Satisfying, Sumptuous, Savory Saturdays

Satisfying, Sumptuous, Savory Saturdays

 

 

 

So . . .have you cooked anything delicious this week?  I've cooked two big meals . . .one on Tuesday night for our young adults.  This week we had Mexican.  I cooked six pounds of lean hamburger meat and added spices, etc.  I chopped tomatoes and onions and I made 18 cheese quesadillas.  I also made homemade guacamole (my sister-in-law Alice taught me how to make guacamole!!).  I did cheat a tad -- I called Tecate in Vestavia and ordered a pan of rice and a pan of beans and 60 ounces of salsa.  I love Tecate's salsa . . .and I also love their margaritas!

 

The other meal I cooked was for last night.  We celebrated our daughter-in-law's birthday last night.  Her actual birthday is Monday.  I'll post about that menu an another day.

 

I love Thanksgiving.  It is one of my all time favorite holidays.  It is a time where we can get together with family and friends.  There are no gifts involved.  There is good food . . .and my favorite food in all the world (besides French fries) is dressing (or stuffing . .or whatever you want to call it).  Here in our state . . .or maybe I should say in my home growing up and in Mark's momma's house . . .we have traditional cornbread dressing . . .and GRAVY . . .Gravy is probably my third favorite food.  I know I'm overweight but I promise it is not from eating those three foods all the time!!  I think I love dressing and gravy so much because we eat it so rarely.

 

So . . .over the years, Mark and I have been assigned various food duties for Thanksgiving.  Mark's momma cooks the turkey and dressing and gravy and she makes pies . . . lots of pies . . .at least a pie per person . . .really .  . . she is in her late 80's (I think) and still not slowing down on the pie baking at Thanksgiving.  We bring the sides.  We always make "pumpkin souffle" . . .which is really butternut squash . . .but we have always called it pumpkin.  It is really good.  We don't even attach the word souffle to it . . .which it probably really isn't . . .thinking about what a traditional souffle looks like . . .we just say, "we'll bring the pumpkin."  Everyone knows what we mean.  Sometimes Mark's momma asks us to bring an appetizer (she says she doesn't know how to make appetizers).  The problem is that we don't eat until dinner - until nighttime - while all you people are stuffing your face in the middle of the day . . .we are waiting . . .and waiting!!!  If we have an appetizer, we are all so hungry that we eat way too much of the appetizer . . .and then don't have room for the GOOD stuff (like gravy!!!)

 

A couple of years ago, I made a raw veggie turkey.  (you know - we need some low cal raw veggies to combat the dressing and gravy, right???)  I thought I would share it with y'all today . . .since we are quickly approaching my favorite day of the year . . .Turkey Day . . .Thanksgiving . . .a day to give thanks!  (we need to do that every day . . the giving thanks part!!)

 

 

Nothing fancy . . .and not hard to assemble at all.  I just used a big round glass tray and covered the tray first with large clean lettuce leaves.  I chopped red, green and yellow peppers into slim half circles.  I sliced a cucumber.  I opened a can of black olives.  Then I assembled.  I started with the carrots and worked my toward the "head."  I guess you can tell that I saved 1/3 to 1/2 of the green pepper to use as Mr. Turkey's head.  His beak is a small "chunk" of yellow pepper and his "goozler" (I know the real name . . .I just like "goozler" better)  is a sliver of red pepper.  I think I made homemade ranch dressing/dip (but you could dump some from a bottle or buy some already prepared) to go with the veggies and served it on the side in another clear glass or cut crystal bowl.

 

I would love for someone . . (thanks Robin and Lauren for sharing recipes!!) out there in blog land to share some Thanksgiving recipes with me.  I have a link at the bottom, you just have to link up with us . . .

I love stories, too . . .so if your recipe has a story, please share that with us!!  Do you eat cornbread dressing? . . .or potato stuffing (my sister-in-law in Delaware) . . .or stovetop stuffing??

p.s. (can you p.s. on a blog?? - I guess so since it is mine . .)  I bought the ingredients to bake Robin's date and chocolate chip cake from a couple of weeks ago.  I may bake it this afternoon!!

MMMMMMM Good - Savory White Turkey Chili . . .

Satisfying, Sumptuous, Savory Saturdays

The weather in Alabama finally feels like fall.  We never know what kind of weather we are going to have . . .if you don't like the weather today, odds are that tomorrow . . .or at least by the next day, it will be different.  I guess we live just close enough (4 hours) from the coast . . .and somewhere in the jet stream (can you tell I know a WHOLE LOT about weather??) that we have mild fall weather.  Sometimes it seems like we have two seasons here - Hot . . .and not so hot!  This week we have had some of those days with some real nip.  Last  night we even had a frost warning for our county . . .several hours at or below freezing.  We just never know . . .odds are good that I will have on shorts on Thanksgiving day.  The whole point about that incredibly long monologue about weather -- it has been cool enough to make soups and chili.  I love soups and chili.  I'm so hot natured that you would think that I wouldn't like hot food . . .but I do!!

Last Sunday night, I put a whole turkey breast in the crockpot and cooked it so that we could have some meat to eat on this week.  We also served honeybaked Turkey Breast (the real kind!) to the young adults on Tuesday night.  I realized that we had just enough honeybaked Turkey leftovers for a couple of meal and didn't want the other meat to go to waste.  On Thursday morning before I went to work, I threw a few things into the crockpot before work and when we came home . . .yummy supper!

The recipe is really for White Chicken Chili . . .but it was really good with turkey leftovers!!!!  Really good!!  So . . .ingredients are:

White TURKEY chili

chopped onions (a small to medium one chopped - or see my notes in recipe)
chopped turkey (or chopped chicken - whatever you have - I used all the left-overs - you could even use a rotisserie chicken)
1 can rotel - I used original
2 cans chicken broth
one Mason Jar of turkey broth (saved in refrigerator from cooked turkey earlier in week - this is optional -- I just had it on hand . . .and it was so rich and flavorful)
2 (or three) cans navy beans (I do not drain my beans - I like to use the juice in most of my soups)
a tsp or so of cumin

I sprayed the crockpot with Pam and added the chopped onions and chopped/shredded chicken.  I am going to be honest - I had a container of pre-chopped onions from the produce department and I used those - equivalent to a small to medium sized onion.  You could also use frozen chopped onions or a whole onion that you chopped yourself.

Here are all the pretty ingredients (minus a few) - what can I say?  It was really early in the morning and I have not been getting enough sleep.  Look at the color of that rich turkey broth.  You can see a small amount of fat on top.  I took a spoon and scooped the fat from the top and didn't put the fat in the crockpot.

Here is the turkey . . .I just dumped it out on a paper plate and chopped and shredded it. It does not have to be in uniform pieces, etc. 

This is what it looked like after everything was in the crockpot.  The rotel adds flavor and a little color but does not make it a "red" soup/chili.

I realized that I forgot to add some cumin so the cute little jar had his picture snapped all by himself.  I love cumin.  It is one of my favorite spices.  I need to google "difference between herbs and spices" - I think cumin is a spice  . . .

 

When we got home from work . . .it was great . . .because when you came in through the basement door . . .you could smell supper.  That is a comforting smell - something cooking after a long day.  I told Mark that I wished we had some cornbread but I want to make any.  We both remembered that there was a bag of Gourmet (yes! Gourmet!!!) Hush Puppies in the freezer.  Mark grabbed those and tossed them to me and we popped those into the oven - viola' (is that how you spell that??) -- instant cornbread . . .almost.  The  hushpuppies were a great addition to our White Turkey Chili.  My daddy used to cook hushpuppies all the time as his "bread of choice" after my momma died.  I always feel a sweet connection to him when I do something . . .and then remember that he did that, too!

 

This recipe is easy to throw into the crockpot on low all day or in a regular pot on your stovetop for an hour or two.  I will tell you that because I added that extra broth . . .the chili was not quite as thick as I like it.  I was standing looking into the pantry looking for a "thickener" . . .I didn't like anything I had on hand.  I spotted a can of cream of chicken soup and thought - what the heck - why not try it?  I opened it up and plopped it into the crockpot and turned the crockpot on high.  I got out my whisk and whisked the soup into the mixture and let it continue to cook while we baked the hushpuppies, etc.  It really added some much needed body to the chili.  I don't know if I would add it up front next time . . .probably not.  I don't think you would have the problem if you only used the two cans of broth.

 

I would love for you to link up and share a recipe.  My friend, Gayle, said she would share a recipe but didn't know how to do it on the blog.  I'll have to get one from her and share with y'all - she is a good cook . . .she makes great pimento and cheese among other things!!

 

So . . .link up and share.  I want to try Robin's date cake from last week but haven't been to the store yet.  It would have been a great addition to our White Turkey chili and hushpuppies!!

Satisfying, Sumptuous, Savory Saturday

Satisfying, Sumptuous, Savory Saturdays

I'm going to try really hard to post these every Saturday . . .I don't know why it is so hard.  If I were smart . . . .I would type up a bunch and schedule them to post every Saturday.  Maybe it is not a "lack of smarts" but a lack of time!!  I've been sitting here making my grocery list and menus and "to do" list for work and home next week . . .and I need to be working on my Sunday School lesson.  (just an aside here - I have really struggled with this book . ..and yes, I bought it . . .and in "theory" it is good stuff - learning about each of the apostles and their lives, etc. . .. and of course, what their lives tell us about Jesus and about ourselves . . .but this book has required great amounts of outside research . . .I need to write a review about this . . .but it wouldn't be very favorable -- I need something to teach next until Lent - I want some curriculum about "being thankful" . . .any ideas out there . .. and yes, I know this is one incredibly long run on sentence with lots of . . . .but it is my blog :-) and that is where my crazy mind is running this morning! hahahaha!!)  So . . .on to the recipe for the week.

Chicken Pot Pie originally by Jane Bellew

 

 

The original recipe is written on a scrap of paper that Mark brought home from his office.  He and Jane worked about 30 years together until she retired this year (after a horrible fall last year - off a ladder while hanging Christmas decorations on her house!!)  Those are tiny ghosts cut with a cookie cutter on top of the lattice work crust.  (pictured with sweet 'n sour green beans - a good post for another day) and wild rice and Sister Schubert's rolls . . .not pictured - green salad)

 

So . ..  here are the ingredients

 

• pie crust (in the box in refrigerated section)
•  
• canned chicken (original recipe calls for canned - sometimes I use home cooked) for a family, I would suggest one or two large cans of all white meat chicken - depending on your budget and how much meat your family enjoys -- I would also suggest a boneless breast per person if cooking your own (so drain the canned chicken and chop into smaller pieces or pull apart or cool and chop your boneless breasts)
•  
• 1 can veg-all drained
•  
• 1 8 ounce carton sour cream
•  
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
•  
• a little chicken broth (if you cooked your own chicken)
•  
• small can drained water chestnuts (I do not use because NEITHER of my children like water chestnuts . . .but I love them in this recipe)
•  
• 2 boiled eggs - chopped

This is an easy peasy recipe - and I think it is both satisfying and savory . . .and it is definitely comfort food.

 

Here are the directions.  Spray your 9 X 13 pan (use your brownie pan - or whatever you have) with cooking spray. (I always use Pam because that is what I buy)  Cut one of the round crusts into four strips (sometimes I use my rolling pin and make the crust more of a rectangle).  Place one of the four pieces around the outside edges of your pan. Do not bake yet.  (the other option is to make a rectangle and place in bottom of your pan and cook crust for a few minutes . . .not as long as package says - just until it begins to firm up some).  Mix the chicken, sour cream, drained veg-all, soup, water chestnuts, and chopped boiled eggs together.  Add a little chicken broth - I'm talking only a few tablespoons.  Pour this mixture into your pan.

 

Now take that other round circle of pie crust and roll it into a rectangle (if you have a rolling pin!).  Now cut into strips and criss cross across top of pie.  This is YOUR chicken pot pie - you can make any design you want.  Get out a cookie cutter - cut out some hearts or ghosts or chickens!!  You DO NOT have to do a lattice work pattern on top.  YOU CAN DO anything you want -- you just need crust on top.

 

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust is light brown.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

I know that I don't have a lot of readers . . .I'm not a "famous blogger" . . .but I would love for you to link up and share a favorite recipe with us . . maybe something easy peasy . . .or a comfort food recipe that you love.