Those wonderful holidays are here!

[plsmachic]

It's holiday time again!! Oh, hooray!

I want to know everyone's plans to avoid trigger foods, and dishes they'll be making for the big trio of temptation...

What are you doing for:


HALLOWEEN

THANKSGIVING

CHRISTMAS

???

[Lyssie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Um.. I'm not making anything special for Halloween and Christmas is too far off to be planning... For Thanksgiving though, if I decide to stay home, I'll be making a turkey, and some faux stuffing, and maybe some fauxtatoes. I know I made cranberry sauce a couple years ago during this time but I am not sure I will be on the appropriate rung this year. I may also make some "pumpkin cheesecake muffins" instead of pumpkin pie. It all depends on how sociable/holly homemaker I am feeling.

[Debie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Um.. I'm not making anything special for Halloween and Christmas is too far off to be planning... For Thanksgiving though, if I decide to stay home, I'll be making a turkey, and some faux stuffing, and maybe some fauxtatoes. I know I made cranberry sauce a couple years ago during this time but I am not sure I will be on the appropriate rung this year. I may also make some "pumpkin cheesecake muffins" instead of pumpkin pie. It all depends on how sociable/holly homemaker I am feeling.

Lyssie - how do you make faux stuffing?

[Lyssie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Well, I guess I'll post the recipe then explain what happened when I did it.

Pork Rind Stuffing
1c chopped celery
1/4c chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste
poultry seasoning, to taste
1 packet splenda, or other sweeetener
2T butter
1/4c heavy cream
3 1/2oz chicken broth
10oz pork rinds, crushed
4 eggs

Saute celery, onion, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sweetener and butter in a frying pan until transparent and tender. Add other ingredients and mix together until the pork rinds are coated and moist. Put into baking ish and bake for 35 to 50 minutes until set like regular bread stuffing. Feel free to add more eggs or cream to get the texture you are used to. Some people also add mushrooms, sage sausage or oysters.
Yield: 8 Servings, Each with: 276 calories, 18g fat, 25g protein, 2g carb, trace dietary fiber so 2g net carbs

Mine ended up with almost a cup of onion (lack of attention whilst chopping), beef stock (the store was out of chicken broth and I had bought the stock for another recipe), and 3.5oz pork rinds instead of 10oz (I thought a bag had 10 and didn't actually check the amounts on the grocery list). I think I cooked it around 375 since it went in with the chicken. The next time I make it, I will use the 10oz pork rinds, mine was delicious, but I am curious... but I will probably keep the onion at a cup.

Oh yeah, I used a pretty decent size pan for this, so I'm not sure that it will all fit in with the 10oz... perhaps may need to mix it in a bowl not the pan.

[Debie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Thanks! And here I thought that I would have to do without stuffing

[Lyssie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Yes, I loved stuffing, and this is a pretty good substitute. I have to admit, I thought I was hallucinating and had posted inappropriately when I saw it in your journal...

[heavenly rose08]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

well this year my husband will be taking the kid's trick or treating because i am a sucker for chocolate and i will most likely be tempted to eat a few pieces,now for thanksgiving we usually go to my mother's house and she always makes the turkey and diffrent kinds of salad's so i;ll definetely stick with turkey and a nice helping of leafy greens and dido for christmas.

[not2late]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

For Thanksgiving, I'm trying this recipe from Jacques Pepin's new cookbook: Recipes from Jacques Pepin: More Fast Food My Way

Pumpkin Gratin

Watch Episode 206 | Printer-friendly recipe [pdf]
The only way I ate pumpkin as a child was in a savory gratin, so the first time I had it in the United States -- sweet, in a pie -- I thought it was a mistake. I've come to love pumpkin pie and I still enjoy pumpkin in the gratin of my youth. The combination of Swiss cheese, eggs, and cream comes together into something like a smooth and creamy soufflé, capturing the flavors of fall. Canned pumpkin speeds things up.
4 servings

• 1 can (15.5 ounces) 100% pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the pumpkin puree into a food processor and add the eggs, cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Process for 10 to 15 seconds to combine.
Coat a 6-cup gratin dish with the butter. Fill the dish with the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until set and lightly browned on top. Serve.

There are other recipes that I'll hve to try too, like the stuffed porl tenderloin on grape tomatoes, the cod in tomato-olive crust, asparagus fans in mustard sauce, and a few others that can be low carbs with a few substitutions or eliminations.

[widget246k]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

I somehow managed to resist eating any treats this weekend and we had 2 Halloween parties and Trick-or-Treating. For Thanksgiving, I'll eat turkey, veggies, and probably a low carb dessert of some kind. I haven't decided on a Christmas menu yet. While it is sometimes hard not to give in and eat all the bad things because other people are, I just think about what I want more, the temporary satisfaction of carbs or the permanent benefit of good health and looking better. The latter always wins.

[London_chick]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Lucky for us brits haloween/thanksgiving..non event..

Christmas..already dreading.. now that I dont drink is going to be a different experience all together!! lol Going to have a seperate xmas meal with my partner, loads of veggies ..cheesecake desert etc.

Family..I will prepare whatever I want as usual, as a vegetarian I never had a meal made for me at xmas. So just business as usual!

Will deffinately be making peanut butter fudge and a blueberry cheesecake for the family though.. I love to make things..so should be fun!

Wont be going out with the office drinking this year! Shall put the money saved towards sale shopping in january!

[not2late]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Lucky for us brits haloween/thanksgiving..non event..

I don't know when it happened, but Halloween changed from being a child's holiday (an evening where you can dress in a costume, run around your neighborhood, collect candy from your neighbors and/or go to a Halloween party with your little friends and schoolmates) to an adult costume party with plenty of alcohol (that was very popular with college students in my time, so maybe they just carried on with it when they became adults. )

And more recently, it's becoming an adult sit-down dinner/cocktail party type thing---which is even more confusing to me! I think it has to do with all craft and home decor movement: give Halloween an adult slant so you can show off your cooking, crafting and decorating skills to your friends, because 6 year olds might not appreciate hand-dipped chocolate bon bons, napkins folded in the shape of a crown, etc.

[kimbat06]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

I will be staying in on Halloween so I think that will be ok. Unless my mom buys some candy and purposely leaves it out on the table (the nerve!) I think candy will be out of the question. Even then I think I will be able to resist the candy.

I'm going to have ham on Thanksgiving. I usually LOVE Honey Baked Hams or any ham with a glaze over it. Does anyone have a low-carb recipe for a ham glaze? Possibly just some splenda and cinnamon and something else? Heck I dunno. I will probably make myself the low-carb recipe for pumpkin bars or cheesecake so I don't feel left out at dessert. I am (surprisingly) not a huge eater at Thanksgiving.

For Christmas I am worried. Lately my self-control has been amazing but as soon as my sister brings over all of her home-made desserts it will be the ultimate test! My mom usually makes lasagne for Christmas. So that will suck. I will probably have a nice cesar salad and some ham again lol. Will have to look into some of those low-carb cookies to make for myself as well.

[Lyssie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

I've always loved Halloween. It was one of the few times of the year when my mother wouldn't be insanely depressed. So whether I am at an adult sit down party with cocktails, or trick or treating with friends and their kiddies, I'm quite content. I need a costume to keep the dead from paying attention to me.

[Elizellen]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

I
For Christmas I am worried. Lately my self-control has been amazing but as soon as my sister brings over all of her home-made desserts it will be the ultimate test! My mom usually makes lasagne for Christmas.

Is there any chance of asking your sister and mom to see if they can make a seperate lowcarb version for anyone who wants to cut down on sugar and starches if you have a big family?
Many desserts can be made without actual sugar and starches, and lasagne can be made substituting sliced roasted aubergines (eggplant), courgettes (zucchini) or parboiled cabbage leaves and using a cheese sauce without flour/cornstarch.

[MommaRuthie]

Re: Those wonderful holidays are here!

Thankgoodness for turkey! I love the stuff. I can't wait for it to go on sale so I can roast a whole one instead of doing legs and thighs. I can do without pie and cookies and candy but will have to watch how much green bean casserole i eat. If I were stranded on an island for a long period of time, the first thing I would ask for would be my grandma's green bean casserole. It is the best! She gave me her recipee and even though I make it the same EXACT way, it doesn't tastse the same to me even though the rest of the family says it does. Oh, I'm going to cry... my grandma is 88 this thanksgiving and I don't want to ever do without her!