Turkey dinner for my French visitor...

So, this week I have a darling girl from France staying with us through an exchange program.  I have thought long and hard about what to cook for her.  When I heard one of their excursions was to Plymouth Plantation, I decided she needed to experience a true Thanksgiving dinner, so I cooked a turkey with all the fixins'... was she in for a treat!

First off, I brine my bird for about 24 hours.  After heating up the oven, I seasoned the outside with paprika, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.  I added a touch of oil afterwards, just to keep the skin moist.

The trick to having a really moist turkey is to cook it breast-side down for the first 2-3 hours.  I take the bird out, flip it over, and return to the oven for the last hour or so.  Cooking it this way causes the breast meat to be so juicy, which is why it's worth the trouble it is to turn it over!

While the bird is cooking, it's time to get the butternut squash ready to roast.  Once you have it cut, skinned, and ready to go, season it with some salt, pepper, and some cinnamon.  Toss with some olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often so that everything gets browned evenly.

Every one in my family loves roasted brussel sprouts, and even though I have prepared them for you before, I will quickly tell you again.  Cut them in half and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Pop them in a 400 degree oven and roast for about 20-30 minutes.  Again, you need to stir them around every so often.  When they seem tender and slightly browned, they are done.  Just before serving, sprinkle with some shredded Parmesan cheese.

Now for the stuffing.  For a quick fix, I use Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix.  Once it is made, add some sauteed onion, celery, and a handful of fresh chopped parsley. Taste and adjust any seasonings you think it needs.  Spoon into a baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.   

Last but not least, gravy.  You all know how to make this..... use the drippings from the roasting pan, add 2-3 tablespoons of flour and combine so that it looks like a paste.  Add chicken broth, probably 2-3 cups, and stir until it gets to the right consistency.  Turn the heat down and season with a little salt and pepper (and , if you have it, a few drops of GravyMaster for any of you who remember this little bottle that sees the light of day once a year!)

So there you have it.  A little cranberry sauce and you're good to go.   A very quick, matter-of-fact turkey dinner!  At least it gave our guest a taste of what we eat every November....

Disguising Leftovers!

I wanted to clean out my fridge and noticed I had 3 or 4 containers with leftovers.  I'm coming to the realization that my family only likes my dinners on the night I make them.  They don't seem to like to eat them more than once!  How odd is that?  If it tasted good when I first served it, why woudn't it taste good the next day???   So.....I have to get real creative when it comes to using these leftovers up by somehow disguising them.   This blog is a lesson in just that.

Earlier in the week, I had made some mac and cheese with some cut up ham ( which was delicious, by the way!)  I decided this was a good base to start with, so I heated it up and added a little milk to thin out the cheese sauce.

In another container was some left over roasted asparagus that had olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and shaved Parmesan cheese.  I cut that up and added it to the mac and cheese.  Didn't I find a zip lock bag with 3 sweet Italian sausages in it, so I cooked them up, sliced them and added them to the mix.

So, mac and cheese used up.....asparagus and sausage used up......now for a little fresh stuff.  I had a box of fresh spinach and I always love adding it to things, so I tore up a couple of handfuls and threw that in, figuring the heat of the pan would wilt it just enough.

Last but not least, I had some leftover ricotta cheese that needed to get used up, so I added some spoonfuls to the pot.

The only unfortunate thing about this dinner is that I now have a sink full of Tupperware containers that need washing! .... but I am so glad I was able to use everything up, and now I have a clean refrigerator!

Turkey Cutlets with Roasted Asparagus

I bought a package of turkey cutlets the other day and thought I should make something different with them.  Usually I saute the cutlets in a pan and cover them with a sauce made with tomatoes, onions and tarragon.  It is delicious, but I felt like something else.



I decided to go the Panko bread crumb route because it gets nice and crunchy when you cook it.  I grabbed three bowls.  The first one had 3 eggs in it, along with a handful of Parmesan cheese, some salt and pepper, and a little water.  Whisk until it is blended, then move on to the next bowl.










In this bowl, I put in about 1/2 cup of flour, about a 1/4 tsp each of garlic and onion powder, and a sprinkle of paprika.  I mix that up, and move to bowl #3.










This bowl has the Panko crumbs.  I like the Italian seasoned crumbs, but you can use what ever you like or have on hand.

The turkey cutlets come ready to use.  You don't need to pound them at all.  Start by dipping in the flour mixture first, then the egg mixture, and lastely the Panko crumbs.  Make sure you press the cutlet down into the crumbs to get them to stick.

Once you have them all done, let them sit for about 15 minutes before cooking them. At this point, I place my asparagus in a pan, drizzle it with olive oil and add a little sea salt and pepper.  After making sure everything is coated, I roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes...just long enough to cook my turkey cutlets.
















In your fry pan, add some olive oil and about 2 tbs of butter.  When it is hot, cook your cutlets, about 2 minutes per side, until they are golden brown.  They cook fast because they are so thin.  When they are all cooked, I keep them warm until my asparagus is done.

When the asparagus is done, sprinkle it with some shredded Parmesan cheese and some zest of a lemon.  That's it!  Absolutely delicious.

This time I served the cutlets with a little cranberry sauce, but you could easily whip up any type of sauce - mushroom sauce, lemon artichoke sauce, a marsala-type sauce, etc....

Yummy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I felt like making something that wasn't too heavy and was healthy.  A lot of restaurants serve lettuce wraps, and I thought it might be fun to learn how to make them.  So, I skimmed through what seemed like hundreds of recipes on line, trying to get an idea of what to do.  Every recipe called for chicken breast meat, but I like to use chicken thigh meat because it stays moist and is more flavorful.  So definitely write this one down because it is a keeper!

I think I used about 8 skinless/boneless chicken thighs

4 tbs low sodium soy sauce

4 tbs dark brown sugar (I had light brown, so I used that and it was delish!)

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tbs sesame oil

1/2 Vidalia onion

3-4 carrots cut up

2-3 ribs of celery

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 8 oz. can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped

a handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped

chopped up peanuts

Romaine lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and vegetable oil. Set aside.

In a large skillet, pour in the sesame oil, then cook the thighs, turning every so often until they are cooked, about 15 minutes or so.  Remove from the pan and cut up.  In the same pan, add a little more sesame oil and the onion, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, and garlic.  Cook until tender.  Add the fresh mushrooms and chopped peanuts.  You can now add your cooked chicken as well. 

Pour the sauce over the entire mixture.  Even though the recipe didn't call for it, I had some Oyster Sauce in the fridge, so I added some of that for a little extra flavor.  Let cook for about 5 minutes.  Take a taste to make sure you don't want to add anything else.  That's it!

Now all you have to do is lay out the lettuce leaves and spoon some of the chicken mixture onto each leaf.

Every bite was so delicious... and serving the mixture on lettuce leaves made it really healthy...not to mention how nice it looks. 

 Problem is I couldn't stop eating them!

Beef (Steak) Barley Soup!

I feel like a broken record when I say that this is a very easy meal to prepare, but it truly is!  I think what makes it distinctly yummy is the fact that I used "good" beef as opposed to the traditional stew beef which tends to be tough and flavorless.  And, they don't call this "Beef" Barley soup for nothing. The beef is the star!  I had a bag of steak tips in the freezer that I thawed.  Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself... Let's back up to the beginning.




Cut up a Vidalia onion, a bunch of carrots and some celery and saute in a little butter.  I happened to have some leeks in the fridge, so I cut up two of those as well.  When the carrots and celery begin to get tender, add the leeks and cook for another 5-10 minutes.    

Now add the seasonings.... bay leaves, thyme, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, salt and pepper.  

Time to sear the steak tips.  Make sure you dry them really well before browning them.  If you don't, the steak won't brown, it will just bubble and turn grey, and you don't want that!  Once the meat is nicely browned, cut it into bite-sized pieces and add to your vegetables. 

You can also add 1 box of beef broth, as well as a can of diced tomatoes.  Let everything simmer together for approximately 15 minutes, and then taste.  You might need to add more garlic, or salt, or thyme...it depends on how much you added in the beginning.  You want to make sure that you can taste all the wonderful ingredients.

The last ingredient you will add is the 1/2 cup of barley.  It takes about 20-30 minutes to cook, so time it accordingly.

That is all there is to this soup.  If you need more liquid, you can add more beef broth.  I'm not a big fan of adding water, only because I think it  weakens all the flavors that you have strived so hard to achieve.

So there you have it.  Trust me when I say that you need to use the right beef so that you will experience the wonderful flavor of this soup.  Enjoy...

Very easy and delicious Chicken Piccata

I know Chicken Piccata sounds like a tricky, complicated meal to make, but honestly?  Not at all!  You just need to have all the ingredients on hand...and the only one that is a stretch is capers.  I just happen to keep a jar of them in my fridge...call me crazy!  I have needed them enough times, that it is just something I make sure I have..

So, your basic ingredients are boneless chicken breasts, 1 sweet onion chopped, 2 cloves of garlic chopped, 2 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs butter, 1/2 cup of flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup of sherry or white wine, 2 lemons, 2 tbs capers, 1 cup chicken stock, and 2 tbs fresh parsley chopped.

Begin by juicing one of the lemons.  Set the juice aside until you are ready to make the sauce.

Cook your onion and garlic in the olive oil.   When they are translucent, remove and set aside.  Add the butter to the pan, along with a little more olive oil,  and let it heat til it gets foamy.  

Dredge both sides of the chicken breasts that you have pounded to about 1/4 inch thick, in the flour/salt mixture and cook 2-3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned.

 

When the chicken is done, set it aside and create the sauce by pouring the chicken stock, sherry or wine, lemon juice and the capers into your frying pan.  Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  Then add your chicken.

 Let it simmer for about 5 more minutes, until the sauce has reduced slightly.  Add a lemon slice to each piece of chicken, along with some fresh parsley, and tadah!  You're done...

 This whole dish probably took me about 45 minutes to do.  My daughter wanted to eat light, so I didn't make any side dishes.  The sauce was delicious and the capers really give it a great flavor burst!

A great salad with a delicious vinaigrette dressing

We had some friends stop by last night, and I was told we were going to order pizza.  I hated having people over for dinner and not cooking anything, so I thought maybe I could make a salad, and come up with a really delicious dressing.  So I went on line and looked at many recipes.  There was one that sounded good to me, so I decided to try it.  The ingredients were simple:

1/4 cup mayo

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 tbs whole grain mustard

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

pinch salt

fresh ground pepper

about a tsp of tarragon

I combined all the ingredients and used my hand blender to mix everything.  I like to make the dressing in advance so that all the flavors can have a chance to explode.

My dressing was the "X" factor of this salad, seeing as I didn't really have a lot of ingredients to make my salad (such as tomatoes and cucumbers for starters...)  I had fresh spinach and Romaine lettuce, and I knew I had my trusty can of artichoke hearts in my pantry.  I found some asparagus in the fridge and decided to blanche them before throwing them in.  

My final touch?  French's fried onions, shredded Parmesan cheese,  and some crunchy La Choy chinese noodles

Believe it or not, this salad was delicious.   Just shows you what you can do when you don't think you have enough ingredients!