As promised, today I'm going to show you how I make the best green beans ever.I started this recipe for Thanksgiving one year when I (gasp!) opted to give up on the cream-o-mushroom soup variety of Thanksgiving vegetables. I needed something that felt a little lighter, but was still amazingly delicious, and this totally fits the bill.However, I realize many of you have your own traditional green bean recipes for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd share these after. Just try them on a weeknight and I promise, you'll want more later. Sooooo delicious.
What you'll need:• one small yellow onion• one cup of sliced/slivered almonds• two cloves garlic, minced• two tbsp olive oil• 1/2 of a produce section plastic bag full of green beans. Yeah, that's my measurement. Sorry.• A hunk of your very favorite bleu cheese (mine is Northern Lights -- I love local stuff)
First, slice the onion like so and mince up your garlic.
Then, after warming the olive oil in your pan on medium heat, add in the onions and garlic and heat until soft and starting to brown. I believe around 5 minutes will do the trick.
Once the onions are soft, add in your freshly washed green beans and then enjoy the steam that comes out of the pan.
Cook this mixture for about 3 minutes, and then add in the almonds. Continue to cook until the green beans are the right consistency for you (I prefer mine a bit al dente).Once you are done cooking the beans, plate the mixture either onto individual plates or onto a platter, and then sprinkle with crumbles of your bleu cheese.
Voila! Soooo tasty! And this clocks in at about 200 calories per serving (140 without the cheese).For your internet share today, how about THIS for comfort food? Mushroom alfredo pasta bake? Wow.
What a week. We had a holiday, a feast, a ton of basketball games, a sick collie, a well collie, dessert with friends, a well-behaved vizsla (!!) and a general lack of sleep. Plus I had several photo shoots and I joined a gym and started working out again. So yeah, I'm beat. Here are the photos of the kid from this week. He is such a charmer. Above, he looks like a dancer in a hip-hop video to me. Love those pants.
He got to meet Aurora (my friends Tom and Lora's seven month old) over brunch. WHERE IS HIS NECK IN THIS PHOTO? Tyra would be appalled.
He's not so sure about all the layers required for a Minnesota winter.
And that was before we put him in the Ergo inside his dad's coat. I love this photo because it's the closest Jamie can feel to being pregnant. He even needed me to tie his shoes. Oh, it is so nice to be able to tie my own shoes again.
Game day attire.
Ha! I love this one. Like he's just sittin' there enjoying the news and his coffee.
So this is Merlin up on the velvet sofa. You can only imagine the battles against dog hair that are happening in our house these days. It is so bad, in fact, that one of our few Black Friday purchases (online only! I'm not going out in that madness!) was a new Dyson vacuum cleaner because the old one is finally giving into the battle against collie fur.Why is it so bad now, you ask? Well, it appears that Merlin in his old age, much like many elderly men, is gaining fur on the inside of his ears, and losing it everywhere else. He's not balding (I don't even think that's possible), but there is some definite thinning going on. And the resulting lost fur is EVERYWHERE.So why on earth would we let him on the velvet sofa? Because it has been months since he has asked to be on the couch. His rear legs are hurting him so much that he can barely climb the 5 stairs to come in and out of the house right now. The fact that he wanted on the sofa today brought us great joy (and we attribute this added strength to the turkey broth on his dinner last night). Of *course* we let this old love up on the couch. This guy? He gets anything he wants these days.For your internet share of the day, I'm showing you the most awesome gift you could get a pregnant friend! Well, besides time with a post-partum doula. Or free babysitting. Or a massage. Ok, nevermind. Don't get this as a gift. Just go 
Today was perfect. I didn't awake until 9:40 or so (thank you so much my sweet husband for stealing the baby away so I could sleep in), then I took a brisk walk and spent the rest of the day snuggling with Ezra and Jamie and Merlin and Magda while watching Kansas basketball and popping into the kitchen to prepare our meal.I am so grateful for my life right now. I am particularly thankful for my amazing husband, my son and his fantastic eating and sleeping habits, and the fact that I get to take photos for a living. It is so wonderful to have a "job" where I get to make people happy by following my own passion. I wish more people could experience this kind of "work."The photo above is of my green bean recipe that I serve at Thanksgiving. This is always my favorite food of the day, and this year was no exception. I even like it better than the pie. I took photos of the preparation today and will be sharing the recipe on Sunday, so make sure you come back for that.No internet share today -- I want to get off the computer and back to my family. You should do the same. 
I had these two in the studio this week, and I adored their excitement over fake snow. Man, to have that much enthusiasm and carefree fun, eh? Or to have that much energy! I long for the days...For your internet share today, you get a 
I was working in the kitchen the other day when I heard a loud THUNK. I turned around to check the window, and this is what I saw. What you can't see in the photo is that directly above this squirrel (but back about 7 inches) is the bird feeder. This guy was dive-bombing the bird feeder from the fence and missed, hitting (and catching) the screen on the window instead. Crazy view of a squirrel though, eh?And yeah, I called Magda into the kitchen and man, she was TOTALLY into this form of entertainment. Once she jumped up to the window, the squirrel dove from the screen taking his chances on the landing.For your internet share today, I'm sending you to 
Oh you guys, I have so many awesome baby hats around the house these days. Magda loves to steal them for her nests. I love to force her to pose in them. As you can see, I am winning this game (for now).For your internet share of the day, I'm sharing 
But of *course* I'm gonna save my amazing mashed potato recipe for Thanksgiving week! Now, I don't think mashed potatoes are ever really bad... ok, sometimes. But it's rare. But these are my very favorite way to make them, and my guests always rave, so I thought you might want to try it.
What you'll need:• Yukon gold potatoes. For this batch (which makes about 8 servings) I used six medium potatoes• Fresh chives• Sour cream (about 2 tbsp)• Butter (about 1/2 stick)• Milk (which I forgot to picture!). I used 1/4 cup, but you can vary this depending on how creamy you like your potatoes• Salt and pepper to taste 
First, fill a large pot with water and heat it to boil. While waiting on the boil, quarter your potatoes. Once ready, cook in the water for about 15 minutes or until soft when a fork is inserted.Next, add in the milk and butter and stir until butter melts. Then add in the sour cream and chives (I use about 1/3 of the package and I cut them with scissors -- way easier than with a knife) and mash everything together.
I use an old-fashioned masher because I like my potatoes kinda chunky. Also, salt and pepper to taste.
So there you go! If you just want mashed potatoes, you're done. BUT WHO WANTS PLAIN MASHED POTATOES?? Actually, I think these are good enough that they are divine plain. But lets be real. You need gravy.
People also always rave about my gravy which is hilarious because it's all packaged goods. But here you go!I am religious about the Knorr turkey gravy mix. However, the instructions say to mix it with water and bring to a boil and simmer until thickened and you're done. How boring!So instead of mixing with water, I use turkey stock to make it richer and I also add in the bits from the bottom of the turkey pan (the fatty goodness). Then I also add in about 3 glugs of wine. That's a measurement, right? Glugs? Well you know what I mean. And that takes it to a whole new level and it makes your gravy taste home made. Ha! Let's go fool them all!
So there you have it! Go enjoy! And no calorie counts on Thanksgiving. That's blasphemy.Oh! But for your internet share of the day, here is