Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are able to enjoy time with your loved ones and relish in the things you are thankful for. Wes and I will be heading to the hills (to his house), as we've done every year but one. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to be able to spend Christmas at home. Plus, I've recently discovered that this is his favorite holiday, so I'm glad we're able to spend it surrounded by those he loves!

So I don't have any special Thanksgiving recipes to share since I've only prepared one actual T-day meal. I'm anxious to get back to read of your successes though. Hopefully you'll get to try some new things as well as some of your tried-and-true favorites!

I've seen several daily posts both here and on Facebook describing things you're thankful for. I thought this was such a good idea to list something every day of the month but I clearly didn't get my act together in enough time. So I'm consolidating my list into 1 post. In no particular order, I'm thankful for:

- My wonderful, loving, and oh so helpful husband.

- Colin's precious voice - I just wish I could bottle it!

- Family that all live close by. I'm so lucky and it allows me to spend more time with all of them. I love them all so much!

- The love of cooking and trying new foods.

- Great friends who love and support me more than I knew was possible.

- Blog friends who are more like long lost friends.

- Friday nights

- The health of my family

- A great job at a great company

- Watching Colin grow and explore and wishing I could freeze time. It's so fun to watch him experience things for the first time and watch his expression.

- Warm jammies and fluffy covers to keep me warm at night.

- Hope for tomorrow and the joy that today was a wonderful day!

I think I could go on and on but those were the things near and dear to my heart tonight. Have a wonderful day!

Full bladder, unprepared parents

Colin really has had us spoiled since he was a baby. I rarely carried a diaper bag and he somehow had a six sense that told him to not have a shewy diaper anywhere but home. Sure there were the occasional accidents but overall he stayed pretty high and dry. It was very convenient. The problem is that we're still very much used to this and don't even think about taking a change of clothes or really even a clean diaper when we go out and about.

A couple weekends ago we went to visit some friends out of town. Since we were going to be gone longer than our typical 1-2 hours, we did manage to remember a diaper and wipes. Clothes? Nah. Well what we didn't consider was the straw and the subsequent entire glass of water he drank at the restaurant (after his entire cup of milk). Water + milk = lots of urine! While I was super proud I had remembered a diaper, I quickly realized I never even considered a change of clothes. We forged on to our friends' house to chat and borrow their dryer.

Clothes? Who needs 'em?! Does this little boy look like he let it bother him for a minute? Now if you took his food away from him (see belly), you might have a fight on your hands! The sweatband was an addition from our friends, really adds to the look I think. The red socks were salvaged from the excess liquids - thank goodness since I'm not sure Colin could have parted with his favorite socks. I think we have the modesty thing down pat. Now if mommy and daddy could just get the responsibility thing down pat!

And the little darling we visited, Colin's future girlfriend/wife/significant other, Sidney.

Superman and Superboy

Since Wes and I have been feeling like we've been sucked into the tv abyss, we've vowed to cut back drastically on Colin's viewing time. There's just something wrong when he knows every character, episode, and commercial by heart. I guess there's a degree of learning there but I'd prefer him to continue memorizing his books!

So we've been spending more quality time together - win, win for all of us! We've cut out the after dinner tv time and replaced it with good old-fashioned family time. Not only has Colin not missed the television, he's thoroughly enjoyed playing, talking, and being silly with mommy and daddy.

Last night was a special treat for all of us. Wes decided to wear Colin's blue blankie as a cape and run around the family room pretending to be Superman. Colin, idolizing his daddy as any small child does, quickly jumped on board and became Superboy. The family room extended into the entire first floor, as they ran around the circle, arms out, capes on, declaring that they were saving the world and fighting crime. At some point Wes decided mommy needed to be saved and I was quickly rescued with hugs and kisses from both. Wes was amazed at Colin's lightning speed and renamed him the Flash (all of this is new to a non-hero-loving girl). Before it was said and done, Colin had worn my scarf, his jacket (hood only) and had to take 2 brief breaks because he was hot and out of breath. Lucky me, I just got to sit on the couch and watch the joy on my precious 2-year old's face. It really is the simple things that have such an impact on them! In fact, as Wes tucked him into bed, he asked if they could play Superman again? Wes said yes but not right now. Colin said, "Tomorrow after dinner?"

Update: Colin didn't forget and talked about playing Superman throughout dinner tonight. However, with no nap (an ongoing battle as of late) and it being bath night, time was limited. He still made a quick round of crime fighting though.

Weekly Recipe Roundup

When my freezer reaches a certain overflowing capacity, I feel the need to get creative with my weekly menus to try to clean it out. We have a "bread" basket in the freezer that Wes despises. Imagine about 5 different bags of hot dog buns - all with 1 bun inside, a few random dinner rolls packaged and saved, a few mismatched buns, and not enough of any one thing to create a meal. I'm proud to say the bread basket is down to the nubs now, as in you can almost see the bottom! No rest for the weary though, Wes won't be pleased until it's completely bare. Until then, I'll forge on to create hot dog bun sandwiches and any other bread-related entree I can come up with.

It just so happens there are 2 other baskets in said freezer that are also filled to the brim. For whatever reason I've developed this Depression mentality and can't throw anything away. I seriously feel like my grandmother as I freeze and save every scrap of leftovers. Waste not, want not, right?

On to the recipes. I had some leftover turkey from my pre-Thanksgiving feast and wanted to use it in something before it froze into an unidentifiable blob. I wanted an easy casserole that I could prepare ahead of time and then just stick in the oven. I typically use noodles in my one-pot casseroles but I had the idea that brown rice would be a good and healthier alternative. So brown rice, turkey, frozen corn, and peas it was. I wanted to make my own condensed soup so I wouldn't have to rely on old Campbell's. Maybe you'll whip up something similar with your T-day leftovers!

Turkey & Rice Casserole

1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded turkey

2-3 cups cooked brown rice (for more flavor use 1/2 chicken broth when cooking)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (any flavor will work)

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup diced onions

1 T. olive oil

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 350 (if you've made it the night before and are reheating, preheat to 375).

In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add onions, basil, and oregano cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Gradually add the chicken broth and continue stirring until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, mix cooked turkey, rice, peas, corn, and 1 cup of cheese. Pour broth mixture and stir to incorporate. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish or a 8x11 pan. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, or until heated throughout.

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I had serious doubts about this next recipe. As I was making it ahead this weekend I worried that it would be completely bland and not well received. I decided to make some adjustments as I went along and this Easy Cheeseburger Casserole turned out really good. I mean like good-enough-to-make-again, like I'm-looking-forward-to-my-lunch-tomorrow-good, and I'm-going-to-blog-about-it-good. I'll post my altered version below and I'll site the inspiration recipe too.

Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

adapted from Tammy's Recipes

1 lb turkey

1 medium red pepper, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove

1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes (fire roasted are my preference)

1-2 cups spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or a blend

3/4 bag wheat egg noodles, cooked

Brown turkey with onion and garlic until fully cooked. Drain.

Raise heat to medium-high and add carrots and red peppers. Cook until peppers begin to get a little soft, 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce until mixture reaches your desired consistency. Turn off heat and gently stir in cooked egg noodles and 3/4 cup cheese.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until heated throughout. (If you made this ahead, cook for about 30 minutes to make sure it's heated all the way.)

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I did get off the casserole binge and moved on to one of Wes' kind of meals - meat and potatoes. There are some bloggers out there that you just trust and know their dishes will strike your fancy as well. A picture is one thing but a tried and true recipe speaks volumes. Generally someone makes the cut for me after I've successfully tried 3 or 4 of their recipes. One of these said bloggers for me is "The Review Lady". She posted this recipe for Sweet and Tangy Oven-Barbecued Chicken and I immediately added it to my list of things to try. I have a tendency to look over the less complex recipes but thankfully I didn't skip over this one. I didn't realize until after I had made the sauce that the quantity was for 2 breasts and I had 5 but I managed with what I had. Clearly I didn't have quite the amount of sauce but even being skimped, it was still present and very flavorful. The flavor really stayed with the chicken, which is often my complaint with oven grilled chicken. Next time I would probably make 1 1/2 times the amount of sauce just to see what the extra sauce would add.

The potatoes in this picture were these Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes. The flavor was really good but I think the recipe needs a little tweaking to make them a little more creamy - an easy fix with more milk. Cooking the potatoes in the broth really amped up the flavor though and took away from the boring potato taste. The sour cream added a nice richness, even though I used reduced fat. It does make a lot, so this would be a good Thanksgiving option.

Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

adapted from Pillsbury

4 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 T. butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 - 1 cup milk or half and half

Put potatoes, broth, and butter pieces in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Mash with a potato masher or mixer. Add remaining ingredients, except milk, and continue to mix (be careful not to over mix). Add enough milk for your desired consistency. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

You can leave the potatoes in the crock pot on the warm setting for up to 2 hours. Stir and check consistency before serving.

A Culinary Adventure

I apologize for my absence but I have a really good excuse. Wes and I went on a little weekend getaway to Chicago. It shouldn't surprise anyone who has been following this blog to note that our primary purpose for the trip was food! After watching Top Chef Masters, we were smitten with Rick Bayless and Graham Elliot. Conveniently enough for us, they both have restaurants in Chicago. Wes jokingly mentioned that we should just fly up and hit both of them and I laughed at first but then the wheels started turning. I rationalized with myself that we could use this as our Christmas gift to each other. After all, it's something we would both thoroughly enjoy and Christmas is right around the corner. Well whatever you label it as, we had a great time and had some darn good food!

I debated on writing reviews for each of the restaurants but I ultimately decided against it. I will at least mention them though and if anyone plans on going to the area and would like more details, feel free to ask.

First up was a non-Top Chef restaurant but it has it's own acclaim. Alinea is ranked #20 in the WORLD! Seriously, I ate at the 20th best restaurant in the world - can we say once in a lifetime?! The creativity this chef demonstrates is unmatched. He has his dinnerware and the accoutrements made especially for the restaurant. It truly was amazing and a night we won't soon forget. I'm almost at a loss for words in trying to explain it to you. I was able to snap one photo of our dessert masterpiece before I was reprimanded for the flash. The chef himself came to our table to create this delight. I believe there were in the neighborhood of 10 different elements to this dish. And yes, that is right on our table - no plates for this one!

After coming down off that high, we had breakfast the next morning at Yolk. It has been voted "best breakfast" but I was not impressed with either of our dishes. Wes reminded me we weren't in the south and no one does breakfast like we do!

We walked off breakfast rather quickly and were ready for our brunch/lunch at Frontera Grill. For all the hype surrounding Rick Bayless after his Top Chef victory, I was not terribly impressed with his restaurant. Perhaps he needs to spend a little more time and effort on that and less on becoming a television star. The food was mediocre at best and the bathrooms were disgusting! Seriously, I would have been ashamed if I was the owner to walk in and see such shambles.

Finally we sucked in our guts and stumbled over to Graham Elliot for dinner. Of all the places we went, I was most impressed with the decor here. It was urban chic and just put off a hip vibe. The food was all very good but after having eaten at one of the best restaurants in the world the night before, it was hard to compare. The most notable part of the dinner was the brioche twinkie served alongside the Caesar salad. Seriously, the creativity and ingenuity the chefs these days have is just amazing!

You know me well enough to know that I had to hit up a few sweet spots as well. We stopped at 2 cupcake joints, Sugar Bliss and More (see photo below from More). I got a red velvet at Sugar Bliss and a white velvet at More. My hands down favorite was Sugar Bliss. The icing was more my style - less butter and more cream cheese. More wins out in design and artistic flair. They also have some of the most interesting flavors I've ever heard of - Thanksgiving Feast was one of them and it was a savory cake with a stuffing-flavored cake and sage butter icing. They also have one with Foie Gras. I wanted to try one of each but big city = big price tags!

We had a great time but were anxious to get home to see Colin. Too bad he couldn't say the same. He had so much fun at Buff and Ba-baw's that he didn't miss us for a minute. Wes and I wondered how long it would take him to totally forget us. I'd like to think he'd eventually miss us?!

Fall Leaves

I was trying to explain to Colin what fall meant and the best 2-year old explanation I could come up with is that fall is when the leaves fall off the trees. Surprisingly, I think he bought it and actually understood.

My lesson with jumping in a big pile of leaves wasn't as well received. With the unseasonably warm weather this weekend, we took advantage and played outside for a bit. I thought it would be fun to teach him to jump in leaves, all while I tried to capture the moment on film (might have known I would have to bring the camera!). He couldn't figure out the "jump" part and thought it was just as fun to walk through the leaves and listen to the crinkling. So the next 20 minutes were spent with me piling up the leaves, Colin walking through them to destroy my pile, and me being ordered to build the pile again. Actually the abundant lady bugs were of more interest to him than anything else. He just cracked up watching them march up and down the tree trunk. I suppose that is pretty exciting for a 2-year old.

Weekly Recipe Roundup

It is November right? I mean 70 degrees in November! Really?! Since I plan my menus a week or so in advance, it's hard for me to base it on the temperature outside. Typically November is chilly and is great soup weather - not this year. But I'm too much of a planner to veer from the plan, so we had hot soup on the warmest day! Wes, nor I, seemed to complain though so maybe it doesn't really matter what the temperature is outside. Let's not get carried away, I still can't see myself cooking up a big pot of chili in the middle of July.

I've been seeing a lot of recipes for Butternut Squash Soup and even though I'm not a huge fan of that particular squash, the color is very fallish and I wanted to be like everyone else. With the right ingredients, any vegetable can taste good, especially in a soup. The particular recipe I chose incorporated fresh crab meat and I had just seen Whole Foods was discontinuing a particular brand, so I jumped at the chance to get to use it (I only used one 5oz can though). Turns out that this was a happy marriage in this Butternut Squash and Crab Bisque. The crab was subtle, yet still very much an element of the soup. The squash melded nicely with the mirepoix. Of course the half and half was a welcome addition to add a little richness to the finished soup. I wouldn't want this every day but it was a nice, healthy option for a nice warm fall day!

*****

I have this old binder where I used to keep my recipes (before my computer filing system began). It's loaded with lots of good things but it's so large that I'm reluctant to ever get it out and go through it. It's really too bad because some of our favorite recipes are in there. It really isn't until I have some inspiration or actually crave one of these recipes that I get the book out. I had such an occasion recently when Wes requested a homemade pizza that I remembered these Muffuletta Calzones. The pickled veggies make them a little spicy and a little salty (and we don't even add the olives) but we've found the sweetness of pizza sauce counteracts both. I do not use all the ham or salami the recipe calls for - I only use about 4 slices of salami and 1/3 lb ham for 4 calzones. I've found Whole Foods has a whole wheat pizza dough ball over by their pizza by the slice department and it was actually tasty. If you don't have a Whole Foods, your local pizza place would probably sell you the dough or a bread store should have it as well. Even if you don't like this particular recipe, you should definitely try your own calzones sometime.

*****

I had a recent bad experience with a chuck roast and was reluctant to use it again but I'm so glad I did. I've determined that the first go-round I must not have braised the meat long enough in the oven to reach the desired fall apart consistency I was hoping for. This time I used the ever faithful crock pot (aka love of my life). This is a great recipe to prepare right as you leave for work in the morning because it welcomes you home as soon as you pull in the garage. The rub, adobo pepper, and onions really add a lot to these Shredded Beef Tacos. You can add any of your favorite taco toppings to suit your tastes. A good melting Mexican cheese is best but any cheese will do.

*****

Wes has become famous (at least in our house) for his meatloaf. It's not really his but he makes it and I want him to feel special so I refer to it as his. I couldn't begin to count how many times he's made this over the years but each time is just as good as the last. Of course anything tastes better when you didn't have to make it but don't let that deter you. He's even experimented with it and has settled in on liking to kick up the amount of horseradish. He doesn't usually use the full 2 lbs of hamburger so he scales everything accordingly, that is everything except the sauce. We've both decided we like the extra ketchup-y goodness on top so he adds a little extra. We round off the meatloaf with the traditional mashed potatoes and peas - it's a rule that they must go together, right?

Horseradish Meat Loaf

from Southern Living's Homestyle Cooking 2002

2 lbs ground beef

3/4 cup uncooked regular oats (we've used instant and they worked fine)

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup milk

1 T. prepared horseradish

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup ketchup

3 T. brown sugar

1 T. horseradish

2 tsp spicy brown mustard

Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Form beef mixture into a loaf and place in a 9x5-inch loafpan.

Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, brown sugar, 1 T. horseradish, and mustard in a small bowl, stirring well. Spoon half of ketchup mixture over top of meat loaf. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Spoon remaining ketchup mixture over meat loaf, and bake 10 more minutes.

I did it!!

I must admit I had some serious doubts I'd ever be writing this post but I'm so proud to report that I finished the Couch Potato to 5K program!! Woo hoo! There were times I thought it wouldn't be possible but I just remembered all those desserts and trudged on. It wasn't until the last week (week 9) that we worked all the way to the 5K, and I did have to take a break the first day, but by day 3 of the final week, I did it! I ran it and dare I say, liked it!

If you're looking for something to get you going, I'd highly recommend this program. The intervals are well spaced and Robert, the instructor, is a good motivator. The music wasn't so much my taste but I found myself not even listening to it and just thinking of about things I needed to get done.

He mentioned making a half-marathon podcast and while I don't think I'm ready for that, I do plan to gradually add to my routine just to keep pushing myself. I never thought I'd be saying those words. Of course I also didn't think it was possible for me to run a mile, let alone 3! Oh and the podcasts are free, so you have no excuse!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

If you are lucky enough to not live near any hoodlum neighbor kids and still have an intact pumpkin, roast that bad boy up! The little ones are the best in terms of flavor and ease but any are edible as long as they haven't been carved or have rotted. I secretly chose the 2 little ones at the patch for this very purpose. If you don't have a pumpkin, never fear Libby does a stellar job of it for a fraction of the time and effort!

Roasting pumpkins:

Preheat oven to 350. Wash pumpkin and cut in half (this is why a smaller pumpkin is preferred). Scoop out the innards - I just had to use that word - and place cut-side down in a large baking dish. Cover with 1/4 inch water and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size. Remove from oven and once cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh and discard skin. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. And don't forget to roast those seeds for a tasty, healthy treat!

Now once you've made the puree, here are a couple recipes to use it up.

Pumpkin Brownies - These are the closest thing to chewy I've ever tasted that involve pumpkin. It typically provides so much moisture it's impossible to get this chewy texture. However, this recipe omits any baking soda or baking powder, which is used to make things rise and become fluffy. I prefer for my various pumpkin bars to stay away from the pumpkin pie texture and flavor and be more cakey or chewy, so this was a perfect fit for my taste buds.

Pumpkin Blossom Cookies with Pumpkin Spice Kisses - The first thing to note is that the original recipe used candy corn kisses but I'm in love with the pumpkin spice ones and snatched up the first bag I saw at Target. This recipe gets kind of involved with all the freezing components but it's all worth it in the end. The cookie is good and pumpkin-y and the kiss adds an extra little burst of sweetness. I'll warn you that the recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies, so be ready to pass these gems out to your closest friends! Or you could just freeze them and selfishly keep them all for yourself!!

And I had to share this next picture to display my little helper. I'm teaching him early the important stuff - cooking, photography, and blogging!

A Treat for my Sweets

One blog phenomenon that I don't completely understand is giveaways. How do the companies find these bloggers and why do they choose the ones they do? I guess some things I'll never know and I should just leave well enough alone. I've entered my fair share, thinking incorrectly that I might win, but I think I've only actually won one (thank you Graham Crakas!). I don't usually opt for the extra entries that require you to post about the giveaway on your own blog but I just couldn't resist this one. You might know it involves sweets - mac daddy cupcakes to be exact. That's not really their trademarked name but when you see these bad boys, you'll appreciate my description.

All you have to do is go to Leslie Loves Veggies blog, drool first, then go to Cupcakes in Jars to pick your poison. Leslie is giving away 2 of these little gems so that means if you win, you can surely share the other one with me! I'm kidding...well not really but I realize it might be hard for you to ship me a cupcake. Just think of me as you devour each and every morsel of the super moist cake and creamy icing!