The weather has been unseasonably warm this past week, and I could not muster the motivation to make the usual turkey soup from my Christmas dinner leftovers. Who wants hot soup on a warm, balmy 68 degree evening after we've played outside all day without even wearing our jackets? No one. Plus, having gone slightly overboard in preparing mashed potatoes this year, I still had a large container of leftovers sitting in the fridge that I didn't want to waste. Then I remembered seeing a great-for-turkey-leftovers recipe on another blog, so I decided to give a new dish a try.
Turkey Shepherd's Pie
2 C prepared stuffing
1 C peas, warmed
1 C corn, warmed
1 C shredded carrots
2 C shredded or cubed turkey
1 C turkey gravy, warmed
2 C mashed potatoes, warmed
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Layer the ingredients in the dish as listed in the recipe. Bake for 45 minutes on 350 degrees, covering the dish if the cheese starts to become too brown.
Super easy and super yummy! This is certainly going to become a permanent addition to my recipe box for leftover turkey. I also read one comment that said assembling the dish on Thanksgiving/Christmas Day while cleaning the kitchen saves room in the refrigerator and means that you have one less dish to prepare in the days to follow. If you have great holiday lefovers ideas, post below!
And Happy New Years Eve!
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Easy Christmas Treats
Every year we like to give our neighbors a plateful of treats, but I'm not usually up to baking 10 different kinds of cookies and packing up heavy laden plates to give away. So my sister-in-law gave me this fantastic idea last year:
M&M PRETZEL CANDIES
What you'll need:
Bag of square pretzels
Bag of Hershey's kisses
Bag of Christmas colored M&Ms
What to do:
Place square pretzels on a cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with one Hershey's kiss. Bake at 200 degrees (no higher) for 2-3 minutes until Hershey's kiss is slightly melted. Pull from the oven and immediately top with one M&M, pushing down slightly. Cool until chocolate is hardened again.
This year I'm making the following for the neighbors using an easy recipe courtesy of my friend Rachelle:
TOFFEE PRALINE BARS
1/2 box of graham crackers
1 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1 to 1-1/2 C chocolate chips
1/3 C chopped or sliced almonds, toasted if desired
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Layer the graham crackers on the bottom of the sheet. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together. Boil for 3 minutes on medium heat. Pour evenly over graham crackers. Bake for 8 minutes. Pull from the oven and immediately top with chocolate chips. Once chocolate chips are soft and melted, spread evenly over the toffee layer. Top with almonds. Cut in to bars while still warm (important!) Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until firm. Break in to pieces.
And speaking of Rachelle and recipes (since she has the best of anyone I know), here is an amazing recipe for cucumber sandwiches that are absolutely a holiday party staple:
CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
8oz cream cheese
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix (.7oz)
2 loaves french bread
2 cucumbers
Dill (optional)
Blend cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Italian dressing together. Refrigerate 2-4 hours, though overnight is best. Slice the bread and cucumbers. (The Pillsbury bread loaves you bake are the best.) Spread each slice of bread generously with cream cheese mixture. Top with one cucumber slice. Sprinkle with dill if desired. Refrigerate until serving.
If you have a super easy, super yummy holiday recipe, share below! I'm especially glad that I have no need to watch my weight or waistline this holiday season! Bring on the goodies!
M&M PRETZEL CANDIES
What you'll need:
Bag of square pretzels
Bag of Hershey's kisses
Bag of Christmas colored M&Ms
What to do:
Place square pretzels on a cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with one Hershey's kiss. Bake at 200 degrees (no higher) for 2-3 minutes until Hershey's kiss is slightly melted. Pull from the oven and immediately top with one M&M, pushing down slightly. Cool until chocolate is hardened again.
This year I'm making the following for the neighbors using an easy recipe courtesy of my friend Rachelle:
TOFFEE PRALINE BARS
1/2 box of graham crackers
1 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1 to 1-1/2 C chocolate chips
1/3 C chopped or sliced almonds, toasted if desired
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Layer the graham crackers on the bottom of the sheet. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together. Boil for 3 minutes on medium heat. Pour evenly over graham crackers. Bake for 8 minutes. Pull from the oven and immediately top with chocolate chips. Once chocolate chips are soft and melted, spread evenly over the toffee layer. Top with almonds. Cut in to bars while still warm (important!) Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until firm. Break in to pieces.
And speaking of Rachelle and recipes (since she has the best of anyone I know), here is an amazing recipe for cucumber sandwiches that are absolutely a holiday party staple:
CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
8oz cream cheese
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix (.7oz)
2 loaves french bread
2 cucumbers
Dill (optional)
Blend cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Italian dressing together. Refrigerate 2-4 hours, though overnight is best. Slice the bread and cucumbers. (The Pillsbury bread loaves you bake are the best.) Spread each slice of bread generously with cream cheese mixture. Top with one cucumber slice. Sprinkle with dill if desired. Refrigerate until serving.
If you have a super easy, super yummy holiday recipe, share below! I'm especially glad that I have no need to watch my weight or waistline this holiday season! Bring on the goodies!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Everything Apple
The weathermen are not endearing themselves to me this week.
After canceling our apple picking adventure last weekend due to the supposed rain, we decided to head out this past Tuesday, our last free day to go this month. The forecast read sunny, clear, with a high of 80 degrees. We woke up on Tuesday, excited, and started dressing, packing lunches, making plans. We opened the window to let in a breeze and, to our great surprise, saw the cloudiest dark sky letting loose sheets and sheets of...rain. RAIN! We ultimately decided that we were going to get our apples rain or shine, so after running several errands, we headed up to Charlottesville.
Thankfully Charlottesville did not experience any of the rain that Richmond felt, and we enjoyed a perfectly warm, dry, sunny afternoon in the apple orchards. We picked bags and bags of apples while Little Boy sat in a borrowed Radio Flyer wagon, his feet propped up on the fruits of our labor, crunching away on the only apple he picked the entire day. We bought cold apple cider and warm apple cider donuts, ate a leisurely lunch, and took in the beautiful view of the city from the top of Carter Mountain. I love fall!
For me, part of the fun in apple picking is not just pulling the apples from the tree but in using them once at home. We eat our fair share of fresh, crisp apples, but since we tend to go overboard in our picking (30lbs, anyone?) I also cook up grand plans to bake apple pies, can applesauce, make apple spice bread. Yum, yum, yum!
I made and canned 8 quarts of applesauce and 2 pints of apple butter last year, surprised at how easy the whole process is. And contrary to my belief, you do not need any special canning equipment.
Homemade Applesauce
8-10 apples
1/2 cup water
Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, 1-2 tsp each (optional)
Peel, core, and slice the apples. In a crockpot, combine apples, water, and desired spices. If using extra juicy apples, decrease water by half. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Blend with a hand mixer until sauce reaches desired consistency. (We love chunky!)
Canning Applesauce
Pour applesauce in to clean canning jars. Cover with lid seals and rings. Bring a large stock pot of water to a full boil. The pot needs to be large enough to cover the tops of the jars in 1-2 inches of boiling water. Once the water is at full boil, ease the covered jars in to the water using canning tongs or a large serving spoon. Boil small jars for 5-8 minutes and large jars for 8-10 minutes. Pull hot jars carefully out of the water and place on a cooling rack. As the jars cool, you will hear the seals pop, confirming that they have fully sealed and locked. Eat at your leisure throughout the year!
After canceling our apple picking adventure last weekend due to the supposed rain, we decided to head out this past Tuesday, our last free day to go this month. The forecast read sunny, clear, with a high of 80 degrees. We woke up on Tuesday, excited, and started dressing, packing lunches, making plans. We opened the window to let in a breeze and, to our great surprise, saw the cloudiest dark sky letting loose sheets and sheets of...rain. RAIN! We ultimately decided that we were going to get our apples rain or shine, so after running several errands, we headed up to Charlottesville.
Thankfully Charlottesville did not experience any of the rain that Richmond felt, and we enjoyed a perfectly warm, dry, sunny afternoon in the apple orchards. We picked bags and bags of apples while Little Boy sat in a borrowed Radio Flyer wagon, his feet propped up on the fruits of our labor, crunching away on the only apple he picked the entire day. We bought cold apple cider and warm apple cider donuts, ate a leisurely lunch, and took in the beautiful view of the city from the top of Carter Mountain. I love fall!
For me, part of the fun in apple picking is not just pulling the apples from the tree but in using them once at home. We eat our fair share of fresh, crisp apples, but since we tend to go overboard in our picking (30lbs, anyone?) I also cook up grand plans to bake apple pies, can applesauce, make apple spice bread. Yum, yum, yum!
I made and canned 8 quarts of applesauce and 2 pints of apple butter last year, surprised at how easy the whole process is. And contrary to my belief, you do not need any special canning equipment.
Homemade Applesauce
8-10 apples
1/2 cup water
Cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, 1-2 tsp each (optional)
Peel, core, and slice the apples. In a crockpot, combine apples, water, and desired spices. If using extra juicy apples, decrease water by half. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Blend with a hand mixer until sauce reaches desired consistency. (We love chunky!)
Canning Applesauce
Pour applesauce in to clean canning jars. Cover with lid seals and rings. Bring a large stock pot of water to a full boil. The pot needs to be large enough to cover the tops of the jars in 1-2 inches of boiling water. Once the water is at full boil, ease the covered jars in to the water using canning tongs or a large serving spoon. Boil small jars for 5-8 minutes and large jars for 8-10 minutes. Pull hot jars carefully out of the water and place on a cooling rack. As the jars cool, you will hear the seals pop, confirming that they have fully sealed and locked. Eat at your leisure throughout the year!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Top Chef
Hubby and I love Bravo's show Top Chef. The contestants are creative and amazingly quick on their feet when it comes to whipping up tasty and elegant dishes. Unfortunately, while the show posts all the contestants' recipes online, you can rarely find a dish that is easy to duplicate at home. Until this past season, that is.
This spring, one of the challenges included making an easy, healthy, affordable dish that a family of four could recreate at home. The dish had to include a lean meat, whole grain, and vegetables, and the ingredients should cost less than $10 total. I'd been dying to make the winning dish for some time. finally got around to looking up the recipe, and making it at home.
All I can say is YUM, YUM, YUM! Even though this recipe involves quite a bit of chopping, the dish made a large quantity of delicious food and will definitely be a repeat in our home!
STIR FRY IN A TERIYAKI PEANUT SAUCE
1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 head of bok choy (leafy Asian veggie), chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, chopped or sliced
1 cup edamame, cooked and removed from pods
1/2 box of whole wheat noodles, cooked
Teriyaki peanut sauce (recipe below)
In a large skillet, saute chicken in 2 tablespoons olive oil until fully cooked. Add all veggies and cover, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened to your preference. Add noodles and mix thoroughly. Drizzle teriyaki peanut sauce over dish, stirring until stir fry is well coated. Serve hot.
Teriyaki Peanut Sauce
2 heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter
2 tsp honey
2 tsp orange juice concentrate
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
1/4 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
Heat all ingredients on LOW heat until well blended. Add water if necessary for thinning sauce.
**If you do not like peanut sauce, you can use 3/4 to 1 cup of plain teriyaki sauce instead.
This spring, one of the challenges included making an easy, healthy, affordable dish that a family of four could recreate at home. The dish had to include a lean meat, whole grain, and vegetables, and the ingredients should cost less than $10 total. I'd been dying to make the winning dish for some time. finally got around to looking up the recipe, and making it at home.
All I can say is YUM, YUM, YUM! Even though this recipe involves quite a bit of chopping, the dish made a large quantity of delicious food and will definitely be a repeat in our home!
STIR FRY IN A TERIYAKI PEANUT SAUCE
1 lb of boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 head of bok choy (leafy Asian veggie), chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, chopped or sliced
1 cup edamame, cooked and removed from pods
1/2 box of whole wheat noodles, cooked
Teriyaki peanut sauce (recipe below)
In a large skillet, saute chicken in 2 tablespoons olive oil until fully cooked. Add all veggies and cover, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened to your preference. Add noodles and mix thoroughly. Drizzle teriyaki peanut sauce over dish, stirring until stir fry is well coated. Serve hot.
Teriyaki Peanut Sauce
2 heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter
2 tsp honey
2 tsp orange juice concentrate
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
1/4 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
Heat all ingredients on LOW heat until well blended. Add water if necessary for thinning sauce.
**If you do not like peanut sauce, you can use 3/4 to 1 cup of plain teriyaki sauce instead.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Taste of Fall
Fall is my favorite time of the year. Especially after a long, hot summer like this one. But fall is so much more than the anticipation of cooler weather. Fall is brightly colored leaves falling off the trees, windows open all day, long walks without breaking a sweat, afternoons at the park, apple picking, pumpkin pies, soups and stews for dinner, jackets and warm sweaters, my birthday, Thanksgiving, decorating for Christmas...I just can't wait!
These past two days we've had ridiculously cool weather for Virginia in August. Little Boy and I headed over to the park, and when the breeze blew through the playground and rustled those few leaves that fell early, I almost wished we had our jackets with us! For dinner, I just couldn't resist making our favorite sausage potato soup and pumpkin muffins, which we enjoyed sitting in the kitchen next to open windows. Oh, happy day!
I know that we most likely have several more warm (or hot) days ahead of us. I believe last year we were still wearing shorts some days in October. But for now I'm going to curl up on the couch next to an open window with a cup of hot tea and my book and enjoy this brief taste of fall.
Sausage & Potato Soup
2-3 Italian sausage links (sweet or spicy), removed from casing
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 carrots, sliced or chopped
2 cans chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 cup milk (2% or whole for best results)
2 cups baby spinach (or kale)
Italian cheese
Brown sausage in a stock pot. Add and saute onion, garlic, and carrots. Drain fat if necessary. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer until soft, 15-20 minutes. Mash potatoes in soup briefly with a potato masher. Add milk and spinach and simmer for 5-10 minutes until spinach has boiled down. Top individual bowls with cheese if desired. Best served with bread.
These past two days we've had ridiculously cool weather for Virginia in August. Little Boy and I headed over to the park, and when the breeze blew through the playground and rustled those few leaves that fell early, I almost wished we had our jackets with us! For dinner, I just couldn't resist making our favorite sausage potato soup and pumpkin muffins, which we enjoyed sitting in the kitchen next to open windows. Oh, happy day!
I know that we most likely have several more warm (or hot) days ahead of us. I believe last year we were still wearing shorts some days in October. But for now I'm going to curl up on the couch next to an open window with a cup of hot tea and my book and enjoy this brief taste of fall.
Sausage & Potato Soup
2-3 Italian sausage links (sweet or spicy), removed from casing
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 carrots, sliced or chopped
2 cans chicken broth
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 cup milk (2% or whole for best results)
2 cups baby spinach (or kale)
Italian cheese
Brown sausage in a stock pot. Add and saute onion, garlic, and carrots. Drain fat if necessary. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and simmer until soft, 15-20 minutes. Mash potatoes in soup briefly with a potato masher. Add milk and spinach and simmer for 5-10 minutes until spinach has boiled down. Top individual bowls with cheese if desired. Best served with bread.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake
I've been slow with blogging lately because we've had a couple of hectic weeks. In the last two weeks, we...
...celebrated our church's first baptism!
...visited with my mom and cousin for a week, going to King's Dominion with them three times in five day!
...celebrated the Fourth of July with friends from DC and our family by going to King's Dominion and then barbecuing!
...visited with my dad the past two days, watching several movies and going to the Richmond Zoo for the first time!
This morning started at 4:45am when I had to drive Hubby to work for his opening shift at Starbucks. Followed by driving my dad to the airport at 6:45am. The little girl I nanny arrived at 8am. I managed to grab a quick shower (a record 3 minutes) and in just a moment I'll be packing the kiddos in the car and heading back to Starbucks to pick up Hubby. Thankfully I go knowing that a yummy frappuccino will be waiting for me to help me through the rest of the day!
An equally busy weekend awaits us, so while I do have several posts I'd like to make, those thoughts will have to wait until at least Sunday. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the recipe for the Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake that I made for Hubby's birthday and our special at-home date night.
OREO FUDGE ICE CREAM CAKE
1 chocolate fudge boxed cake mix
Eggs, oil, water
1/2 gallon of cookies n cream ice cream, slightly softened
2 jars hot fudge (12-16oz each)
2 rows Oreo cookies, crushed
Mix up the cake mix according to the package directions. Pour half of the batter in to a 9x13 cake pan and bake. (The other half is extra, so set aside to use for cupcakes or a second cake. You can also see tip below on using the extra batter and fudge.) When cake is finished baking, cool for several minutes, then poke small holes in to the top every inch or so. Heat one jar of hot fudge and pour half to three-quarters of the jar over the warm cake. Allow the fudge to be absorbed by the cake. Cool completely, and then freeze for 2-3 hours.
When cake is frozen, layer ice cream on top. The best way to do this is to buy the ice cream in one of the half-gallon boxes with the fold out sides. Slice the ice cream with a knife and layer the slices over the cake. Use a spatula to smooth out crevices.
Warm the second jar of hot fudge only enough so that the fudge pours easily. If you warm the fudge too much it will completely melt the ice cream. Spread half to three-quarters of the jar of hot fudge over the ice cream. Then dump the crushed Oreos on top of the hot fudge. Press Oreos down so that they stick well. Freeze at least 4-6 hours before serving. Overnight is best. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving.
TIP: Using the extra cake batter, fill cupcake pans (lined with cupcake papers) until each tin is about two-thirds full. Take a heaping spoonful of unheated hot fudge and place on the top in the center of each cupcake. Bake as directed on the package. The spoonful of hot fudge will sink in to the middle of the cupcake during baking. Will make about a dozen and can be frozen since you most likely won't be ready to eat them since you just made a huge ice cream cake! We ate ours straight out of the freezer with cool whip. Yummy!
So this really is the best ice cream cake ever and definitely beats paying almost $30 for a tiny Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake! Credit actually goes to Cindy who gave me the recipe, though I added the layers of fudge. You can probably mix up the cake mix and ice cream flavors and switch out the fudge with caramel or butterscotch for different varieties. Happy summer, ice cream eatin's!
...celebrated our church's first baptism!
...visited with my mom and cousin for a week, going to King's Dominion with them three times in five day!
...celebrated the Fourth of July with friends from DC and our family by going to King's Dominion and then barbecuing!
...visited with my dad the past two days, watching several movies and going to the Richmond Zoo for the first time!
This morning started at 4:45am when I had to drive Hubby to work for his opening shift at Starbucks. Followed by driving my dad to the airport at 6:45am. The little girl I nanny arrived at 8am. I managed to grab a quick shower (a record 3 minutes) and in just a moment I'll be packing the kiddos in the car and heading back to Starbucks to pick up Hubby. Thankfully I go knowing that a yummy frappuccino will be waiting for me to help me through the rest of the day!
An equally busy weekend awaits us, so while I do have several posts I'd like to make, those thoughts will have to wait until at least Sunday. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the recipe for the Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake that I made for Hubby's birthday and our special at-home date night.
OREO FUDGE ICE CREAM CAKE
1 chocolate fudge boxed cake mix
Eggs, oil, water
1/2 gallon of cookies n cream ice cream, slightly softened
2 jars hot fudge (12-16oz each)
2 rows Oreo cookies, crushed
Mix up the cake mix according to the package directions. Pour half of the batter in to a 9x13 cake pan and bake. (The other half is extra, so set aside to use for cupcakes or a second cake. You can also see tip below on using the extra batter and fudge.) When cake is finished baking, cool for several minutes, then poke small holes in to the top every inch or so. Heat one jar of hot fudge and pour half to three-quarters of the jar over the warm cake. Allow the fudge to be absorbed by the cake. Cool completely, and then freeze for 2-3 hours.
When cake is frozen, layer ice cream on top. The best way to do this is to buy the ice cream in one of the half-gallon boxes with the fold out sides. Slice the ice cream with a knife and layer the slices over the cake. Use a spatula to smooth out crevices.
Warm the second jar of hot fudge only enough so that the fudge pours easily. If you warm the fudge too much it will completely melt the ice cream. Spread half to three-quarters of the jar of hot fudge over the ice cream. Then dump the crushed Oreos on top of the hot fudge. Press Oreos down so that they stick well. Freeze at least 4-6 hours before serving. Overnight is best. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving.
TIP: Using the extra cake batter, fill cupcake pans (lined with cupcake papers) until each tin is about two-thirds full. Take a heaping spoonful of unheated hot fudge and place on the top in the center of each cupcake. Bake as directed on the package. The spoonful of hot fudge will sink in to the middle of the cupcake during baking. Will make about a dozen and can be frozen since you most likely won't be ready to eat them since you just made a huge ice cream cake! We ate ours straight out of the freezer with cool whip. Yummy!
So this really is the best ice cream cake ever and definitely beats paying almost $30 for a tiny Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake! Credit actually goes to Cindy who gave me the recipe, though I added the layers of fudge. You can probably mix up the cake mix and ice cream flavors and switch out the fudge with caramel or butterscotch for different varieties. Happy summer, ice cream eatin's!
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