Thanksgiving Dinner:

Turkey: brined a la Alton Brown. Next year: use Sunset’s brine, it’s easier.

Stuffing: from Sunset. I used a stick of butter instead of a tablespoon and then drained it off and made the gravy with it later. I used sage instead of rosemary. Next year: use half as many shrooms, cube bread and allow to dry out for a few days, don’t forget to season. More sage!

Rolls: Grandma Ruby’s “Cloud” recipe, in the shape of a turkey. Next year: Same.

Cranberry Sauce: Back of bag recipe with 1.5 cups of pomegranate seeds. Next year: Same.

Veggies: Sweet Potato Beet Stacks and Green Beans with Bacon. I made a casserole instead of the individual stacks. I really liked the beets with the sweet potatoes, but no one else touched them. I missed the shallots and lemon, so it was just green beans with bacon. Next year: Just roast the beets and sweet potatoes, save the rest of it. Use shallots and lemon next year with the green beans.

Mashed potatoes: Same as usual. Next year: Same.

Gravy: Made a roux with the mushroom butter and flour, added turkey stock and pan drippings. Next year: Need a gravy separator, and don’t forget to season!

Pies: Pumpkin, apple (traditional), Walnut. I made the Chocolate-Walnut as a tart instead of a pie. Regular crust, 2 eggs, 1/2 c sugar and corn syrup, 1 T butter, used base of chocolate chips instead of melting. Next year: Same for pumpkin and apple, try 2/3 c sugar and corn syrup for the walnut.

Tonight’s Dinner:
Inspired by my favorite panini combo at Nugget,
enabled by the contents of my refrigerator.
1/2 lb pasta, cooked
1 healthy dollop pesto
1 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz mozzarella cheese, diced

Mix hot pasta with pesto, chicken, bell pepper and cheese.
Watch kids eat 3 helpings.

1/2 lb bacon, sliced 1/4″ wide
1 lb sugar snap peas
1 lb pasta
2 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 c half and half
handful of parsley (or basil), chopped

Cook bacon slices until crispy. Drain. Add shallots and garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add peas, cook another minute. Add half and half, bring to a simmer. Pour sauce over drained pasta, stir in herbage.

Dinner tonight was a pretty quick and easy one from my friend Karen. It was a cold noodle dish and cabbage salad with soy/ginger/sesame flavors, which worked really well together. It was just a taste of spring-like weather, and it was delicious! I added some leftover steak and sauteed mushrooms, but otherwise made the recipe as directed and it was really good! Everyone had seconds, and the leftovers all went into lunches for tomorrow. A pretty inexpensive meal, once I found sesame seeds in 3/4 pouches for 99c vs a 2T jar for $5. It was nice to finish making dinner, set the table, and go hang out elsewhere in the house for a while before actually sitting down to eat, too!

Cold Sesame Soba Noodles from Karen J

3/4 c sesame seeds
1 package soba noodles (could use spaghetti)
1.5 T rice vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1.5 T honey
1.5 T dark sesame oil
1 bunch green onions (10-12 stems)

My additions: 1/2 lb leftover grilled steak, thinly sliced, 1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, quartered and sauteed

Boil water for noodles.

Place sesame seeds in a small heavy skillet over medium heat to toast, stirring and shaking, until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water.

In large serving boil, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Add drained noodles, green onion, and toasted sesame seeds (and steak and mushrooms, if using). Toss to mix. Let sit 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Cucumber Cabbage Salad, Moosewood Cookbook, by way of Karen J

1 clove garlic (I used 2, don’t do that)
1/2 small onion, about 2T
1 small carrot
1.5 T grated ginger (about 2″ of fresh ginger root)
1 t soy sauce
1/2 t sesame oil
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c rice vinegar
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 head cabbage, shredded

Using a food processor or mini chopper fitted with a metal blade, blend garlic, onion, and carrot until finely chopped (about 30s). Add soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil and rice vinegar and process until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Mix with cabbage and cucumber.

Last night I covered a pound of pinto beans in water in a pot and left them to soak overnight. Around noon, I drained them, covered them again with water and let them simmer on the stove until they were done, adding a little more water as needed. I don’t think I let them cook quite long enough, but they were good anyway. I put them in a bowl while I started the rest of the beans. This is where I merged with Kellie’s recipe. She uses a large can of pinto beans instead of dried.

Dice ~1/3 lb lean bacon, cook in bean pot, until crispy. Add beans and ~1 t seasoned salt, and enough water to just cover the beans. Cover and simmer for ~30 minutes, then mash to desired consistency, adding more water if necessary.

Then I got a crazy idea to make carnitas to go with the beans, so I picked up a pork roast on sale and adapted a recipe from Nugget that I’ve made before with great success.

Carnitas the Really Lazy Way

1. Place roast in pressure cooker, add spices and 1″ of water.
2. Cover and bring cooker up to pressure and cook for about an hour.
3. Uncover pressure cooker (according to manufacturer’s directions) and return to heat to allow remaining water to boil off, breaking the roast into bite size pieces.
4. When the water is gone, there will be plenty of fat left in the pan to brown the pieces of pork on all sides, giving it that crispy golden-brown exterior. After browning, shred the pork and serve with tortillas, beans, and other taco or burrito toppings of choice.

My husband doesn’t like lasagna, but it’s one of my favorite foods. He does like ravioli, so I thought he might like stuffed shells. The jury is still out. I don’t know how anyone could NOT like cheesy pasta goodness. The kids called it “Mac and cheese with sausage.” YUM

I stumbled across a recipe for stuffed shells on Haute Apple Pie and made up my own version as follows:

Stuffed Pasta Shells
1 box (12 oz) jumbo pasta shells
3/4 lb mild italian sausage (approximately, more would not be bad)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and liquid drained
1 lb shredded mozzarella
1 c grated parmesan
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
15 oz container low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp dried basil (would use fresh if I had it)
salt
pepper
1 quart spaghetti sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water well and add pasta shells. Cook shells for 6-8 minutes. Shells should be al dente. Drain shells in a colander and rinse with cool water to stop further cooking. Preheat oven to 375.

Cook sausage on medium heat, breaking into crumbles, until done. Combine sausage, drained spinach, half the mozzarella, half the parmesan, garlic, mushrooms, ricotta, red pepper flakes, and basil. Spread thin layer of sauce in 8×8 pan (I used 3 pans). Using a 2T cookie scoop (or spoonful), fill each shell. Place 12 shells into each pan, top with remaining cheese and sauce.

Bake 20-25 minutes until GBD.

This made WAY more than I thought it was going to, so we had dinner with a few leftovers, and I’ve got 2 more pans in the freezer for another day. Everyone liked it! It was a little time consuming stuffing all the shells, but for 3+ meals, it was definitely worth it. The kids ate more salad than shells, but I can’t really complain about that!

The kids have a friend over for the day and I made mac n cheese for lunch. I’ve adapted this recipe from Alton Brown’s Stovetop recipe to make it a little more economical and (my) pantry friendly. It’s WICKED easy, and SO much better than anything from a box.

Mac and Cheese

5 oz milk (5/8 c, right between 1/2 and 3/4 )

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, mix milk, eggs, and garlic powder in small bowl or measuring cup (it’s about 1 c).
3. Return pasta/pan to low heat and add butter. Stir gently until melted.
4. Pour egg/milk mixture over pasta. Turn off heat, stir cheese into pasta. Stir until cheese is all melty and gooey and goodness.

1 large onion, caramelized

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 head broccoli, chopped and steamed

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese

Pastry Dough

Mix 1 c flour with 1 t salt. Add 1/2 c butter (or 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c shortening), cubed. Mix with pastry blender until chunks are no larger than small peas. Add 1/4 c ice cold water, stir to make dough, knead ~5 times on edge of bowl to make cohesive ball. Chill.

Roll out dough to 1/8″ thick on lightly floured work surface. Using a round bowl, cut out circles approximately 6″ in diameter (Note: I used the ugly 70s orange Tupperware bowl). Gently press each disc into 10 muffin tins.

Fill dough cups with caramelized onion, broccoli, bacon and cheese.

Crack 4 large or 5 medium eggs into a bowl. I used eggs from our CSA. Delicious! Add 1/2 c half and half (or milk). Whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Gently pour egg mixture into each muffin tin until nearly full, wiping up spills on pan.

Bake at 350 for 40  minutes, until GBD.

Peach Crisp

4-5 lb peaches, picked fresh from backyard tree, skinned, sliced, frozen in vacuum seal bags, removed from vacuum bag and placed in 9×13″ pan. Warm slightly in 350F oven while making crisp topping.

Mix 1/2 c flour, 1 c whole wheat flour, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c brown sugar, 1 t salt, 1 c oatmeal, 3/4 c cold diced butter in mixer bowl. Mix with paddle on low speed until butter is pea-sized. Remove peaches from oven, spread topping evenly over the top, and return to the oven for 1 hour until GBD.

Enjoy some after-dinner entertainment. Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.