Thanksgiving-Iron Bowl Food for the Weekend...

After spending a couple of days planning what I would fix for Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I had an excellent menu. It was healthy, all but one dish, and it was perfect for the Iron Bowl football game, Alabama vs Auburn. From spinach salad to pumpkin pie, glazed carrots to herb dressing...perfect and easy...just the way I love to cook most foods AND most of it was cooked in the crockpots. Even better. First, Thursday night, Jerry helped me prepare a few of the items, one being the bread for the dressing...gluten free too. 

 The dressing...I love a lot of celery in my dressing...

2 cups of chopped celery

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 chopped sweet onions

2 chopped red gala apples

1 cup of golden raisins (reserve a few to sprinkle on top)

1 Tablespoons of finely chopped thyme

1 Tablespoon of finely chopped Cilantro

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups of fat free vegetable broth

6 cups of bread crumbs (I used a gluten free handmade recipe)

Mix all the ingredients together before adding the bread crumbs.

Stir well...it will be rather moist...

Layer in a 6-8 qt crockpot,

Stuffing, chopped chicken breast meat, low sodium/low fat

 cream of chicken soup (small can). There should be at least two

layers of this process in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 6 hours.

I have made this many ways...using less of the cream of chicken soup each time...if you want the dressing more moist, then use more broth or more soup. The higher you turn your crockpot, the chances of burning your dressing becomes.

This year I made a turkey breast,

cooked on warm in the crockpot all night

with Ken's Lemon Herb Marinate poured over it.

An hour before I took it out, I turned it upside down in the crockpot

so that it would gain more moister.

Juicy and fabulous...

The ham was spiral and pre-cooked.

However, I popped it in the crockpot and poured local honey

and 1/4 cup of Splenda brown sugar on top and allowed it to

simmer on warm for the day.

Tender and delicious.

I added Sweet Potatoes with fresh rosemary and red onions

in vegetable broth to another crockpot

Preparing the Acorn Squash to go with the 

Mushroom Rice dish.

Slightly cut off the bottom so that the acorn squash will sit flat.

Place on a paper towel and then on a glass plate, cover in plastic.

Cook on full power for 5 minutes. The inside will easily pull away from the skin.

I also punched some slits into..,forgot to mention that...before cooking...

I sauteed 1 cup each of leek, bella mushrooms, shallots, sweet onions

to go in the wild rice.

I used a fork to pull the squash and then formed it in a circle.

I mixed the sauteed vegetables, prepared wild rice,

1 Tablespoon of Cilantro, 1/2 ground cinnamon together

and placed in the center of the acorn squash. 

The Apple Pie mixture was a recipe shared at my

Weight Watchers Meeting. I twicked it a bit until I got it

a fewer less calories.

1 six ounce can frozen unsweetened apple juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of fat free spray butter (YES INDEED)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon real vanilla

6 red gala apples, peeled, cored, sliced and cooked

(I cooked mine in water, lemon juice all night in the crockpot)

cooking spray

I did use a purchased pastry because I did the points calculator,

it was the same amount of points with the margarine and 

handmade pastry so I called it even lol.

I made a tart out of the two pastries...

because guess what!!! With my kitchen bulldozed down and

not having a kitchen...I have no idea where my pie plates are!!!

Too funny...Mother and I laughed about this...=P

Regardless, points equaled 4 for 1/8th of a slice.

Need a close up view...now that is fat free whip topping =).

I also made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake

which I did in the Crockpot. It was fabulous as well!

I recommend the one in the Microwave but this one was delicious too...

Weight Watchers friendly of course...

AND a Tupperware Recipe Using the Amazing Steamer!!!

(I can so come and make these recipes for you...I love them!!!)

1 box of Yellow Cake Mix

1/4 cup of Splenda Brown Sugar (my new best friend)

1 teaspoon of real vanilla

1 can diet lemon lime soda

1 regular can pineapple chunks

Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Mix all the ingredients together and pour in the crockpot. Cook for 4 hours on low. Top with fat free whip topping. Without the topping the cake is 3 points for 1/8th of a piece.

Fresh pumpkin pie...totally with ALL the points AND calories!!!

Done...

Declared...Delicious by my Chef Ethan...=)

Pretty thick for not finding my pie plates lol,...

Steaming carrots...

to Sweet Glazed Carrots also cooked in the crockpot...

These were prepped all night...along with

green beans drained and topped with fat free Italian Dressing,

and kernel corn.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Sweet Onions...

We also had fresh turnip greens, Moscato Wine with Nuun and Cinnamon.

Chocolate even enjoyed his plate 

while his brother Beau got the ham bone and drippings...

Happy hearts, happy lives, happy home and happy tummies

for the whole blumming weekend!

Yes!

Happy Hugs,

Rita