You can tell Christmas is just around the corner because the grocery store is stock full of Christmas dinner favorites at really reasonable prices.
Sweet potatoes, cans of broth, bags of cranberries, and turkeys – all on sale and all found a place in my cart. 😉
The full turkey breasts weren’t a bad price either. I brought one home and decided to have a go at preparing it for dinner tonight.
I seasoned the breast with fresh lemon juice, evoo, paprika, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.
Then pulled the skin back over the breast and baked slowly at 375 for 2 hours.
That’s the good stuff. 🙂
I took the leftover drippings and made a gravy by adding a thick slurry (a mix of flour and water) (Update: My bad. The original term ‘roux’ I used was when you add the flour directly to the fat. I created a ‘slurry’ with the flour and water.) to the pan and bringing it to a boil while whisking it all together. Once it was all blended, I added a touch of cream and brought it to a low simmer to thicken up.
A drizzle of gravy went on everything on the plate.
The turkey
Green beans sauteed with walnuts and onion
Mashed sweet potatoes
All covered in gravy! So. Good. 🙂
I had a mini Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookie as an afternoon snack.
And a serving of pumpkin ice cream for dessert.
Poor Maddie hasn’t been feeling too hot today. Her tummy is upset and she keeps letting it all out on the rug. Why is it that we have a completely tiled condo, yet she chooses to only throw up on the rug? File that under things that boggle my mind.
Off to take care of the sick pups.
Good NIght!
Was that your entire dinner?
Ugh, I’m trying to work out how to word this the right way. It’s really difficult to question anything on blogs these days without people attacking you for being critical, but I’m genuinely curious. Do you still feel hungry after meals? Because you seem to eat very small portions and you’re very active, which I would have thought would should make you even hungrier.
I think the portions always look smaller in photos. It was actually a very filling meal. I’m also a constant food picker who nibbles on green beans and turkey as I cook/plate my food.
Thanks for the gracious response! I was really trying to avoid sounding critical.
No, it doesn’t look smaller in photos. That plate of food is just pathetic.
That dinner looks wonderful! Love this time of year when it is all on sale 🙂
I totally understand about Maddy throwing up on the carpet, my cats will only throw up on the white carpet, not the brown carpet, not the hardwood or the tile. Baffles my mind as well!
your dinner looks beautiful! definitely a great way to get your stomach warmed up for the holidays 🙂
Mallory @ Have Your Cake and Eat It recently posted..Seek Out Life’s Simple Pleasures
Your dinner is making me excited for Christmas dinner! Hope your doggy feels better.
Heather @ Run Eat Play recently posted..Christmas Came Early
I also have been taking advantage of the the sweet potatoes on sale this week. yuummmm!
Sarah @Blonde Bostonian recently posted..Happy Birthday Mama
Mmmm I can’t wait to chow do on Christmas dinner
michelle recently posted..A Taste of Amsterdam
A roux is flour plus a fat. Just an FYI.
Exactly why I came on here to comment. If you’re going to cook and put it on your blog, you need to get the words right. You added a “slurry” (you mixed the water into the flour before adding it to the gravy so it wouldn’t get clumped up, that is NOT a roux).
You’re right. I fixed it! 🙂
That looks delicious! I love it when things are on sale.
Bee Goes Bananas recently posted..Mouthwatering Mondays: Finger Foods
I swear all dogs do that. We have wood floors throughout our house with a few area rugs here and there. I don’t think the dog has EVER thrown up on the wood. It’s always the rugs…
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Cookie extravaganza 2011
What size are your plates?
My dog is the same way about where he tosses his cookies. He also waits until the middle of the night to get sick. I really think he does it on purpose.*
Army Amy* recently posted..Watch what you say
YUMMY! I predict a turkey boob in my cart tomorrow on the way home from Publix. 🙂 Looks yummy! I have never purchased a turkey part so I cannot wait to try it.
theswanin.me recently posted..Day 43-Swedish Pepparkakor
Meghann,
I really do like your blog, a lot. I’ve been reading your blog for over a year now but if you say you pick at your food and that the portions that are displayed are not the actual amount then don’t show your plate. The food looks gorgeous, but I’ve seen small children eat more then this. It is a bit disturbing because you work out hard and your body should be able to recover properly. People look to you because you are a healthy living blog, and I just don’t think you display the healthy portions as of lately. I’m assuming you don’t blog all your food, but please try to limit the pictures of small portions or saying how full you are eating an apple and some cashews as a dinner.
Please don’t take this as a negative comment but as a constructive one. I really do love your blog, butI am just concerned. You look gorgeous weight wise 🙂
You know, I have to agree. I too love your blog Meghann, and don’t want to be mean/critical. But I often think your portions look so tiny, and I think a lot of readers thought this when reading this particular post.
I think the nature of healthy living blogs is really tricky, b/c so many of you have struggled with weight in the past, or struggle now. So I feel like showing small portions and calling it dinner without clarifying big afternoon snacks or other parts of dinner is dangerous for readers who could be influenced by the way you eat.
It’s definitely your blog and up to you the way you present your food, but since your blog is mostly about food, food as fuel, and working out, I fear that sometimes it isn’t presented exactly the way you think it is. Just trying to help, honestly. :/
Casey recently posted..New Year’s Eve Recipes
Yeah, unless those green beans are 9 inches long, that isn’t even a full-sized dinner plate. I am about 25% as active as you and I eat a lot more than that for pretty much every meal. That is honestly one tablespoon of potato, and you can’t say the photo makes it look smaller because that is even a baby-sized plate.
You’re right – it’s not a full dinner plate, but it’s also not a baby plate either. I’d say it’s a medium plate somewhere between a salad plate and a dinner plate. Also, that’s about 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potatoes on my plate. The portion does look smaller in photos, but I don’t know what to do about that. Maybe nest time I’ll put something next to it so people can gauge the sizes? Also, I HATE our dinner sizd plates – Derek does too. They’re big, they’re clunky and they’re boring. That’s why I don’t eat off of them . 🙂
Thank you for the comment Casey. I have mentioned on the blog a few times in the past how I’m a constant nibbler when I cook. When I talked to the RD about this back in November she told me that if that’s my problem then I should nibble on the vegetable components, so I nibbled on the green beans last night and when the turkey came out I had a bite or two to make sure it tasted right before I plated it. However, I don’t mean to steer people wrong with my plates. It looks small in photos, but I promise it’s a generously sized balance meal. On the plate is (roughly) 5 oz of turkey, 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potatoes, and a cup of green beans with about 10 walnut halves buried underneath (I picked quite a few from the pan because they’re my favorite). Oh, and everything had a drizzle of the gravy on top. That puts the plate at roughly 500 calories. Including the ice cream, my evening meal comes to (roughly) 700 calories with 60g protein, 22 g fiber, and 24 g sugar (thanks to the ice cream 😉 )
I rarely comment on here, but I thought the same exact thing when I read this post! The dinner looked extremely small, it would have barely qualified as a snack for me!
Hi Laura! I just left a very dran out explanation on Casey’s comment as well, but the meal came to roughly 475 calories. I promise it was a full, balanced meal. 🙂
Roasted turkey is delicious as well as mashed sweet potatoes! Your dinner looks so comforting. 🙂
Hope recently posted..My First Giveaway Winner!…
Dinner looks yummy, as usual! I hope I can find some on sale turkey at the grocery! Yum-o!
Sorry Maddie isn’t feeling well though, that sucks.
Emily recently posted..An early morning run + b-day celebrations!
My dogs love to eat grass, so they love to get sick. I don’t love it. And I really don’t love that no matter how hard I try and redirect them to the easy-to-clean tile, they find the freshly washed dog bed or rug. Sigh.
Katy Widrick recently posted..New Tool Tuesday: DailyBurn
Nothing is more enjoyed in our house than a turkey dinner with potatoes, corn, gravy, rolls and cranberry sauce…..oh and stuffing! Hey – that’s why we run right? 🙂 Happy Holidays!
xoxo from Trinidad
p.s. hope Maddie feels better soon
Corey @ Learning Patience recently posted..Big Annoucement
I know, it was already addressed, but that is a tiny meal…regardless of how it was photographed. My 4 year old niece eats more than that. Maybe you should photograph Derek’s plates for the blog…people will worry less. 😉
Oh wow!! What a great little meal! I love this.
Liz @ Southern Charm recently posted..A Little Holiday Survey
Meghann, I gotta say… you’re being REALLY gracious with all the people who are freaking out about your plate/meal size.
My dog does the SAME thing when she gets sick. Its a dog thing!
When my dogs have upset stomachs I cook them white rice and pour a little sodium free turkey/chicken broth in it. I also make them scrambled eggs with rice. My big dog had diarrhea for a few days and this was the only thing he would eat. Hope Maddie feels better soon.
Jena recently posted..I have a new love
Criticism is not necessarily concern. If you have followed Meghann for any length of time, you would know that lengths she has gone through to try and maintain a healthy balance in her life with food and activity. One plate “looking small” should not give you the right to claim that she is doing anything wrong.
I’ve seen plenty of pumpkin beers, dessert plates from family gatherings and those little dishes of ice cream on here to satisfy my “concern” that she is eating like a small child. She posts three very well rounded meals on here daily, plus snacks.
Back off people. Geesh.
Also, feel better soon Maddie! White rice works wonders for dogs’ tummies!
My parents cats do the same thing. The majority of the house is hardwood, yet they find the random rugs or rooms with carpets to get sick on.
I hope Maddie feels better!
Alaina recently posted..Half at the Hamptons Training–Week 3 (and A Holiday Drink)
WOW Critical much people? I know the exact size you have because I have some corelle in that size. You had two veggies and a protein- works for me.
Maybe you an honey can buy each other some new dinner plates for Xmas?
🙂
theswanin.me recently posted..Day 43-Swedish Pepparkakor
Comments on this entry are closed.