HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!  For those following the Dukan-friendly recipes and for those who aren’t, I hope everyone has a guilt-free wonderful meal–Enjoy and remember there is always tomorrow and another PP day!!

ROASTED TURKEY BREAST WITH JICAMA MASH AND MUSHROOM GRAVY

one turkey breast, about 3 lbs
1 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, sliced
garlic powder
onion powder
salt and pepper

Stuff the garlic in between the skin and the breast.  Spray it with a bit of cooking spray, season with salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders and roast at 325 for 2-2 1/2 hours (mine was partly frozen and took 2 hours), or until 175 degrees.  Let breast sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing it.

JICAMA MASH

2 large jicama
1 wedge Light Laughing Cow French Onion
1 T sour cream
1 t chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Bake jicama while you’re roasting your turkey breast.  Mine took 90 minutes at 325.  At 450 I’m sure you could get them done ahead of time a bit faster.  Cut jicama in half and scoop out the insides.  Add the cheese and sour cream, season with salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher.

MUSHROOM GRAVY

1 8 oz package mushrooms, sliced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 t Dijon mustard
1 t fresh thyme
1 T cornstarch

Saute the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil spray.  Whisk the broth, dijon, thyme, and cornstarch in a separate bowl until smooth.  Add to skillet and cook until thick.  About 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve over sliced breast.

I’m telling you this was just as satisfying as any pumpkin pie.  You don’t need the crust with all the carbs and fat.  Why not eat the healthy part of the dessert and not feel guilty about eating it?!

PUMPKIN PIE

1 1/2 cups roasted pumpkin, pureed or 1 1/2 cups canned
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1 egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup maple syrup or sugar free maple syrup
2 T honey or 1 t Splenda

Mix all ingredients and pour into 4 ramekins, sprayed with a bit of cooking spray.

For the topping:
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup oat bran
1 T Brown Sugar Blend Splenda or 1 t Splenda
3 T maple syrup or sugar free maple syrup

Mix all the ingredients together and top each ramekin with 1/4 of the mixture.  Bake  at 400 for 30-40 minutes.

Mary Ann, one of my dear-Dukaners has introduced me to sugar-free Walden Farms Caramel dip.  This would be a wonderful addition in the pumpkin mixture if you can get a hold of some!

If you’re a Consolidator (or maybe even if you aren’t!), I would add some diced apple to the pumpkin.  If you really don’t want to, you’ll live without happily.  This is a great alternative to apple pie whether you put apple in it or not–but a little bit of apple is better than the alternative!–eating real apple pie with all that fattening crust.   This will definitely solve any craving you’re having for pie–the topping is delicious!!

PUMPKIN APPLE PIE CRISP

For the topping:
1/4 cup quick oats
3 T whole wheat pastry flour or oat bran
2 T maple syrup or sugar-free maple syrup
1 t Brown Sugar Blend Splenda or 1/2 t Splenda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 T butter, cut into pea-sized pieces (optional)

Mix all ingredients well, with your hands and set aside while you prepare the pumpkin.

1 1/4 cups fresh pumpkin, cubed
3 T maple syrup, sugar-free maple syrup or agave syrup
1 T Brown Sugar Blend Splenda or 1 t Splenda
1 large pear or apple, diced (optional)
2 t cinnamon
1 T lemon juice
1 t vanilla
1 T cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, spoon into 2 ramekins, top with 1/2 of the topping and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350.

Serves 2

I actually received a pound of fresh yellow beans last week from Farm Fresh To You, so I decided to make this dish with them.  I have actually never had this dish for Thanksgiving but I know it’s a favorite of a lot of people so I tried to mimic the dish without going overboard with fat.  I don’t think you’ll miss the fried onions when you get a bite of bacon in your beans.  Try it!  It’s Dukan-friendly!!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1/2 small onion, sliced
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and boiled for about 10 minutes
1 cup skim milk
1 t cornstarch mixed with 1 T water
1/2 cup fat free cheddar, shredded plus 2 tablespoons for topping
1/4 cup Real Bacon Bits
pinch of nutmeg

Saute the onion until soft, whisk the milk over medium heat until warm and add the cornstarch mixture whisking continuously until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the cheese and whisk until mixed in.  Remove from heat and add in the bacon, nutmeg and green beans.  Mix well and season with salt and pepper.  Top with the cheddar and bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

An incredible side dish for Thanksgiving.  These roasted vegetables are not only tasty but they are beautiful.  The balsamic vinagrette just gives it the extra little punch they need.  Try them!!  They will be beautiful next to your roasted turkey!

ROASTED TURNIPS, CARROTS AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

12 baby turnips (1 lb), scrubbed, stems trimmed and halved
neck of the butternut squash (save the other half for something else), peeled and cut into pieces about the same size as your turnips
4 small carrots, peeled and cut about the same size as the squash
cooking spray

In a bowl, toss the vegetables with a bit of cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Spread them on a preheated baking sheet (put it in as your preheating your oven), covered with parchment paper and roast for about 20 minutes at 425. Transfer the turnips to a bowl and let cool. Meanwhile, prepared the vinaigrette.

VINAIGRETTE

2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T shallots, chopped
1 1/2 t whole-grain mustard
2 T water
1 1/2 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl, let the vinegar and shallot sit for 10 minutes.  Add the mustard, water and parsley. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.  Serve over the warm vegetables.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

STUFFING

So, you’ll need to start with at least one recipe of Becky’s Cheddar Bread (The picture below is only half the recipe).  Once you’ve made the bread, slice it into crouton-sized pieces, spray them with a bit of cooking spray and bake them at 325 for about 30 minutes.  They should be dried out a bit and nice and crunchy, brown on the outside.  This is the basis for your breadcrumbs.  Let them cool and then we’ll chop them up further to mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Croutons

Then saute your vegetables:  2 shredded carrots, 2 stalks of celery, chopped and 1 onion, chopped.  Then add 6 ounces of reduced fat sausage (pork, chicken or turkey) and saute until fully cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add the chopped croutons, 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth and 1/2 cup of oat bran. Baked, covered with foil, at 350 for 30 minutes.  If you want to crisp up the top, bake for another 5 minutes without the foil.