Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house, the smell of pumpkin cheesecake was drifting about!  (I know that doesn't exactly rhyme.)

Oh. My. Goodness.  I want to eat it!  Remember what I said before, about how I dream of not politely declining the dessert, but eating it and enjoying it and not feeling guilty?  Sadly, it's not going to be tomorrow.  And I made the dessert!  I love, love, love pumpkin cheesecake, more even than regular cheesecake--at least in October, November and December--and I have one cooling on the counter right now.  I took some pictures earlier so I could share the wonder that is pumpkin cheesecake.  Sorry, they turned out a little dark.

Here is the yummy graham cracker and chopped pecan crust!

 Three 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla--yum!

 Added the eggs, so creamy.

 Add the pumpkin and more sugar after...

You reserve some of the plain batter so you can make a swirl.

 Mix, mix, mix.

The finished product.  See the swirl?  That's the reason for the reserved batter.  It's so pretty and easy, but looks extravagant! 

(Clearly I am not a food blogger.) 

So while I will not be indulging in the deliciousness of my cheesecake, I will be eating stuffing and mashed potatoes and this pasta dish I have decided to add to our Thanksgiving tradition, just for my son!  So, I'm choosing what to indulge in and what to forgo.  As a consolation, I plan to mix pumpkin and yummy spices into my morning oatmeal!

Our Thanksgiving travel plans were cancelled, so sad.  We have a tradition of spending Thanksgiving with some good friends, but this year the weather is keeping us home.  Stink!  At least we have family here to spend the day with and I still don't have to cook, well except for the cheesecake and pasta dish.  I know it will be a great day, but I will still miss our friends.

I will be running my Turkey Trot tomorrow morning and I can't wait. Today's run was really, really great! I ran 4 miles and my knee felt great! There was residual pain, but I did not feel like I was continuing to put stress on it with each step as I had before. That is awesome! And my knee has continued to feel great all day, no ice even! And I stood on my feet for two hours in the kitchen without issue! So I might even try for a fast 5K tomorrow, we'll see.  I'll be back tomorrow to share my results.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am very thankful this year, for so many things that I can't begin to list them!  But I must mention this blog as being very high on that list.  I love having this outlet for myself and knowing there are some of you reading really makes me feel proud.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!