As I've mentioned, I was really excited about Thanksgiving this year. On Wednesday, I got up early & went to the grocery store before the rain & crowds hit. Then I came home & pretty much spent all day in the kitchen. I made my Granny's recipe for pumpkin pie, Delaney's recipe for 7-layer salad & baked cheese grits. I had to make everything on Wednesday because on Thursday, I was getting up to run & then going straight to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving.
I've surprisingly never made pumpkin pie. My Granny's recipe is a little different than the traditional Libby's recipe, which somehow makes it way better. My mom warned me that most of our family doesn't really like pumpkin pie, but both pies were devoured, so I must have done something right. Thanks, Granny!
I make the salad for my dad, who's obsessed with walking around, looking at everyone's plate & making sure they know how many complex carbohydrates they're consuming & how long they'll need to work-out afterwards. You're welcome, cousins.
I'm kind of over the baked cheese grits, but my family keeps requesting them, so I keep making them. I'm not one to deny the public their starch.
In an effort to offset everything I planned on eating that day, I signed up to run the Boulevard Bolt, a 5 mile run up & down Belle Meade Boulevard Thursday morning. Over 8,000 people registered, so to say it was crowded, is an understatement. I astoundingly found Ashlee & Mary Katherine & we made our way up front to the start line. My goal was to finish, to not stop & walk & to do it in under an hour, which I did. I ran the whole 5 miles in 54 minutes & I came in 77th in my age group. I'm pretty proud of myself.
I was starving by the time I got to my Aunt's house, so I made a beeline for the sausage balls & easily ate about 20 in two bites. Aside from that, I really tried to rein it in. I only ate one plate of food & two slices of pie. I'll tell you what, starting the day running 5 miles, really helps you keep it in perspective. Now if I can just keep it up for the next month & not gain my usual 5-10 lbs of holiday weight.
Happy Thanksgiving!