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Thanksgiving, Running and Cycling

TDay Recap
Thanksgiving day started off by prepping food: caramelizing onions, chopping up bell peppers and onions, blanching green beans, and roasting butternut squash. After doing all of that, Jason and I set out for a run. The plan was 6-7 miles. Jason dropped off at 6 and I finished up another mile for 7.

Then we had to quickly get cleaned up and on the road. At least our families all are all in the same city - an hour away. It definitely makes it convenient but also hectic sometimes. My mom's husband had to work so rather than her be alone, my sister, mom and I had a light lunch at my sister's house.

I found a recipe on Pinterest that I thought would be great - Penne with Butternut Squash and Kale. Mom brought the kale from her garden, my sister provided the GF pasta, and I made the butternut squash and caramelized onions. I tried to stick to the recipe but made a few changes like adding in chickpeas for protein and basil. I also sprinkled in some locally made goats milk feta.
This dish was really easy to put together, super flavorful too. I think adding in some toasted pine nuts would be another great touch.

For dessert, I had picked up slices of a gluten-free pumpkin espresso roulade from a local gluten-free bakery called Dempsey. They are absolutely amazing. You would never in a million years guess that anything there is gluten-free. And I totally failed and didn't get pictures. We kind of destroyed it pretty quickly.

It was really a nice, relaxed time for the three of us. My sister's kids were there, but they were outside playing their little hearts out with a neighbor. They didn't even notice mom and I were there ;-)

Jason had gone over to his parents' house then we all met up at my dad's house around 4:30. This year dad got all wild and crazy and did the manicotti for Thanksgiving vs the typical spaghetti and meatballs. Usually we do spaghetti Thanksgiving and manicotti on Christmas. 

I had brought green beans and bell peppers and onions to saute up as a side dish to go with the other dishes. Again, very relaxed. Low-key.
And we even got a picture of us with dad smiling. I tell you, all wild and crazy ;-)

Did you get to enjoy a relaxed Thanksgiving or was it hectic? Any new recipes to share??

Friday Funday
Friday I did not wake up early to brave Black Friday chaos. I slept in until just before 8 am. I stayed in my PJs until about 11. I did get some chores done at least. I wasn't completely lazy. I had wanted to run, but my feet were not going to let that one happen, so Jason and I ended up going for a bike ride instead.

I really needed to practice riding my new bike, just getting comfortable on it basically. So we drove over to a large parking lot near the river so I could practice stopping, starting, and taking turns. After about 30 minutes of zigzagging around the lot, we ventured onto the river trails.

The weather was mid-60's and perfectly sunny, so there were lots of pedestrians out and about. That made me really nervous I won't lie. But I managed to not run over anyone so that was a bonus.

We ended up riding for about 2 1/2 hours before calling it quits. I was getting super hungry, and that can mean cranky too. We both got cleaned up and ended up back in PJs eating leftovers. Jason watched the Arkansas/LSU game and then we just watched random tv like Food Network and HGTV. Super super lazy afternoon, but kind of perfect.

Rather than make this the longest recap post in history, I'll continue the recapping tomorrow. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend - and if it wasn't a holiday for you, still a wonderful weekend.

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