Our Turkey Day Part I

Well my all weight watcher meal turned out very yummy and no complaints!  Sadly my dad was sick and my cousin didn’t stop by this year so it was a very small gather with LOT’s of food left over.  Now I must say I didn’t make the end photos all dressed up like I usually do.  My guest showed up an hour later then I planned so it was a little rush at the end to just get everything out before it was too cold.

Let me start with the items I made the night or prepped the night before to make the next morning run so smooth!

First off I started with Brined Turkey that was so easy and turned out VERY most.  I have never done a brine before and was very surprised how it turned out.

Next on the list to make was the Cranberry Pear Sauce that was so yummy.  I’m not a big cranberry fan (ok except the jelly in a can I know STOP judging me). The pears in here cut the bite and made it so delish!

Next on my list was a favorite of Rick’s done on the light side. These Skinny Scalloped Potato Gratin were very yummy.  While did get a little crispy on top due to guest late and they had to go back in the oven to warm up, but STILL very yummy!

And my last prep of the night was the Chicken Sausage and Herb Stuffing. I MUST tell you this was the BEST stuffing I have had in a long time and it was nice not to feel guilty eating it.

So there you have it my night before prep work made the day of so much easier.  And thankfully everything turned out wonderful!

How did your Thanksgiving go?  Did your meals turn out?  Did you try anything new? Or did you do like me and do everything new?

Feeling Like the Holidays … Making Meals that give me that feeling

Hi Gang well I’m starting to feel better but this cold really did kick my butt.  I haven’t felt this down an out in years.  I’m now at the stage where my body feels like it needs more sleep.

Getting close to the holidays I love to bring the flavors we love on the special occasions to our regular night meals.  Now I did use the crockpot again to make these.  NOW I know some of you think any form of crockpot cooking is not real cooking.  Now I could make these meals in the oven but sometimes busy schedule + sick mom = lot’s of crockpot meals.  Plus even when I’m not sick the crockpot does help make sure if I start a meal in the morning that by the time I finish my work we have something to eat.  Sometimes work doesn’t always mean I’ll be off early and have time to cook a good meal so there you have it crockpot haters … lol.

First on our list is Ham & Potatoes au Gratin.  I was fortunate enough to have my dad stop by and drop off some meats he smoked.  He brought over some ham which was fabulous and perfect for this recipe.

Next on the list is something with stuffing, no usually during the holidays I make my own stuffing but this was a fun twist on a classic.  Here is Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing.

And we end with one of my favorite flavors Pumpkin!  I used my favorite brownie mix from Winco, because the bulk section is my friend .  So we do the best thing and mix the two for this Pumpkin Swirl Brownies!

Happy Thursday, sorry all the food post are 2 days late.  I’m getting my groove back … lol.  Do you have something special planned tonight?  Are you doing holiday themed meals lately?

Manic Monday Meals ~ A Few Thanksgiving Meals

Thanksgiving is done, do I look stressed??? hehe it was fun I got up early and cooked my little heart out overall good comments and everyone seemed to enjoy the different parts. Always some drama but I promise to go into that later. Today I picked a few of my recipes I tried to share, tomorrow I share the others didn't want to over load you. Now some are thinking but thanksgiving is over, but believe me you can make these anytime! Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving ala Alexis AKA MOM!

Ingredients

• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 apples, cored and halved
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey's cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
  3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used sparkling cider, 3 apples and margarine. This was the moistest (I know it's not a word) turkey I've EVER had. It had a GREAT apple taste and it was a hit with everyone at the table!

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Every year I try out a new stuffing mix (yes it drives everyone nuts). I just love to try new things, something about having a new recipe to keep things fresh :).

Ingredients

• 16-ounce bag stuffing cubes
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping
• 1 pound fresh sage sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cooking apples, such as Gravenstein, Rome, or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (See Note)
• 2 eggs, beaten

• Directions

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

  Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes. Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

  Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack thedressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkeypan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top iscrisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Set immediately or warm.

ALEXIS NOTES: I think I would scale this down a bit the bag I bought was 12oz I think that would be enough. I used Jimmy Dean sausage they were out of the sage flavor. So when I cooked up the sausage I just added some sage. I toasted the walnuts in the microwave all the burners were busy on the stove :).

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Third on my list is always do a Mac & Cheese but you know me not the same old one :).

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter, for greasing
• 8 ounces macaroni
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk
• 4 ounces provolone cheese, coarsely grated
• 4 ounces aged Asiago cheese, coarsely grated
• 2 large eggs
• 2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 3 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 3 strips bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart shallowcasserole dish. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain; transfer the pasta to the prepared casserole dish along with 1/4 cup of the cold milk. (This will cool the pasta and prevent it from becoming gummy.)

Meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a small bowl. Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk in a medium bowl. Add the scallions, bread and half of the cheese to the egg mixture; set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoonsdrippings from the pan. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon salt; cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and 3/4 cup water to the skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking until thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese. Add the sauce to the macaroni; stir to combine.

Crumble up the bacon and add it to the egg/bread mixture. Spread evenly over the pasta. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven; let sit 5 minutes before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I of course used turkey bacon the big hit in the house. I just cubed up some wheat bread (we never have white here). I did double this recipe which left me with way too many left overs. I also used whole wheat pasta from the bulk section. I found Asiago in a shredded package, the provolone was in a mix with mozzarella but it was great.

Manic Monday Meals ~ Thanksgiving Ideas :)

I love Thanksgiving flavors and try to incorporate them into more meals during the season! My crockpot of course is my friend so I have to throw in one of my meals that way and a few others that can be used in Thanksgiving Day!

Here we go! I have some can goods (don't shutter hey sometimes I do get use them). And sorry my non pork loving friend Amy ... it was on sale :).

Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes

Found on Sparks Recipe

Ingredients

6 Pork chops, trimmed of fat
3 or 4 sweet potatoes, cubed or 1 can sweet potatoes
1 can whole cranberry sauce
salt and pepper to taste




Directions

Season pork chops to taste. Layer pork chops and cranberries in slow cooker. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours. If you use fresh sweet potatoes, add on top of slow cooker at start of cooking time. If you use canned sweet potatoes, add at last hour of cooking. Makes approx. 6 servings

ALEXIS NOTES: I used canned sweet potatoes & cranberry. Yes the cranberry can was labeled upside down you had to open the bottom to get htem out ... lol. I used whole cranberries added a little something nice to the plate :). Don't forget your crockpot liner!

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Second Recipe is one I made for the Church Thanksgiving Dinner we had last night. It was a huge hit, I even had people that wrote their email address down to email to them :).

Mom's Turkey Stuffing Recipe

by Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
• 3/4 cup of currants or raisins
• Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
• Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

METHOD

1 If you haven't already made the stock, take the turkey giblets - heart and gizzard - and neck if you want, and put them in a small saucepan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to a simmer; simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Strain the stock into a container for use with the stuffing. Alternatively, you can use chicken stock or just plain water with this recipe.

2 Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.

3 Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side. Note, if you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.

4 In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, raisins, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it). Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

5 Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serves 8-10.

ALEXIS NOTES: I doubled the recipe for the event at church. I used golden raisins & chicken stock. I toasted my walnuts in the microwave, in a hurry girl :). I ended up toasting the bread and then putting in a big pan, did the same with veggies in the stock pot. I ended up putting it in the oven so it would be crunchier :). Sorry no finished pic, I had to run out the door to church when the timer went off. Yes I was late, I swear one day everything will line up for me.

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And my last recipe was my desert for the church event. When I came by to get one I ended up getting the last one, and oh boy I'm so glad I got a chance to get one it was fab!!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

by Betty Crocker

Cookies

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1	tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1	egg

Filling

2/3	cup marshmallow creme (from 7-oz jar)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3	cup powdered sugar

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1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and flour. Add remaining cookie ingredients; stir until stiff dough forms.
2. Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by 36 rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart. Lightly press tops with floured fingertips to flatten slightly.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. For each whoopie pie, spread about 2 teaspoons of the filling on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press together. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar just before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I actually stuck to a recipe, I know get that! LOL ok but NEXT time I'll switch the cinnamon out for pumpkin spice. I'm so glad I bought a cookie scoop it made it so easy. NOW I bought a cheap $3 at Walmart BUT I may go look online for the pampered chef one. This was truly yummy and easy, Cole my helper did a great job!