Good evening all, i hope your Thanksgiving was as awesome and as full of food as mine was! Im not gonna lie, there was definnitely some extreme fullness happening. I guess im just one of those people that graze on a bit of everything... unfortunately, there was a lot of dishes that were brought. So, after a 2 day nap, there was only one thing to do and that was to update all the wonderful people out in the land of Blog.

So, i know your all on pins and needles about my last post making the declaration to enjoy the festivites to their fullest. I know what your thinking... "You need to remind yourself to enjoy a holiday? (weeeirdoooooo...)" You would be right about that one, i am a weirdo but one that is set on changing. That being said i think its time to throw the honestly party of the year and confess that i DO have issues with food. Those of you that have been here for a while have probably already caught on to this but i do not think i have ever come right out and said it. In a nutshell, i was an overweight kid and always considered my weight the reason I didnt have a lot of friends growing up. Looking back, i know that the reasons were anything but weight related... but try telling a chubby kid that. So... leave that a few years to marinate and one develops food/weight issues which led yours truly to a point that he would rather not go too far into. Lets jest say it got to a point where i had to take a 'mandatory sabbatical' from my job at Starbucks, there was a therapist involved and even...... the shun of Pancakes!

I know, i know... the tissues are behind you. Go ahead and grab a few... now blow. Good.

But, as Rafiki once said: It doesnt matter... its in the past. Oh man, the 'Lion King' is friggin awesome, is it not? Life lessons AND good animation. This actually became somewhat of a mantra as i walked into Thankgiving. Working to keep the ticks at bay and to take what i wanted, not what was 'good' or 'bad'. The result... a day full of fried turkey, broccoli casserole, grandmas yams (want to run a TRAIN on these) and even some Pumpkin Pie and some of the best Flan i have ever tasted... plus many, many, more. I was full, but i was happy and i walked away thankful to God for the gifts we had received and the wonderful family He blessed me with. All in all, it was an awesome Thanksgiving and I would not wish it any other way.

Not only that... but there were LEFTOVERS <----- best part! However, there was not enough turkey for the families liking so we hit up the farmers market and got a breast for roasting. A turkey sandwich may make an appearance later in the week coupled with the 'splaining of how to make the perrrrrrfect leftover sangwich (years of study cant be wrong). There was also some more cranberry sauce made and......... A PIE!

OR, a cheesecake. Whatever, either way its awesome, healthy and half gone. I may or may not be running a train on this dessert. But... if you have to have a guilty plesure the Enlightend Pumpkin Cheezcake isn't a bad way to go. I subbed silken tofu for one of the bricks of cream cheese for some added protein and i used pre-made crust because my mother did not know what kind we needed... next time i make this i want to use Nilla Wafers cause im from the south and we put them on everything. I will be adding more more brown sugar next time... but, other than that, this is a wonderful little dessert thats nice when your craving something Pumpkin-y.

As if baking is not awesome enough there was some SWAGGGG accumulated over the break that i will go into later (im sure i have bored you enough already). Until then i will leave you with a little warning I saw at the beach after i had breakfast the other day that made me laugh... since i had chosen to NOT have oatmeal that morning.
How do you like that one Mitri?

Also, still on a high from the Terminator Success! I am now taking down another food challenge that has daunted South Florida for far too long. Will update more later on so be ready.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Tune in next time for an update on the SWAG and the 'Challenge' not to mention a restaurant review or two. Until then, this is PanClayke, reminding you that when you fry a turkey on high heat it creates a sear that keeps the bird from getting greasy but keeping it moist. haha, i said moist.