Ninja and I went out this weekend. HB was at work and SB was at a birthday party. We have been waiting almost 16 years to have a Saturday where we can go out on a whim, without planning, without babysitters. Unfortunately, just when we got to this point in our lives, we have something else that is now holding us back from being spontaneous or even having planned date experiences. MS. MS is actually worse than having children lol obviously, but I mean in the context of planning, MS sucks. At least with children you can get babysitters lol with MS, you never get a day off.
I am a person that used to go to bed every night and visually see a day planner in my mind. I colour blocked our life and saw everything planned out in organized little blocks. But nowadays that picture is blurry. I can’t remember the order of the blocks. The calendar in my mind is all bendy and distorted by fatigue and myelin degeneration. To top it off, I have no idea how I will feel on any given day, or any given hour so to make plans… Is hard to say the least. And frustrating. And a confidence killer! That’s something that I didn’t realize. Once you start questioning yourself, your confidence falters. That has never happened to me lol I’ve always been confident in all of my decisions and now I second-guess whether or not I should shower before dinner or after dinner! Once you start questioning whether or not you should use a fork or a spoon for your casserole, well you start to not trust yourself.
All this to say, I’m grateful. LOL I know it doesn’t sound like it but I AM grateful. Grateful that even though I am on this scary journey of redefining myself at a time when I was just getting to really know who I was, and liking that person, I am doing it. Life isn’t easy. For anyone. There are wars, food shortages, hurricanes, wildfires, poverty, sexism, and hate permeating our world. I wonder what historians in the future will think when they look back at our timeline. I am proud of myself for not hiding, not whining about what’s fair, not complaining about what has been taken away from me, but learning how to be happy and successful even with these new limitations.
I am grateful that Ninja never looks at me like a burden. Even though he is picking up all my slack, working hard, and being the best husband and father that I could possibly ask for, he still looks at me like an equal and he never complains. He still respects my opinion and we still discuss all aspects of our life, family, and marriage. Together. I am grateful that he loves me so much that he is willing to dive headfirst into this new life, that we did not plan for and certainly did not ask for. Not only diving head first but instead of, being negative, he pushes us all to see the positives we have in our lives rather than the few negatives.
I am also incredibly grateful for HBear and SBean. The last few years have been incredibly tough. They continually strive to learn their place in this world, and how they can be of service within our home. They are disappointed, but understanding when I can’t do all the things that I was able to do before my diagnosis. They offer to do more around the house, especially HBear, and they are incredibly affectionate and funny in their quest of cheering me up on the hardest days.
I am so incredibly thankful.
I am also thankful for turkey! Lol Ninja loves turkey. It’s on his top three dinners and might even be in the running for last meal if he was ever on death row lol. Whenever turkey goes on sale, Ninja buys one. Don’t tell anyone, but we will make turkey even if it’s not a holiday! I know, blasphemy, lol, a whole turkey for a small family of 4? Don’t worry, though, we make use of every single bit of a turkey. We even use the carcass to make the most flavourful turkey stock imaginable! I freeze it in bags of 2 cups for soups, rice, and casseroles throughout the winter. Thanksgiving is coming up next week and I wanted to give you some ideas on how to use all the extra turkey meat that you will have leftover after your big family meal this weekend!
We started with a Citrus Herb Roasted Turkey. This delicate flavour brings out the best of the turkey. The meat was so flavourful, so moist, perfect for a holiday dinner and perfect for use in various recipes later.
Nothing says Thanksgiving more than delicious turkey with tart cranberry sauce! This Turkey Cranberry Sandwich will use up that leftover sauce and that delicious succulent turkey meat. We used sourdough bread because it’s our favourite, but feel free to use whatever bread your family likes and if you’re feeling a little risque, you could even toast the bread and have a toasted cranberry turkey sandwich!
My Mom always made open faced turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving. It tasted exactly like dinner the night before! This Grilled Turkey Florentine Sandwich will taste nothing like Thanksgiving, but provide comfort with every bite! The sautéed mushrooms with the spinach make this gourmet grilled cheese sandwich the best thing about Thanksgiving dinner!
SBean loves chicken pot pie, but HBear hates piecrust. This Turkey Noodle Casserole is the best of both worlds! It has all the comfort and flavours of a delicious chicken pot pie, but without the crust, without all the work, and using up what is left of the delicious turkey you made for your Thanksgiving feast. This tastes even better the next day, which makes these leftovers, even better left-leftovers!
Ingredients
14-17 lb whole turkey, thawed
1 small whole onion, peel removed and cut in half
1 orange
1 lemon
4 leaves sage
4 twigs thyme
- Herb Butter Rub
1 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 twig rosemary, chopped
4 twigs thyme
4 leaves sage
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven or BBQ to 325F.
Remove turkey neck and giblets from the inside of the turkey. Place the turkey inside a large roasting pan with 1 cup of water (I used a can of citra pale ale instead).
Make the Citrus Herb Butter Rub. Add the softened butter, minced garlic, salt and pepper to a medium sized bowl. Add orange zest and lemon zest to the bowl. Remove thyme leaves from four of the stems and place in the bowl. Remove the rosemary leaves, chop them and place them in the bowl. Chop four sage leaves and place them in the bowl and stir all of the ingredients.
Add onion halves, two orange quarters, two lemon quarters, four whole thyme twigs, one rosemary twig and 4 sage leaves. Reserve remaining orange and lemon quarters to garnish the turkey platter.
Cut a little slit at the bottom of the turkey breast so that you can get your hand in between the skin and the breast. Using your hands, apply the rub under the skin and onto the breasts. Apply the remaining butter rub to the skin of the breast, wings and legs.
Cook at 325F for two hours and check to see if internal temperature has reached 165F. Insert thermometer at the thickest part of the turkey breast. I baste the turkey a few time with the ale and juices in the pan. If you're basting the turkey, it will take longer to cook but it is worth it, I think.
Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
8 slices sourdough bread
4-8 lettuce leaves
1/2 pound turkey, thinly sliced
4-8 slices Gouda cheese
4-8 slices tomato
4-8 bacon strips, cooked
Directions
In a small bowl, mix mayo, cranberry sauce, toasted pecans, mustard and honey until blended.
Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise mixture. Layer bottom half with lettuce, turkey, cheese, tomato and bacon; replace bread top.
Ingredients
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup spinach
8 slices bacon, cooked
8 oz leftover turkey breast, sliced
8 slices or 1 cup provolone cheese
8 slices bread
1 teaspoon garlic powder
butter for spreading on bread
Directions
In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and saute until tender and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Spread butter evenly on one side of each bread slice and sprinkle evenly with garlic powder.
Layer cheese on the unbuttered side of bread slices, add the turkey, mushrooms, spinach, and bacon, dividing ingredients evenly between sandwiches. Top each sandwich with remaining cheese slices and the bread, leaving buttered side out.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet and carefully transfer sandwiches to skillet. Grill sandwiches on both sides until cheese is melted, spinach is slightly wilted, and bread is toasted to golden-brown.
Ingredients
1 bag egg noodles
4 cups chicken stock
2-3 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
2 cups turkey, cooked
2 cups cheddar, shredded & divided
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Cook the pasta in chicken stock and 2 cups of water for 2 minutes less than the package suggests. Reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid before draining noodles and setting them aside.
Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large stock pot. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add the flour to the pan, mixing it in to make a paste. Very slowly add the reserved chicken stock. Add approximately a tablespoon of the reserved 1 cup pasta stock/water at a time, waiting until the last bit of stock is completely combined before adding the next bit. Then add in the milk. This whole process should take about 5 to 10 minutes and result in a nice creamy sauce.
Once all the milk is mixed in, add the thyme and sage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in one cup of the cheese. Add the turkey, cooked noodles, and frozen vegetables. Pour the mixture into the greased casserole dish and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top begins to bubble.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #399 Parent’s Prime Ministers
This week, we get together on Sunday morning to discuss: messages, Provincial election, Canadian fish, Presidents, Hockey Pool, SOW, Beer week, predictions, & the UK trip.
October started off well with sunshine, HBear introduced us to her new boyfriend, and he in turn introduced her to his friends across the world via Skype, SBean learned her new gymnastics floor routine, and Ninja and I enjoyed a day out participating in Penticton Beer Week.
