Turkey and wild rice soup

Man we ate leftovers for days after thanksgiving and when we had made all the turkey sandwiches we could stand I froze the leftover fried turkey. Then we got a cold front here in south Mississippi and I needed some soup. This is the recipe I came up with and Lord have mercy it was so good all my boys went back for a third bowl!

2 1/2 C chopped turkey meat

4 chopped carrots

1 chopped onion

3 chopped ribs of celery

1 package sliced mushrooms

4 T butter

3/4 C white wine

2 T lemon juice

1 T better than bullion chicken base

1/4 cup flour

3 cans chicken broth

1 1/2 C water

Salt and pepper

3 springs of Thyme

2 C heavy cream

4 T chopped parsley

1 1/4 C uncooked Wild Rice blend (found this at target)

In a large soup pot place butter and onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and sauté till soft. (About 6-8 minutes) when soft add the white wine, lemon juice, and chicken base and let simmer down and reduce a little. Add your flour and stir till flour is incorporated with all the veggies and stir in chicken broth. Add salt, pepper and the whole sprigs of thyme. Stir in the rice and turkey meat and let cook on a low simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring a little. Stir in the heavy cream and chopped parsley and let simmer for about 10 minutes and serve! 

Pistachio, cranberry, and white chocolate holiday shortbread cookies

The colors of these cookies just have christmas written all over them! I spent the afternoon baking them with my boys! We had such a great time and tomorrow I will be sharing them with some very lucky co workers. In fact it was on of these co workers who first drought them to my attention. I altered the recipe a tad and here's what came out! Man, I'm sure glad she did too! I will be holding on to this recipe!

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 C flour

1 T cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1/2 C dried cranberries

1/2 C chopped pistachios

3/4 C white chocolate chips 

Cream Butter and sugar till soft and fluffy. add vanilla extract. Add the salt and begin adding flour a little at a time just so it incorporated till you've added it all in. Add your corn starch and Lastly add in the rest of your ingredients and mix well. 

Lay Saran Wrap out on counter and dump dough into it. Wrap and form about a 3 inch log. Refrigerate for about 90 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and slice with a sharp serrated knife place cookies about 2 inches apart and bake 13 minutes or until edges just barely begin to turn. Don't over bake! Remove from oven and place entire sheet of parchment on cooling rack to cool!

Enjoy!

Acorn/Golden nugget squash Risotto

Fall means there are all kinds of squash and pumpkins that are just ready for the picking! The way I see it that just means I need to come up with some recipes for all that goodness! So here goes!

1 acorn squash 

1 golden nugget squash

olive oil

3/4 cup risotto rice

1 yellow onion diced

1 clove of garlic

2 tablespoons butter

1 can of chicken broth

1/2 can of water

1/2 cup of white wine

salt and pepper

1/2 parmesan

parsley flakes

heat oven to 400 degrees and  cut squashes in half and coat in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or till soft.

Meanwhile heat butter in a pot and add onion and garlic. Sauté till soft and add rice. Cook stirring constantly for about two minutes. Add white wine and let simmer till evaporated. Start adding chicken broth 1/2 a can at a time and keep stirring. when mixture becomes thick add more broth. keep stirring.... when thick again add 1/2 a can of water and season with salt and pepper and add the parmesan cheese. turn off the heat and let set for  about 5-10 minutes. If too thick add a little more water and let set for a few more minutes. sprinkle with parsley flakes and serve hot!

ENJOY!

  

Creamy Roasted Potato, Fennel and Leek Soup

2 large leeks

1 large fennel

2 sweet potatoes

4 potatoes

4 carrots

1 cup of half and half

1 cup of milk

salt

pepper

8 cups water

3 T butter

3 T olive oil

parsley flakes

cut green tops of off fennel and leeks and place in a large stock pot with the 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let boil covered for 25 minutes to make a broth.

meanwhile heat oven to 450 degrees. dice potatoes, carrots, rest of the leek and fennel bulb. place one of the leeks (diced) the 1/2 the fennel bulb diced  on a large roasting pan. place one diced sweet potato and 1 1/2 regular potatoes with all the carrots and put them on the roasting pan too. drizzle on the olive oil and some salt and pepper and place in the oven for 30 minutes.

In a large pot place the other leek (diced) and the rest of the diced fennel bulb with butter and sauté till soft. throw in rest of potatoes and sauté for a minute or two longer.  Ladle 4 or 5 scoops of the broth you made into the pot and let simmer for 15 minutes till potatoes are soft.

once potatoes are soft: I used an emersion blender and blended my soup. If you do not have one of these nifty gadgets 1) i suggest you put it on your christmas list 2) you may use a regular old blender just blend it in small batches and be careful...its very hot! pour all blended soup back into the pot and add milk, half and half and about 3 cups of the broth you made. Stir soup and salt and pepper to taste.  

Pull roasted veggies from oven and dump into soup. Stir and and ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley flakes. Serve!

Spinach and artichoke ravioli alfredo

1 lb of refrigerated  four cheese ravioli

1 Jar of garlic Alfredo sauce

1/4 C of milk

1 package of frozen spinach thawed and all juices squeezed out

2 T of minced garlic

2 T fresh basil

1 8 oz bag of Italian cheese

salt and pepper

4 oz of parmesan

1 can of artichoke hearts drained and chopped roughly

1 can of petite diced tomatoes with juices

1 tsp of italian seasoning 

drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray a 9x13 pan and set aside

in a small bowl mix the spinach and basil and garlic and stir to mix well. In another small bowl mix the Alfredo sauce and milk and stir till well mixed.

In the 9x13 pan place a little alfredo sauce and pour in half the ravioli. top the ravioli with half the spinach mixture. Then place half the can of tomatoes and half the can of artichokes on top of that. sprinkle with 1/2 the bag of italian cheeses and drizzle about half of your alfredo sauce over that. Repeat the process with raviolis all the way up to the sauce and cheese. just save the cheese for last this time and  put all of it over top including your parmesan. sprinkle with italian herbs seasoning and a little salt and pepper. drizzle the top with olive oil and bake covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake 15 more minutes till bubbly in the center!

Whole wheat cream cheese banana nut bread muffins

1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas

1/4 C buttermilk

2 large eggs

1\2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c soft butter

8 oz block cream cheese

2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1cup all purpose flour

1/4 ground flax seed (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

3/4 C toasted crushed walnuts

Streusel topping:

1/2 brown sugar

1/2 c chopped walnuts

2 T melted butter

2 T flour

Pinch of salt

Few drops of vanilla

Few pinches of cinnamon 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour muffin cups or use paper liners.

Combine flours,ground flax(if using), baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl  beat butter and cream cheese till soft and creamy. Add sugar beat till fluffy. Add buttermilk. Add eggs till just blended.

Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture. And mix well. Stir in bananas, walnuts and vanilla.

Make topping just by combining all ingredients and stirring well.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and sprinkle a little topping on each and press down lightly.

Bake for 30 minutes or till tops are golden brown.

Serve warm with butter!

Alison's Pastitsio

This is better that that box of hamburger helper stuff you thought about making for supper. Besides it has none of those fake flavors and powder packets. Trust me. This is not only better for you.....it taste fantastic!

1 lb of ground round

1 very large yellow onion chopped

5 cloves of minced garlic

1 brick of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 8 oz box of tub shaped pasta

1 14 oz can of diced tomato drained

2 cups of low fat milk

1/4 cup of flour

salt and pepper

4 oz of thawed spinach with moisture pressed out

7 oz of mozzarella or italian cheese blend shredded cheese

heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet brown ground beef with chopped onion and garlic. While meat is browning boil pasta and drain. Once meat is browned and onions are soft add flour and stir till it is incorporated. Pour in milk and add cream cheese, diced tomato, spinach, salt and pepper. Stir and incorporate till mixture is hot and bubbly.

Add the pasta and 4 oz of cheese and stir. Pour into a casserole dish and put rest of cheese on top.

Bake for 20-25 till cheese melts and the casserole is good and hot.

Spaghetti squash Fritter

I fell in love with the spaghetti squash a few summers ago. Since then I have been through a thousand.....well maybe not quite a thousand recipes , but I have been through lots of them and I put a little twist on an old recipe making this one all mine! I hope you enjoy it!

1 Spaghetti Squash (about 1 1/2 lb is what i had)
8 oz frozen spinach thawed and pressed dry
5 oz parmesan cheese shredded
2 green onions sliced thin
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 T minced garlic
2 eggs
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste ( I probably used 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper)
olive oil

Cut spaghetti squash in half. Salt and pepper it and drizzle with olive oil. bake it at about 400 degrees for 30 minutes or till soft. cool to touch and then scrape out the insides.

While squash bakes: in a mixing bowl place panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, green onion, italian seasoning, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper.

mix your squash and spinach together in one bowl and then pour into the mixing bowl with the bread crumb mixture.

heat a pan on the stove top with olive oil swirled in it so that when a water droplet hits it then it sizzles.

measure 1/3 cup sized patties and press them out to about 1/2 inch thin or about the thickness you  like. Place them 3 to 4 in the hot pan at a time and turn after 2-3 minutes or just browned. and cook on the other side for 3 minutes.

serve hot and enjoy it!!!

Pumkpin Spiced Belgian Waffles for best friends!

September hits me every year with this ridiculous craving for sweet potatoes (not that old sweet potato casserole your grandma made but sweet potato rolls and breads and risotto and etc.) and the need for pumpkin anything! This year I made this fantastic belgian waffle. and yes, its a little complicated but let me tell you now sometimes, especially for best friends, its worth going the extra mile to watch that pure joy wash over their face as they enjoy each bite.

2 1/2 Cups of flour

2 1/4 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp of fresh ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

4 large eggs separated

 2 tsp vanilla

2 C whole buttermilk

1 1/4 C pumpkin Puree

1/3 brown sugar

7 tbs. butter melted

You will need three bowls. 1 very large one. 1 medium one to put the egg yolks and mixture into. 1 smaller one with high sides to whip the whites in.

In a large bowl place the first 8 (dry) ingredients.  Now into the bowl you have your yolks from your eggs you will need to add the vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and melted cool butter. Stir these together and slowly pour this into your dry ingredients. Mix it till incorporated and set aside. In the bowl with the egg whites whip them with a hand mixer ( I like to add just a pinch of cream of tarter, but you can do it without) till you get soft peaks.  Fold whipped egg whites into the batter and have belgian waffle maker hot and ready to go!

 Follow your waffle maker's guidelines for waffle making. I just bought an Oster Belgian Waffle maker and I am in love with it!! 

This  made 8 very large waffles!

Greek steak pita sandwiches

These are a fantastic summer sandwich! It packs great protein and a cool crunch of cucumber with the sweetness of good ole summer tomatoes!

1 lb of flank steak

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cucumber

1 tomato

3 T of red wine vinegar

3 T of  of chopped oregano (I used fresh but dried would work too)

1 T salt

1 T of fresh ground pepper

4 T olive oil

1 package fresh pita bread

Fresh spinach leaves

Kalamata olives and feta cheese (optional)

Dressing:

5 T plain Greek yogurt 

1 T red wine 

Salt and pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp course ground mustard

3 T olive oil

First we need to make a marinade for the meat. Mix your olive oil and red wine vinegar with oregano and garlic. And salt and pepper and mix marinade well. I like to put mine in a zip lock bag and put the meat in and coat it real well. Let it marinade for an hour or two.

Heat up your grill and grill your meat till the doneness you like it. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

While meat rests, cut tomato and cucumber really thin. Also mix up your dressing by throwing all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisking to bring it together. I sprinkled a little feta in mine just because I love some feta!

Now slice your meat into really thin strips and cut your pita in halves. Make a layer of cucumber then tomato then spinach then add your meat slices in. Throw in some kalamata olives and feta cheese and drizzle in a big spoonful of dressing.

Now take a big bite and enjoy!

Chocolate chip brioche pretzel

A little salty and a perfectly sweet little pretzel bun! Ate the last one with a cup of coffee this morning! They sure didn't last long at all!

2 1/4 C. Flour

2T honey (if no honey then just double the sugar)

2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1/3 C whole milk warmed to 120 degrees F

2 eggs at room temp

1/2 cup unsalted stick butter at room temp.

1 C mini chocolate chips

1 square bakers semisweet baking chocolate square chopped

For the glaze:

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp salt

1T water

Coarse sugar to sprinkle

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix your flour, sugar, honey,salt, yeast. At low speed add Milk and eggs and then work up to a medium speed and let it go for about 10 minutes. Begin to add butter by tablespoon at the end of 10 minutes. You may need to swap to a dough hook here....I did. Keep added butter till all gone and incorporated. Then let dough hook work its magic on low for about 5 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly olive oiled bowl and set in a warm place for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly punch down dough and add chocolate chips and chopped chocolate. Gently fold into dough with hands and begin to pinch about 8 pieces. Roll each of your pieces out into nice long ropes and then twist and fold into pretzelish shapes. Place on parchment paper.

Whisk egg,salt, and water in a small bowl and brush onto each pretzel and then let rest for 15- 20 minutes. Brush pretzels once more and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 12-15 minutes just till they begin to brown. Let cool just a few minutes then eat while warm! Eat them all while they are nice and fresh and warm. You'll regret it later but gosh they really are that good! 😀

Poppa's Peach Cobbler

I am sharing this with you as we'll as preserving for myself the method in which I made the best peach cobbler known to mankind!

I made this for my daddy for Father's Day and it knocked his socks off!

1 quart and 1 pint of canned peaches drained with 1 cup of juice reserved

3 c flour

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter

1 1/2 c white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c milk

1 egg

Few pinches of salt

3 T cornstarch

2 T oil

1/2 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl place 2 C flour, 2 cups brown sugar,a pinch of salt, and two sticks of butter. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter in till it gets crumbly. Sprinkle 1/3 of this mixture in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Don't press it down or anything.

Now to your juice add 1/2 c white sugar and your corn starch and stir.

Arrange peaches over the first layer and pour your juice/cornstarch over the top

In a small bowl mix your milk, oil, egg, 1 cup of flour, and baking soda and a pinch of salt and cinnamon. Whisk well and pour this over cobbler.

Sprinkle the rest of your crumble mixture from the beginning over the top and do not press down. Throw a few pinches of cinnamon over the top and bake at 325 for 35 miniatures then raise temp to 350 for about 15 more minutes.  Remove from over when golden brown and top and serve warm with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Shrimp and Grits

On our last night at the beach house this year I decided to do something I had never tried before. And boy am I so glad that I did!

1 C yellow corn grits( why yellow corn grits and where do I buy these? Well to answer why, I believe that these just make such a better tasting bowl of grits and to find them well I hope your as lucky as me and in our small town there's a local grocery by the name of Super Sav that regularly carries them)

1 1/2 stick butter

3/4 C milk

1 C water

1 C half and half

1/4 c. Sour cream

Salt and pepper

2 lbs peeled Shrimp (marinated in 2 T tobasco sauce and 3 T of buttermilk overnight and some salt and pepper)

5 or 6 green onions chopped

8 cremini mushrooms sliced

3/4 C chicken broth

1/2 lemon juiced

1 small clove garlic minced

1 C of Italian blended cheese

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Now most southern ladies know how to put on a pot of grits. But in case you haven't had the pleasure of this experience then it's as easy as putting your water, 1/2 stick of butter, 1 T salt in a pot and bringing it to a boil. Add your grits and whisk. Add your milk and stir in a little half and half at a time till you get the consistency you like. Some like them thick and some like them really soupy. I'm in between and like mine to coat them spoon like a thick soup. When you get the consistency you like stir in the sour cream and cheeses and set aside.

Place 1/2 stick butter in frying pan and melt. Dump shrimp into pan with marinade and all. Cook till pink and pour in a  bowl to keep warm.

 Now throw your onion, garlic, and mushrooms into the same pan with 2 tbs of butter and cook down till soft. Add your chicken broth and scrape up your browned bits on the bottom. Reduce your liquid by half and squeeze in your lemon juice. Stir and add the rest of your butter and then your shrimp back into the pan. Off the heat but let set for a few minutes.

To serve: ladle hot grits into a bowl and place shrimp on top. Drizzle with some of the sauce /gravy in the pan.

Garish: sprinkle with a little leftover Parmesan and green onions! 

Enjoy!

BLT plus avacodo pasta salad

This a BLT taken to a whole new level of awesomeness! Give it a try and see if I am kidding!

3 avacodo diced

1/2 cup light mayo

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 12oz package of bacon fried, drained and broken into pieces

2 Roma tomatoes diced

1 cup of spinach leaves torn
3 oz crumbled feta cheese

3/4 box of spiral pasta cooked and drained

1 Lemon's juice

Salt 

Pepper

Boil pasta and drain and let cool a bit. Place pasta in a large bowl and start adding the rest of your ingredients into the bowl. Stir softly just till all is mixed well and let set in fridge for a few hours for all the flavors to blend. (I let mine rest about 3 hours)

Enjoy!

Peaches and cream French toast casserole

1 quart of Georgia peaches

1 loaf of French bread

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup whole milk

12 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 T sugar

3T maple syrup

1/4 c heavy cream

Now I made this with fresh peaches that I had canned straight from Georgia (by one of my dearest friends) but you could easily do it with fresh peaches or a large can of peaches! If you doing fresh I would say you needed about 6 or 7.

The night before you need to take

1 loaf of French bread dried out in a warm oven. Then in a large bowl crack 12 eggs and add a cup and a half of whole milk. Stir in one tsp of vanilla 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 cup of brown sugar then whisk. 

Crumble bread into chunks in a buttered 9x13 pan and pour egg mixture over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and press gently till egg mixture is soaked into bread. Refrigerate over night.

The next morning:

Uncover and arrange peaches in rows across the top. Sprinkle with about 2 TBS white sugar. Then drizzle the rows with about 3 TBS of maple syrup and then drizzle 1/4C of heavy cream on top. 

Place in oven while oven is cool and set oven for 375 and bake for 45 minutes. The edges start to brown and casserole has become puffy.

Enjoy!!

Grilled cilantro lime sweet potatoes

4 clean sweet potatoes 

1 T cilantro

1 lime juiced

3 T olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

Clean sweet potatoes and poke holes in then with a fork. Place in microwave for 3 to 4 minutes depending on size.

Slice potatoes into 4 pieces each and place in a large zip lock. Pour in rest of your ingredients and  and gently roll bag between fingers till they are coated in seasonings.

Have grill ready to go and grill on low heat for 4-5 minutes on each side till good grill marks form and they are soft.

(Now if you really want to lime them up sprinkle a little lime juice on them!)

Remove from heat and enjoy! We love ours with a little ketchup at our house!!

Hot pepper jam

Had some pepper jelly a few weeks ago and it left me craving more. I was never (or at least I thought I was never) a fan of the stuff. But after applying a smear of cream cheese to a cracker and topping it with the jelly that one bite left me hooked and I went home in search of how how I could get/make more! The result was better than the first taste I had a few weeks ago! 

1 jar of diced pickled jalapeño  peppers drained

1 diced bell pepper

6 red picked sweet cherry peppers

3 sweet red snacking peppers

1 T butter

1 C apple cider vinegar 

2 C cranberry juice

1 box powder pectin

6 C sugar

1 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large pot place all the peppers, butter, cranberry juice and apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid in the pot by1/2. As it reduces I used an emersion blender to further chop the peppers. Once reduced add the sugar and let come to a boil again. Now this mixture needs to boil a few minutes and the best way to tell you are reaching jelly stage is to freeze a plate and drip some jam mixture on the plate and if it wrinkles when you scrape your finger across it....kinda gummy consistency then your good! Add in the box of pectin and stir till it dissolves. Then because it wasn't quite the heat I wanted I added the cayenne pepper! You can add as much as you like. I stopped at one full tsp. 

 Now you jar it up just like you would regularly jar jam. I water bath processed mine for 10 minutes and then removed to cool. 

This batch made 7 pints of pepper jelly.

Now the big question is do I want to share?

Grilled Chicken Salad

It's slipping into summer time and and there's nothing better than a good chicken salad but let's go and make that 10x better by making it a grilled chicken salad!

2 leftover large chicken breast
1 rib of celery diced
1tbs of fresh parsley
1/4 C or little less of chopped green onion
1/2 T Salt
1/2 T pepper
1/3 C chopped pecans
1/2 c sliced in halved red seedless grapes
1/4 C mayo
1/3 C sour cream

Shred chicken in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients and stir well then let sit overnight in the fridge to let the favors merry together.
Serve on a sandwich or with crackers. You may want to double this recipe because the first batch will go so quickly you will need more!

Greek pasta salad

I feel somewhere deep inside my heritage there has to be some Greek roots. My love for all thing Greek comes through in this pasta salad I mixed up tonight. I rarely make pasta salad....not sure why that is because this turned out so fresh a wonderful that I could eat this all summer long!

1lb spiral shaped pasta

1 lemon ( zest it and juice it and set aside)

1 T fresh oregano chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme
2 green onions chopped

1 T fresh parsley chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped small sundried tomato( not in oil)

1/2 red onion diced small

1 can black olives

1 can chick peas

3oz feta cheese crumbled

4 oz mozzarella cut into mini cubes

2 oz powder Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of newmans Parmesan and roasted garlic dressing 

4 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

Boil pasta in salted water. While pasta boils mix: olive oil, with chopped herbs, green onion, lemon juice, lemon
zest,newmans salad dressing, and garlic in a bowl and set aside.

Drain pasta.

In one large bowl mix pasta, cheeses, chickpeas, black olives, onions, salt and pepper, and sundried tomato. Drizzle the dressing and herbs over the mixture and toss to coat.
Serve or refrigerate for more intense flavor!

Healthy Breakfast muffins

3/4 c of vanilla almond milk

1/4 c of buttermilk

1 smashed banana

1tsp vanilla

1/4 C of honey

3 C of oats (old fashioned)

1/2 C peanut butter

1/4 C mini chocolate chips

1T baking powder 

2 eggs

Mix everything together in one large bowl and stir until well combined. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and place enough batter in each cup to be filled almost to the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. just till they have risen and just begin to brown on the edges!
I was able to get 14 very nice sized muffins!