredded cheese. Serve warm.

Serves 6 more like 2 for a main dish

Our First Christmas Parade of 2006

Today we went to the Annual Christmas Parade in St. Charles.
It's RDG's favorite parade of the year because it is also the shortest parade.
It's advertised as being approximately 20 minutes long
but I think it was closer to 15 minutes.
So the following pictures are pretty much the whole parade! We have been in this carriage before.
The driver always has her dog Arthur with her. He seems to be very laid back and just enjoys riding around the city!

Thanksgiving for 2 Cats

I found a cool program to play with photos here.
So I had to do a Thanksgiving Magazine cover for Willow and China Cat! They were actually both washing their front paws at the same time. I couldn't believe that I had my camera with me and got the picture.

Deep Fried Turkey Time

We always have deep fried turkeys at my in-laws for Thanksgiving.
That is Biscuit standing guard over the turkey fryer! The recipe came from other relatives down by New Orleans.






Here is the first turkey going in the oil.

And it is submerged....

It's beautiful when it comes out. Then of course we have all of the other necessities for Thanksgiving: vegetables, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy and pumpkin pie for dessert.And my SIL did the incredible job of carving the turkeys.
The turkey breast was very elegantly sliced. Last we have the carcass bones which will be made into Turkey Noodle Soup.
I'll have to put the recipe on a later post. We look forward to it every year.

Thanksgiving Leftovers are Calling

I found this online but no one seemed to know who wrote it but I thought it was really appropriate for tonight!
~~~~~

T'was the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep.

I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.

~~~~~

The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white,

But I fought the temptation with all of my might.

~~~~~

Tossing and turning with anticipation,

The thought of a snack - became infatuation.

~~~~~

So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,

And gazed at the fridge - full of goodies galore.

~~~~~

I gobbled up turkey - and buttered potatoes,

Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.

~~~~~

I felt myself swelling, so plump and so round,

'til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

~~~~~

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky,

With a mouthful of pudding - and a handful of pie.

~~~~~

But I managed to yell, as I soared past the trees...

"Happy eating to all - pass the cranberries, please.

~~~~~

"May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump.

~~~~~

May your yams be delicious - may your pies take the prize,

May your thanksgiving dinner - stay off of your thighs.

~~~~~

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Winery Kitty Wednesday

More pictures of CC and Encore enjoying a pre-Thanksgiving Feast.

Still Veteran's Day

We went to the winery to see our friends on Veteran's Day.
~~~~~
This is Chico.
~~~~~
He enjoys roaming all around the winery. You know, people sometimes tend to drop very dog-worthy snacks there!




And he showed us one of his tricks. If you put a biscuit on his nose and you tell him "wait", he will actually leave the biscuit there until you tell him it's all right to eat it. Naturally China Cat and Willow don't want to be outdone by Chico's trick, so they will wave the flag for Veteran's Day.







OK, they weren't really waving so much as playing with it!

Veteran's Day Today

Today was the Veteran's Day Parade downtown.










During the ceremony they raised the flag.
It's flying high in a very cool breeze.
The World Bird Sanctuary even had an eagle in the parade.
There were motorcycles and bands.





There were a lot of marching units.
They had cars and floats, too.




And USO was here. There were many veterans in the parade.
But, I had been hoping that more people
would line the streets
to thank them for their service,
if only by attending the parade.
And, check this out: Yesterday's post showed all of the leaves on our lawn.
When we returned home after the Parade today,
we found our lawn had been cleared of leaves.
So, thanks to our gracious neighbor for clearing our lawn
after he did his own!

Friday The Weather Changes...

This morning it was practically spring-like. It was clear, humid and windy. Then it looked like it was cold because the sun went under the clouds -- but it was still warm and humid. Very odd. After that, the wind picked up even more and leaves were flying everywhere. Actually, I think it was all of the hundreds of falling leaves that spooked Willow. She was crouching down low looking out the window and once when China walked in the room, Willow totally freaked out, jumped up with big tail and ran the other way! I wish I had a picture of that. However, I did just get a picture of the front lawn. RDG had raked all of the leaves out to the parkway for the Tuesday city wide vacuuming but this picture shows what happened today!