Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Things I Am Loving This Week

It is December! Can you believe it?! And it's Tuesday which means that it is time for the "Things I Am Loving This Week"--those (mostly) food related things that I am enjoying and want to share.

First up, a good use for Thanksgiving leftovers, I made these Mini Turkey Pot Pies because I love pot pie. Actually they are leftover-leftovers in this case (so would that be leftovers²?), since I used my leftover turkey bones to make stock, and then the stock and leftover turkey meat to make soup and then used some of the soup, mixed with leftover turkey gravy and added potatoes and extra turkey to make the pot pie filling. (Whew!) For the crust I used this simple one from one of my classes and used a whole grain pastry flour. It ended up quite flaky and good.


To control portions I used my small ramekins that hold about 2/3 of a cup of filling, making it a perfect size with to go with a salad for a not too heavy dinner. In this case it was a kale salad with cranberries and toasted pine nuts, and I also added a small cup of leftover cranberry sauce. Yum!



A couple of weeks ago I expressed my love for Lara Bars--a frequent snack and/or meal replacement for me. This week, I tried and am enjoying Dr. Andrew Weil's answer to the Lara Bar "Weil by Nature's Path Pure Fruit and Nut Bars" that I finally found in the health section of one of my local grocery store.


There are five flavors: Goji Moji (Cranberries and Goji Berry), Pistachi-Oh!, Chocolada Walnut, Banana Manna (Banana and Almond), Chia Razz (Chia, Raspberry, Cashew). I have only tried the banana and the raspberry chia ones so far but found them to be very good, perhaps a bit "stickier" in their texture than Lara Bars, but the flavors are excellent. I love that they have just a few natural and organic ingredients, yet make a nice sweet treat.



You may have seen it before but I just love this video from the folks at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. The employees there all got together, wearing pink surgical gloves and dancing to Jay Sean's "Down" for breast cancer awareness. From the nurses to the cleaning crew, to the cafeteria, lab techs, administration, surgical teams, etc., they are obviously having a blast and they make me smile every time I watch so I thought I would share it. The video helps raise breast cancer awareness in a positive way and the glove manufacturer (Medline) is donating a part of the video's proceeds to fund mammograms to women who cannot afford to get them. What's not to love about that?!




Finally, I can't help but love this little face! ;-) We had some stormy, cool, "blanket" weather over the weekend and since they don't come out that often here, Max likes it when the blanket appears on the couch just as much as I do.


He likes to hide under them and burrow and snuggle and will occasionally come up for air. And it has been awhile since I posted a Max picture. ;-)



So what things are you loving this week?

19 comments:

  1. love your cat! the video and pot pies have a great tuesday sweet Deb

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  2. Hi Max!
    Love those pot pies, they are so cute I don't know whether to spank them or kiss them!
    Good luck with the portion control, making minis means I just eat more of them! ;-)

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  3. I love your choices this week, Deb. The pot pies look wonderful and Max gas stolen my heart. Have a great day.

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  4. Deb, your Turkey Pot Pie looks and sounds amazing! And for Dr. Weil's bars ~ He has some terrific flavors, especial the Chocolate Walnut & Banana Mama.

    Your cat has the most beautiful markings. He should be a cat model.

    I've said it before ~ I love your weekly "Thing I am loving" post... Thanks

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  5. Chow and chatter--thanks so much. Max thanks you to.

    Natashya--Max says "Hi" back. ;-) These minis are a good size--enough that I don't think I need another whole so it discourages me--where as cutting another piece from a bigger one seems easy.

    Cahlde--Thank you!

    Fresh, Local & Best--Mahalo! Max feels the love!

    Mary--Thank you and have a great day too!

    George--Unfortunately Max would need to lose some belly fat and learn to cooperate before hitting the big time of cat modeling--lol! ;-)

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  6. I saw the pink glove dance earlier this week. What a great hospital staff! Love those mini pot pies and your prodigious use of leftovers.

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  7. I can't believe it's December. I hope the days would slow down a bit. I am loving a bit of cool breeze in December. It was hot a few days a go. I also love your pot pie. :D

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  8. Mini turkey pot pies sound delicious! The cat is totally adorable!

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  9. Max is so cute! And your little pot pies are too! Kale and cranberries are a yummy combo.

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  10. Max is such a cutie!

    The pot pies sound excellent. I love that they are portion-controlled! I need to get some ramekins so that I can make such things.

    Thanks for the tip on the bars! I love Lara bars but am always looking to try something new.

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  11. Oh Deb, I am loving that wonderful video to raise awareness for breast cancer. What a lovely, giving thing for the hospital workers to do. Bravo. As for your turkey pot pies, I've got to make some before we run out of turkey. What I did make were some turkey enchiladas. Hope you're having a marvelous holiday season. :)

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  12. Max is adorable!!! I love those pot pies too! Such awesome leftovers!

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  13. I just discovered Lara bars too - I really enjoy them because they taste good AND are good for you!

    Love the photo of Max - our min pin does the same thing with blankets.

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  14. That video was so cute! St Vincent Medical Center is awesome to have organized that. It was entertainment for a good cause. That must have brought a nice change of pace for those medical center workers. They looked like they were having so much fun. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

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  15. Wow - your little pot pies are so adorable! Bet they were yummy too.

    I just watched Dr. Weil's "Eating Well For Optimal Health", smart and simple healthy living! I had no clue this guy was out there until I stumbled on his video on Netflix Instant Watch!

    Max is so cute - I love his little pink nose. :)

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  16. Lol - my 3 year old just ran over because he says he heard "his song" playing! What a great video and a great cause to help women! The mini pot pies are adorable, but I would eat more of them (just like Natashya said). Max is adorable!

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