As I reflect on the things in my life in which I am Thankful for, I have to say that in these economic times I am very Thankful to have a job to go to everyday. I’m thankful to get a paycheck so we can afford to live the lifestyle we do and help others as well. I’m thankful that I have good people that surround me in the office who genuinely care about one another.
Breakfast -
My goal was to start the day out on a healthy note because I wasn’t sure how healthy it would be during lunch time. So I decided on a nice bowl of oats to keep me full until our lunch so I wouldn’t overdue it on the snacking.
Blueberry & Walnut Oats
Onto the good stuff, our office lunch….
Here’s one of the dishes I made for the office lunch – Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake. I found this recipe at one of my favorite sites -Smitten Kitchen. Except this time, I made it without bourbon due to some of the beliefs in our office. But it still turned out great. I also made this last year for the hubby’s office party and it was all gone. I even won a prize for it. Sweet!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Top view of cheesecake
I also made Marinated Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar . Except I left out the herbs as I did not have them on hand. I found this recipe over at A Series of Kitchen Experiments. These tasted great and went fast!
I also made Fresh Roasted Green Beans. I used a little over 1.5 lbs of fresh green beans, rinsed and patted them dry. Trimmed off both ends of the beans. Tossed in about 1 Tbsp or a little more of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper. I roasted them in a pyrex dish @ 400 for about 30 mins maybe a little longer. I then added some soy sauce, 1 minced clove of garlic and sliced almonds and roasted about 10 mins.
Marinated Mushrooms & Roasted Greenbeans
Our boss’ dad provided the ham and turkey and everyone else brought sides and desserts. We had a ton of food.
Pictured here L to R- Ham, deviled eggs, marinated mushrooms, green beans, spinach dip w/ bread for dipping, Hawaiian Rolls, cornbread.
Office Spread
Desserts Pictured L to R: Chocolate squares, mini cupcakes, punchbowl cake, chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake. Unpictured – avocado pie, apple pie w/ vanilla ice cream.
Dessert Spread
Sides L to R: Chicken salad, turkey, ham, shrimp ceviche, deviled eggs, etc.
Turkey & Sides
We also had tortilla chips, ruffles, salsa, queso, ranch dip, guac, cucumber & tomato salad with fresh parsley and garlic mashed potatoes – not pictured. Drinks included sodas and Hawaiian punch.
My Plate – I didn’t get to snap a photo of my plate, but I had some of the tortilla chips/guac, mushrooms, green beans, cucumber/tomato salad, Hawaiian roll. Dessert I had some apple pie.
It was a feast! Everyone really brought their A game with the food. After we got our food we all sat around the conference table like a real family. Lots of laughter and joking around. It was awesome – it really was. It’s so nice to see that everyone can put away their stress and differences and just chill out and eat a good meal and pause to realize that we work with great people in a nice place.
One of our owners gave a nice little speech about how Thankful he is for us and how each one of us has contributed to the office in a huge way. It was so nice to hear that what we do day to day really makes a difference and matters to the success of the company. Really a great way to end the week for a little Thanksgiving break.
Calories – not accounted for. I’ve given myself a little break regarding counting all of the calories for Thanksgiving. Honestly, I didn’t really have the time to do this. So, the goal for counting all week has gone out the window. I’m not really surprised with myself, being at someone else’s home for the holidays makes it a little difficult to count like I normally do in my own routine, etc.
Workout – None today, I just didn’t have the time getting all of the food ready and getting our condo ready for my sister’s visit.
Peace out.
