Thanksgiving 2011: Full of Firsts

Thanksgiving was full of firsts this year. I'm too far along in my pregnancy to travel more than an hour (by this point with Audrey I was already dilated to a 3! yikes!) but all of our relatives, save for my little brother, live more than an hour from us. So instead of risking having this little guy early and him ending up in the NICU, for the first the first time in our nearly 5 years of marriage, had Thanksgiving here at our house. And boy did it wear Audrey out. She was so wired I didn't think I'd be able to get her to nap at her usual 2:30. By 3 she was still trying to talk her way out of it. So Barker walked her to her room. She crawled up in bed and covered her head with her blanket. And she didn't wake up for 5 hours! Yes, you read that right. 5 hours! So she got up at her bed time, ate some left overs and requested Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special. 

This isn't the first time I've been pregnant at Thanksgiving, but it is the first time I've been aware of it. I was pregnant at Thanksgiving 4 years ago but didn't yet realize it. I found out the following Wednesday after one of Barker's friends called me and said his wife had dreamt 4 days in a row that I was pregnant. So I did some math, realized I should take a test, and received the best test results of my life!

While Audrey was eating her left overs her daddy was out battling all the deal crazed people for the black Friday bargains that now start on Thursday, a first for him. We don't usually do black Friday but he saw a few things in the ads that he thought might be worth going and seeing what all the fuss is about. He went out into the madness for 2 items that went on sale at 10pm. By 9:58 I received a text that he already had the 2 items he wanted. By 10:05 he had checked out and loaded a Power Wheels white convertible battery operated car for Audrey and a super cute 50's style beach cruiser bike (that I've been wanting since we lived in Arlington) into the truck for me and was headed home! Easy as pie. And no, I don't plan on riding a bike 9 months pregnant but hope to find one of those carts to attach behind it to haul the baby in while Audrey and I struggle to keep up with her Daddy (on our new rides) who runs laps around this neighborhood. And by voluntarily missing the last (for the foreseeable future) Texas and A&M game to fight the black Friday crowds for his daughter, he definitely scored some major points in my book! So this Thanksgiving, like every day, I'm thankful that my daughter has such a wonderful Daddy!

And per my previous post, here are the new recipes I tried today. The lighter green bean casserole tasted like your typical green bean casserole. No bells or whistles. But, I couldn't tell it was made with much less fat. So that made it a success in my book. But I wasn't so crazy about the cheesy corn dish. It gets rave reviews online but all I could taste was the roasted garlic. 

Lighter Green Bean Casserole

  Recipe Courtesy of Bobby Deen and the Paula Deen Test Kitchen

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces   (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Paula Deen’s House Seasoning
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup french-fried onion rings

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the mushrooms, onion, and Seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and onion are very tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cooked beans, soup, milk, 1/4 cup onion rings, and 1/4 cup cheese; toss to mix well. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup onion rings and 1/4 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the filling is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. 

Cheesy Corn and Bacon Casserole

4 slices bacon, finely chopped

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup flour

3 cups milk

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

2 oz. Velveeta, cubed

2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 tsp. paprika

3 lb. fresh or frozen corn kernels

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 375°. Heat bacon in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add butter and garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, and bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, Velveeta, cheddar, and paprika, and cook until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in corn; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 9″ × 13″ baking dish and bake until top is golden brown and bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool before serving.