Thanksgiving Anytime

We had our own little mini Thanksgiving this weekend, and it was such a treat. The cool thing is, that it was so easy and healthy, I had to share it with you. I bought a boneless turkey breast roast at the grocery store. I had gone in looking for a bone-in turkey breast, but they didn't have any, just the full turkeys. We don't really like the dark meat, and that just seemed like a lot of work. I was a little bit nervous about the boneless one, but I shouldn't have been. The roast was simple, defrost (or not, if you have more roasting time) and bake at 325 degrees on a rack in the bottom of the oven. Et Voila, a perfect turkey breast, moist, fresh, lean and healthy.



We rounded out our meal with a trip to Trader Joe's, where the rest of the ingredients came effortlessly together. I wanted to keep it light, just to see if we really missed anything. Of course, since we just had a turkey breast, there was no stuffing, so it wasn't really Thanksgiving. We did, however have mashed potatoes, green beans, a spinach salad, and homemade cranberry sauce. I tried to keep each item true to it's roots, but update it just a tad. Here are the recipes, plenty for two with leftovers.



Creamy and Fluffy Mashed Potatoes with a little less guilt
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced for boiling
1 cup 2% greek strained yogurt (recommended brand, FAGE at TJ's)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons 2% milk
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Measure out the yogurt and leave on the counter to come to room temperature. Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and mash with the remaining ingredients.



Crisp-Tender Green Beans in a flash
1 package french green beans (pretrimmed is a bonus, look for them in the fridge section at TJ's)
Spray olive oil or cooking spray such as Pam
Salt, to taste
Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with the olive oil and add the green beans in one layer. Sprinkle with salt, and mist with a light spray of oil. Bake with the turkey at 325 for about 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender.



Lower Sugar Cranberry Sauce
1 package (12 oz) fresh cranberries
zest & juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1 3-inch piece of vanilla bean, scraped
3/4 cup agave nectar (look in the baking section at TJ's)

Rinse the cranberries in a colander under cool water. Add to a medium saucepan. Zest and juice the lemon and orange into the pot. Add the vanilla bean seeds, and place the remaining pod in the pan with the fruit. Add the agave nectar (spritz your measuring cup for a second with cooking spray to make it easier to pour) and heat over medium heat until simmering. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have burst. Let stand at room temperature for a couple hours (while the turkey cooks) to thicken. Serve at room temperature, or chilled.

Pictures to come soon!