Monday, November 29

Long, Wonderful, Food-Filled Weekend


Sunday ended the longest family togetherness, cookin’-est 5 days of my life. It was amazing.

Following Thanksgiving was the infamous BLACK FRIDAY! WOO HOO! My mom, aunt, and I took my sister and three of my cousins shopping at midnight. We hit Old Navy and Kohls before 4 AM. (I am fairly certain I burned off about a million calories just holding all of the clothes for that long.) We went home, slept, and went back out with the rest of my cousins (the other five) to Target and TJ Maxx. The day was torturous, but well worth the pain. We rewarded ourselves with Thanksgiving leftovers. Yum.

Saturday, my mom and I spent the entire day cooking, again. My grandfather so graciously informed us on Thanksgiving that his brothers were coming to visit and that we would be entertaining somewhere between 15 and 30 people. Thanks for the information so far in advance. We shopped frantically for more food on Saturday morning and returned, in grubby clothes and no makeup, to people waiting at our door. Apparently my grandfather told them it was ok to come over 2 hours before we’d planned. Geez. So we had to whip up some snacks pronto.
Gluten-free crackers
Spinach Dip
My mom made this traditional holiday drink for our Caribbean relatives.
Coquito: Coconut Milk, Coconut Water, Condensed Milk, and Rum
I thought about putting it under the Yummy Stuff page, but this is NOT a healthy drink. I had a little, but it was very sweet. Not a huge fan. I stuck to red wine.

Gizmo liked it. Pixie investigating.
 We spent the rest of the day preparing food for these hungry Cubans. 
Dinner turned out to be amazing.
Roast with Gravy. I only had a teensy weensy bit.
Peas, purple potatoes, carrots, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes.
Death on a platter. I did not partake in this gluten-fest.
 Food, food, and more food. I curbed my intense desire to stuff my face and had a normal sized plate.

Then had some post-dinner entertainment. Three of my cousins thought it would be a great idea to attack my 6'7, 280 lb. step-dad.The sugar must've gone to their heads.
Back surfing. Blurred faces of pain.
More pain.
A sad attempt at putting my step-dad in a sleeper hold.
After this picture came repeated pile drives from the weasel in the gray shirt. 
Good times.

Sunday was another shopping day. It was my 5th (?), maybe 6th (?) time shopping for a wedding dress. To fuel up, I had a simple breakfast of cottage cheese and sliced apple. Not very picture worthy, but healthy and delicious.

Finally, I found a dress! I am still so happy. I love it and I can’t wait to wear it! (You’ll have to keep reading for the next few months to see it!)

When we got home, I was so hungry, so I had some leftovers.
Roasted Peppers, Brussels Sprouts, and Onions

Purple Potatoes and Carrots
Later in the afternoon, I convinced my entire family to come on a walk with me (I think they wanted to work off some of those Thanksgiving calories!). The weather was beautiful and I just soaked up the family time. <3 Loved it.

For dinner, my wonderful mama made gluten-free turkey pot pie using left over turkey and veggies. Healthy and delicious! The only thing that was a little naughty was the crust.... I seriously don’t remember the last time I ate this. GF Bisquick might be the greatest addition to the GF community thus far.
 I finished the night off with a dessert of Honey Nut Chex. Like I needed dessert…
 General Mills Chex Honey Nut Cereal, 13.8 oz (Pack of 6)

Now it’s back to the real world. We're pooped
I love the tongue sticking out.

Dear Food-Fest: I am glad you’re over, but you will be missed.

1 comment:

  1. OMGOSH ashley that spinach dip looks so GOOD! could you make me some and bring it to co-op ;) I'll blog about it ;) lol JK!

    looks like you guys had a great and yummy weekend :D

    ReplyDelete