Turkey Day 8K

Happy belated Thanksgiving 
from Brittany, Lilly and Trevor!

We enjoyed Thanksgiving this year in Greenville and had a wonderful "dinner for misfit toys" with friends.  We missed our families a lot, but was happy to be able to Skype with them the next day.  

In the morning, we set a goal for ourselves to start the day off in the "negative" by running the farthest we have ever run by completing the Trees GreenvilleTurkey Day 8K!  The run was held at the CU-ICAR course by Millennium Boulevard in Greenville and man was it full of hills!

Map My Run graph: 5.08 miles and 170ft gain!

Brittany had been sick the week prior and was nervous about running, but we think the run actually made her feel better!  It was a beautiful 60 degree and sunny day in SC :-) Who knows, maybe the next step is a half marathon??  We will keep you posted.

After the run, Trevor made his famous Better Than Apple Pie Apple Tart for his contribution to our Thanksgiving dinner at our friend Andrew Colletti's house later that evening, where we enjoyed some incredible food, fun conversation, and a big bonfire. We left after dinner to bring Lilly over, who got a kick out of some new scenery and thousands of leaves to leave her mark on. I often wonder if that bladder of hers could get any bigger. If you can imagine a 50 lb dog expending every ounce of energy (and body fluid) on this task for over 2 hrs, then.. well, you have an incredibly accurate imagination. :-)

Original B and T recipe below:


Better Than Apple Pie Apple Tart
Yield: 1 tart

Ingredients
3-4 apples

2 Trader Joe's frozen pie crust, thawed (or any pie crust with no hydrgeonated oils)

1 Tbsp Smart Balance, melted

2 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp sugar

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste 

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Peel and core the apples.  

3.  Cut apples into very thin and long slices.

4.  Toss apples in a bowl with cinnamon nutmeg brown sugar and sugar.    

5.  Spray pie pan with Pam spray.  Place one pie crust in pie pan and flour it well.  Cut a circle in the center of second pie crust, leaving about 3 inches around.

6.  Arrange apples in a circle starting from the outside of the pie pan and working your way in.  

7.  Overlay the 2nd pie crust and pinch together sides to cover crust.  

8.  Brush with melted butter.  Bake on 400 for 40 min turning every 15 min.

Optional Glaze: 

Combine skins from apples and cores in Pan on low 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.  Simmer on low 25-40min and brush over tart when complete. 

And of course we couldn't just sit around for 4 days without anything to do....so we took on the "house project list" and chose to demo and re-do Trevor's closets!  

The owners before tried to create a sort of "California closets" type set up, however the unfinished wood and the lack of hanging space didn't do much for it.  We decided to demo the old closet and simplify adding 2 long bars and 1 shelf!  

The before

 We took 3 hours in Home Depot and finally decided on common pine wood instead of metal shelves, to give it a warmer feel.  We also worked with their paint department to find the perfect Rosewood stain, despite some reservations about it's smelliness. Believe it or not, it didn't smell up the house at all!  We highly recommend the water-based stain as it has a much lower VOC content.  One quick tip: we were sure to condition the pine first to help prevent "blochiness" in the stain,  which helped tremendously. Many thanks to the Home Depot staff for this pointer!

The conditioning process, just before staining

The after

The after (close-up)

Another house project completed!

Lilly had a great Thanksgiving too, but it seems she might have gotten a little bored and taken it out on Mr. Bear....poor thing.

Guilty Paws

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?  Leave us a comment below and we will be sure to try it out next year!

Pumpkin Doughnut Holes + Plaid

Plaid is Rad!  

This past weekend my roommate Nicole and I hosted a "Plaid is Rad" party.  The theme came to me when thinking about having a warm pre-holiday party and because Trevor wears plaid almost every day of the year, so it just seemed to fit :-)  Everyone who attended dressed up, even all of the guys!  Best. Theme. Ever.

Girls in their plaid!

For the menu, Nicole and I spent the day cooking a variety of warm comfort foods.  They included: 

• Mini-Apple Tartlets
• Sweet potato fries (one sweet, one savory!)
• Spinach dip with goat and Parmesan cheese
• Zuchhini Tots
• Baked Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Party food with wonderful plaid tablecloth!

We also made a "signature" drink of spice hot apple cider, served to guests to keep them warm in the increasingly cold weather!    

The party gave us an excuse to make some of fall the recipes we have been meaning to try for a while now.  I searched my Pintrest Appetizers/Party board for some healthy and hearty foods.  The baked pumpkin doughnut holes were a hit, with a soft, airy center and crispy outside covered in cinnamon and sugar.  It will definitely make you question why doughnuts have to be fried.  Check out the recipe below adapted from ggLaRue :

Baked Pumpkin Doughnut Holes

Yield: 24 doughnut holes (1 mini-muffin tin)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup skim milk

2 Tablespoons Brummel and Brown tub margarine

1 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice).

3.  In a large bowl, combine unsweetened applesauce, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin puree and skim milk.  

3.  Add small bowl of dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients and mix until smooth and well combined.  

4.  Grease a 24 cup mini-muffin tin with Pam spray.

5.  Spoon dough into mini-muffin tin and bake for 18 minutes on 350 degrees.

6.  When doughnuts are almost finished baking, melt 2-3 Tbsp Brummel and Brown tub margarine and mix with 1 tsp of olive oil in a small bowl.

7.  In another bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar.

8.  When doughnuts are done baking, take out of oven and let cool about 2-3 minutes.

9.  Dip doughnut holes in oil mixture and then roll in cinnamon and sugar.  Place in a serving bowl and enjoy!

B and T in matching plaid for the party!

Say Yes To Pizza!

"Wise man say forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

-Michaelangelo (Professional Ninja Turtle)

Pizza.
A culmination of dense, crusty bread, gooey cheese, savory garlic, tomatoes, basil, and sometimes a smattering of tasty bacon. A provision known to all who have been a bachelor or bachelorette at some point in their life, often followed with a cold barley-flavored beverage of choice. Tonight, Brittany and I celebrated this glorious staple with a simple variation thrown together with some leftovers from this weekend.  Enjoy!

Mushroom, Spinach and Bacon Pizza 
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients
1 Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2-3/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1 cup Trader Joe's #99 Marinara Sauce
1 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 slices Applegate Farms Uncured Turkey Bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
Onion Powder
Paprika
Dried Basil
Red pepper flakes, as tolerated

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.  Spray a 16" non-stick pizza pan with Pam spray
3.  Place the pizza dough on the pan.  Using your finger tips, spread the pizza dough out into a circle on the pan starting from the center.
4.  Using a pastry brush, brush the olive oil over the pizza dough starting from the outside and working your way to the center.
5.  Combine thawed spinach and marinara sauce in a bowl.  Spread over pizza dough, leaving 1" for the crust.
6.  Heat a pan over medium heat.  Saute mushrooms in 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with onion powder, paprika and dried basil about 5-7 minutes, until they start to reduce.  Remove from heat.
7.  Spread reduced fat cheese over sauce.  Top with mushrooms and bacon.
8.  Sprinkle pizza with dried basil and red pepper flakes and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbling.
9.  Serve with Publix Black and Blue salad and enjoy!

Lilly wishes she had pizza! 

Instead she enjoyed some tasty Kirkland's salmon meal dog food. 

Almost as good.