leftover casserole

okay, i my family we have turkey for both thanksgiving and Christmas, which means we have to get pretty creative with the leftovers to avoid feeling like we're eating the same thing over and over and over again. this is a casserole we make that uses a little of everything you might have stealing up all the space in your refrigerator. i see no reason why you couldn't just swap in some ham and make the same meal if you didn't have turkey.  it's kind of a shepherd's pie of sorts, at least that's the only thing i can think to compare it to, and it is soooo simple. simple enough, in fact, that i will skip the "recipe" and just post assembly instructions.

lightly grease a baking dish (we use a 13x9, but there are a lot of us, you could totally use an 8x8 if you are a smaller bunch) and put a thin layer of gravy in the bottom. now you just layer on stuffing, turkey, beans (or whatever veggie you have lying around), mashed potatoes and top with gravy. bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through. remember everything is already cooked so don't go overboard here! that's it. told you it was easy.

snowman soup

this isn't really a recipe, but i don't care. it's cute and festive and i'm posting it anyway!

Snowman Soup 

Assemble in a gift bag, gift mug or small zipper food storage bag:

• 1 individual packet hot chocolate mix
• 2-3 chocolate kiss candies
• 10-15 mini-marshmallows
• small candy cane

Attach free printable Snowman Soup Gift Tag or Snowman Soup Bag Topper and share a warming gift!
Or, hand-write this poem and attach to gift:

Snowman Soup
Was told you've been real good this year.
Always glad to hear it!
With freezing weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit.Printable Snowman Soup Gift TagSo here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick!

the leftover makeover

if i had a show on the food network, this is what it would be called. it's also one of my favorite things about thanksgiving. so,brace yourself, i've got oodles of recipes for using up all the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other goodies. great, now i'm hungry...

roasted acorn squash

okay, so this isn't so much a recipe as a simple set of instructions. why? well, because there is no recipe. just estimate the amounts as you go. that's pretty much what i do every time i'm in the kitchen and things turn out just fine. usually. so here goes:

roasted acorn squash

acorn squash

butter

fresh sage

brown sugar

apple juice

cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds (bonus! you can roast the seeds of any squash the same way you would pumpkin seeds at halloween). use a fork to poke some holes in the squash, then coat the squash halves with butter and leave a dab in the bowl of the squash. you can use olive oil if you prefer, in which case you would omit the bit in the bowl. sprinkle with brown sugar, leaving a bit in the bowl of the sqaush. place in a roasting dish with 1/2-3/4 of an inch of juice (you could use water if you like) roast, uncovered, until squash is soft.

double bonus! acorn squash, butternut squash and even pumpkin can be used interchangeably in this recipe

harvest stew

this hearty meal is an excellent way to celebrate the bounty of the autumn harvest. some of the ingredients may seem a little strange, but trust me, the finished product is quite delicious.

harvest stew

 

1 1/2 lbs pork

1 1/2 cups of flour seasoned with 1/2 tsp each: dried sage, salt, pepper, allspice

3 tbs olive oil

1 acorn or butternut squash

2-3 potatoes

2-3 carrots

2 apples

handful of mushrooms

1 cup apple cider or juice

3 cups chicken stock

water to cover

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup dried cranberries

cut pork and vegetables into 1 inch cubes. dredge pork in seasoned flour. coat the bottom of a large pot (the bigger the better) with olive oil (2-3 tbs should do) sear the flour coated pork over medium high heat. remove pork, set aside and add the squash cubes to the pot, season with salt and pepper. saute for 3 minutes then add potatoes and carrots, season. saute 3 more minutes and add apples and mushrooms. pour apple sauce over the veggies to deglaze the pan (make sure you use you spoon to sort of scrape up the flavorful bits on the bottom of the pot), then add the pork back to the pot. add chicken stock and water to cover. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. add dried cranberries just before serving.

sidenote: if you anticipate a lot of leftovers (as i always do) you might want to leave the cranberries our of the pot and simply add them to the bowl as you serve the stew. they get a weird texture when heated, then refrigerated. i don't know why, that's just the way it is.

chicken soup for my soul

it's officially fall, which means it's officially soup season. happy face. let's say we kick thing off with this oldie but goody (maybe besty). chicken noodle soup. used to be i only liked the stuff when i was sick, but this version is sooo good i could eat it all year long. wait...that's exactly what i do. anyhow...
i think this soup is best made with the carcass leftovers of a roasted chicken. even if i'm buying chicken specifically for this soup i'll roast it first. it may seem like an extra step, but the flavor is IMMENSELY better that way. also, you really can't substitute boneless anything into this soup, it will be bland and gross. okay, so here it is, my grandmother's recipe with a few little tweaks of my own:

chicken noodle soup

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, diced

1-2 medium to large carrot(s), diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 tbs salt

1/2 tbs pepper

6 cups water

bones from a roasted chicken

6 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cups chicken stock

noodles (recipe below)

heat olive oil in a large soup pot. saute vegetables 3-5 minutes. add salt and pepper, water, thyme and chicken bones.  bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. strain and reserve liquid (this is homemade chicken stock for those who are wondering). let the bones cool enough to touch. pick off and reserve any meat left on the bones, then discard them along with the vegetables* and thyme sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off into the liquid). return your cooking liquid to the stove over medium to medium-high heat, add the extra chicken stock** and the reserved meat. slowly drop in your homemade noodles and heat through (about 10 minutes).

*these vegetables have totally leached all of their flavor and nutrients into the broth so they're pretty gross now. if you like veggies in your soup (like i do) chop up a few extras and saute them before you add the liquid back into the pot.

**i supplement with extra stock rather than more water to deepen the flavor.

noodles

5 large eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

measure flour either onto your board/counter or into an extra large bowl. add salt. form a well in the middle (like a flour volcano). break eggs into the well. using a fork, break the yolks and slowly mix the flour into the eggs. mix until you have formed a stiff dough. on a floured surface, roll dough out very thin (about 1/8 inch thick). using a pizza cutter or a vary sharp knife, cut into strips (noodles) make sure each of your noodles is covered with a dusting of flour (this thickens your soup later). let stand 1-4 hours*

*the drier the better. if your noodles are too wet, they cook up more like dumplings than noodles-not that that's a bad thing...

holy slacker batman!

i apologize for my absence (although very few people actually care). i have no legitimate excuse so i won't bother. no recipe in this post, but i have big plans for dinner tonight so i'll get back to you on that one. i'll be better. i promise.