Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Yesterday morning after we finished breakfast and exchanging gifts, I went back to bed to the calm and quiet to "plan my day", as I call it. My first son came to find me and apologized for waking me up, but I wasn't asleep. I was thinking about what we were doing, where were going, when to put the different parts of dinner on, and how to get everything hot at the right time before serving. That planning is as much an essential part of meal preparation as the actual standing in the kitchen and cooking.
I find if I don't take a few minutes to order my thoughts and my day, chaos ensues.

We settled on this menu:
Turkey
Gravy
Stuffing (dressing- cooked in the slow cooker)
Roasted sweet and russet potatoes
Roasted orange and red peppers
Steamed carrots and celery
Caesar salad
Lemon/cranberry sauce
Mimosa's
Coffee
Homemade apple pie
Vanilla ice cream

If you'll look at the plate, there are lots of vegetables. Portion sizes over "the holidays" is something most of us forget to think about, but it's never too late to start eyeballing your plate. If half your plate is vegetable and/or fruit, you're off to a good start. I did actually add some carrots and celery after I took this picture :) Imagine a hockey puck, and that's your protein. Stuffing, being mostly bread chunks, count as your breads/cereals- the amount of stuffing pictured was about 2 slices of bread.

I designed my own spice blend for the turkey and stuffing this year, and it was definitely most enjoyable. Over the next day or two I'll be posting a few recipes for what we ate on Christmas day. I'd be happy to hear how your meals turned out! Did you try anything new? Discover a new favorite? Is there anything you'd like me to post about over the next few days?

Enjoy your weekend, friends. 
Stacy