Friendsgiving 2012

When I woke up yesterday morning, I finally felt so much better (hey, ten hours of sleep will do that for ya!), and I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't be stuck at home all day. I wasn't (and am still not) 100% better, but I was alive and off the couch.

And thank goodness, because last night, our friends Heidi and Ed hosted Friendsgiving at their new house!

The evening was SO much fun! Heidi and Ed are incredible hosts. Their home looked beautiful all decorated for Christmas.

(How perfect is that tree???)

But the real main event was the turkey feast. Ed used his indoor deep fryer to make the turkey, and Heidi and Ed worked together to create the rest of the delicious side dishes, including corn casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn bread stuffing, a loaded salad, and homemade popovers.

 Admittedly, we were all a little nervous about the deep fryer, but Ed did a great job of cooking the bird safely, and it tasted incredible! Moist, flavorful, and delicious.

And even though the turkey was amazing, the rest of the dishes lived up to the high standard. I seriously can't pick a favorite! But if you twist my arm...I'll go with the stuffing. Corn bread and sausage and cranberries...amazing.

For dessert, Katie made a peppermint cheesecake and a Dutch apple pie. I really liked them both, but that apple pie was one of the best I've ever tasted. There may or may not have been an incident where Terry stole more of the crumble than he should have, and I was not happy. Thankfully we got through it, and it will still be a merry Christmas in the Heinrich household. 

(Thanks for catching that picture, Katie!) The rest of the evening included incredible conversation as we caught up with our friends. We played Guesstures and Friends Scene It, both of which were far more difficult than I expected.

...but still entertaining of course. We also walked around Heidi and Ed's new neighborhood to check out all the lights and decorations.

We had a blast as always with this crazy group of friends. And even though it was "Friendsgiving," it was a great way to kick off the Christmas party season!

Does your town have a big Christmas display or a street known for their decorations?
My hometown has a really cute couple of blocks with big displays and small fundraisers for charity. It's so fun to see all the families out enjoying the spectacle!

Sick Day

Yesterday and today involved a whole lot of this:

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling pretty terrible, and by the time I got to work I knew I wasn't going to make it through the day. Thankfully my school managed to secure a last-minute sub for me, and I was home by 8:30 am. Since then, here's what I've done:

• Slept. A lot.
• Drank a lot of water.
• Drank more tea than usual.
• Complained about not feeling well.
• Complained about being restless (I'm a treat when I'm sick, really).
• Cuddled with the cat (he slept right along with me every time I took a nap).
• Spent way too much time on Pinterest.
• Prepped lessons for when I finally go back to work.
• Caught up on our DVR shows.
• Played a board game with Terry.
• Completed an LA Times crossword puzzle with Terry.
• Complained a little more.
• Finally couldn't handle sitting on the couch anymore and made peanut butter cookies and a version of these:

I also made some turkey soup for dinner tonight, which used up the last of our turkey leftovers and will serve us lunch for at least the next two days.

As you can gather, I don't have much to share in the way of health and fitness today, but I am hoping that one more night of sleep will get me back on my feet tomorrow. Meanwhile...

• 10 Stocking Stuffers for Real Food Lovers
• Make Your Pictures Worth a Thousand Yums (for fellow food bloggers)
• Holiday Appetizers and Drinks

What's your favorite sick day agenda? Let's hope I don't have to come up with more couch-bound activities tomorrow!

10 Sandwich Ideas

It's always great to add variety to the usual routine! I don't think I can be considered brilliant in many subjects, but I can make a damn good sandwich. I consider it a gift, and I don't take it lightly. I feel it's time to share a little sandwich recipe roundup.

Grilled Pesto Caprese Sandwiches

Avocado, Pepper, and Tomato Sandwiches

Veggie Wrap

Southwest Chicken Sandwiches

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Classic peanut butter and jelly--or peanut butter and banana, peanut butter and honey, almond butter and honey...the list goes on.

Breakfast sandwich: Fried egg, a slice of cheese (cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, , Gruyere, whatever!), and jelly on a whole-wheat biscuit

Grilled cheese: a combination of cheeses works best (I love Manchego, cheddar, Gruyere, or feta), and adding caramelized onions, tomatoes, and any roasted vegetable (eggplant, zucchini, squash, mushrooms) is a terrific idea 

Tuna Salad (grilled with cheese for a melt or cold in a wrap)

And now...introducing the Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich

For each sandwich:

• 1/2 cup roasted turkey, shredded
• 1/2 cup stuffing
• 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 slice Havarti cheese
• 2 slices bread (I recommend sourdough, of course, or whole-grain/whole wheat--something with texture)
• Optional: gravy (of course, you could insert a Moist Maker a la Monica on Friends, but I thought it might be a bit much)

This sandwich can be served cold or warm. For cold, simply assemble and serve. For hot: Reheat the stuffing, preferably in the oven (I throw the stuffing into a casserole dish and bake, covered, at 375 for 15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, toast the bread. About one minute before the toast is ready, place the cheese on the bread and continue to toast for another minute. Reheat the turkey as desired (microwave or add to the stuffing dish in the oven). 

To assemble: Mix the mustard and cranberry sauce, then spread on the non-cheese side of the bread. Pile the turkey and stuffing on the bread and top with the other piece of bread. Enjoy!

We ate our sandwiches with a simple spinach salad tossed with balsamic, almonds, and olive oil. 

What's your favorite type of sandwich?

'Tis the Season

...to be jolly, right? Today, I'm not feeling so jolly. It was a rough morning technology-wise at school, and then I came down with a pretty solid sore throat. And there went the plans for the day!

Which brings me to today's topic: What's not so great about this time of year.

Please bear with me; I consider myself an optimistic, positive person. But sometimes it's fun to look at the glass half empty, isn't it?

• Flu/cold season. The poor kids get sick, and then they still come to school. I don't blame them--I do feel that being present is one of the best ways to be successful in school--but of course sick kids means sick teachers, and the cycle continues.
• Starbucks. Honestly, it's a love-hate relationship. I don't need anything in there. I don't drink coffee, and the best tea is a cup of English Breakfast made right at home. But it's just so cozy in there! Starbucks calls to me at this time of year! And inevitably I feel obligated to buy something. 
• Weather-related delays and incidents. I know I shouldn't really complain, because in LA we don't deal with frost or snow days or majorly destructive weather. But the fact that LA isn't used to rain unfortunately leads to lots of accidents when the roads get wet; drivers aren't used to the roads and the roads tend to flood pretty quickly. Traffic gets even worse than usual!
• The millions of e-mails about sales. How many holiday specials can there be?
• Hearing the same version of the same song over and over again. I love Christmas music, but perhaps a little rotating through?
• Candy canes. I think they're cute, but peppermint upsets my tummy.

Luckily, there's a lot more I love about the holidays compared to what doesn't thrill me. I'll keep things much happier around here.

And on that notes, some eats for today:


Check out the other WIAWs!

Spinach and eggs for breakfast, with tea in an adorable mug

The most amazing Thanksgiving leftover salad (from our second turkey dinner): turkey, spinach, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, balsamic, and olive oil. SO good!

Another cuppa after school to soothe that sore throat I mentioned.

Dinner was a hodgepodge of chicken wings, truffle fries, and a few bites of a Chipotle burrito bowl (the rest I'll have for lunch tomorrow). We met up with some other Bruin alums for a happy hour and had a great time, but now I am desperate for rest before another busy day tomorrow!

Oh yeah, and falalalala lalalala.

So, what's your beef with the holidays?

Delightful December

Oooohhhh goodness, Boot Camp was ROUGH today!

(Follow me on Twitter!)

Terry and I tackled the workout together, and we both felt the burn--as in couldn't-lift-our-arms-up-to-get-a-glass-down-from-the-cabinet burn. And after two weeks of not-so-great effort on my part in terms of boot camp, I was thrilled to get my butt kicked.

The workout was probably my favorite so far for Round Three. (By the way, Round Four is now OPEN for registration!) The workout included six groups of upper-body strength exercises performed Tabata-style. I loved the fast pace and how quickly each set of exercises finished. After this round of boot camp I may try designing a similar workout for myself, but for now I'm excited for the lower-body version of this workout on Thursday.

Just for fun: Ways to Make December Delightful

• Eat at the table instead of in front of the TV (Terry and I are trying this one for all of December!)
• Turn a night of shopping into a real night out--add a picture with Santa, a dessert out, or a night cap.
• Pump up your workout routine--perhaps Courtney's 2012 Closeout Workout Challenge?
• Watch this video.
• Buy a new Christmas ornament or holiday decoration.
• Install a bathtub on your roof (anyone see New Girl tonight?).
• Do more yoga.
• Try a new recipe.
• Watch your favorite holiday movie.
• Take a break to embrace the moment and be thankful. 

One of the best parts of my day today was chatting with my friend Amanda about Princess Kate's pregnancy. I love the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and I followed all their wedding planning. I'm pretty stoked that Terry and I got married the same year they did. Did anyone else wake up/stay up to watch the wedding live?

(Source)

Anyway, I'm pretty thrilled for them, and Amanda and I decided it would be best to just go ahead and offer to host the baby shower for her so that she would be obligated to attend. Thoughts?

Getting in the Spirit

Well, the Christmas spirit is alive and well in the Heinrich household! Terry and I spent the day putting up the decorations and listening to Christmas music, with a little work mixed in for good measure.

This morning for breakfast I wanted to incorporate some vegetables into my meal (you know, since I failed at that last night), and I ended up with a delicious little combo:

Spinach, one egg over easy, and some croutons (leftover from last night's stuffing). Simple, but filling and tasty.

Today was tree day, and while it was quite different from last year's mountain adventure with my parents, it turned out to be a really fun day. The tree lot we went to was small but really nice--tons of trees in a variety of sizes, all gorgeous and full, Noble and Douglas options, plenty of workers to help load up the tree on top of the car. Terry and I picked up Jenn, too, so that she could pick out a tree for her apartment. We had so much fun, and a little rain didn't turn out to be so bad.

From the time Terry and I left our apartment this morning, it took only two hours to pick up Jenn, select two trees, drop off our tree, set up Jenn's tree in her apartment, and set up our tree in our apartment. It was miraculous! No traffic, no problems.

We tucked away all our Thanksgiving goodies and busted out our few Christmas decorations. We have more that we simply don't have space to store, so a lot of our ornaments and miscellaneous decorations are up north with my parents. Someday, when we have a bigger place, we'll finally get to use all that stuff again!

I wrote this note to myself last year, which turned out to be super helpful this year!

Still, our cozy little place doesn't look too shabby:

And now to start another week! We'll be eating lots of turkey, of course, and my workout plan is as follows for right now:

• Monday: morning workout or rest
• Tuesday: Boot Camp Workout A + sprints
• Wednesday: Boot Camp Cardio + Core
• Thursday: Boot Camp Workout B + HIIT
• Friday: Cardio + Core
• Saturday: Boot Camp Workout C
• Sunday: Cardio circuit or run with Terry

What do you do to get ready for the holidays? Decorating? Shopping? Music? Special meals?

Hope you have a great start to the week!

December, Yoga, and a Turkey

December
It's happening, folks! The last month of the year is upon us, and 2013 is inching closer. But instead of looking too far ahead, I'm excited about just this upcoming month! I have a lot to keep me busy and (hopefully) inspired at work, plus Terry and I have several fun events going on in the next few weeks.

The first day of December kicked off with a lovely walk and breakfast with Jenn, and then Terry and I worked throughout the day on our big turkey dinner for two.

I promised you a better photo of the stuffing!

Notice the lack of green? Yeah, completely forgot to roast the veggies until the last second, so those are happening tonight.

Turkey
Included in our meal:

• Brined and roasted turkey
• Cooking Light sourdough and sausage stuffing
• Mashed potatoes - I just peel the potatoes, cut them into one-inch cubes, boil them until fork-tender, drain, and add salt, pepper, butter, and milk while mashing to desired consistency (I like some lumps)
• Gravy - I use the pan drippings, butter, and whole wheat flour to whisk up a super tasty and simple gravy
• Cranberry sauce - Terry made it! See the recipe below
• Pinot Noir from Bridlewood

Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

Makes 3 cups

Adapted from Eat Live Run's Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Sauce

• 1 bag cranberries (12 oz.)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes; the berries will burst and break down. You can mash up the berries to your desired consistency using an immersion blender or potato masher or fork. Set the mixture aside to cool (the sauce will thicken as it cools). 

Everything tasted delicious, but I think it will be even better tomorrow and throughout the week. The whole point of this meal was to be able to make leftovers - sandwiches, salads, soup, easy dinners. 

We're also planning to have "Friendsgiving" with Katie, Corey, Heidi, and Ed next weekend, so that'll be another holiday treat for us!

Yoga

This morning I felt suuuuuuper sore and achy, probably from Thursday's workout, so Jenn and I kept our activity to a brisk walk. But this evening I felt like some yoga would help me loosen up and refresh, so I searched the Internet for a 30-minute routine. Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown Level One (free on YouTube!) was perfect! Since it was level one, it wasn't too intense, and I think it would be great for semi-beginners. (If you've never taken yoga before, some of the moves might be challenging because she doesn't really explain them fully.) I definitely worked up a sweat and felt great afterward. I noticed in the comments section that someone mentioned that the workout isn't technically yoga, which I suppose is true. But it uses yoga moves to create a solid routine, and I would certainly do it again. Thumbs up from this girl. :-)

Scout spent much of the day trying to understand
the new snow globe I bought for Christmas. 

Tomorrow we have plans to sleep in a bit, get some work done, pick up our Christmas tree, and decorate for the season. It's been a lovely start to the month so far.

We also played Scrabble, and I got a lot of vowels. 

I also have to mention the adorable advent calendar my parents bought us as an early Christmas present. We aren't totally sure what to put inside each little box, though - any ideas? For tonight, we did some Trader Joe's peanut butter salted caramel dark chocolate truffles (yes, those exist, and they are amazing), but I'm trying to be creative here. Ideas welcome!

What are you looking forward to most this month?