by wildcherry on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Knowledge, Life | No Comments

To help you kick-start your Thanksgiving menu, here are three recipes that will spice up an otherwise traditional meal:

Caramelized shallot mashed red-skinned potatoes:

I make mashed potatoes all the time, so for Thanksgiving, I like to make them a little more special by stirring in caramelized shallots.

For the caramelized shallots:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

10 Shallots, thinly sliced

1∕4 Teaspoon kosher salt

1∕ 4 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the potatoes:

4 Pounds unpeeled red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

3 Teaspoons kosher salt

1 Cup whole milk

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick)

1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour and 10 minutes for the shallots; 40 minutes for the potatoes.

For the shallots:

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Add the shallots and stir occasionally until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon water, reduce the heat to low, and cover partially. Cook about 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes and adding an additional tablespoon of water if shallots are drying out or sticking. Stir in the salt and pepper. Set aside until the mashed potatoes are ready. (The shallots can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, then reheated at serving time.)

For the potatoes:

Place the potatoes in a stockpot. Cover with cold water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer and cool until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return the potatoes to the pan. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and butter. Use a potato masher to begin mashing potatoes. Slowly add in milk mixture and continue to mash. Potatoes should be smooth, with some chunks. Stir in reserved shallots, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Crisp Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3 Pounds French green beans, trimmed

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Shallots, minced

1 Cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

¾ Teaspoon kosher salt

½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 to 10 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes, then 5 minutes to cool beans

Cook time: 12 minutes

Prepare an ice water bath. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook two minutes. Drain the beans and plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. (This step can be done the day before. Refrigerate the beans until ready to finish.)

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until tender, about three minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Add the beans, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cook until the beans are heated through, about five minutes.

Famous Pumpkin Nut Bread

Ingredients: 1 cup butter, melted 4 eggs 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) pumpkin 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cloves 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2-3/4 cups flour 1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter. Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat thoroughly. Add sugars, baking soda and powder, and spices. Beat thoroughly until all lumps are removed. Add flour. Beat thoroughly. Add nuts and mix. Spoon into 2 greased bread pans. Bake for 1 hour. Test with toothpick to ensure loaves are ready.

The next item on our list of Thanksgiving dishes is the ever-famous cheese ball. This particular item is usually present at most Thanksgiving get-togethers, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until the end of November to whip up this easy snack!

Cheese Ball

Ingredients: 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained 1 tablespoon diced onion 1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper 1/4 tablespoon seasoning salt 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions: Mix together the cream cheese, pineapple, onion, bell pepper, and seasoning salt. Form into a ball and roll in chopped pecans. Chill and serve with butter crackers.

If your craving leans more towards sweet potatoes, then we have the perfect recipe for you! Sweet potato balls are an easy dish to prepare and are just as great on their own as they are when complimenting turkey, ham, or any other meat you fancy.

Sweet Potato Balls

Ingredients: 1 (40 ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained 1/4 cup butter salt to taste 3 cups crushed cornflakes cereal 3/4 cup real maple syrup 10 large marshmallows

Directions: Drain sweet potatoes and put into large mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes with butter or margarine. Salt to taste. Hand-pat mixture into 3 inch diameter balls. Roll in crushed corn flakes and put into 9×12 inch greased baking dish. Pour maple syrup evenly over all balls. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 40 minutes. When the timer gets to the last fifteen minutes, put a marshmallow over each ball.

For those of you who are craving some serious Thanksgiving meat, we’ve got a great turkey recipe for you to try out. The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to cook an entire bird?which means you don’t have to deal with carving up the leftover meat and storing it.

Turkey Breasts Stuffed with Cranberry

Ingredients:
2 boneless and skinless turkey breasts
1 (12 ounce) package herb-seasoned dry bread

Stuffing Mix
1 1/2 c. of dried cranberries (sweetened is preferred)
1 c. of pecans (chopped)
1/2 c. halved pecans
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions: Make the stuffing as usual and set aside. Cut the chicken breasts open so that they lay flat, place between waxed paper and flatten with a meat tenderizer. Remove the wax paper and spread the stuffing over each breast (leaving a bit of room around the edges), then sprinkle with most of the dried cranberries. Add all of the pecans. Starting at the longer side, roll the breast up similar to a Swiss roll. Tuck in the ends and tie it together with string. You’ll probably need about four bits of string to tie the middle and one to go length-wise.

Place the olive oil in an oven proof skillet and let it heat. Try to brown the meat on all sides, but don’t cook it thoroughly yet. Put the skillet in the oven and bake in at 350 degrees F for about an hour or until meat is white all the way through. Try not to let these get too dry. Let the turkey rolls sit for 15 minutes before removing the string and slicing into 1/2 inch circles. You can garnish with any leftover cranberries or pecans.

Finally, we have a recipe for one of the greatest Autumn-time drinks: apple cider! What’s better than cozying up with a book or movie and a steaming cup of spiced cider? It gets better, because this simplified version of spiced cider allows you to keep your cider warmed in a slow cooker for easy re-fills.

Easy Apple Cider

Ingredients: 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle apple cider 3 cinnamon sticks 1 teaspoon whole allspice 1 teaspoon whole cloves 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions: In a slow cooker, combine apple cider and cinnamon sticks. Wrap allspice and cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth and add to pot. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Baked Mashed Potatoes

What you need:

3 lbs (9 -10 medium) gold, yellow or russet potatoes, peeled

4 T butter

8 oz package cream cheese
, softened

12 oz or 11/2 c sour cream

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Quarter potatoes and boil in salted water until fork tender but not mushy; drain. Place potatoes in a large bowl with 2 T of butter and mix with hand mixer until fairly smooth. Add sour cream, cream cheese, salt and pepper and mix until well blended.

Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick spray. Add potatoes and dot with remaining 2 T of butter. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered; serve.

Cranberry Sauce

What you need:

12 oz bag cranberries

1 c water

1 c sugar

What you do:

Add sugar and water to a med sized saucepan; heat to boiling. Add cranberries to pan and return to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 5-8 minutes or until cranberries burst

Easy Breezy Pecan Pie

What you need:

9 inch unbaked pie shell

1 c shelled pecans

3 large eggs

3/4 c white sugar

3/4 c light corn syrup

1/3 c butter

1/4 t salt

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Add sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt and beat until well mixed. Mix in pecans. Pour into 9 inch pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until top is firm.

Sweet Potato Casserole

What you need:

4 c sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

1/2 c brown sugar (divided in half)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c milk

1/2 c butter (divided in half)

1/4 t salt

1/2 c chopped pecans (divided in half)

1/4 c frosted flakes, crushed

What you do:

Combine potatoes, milk, egg, salt, 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c butter; blend with mixer. Fold in half the pecans. Pour into greased casserole pan. Melt remaining 1/4 cup of butter and mix with remaining brown sugar. Add frosted flakes and the remaining pecans. Spread mixture evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

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by wildcherry on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 | Life, Tips | No Comments

Here are five healthy Thanksgiving foods you can enjoy guilt-free this year:

Turkey. If you are looking for a lean cut of meat, turkey is hard to beat. A 3-ounce serving of skinless white meat contains 25 grams of protein, barely 3 grams of fat, and less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Dark meat has more saturated fat than white meat, and eating the skin adds a hefty wallop of these bad fats.

Cranberries. Make your own cranberry sauce this year from whole berries, you’ll get a tastier and less sugary sauce than you can get out of a can. The fruit that provides the base of this traditional side dish deserves to move from holidays to everyday. Cranberries are packed with dozens of different antioxidants.

Sweet potatoes. These un-potatoes — they’re related to the morning glory, not the white potato — are an excellent source of vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. This can be a sweet Thanksgiving treat you can serve yearround.

Pumpkin. We know that everyone loves pumpkin pie, but instead of all that sugar try a recipe Zesty Pumpkin Custard this year. Before this orange squash is made into pie, it’s just plain good for you. Pumpkin is low in fat, low in calories, and loaded with potassium, vitamin A, beta carotene, and vitamin C. Check out the recipes and be creative.

Pecans. Most nuts are great sources of heart-healthy fats. Pecans are no exception. Twenty pecan halves contain about 20 grams of unsaturated fat. Studies from around the globe show that people who routinely eat nuts are less likely to die of heart disease than those who don’t.

Below are some sample recipes using the healthy ingredients above

Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey and Turkey Leftovers

The festive season brings with it both joys and stresses. And the place where the tensions are often most evident is in the kitchen! If you want to avoid being harassed over the holidays, a modicum of thinking ahead can avert potentially fraught situations. Planning your healthy Thanksgiving recipes is the first step. You’ve got the recipe for cooking Thanksgiving turkey But what to do with the turkey leftovers? Turkey a la King is a great way of producing an entirely new meal with the previous day’s turkey. Turkey Burgers with Coriander, Soy and Pickled Ginger also ring the changes and give a slightly fusion twist to a traditional recipe.

Ground Beef Casserole Recipes and Simple Chicken Recipes

However, November is not ALL about Thanksgiving! We all have three weeks of meals to produce before then. This needn’t be a chore if you plan wisely. The trick is to try and get another meal out of a main meal. For example: Shepherd’s Pie Recipe on one night will easily make a reappearance as a glamorous Meat Pie Recipe, complete with light puff pastry. Oven Baked Whole Chicken as a main meal could become a delicious Chicken Pasta Bake with Pesto Sauce and Parmesan Crust. Your Best Grilled Salmon Recipe could then double as Fresh Salmon Croquettes. So, you can see, that with a little monthly meal planning, putting nutritious daily meals on the table needn’t be too onerous.

Fresh Pumpkin Recipes

Autumn Meal Planning wouldn’t be complete without an offering of Pumpkin Recipes. Of all pumpkins, Butternut Squash is my favorite for its intense, nutty flavor. Using vegetables that are bountiful at this time of year makes sense if you are trying to cook economically. So, what better than a Butternut Squash Soup Recipe with a Pumpkin Muffin? Butternut Squash Recipe with Coconut Milk and Cashew Nuts makes an ideal Thanksgiving side dish recipe and for a vegetarian optional main course, you could try Vegetarian Moussaka with Butternut Squash and Aubergines. Simply delicious.

Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

Budget Meal Planning is not all around sensible main meals! What would Thanksgiving be without the best Pecan Pie recipe? Or you could try an easy Fresh Pumpkin Pie Recipe which is light and nutritious.

Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes

Homemade cookie recipes come into their own over Thanksgiving. There is nothing like making a batch of cookies as a gift - they are a symbol of your time and thought. Snickers Cookies are fun to make with the family and Greek Cookies not only look beautiful, they taste fabulous.

Tags: Budget Meal Planning, Cooking On Thanksgiving, Cooking Thanksgiving Turkey, Fresh Pumpkin Pie, Fresh Pumpkin Recipes, Ground Bee Casserole Recipes, Healthly Food Choices, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Food Recipes, Healthy Thanksgiving, Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes, Simple Chicken Recipes, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes, Thanksgiving Cooking, Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving Food, Thanksgiving Ideas, thanksgiving recipes, Turkey Leftovers

by bintangkecil on Friday, November 6th, 2009 | Life, Tips | No Comments

Getting ready early for Thanksgiving? Here’s a recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner if you decide to cook Turkey!

Serves: 14

Total Cooking Time: 5 hr

Oven Temperature: 325

Ingredients
1 (14-pound) fresh or frozen (thawed) turkey
1 lemon
1 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 tablespoon(s) fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
1 medium stalk celery, coarsely chopped
2 small onions, each cut into quarters
2 small onions, each cut into quarters
2 tablespoon(s) margarine or butter
8 ounce(s) sliced white mushrooms
6 ounce(s) sliced cremini mushrooms
4 ounce(s) sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup(s) dry white wine
1 can(s) (14- to 14.5-ounce) chicken broth (up to 2 cans, if needed)
1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
Fresh herbs and fruit for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from turkey cavity; set aside. Discard liver or save for another use. Cut neck into several large pieces. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water and drain well; pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, breast side up, on small rack in large roasting pan (17″ by 11 1/2″). Scatter giblets and neck in pan around turkey.

2. From lemon, grate 1 teaspoon peel and place in small bowl. Cut lemon in half and set aside. To bowl with lemon peel, add parsley, sage, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and stir until blended.

3. In medium bowl, place olive oil, carrot, and celery; stir in 2 tablespoons herb mixture to coat vegetables. Place vegetable mixture in pan around turkey. Sprinkle remaining herb mixture inside body and neck cavities, and rub all over outside of turkey. Squeeze juice from lemon halves into both cavities, and place lemon halves and 4 onion quarters in body cavity. Place remaining 4 onion quarters in pan around turkey. Fold wings under back of turkey so they stay in place. If drumsticks are not held by band of skin or stuffing clamp, tie legs together with string.

4. Cover turkey with a loose tent of foil; roast 2 1/2 hours. Remove foil and roast about 1 1/4 hours longer.

5. About 20 minutes before turkey finishes roasting, cook mushrooms for gravy: In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat margarine on medium until melted. Add all mushrooms and cook, covered, 6 minutes. Uncover and cook 11 to 12 minutes longer or until tender and golden, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat; set aside until ready to complete gravy.

6. Turkey is done when temperature on meat thermometer, inserted into thickest part of thigh next to body (not touching bone), reaches 175 degrees to 180 degrees and breast temperature reaches 165 degrees. (Internal temperature of turkey will rise 5 degrees to 10 degrees upon standing.)

7. When turkey is done, carefully lift from roasting pan and tilt slightly to allow juices to run into pan. Place turkey on large platter; cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

8. Complete gravy: Remove rack from roasting pan. Strain pan drippings into 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, leaving giblets and neck in pan. Let drippings stand 1 minute to allow fat to separate from meat juices. Spoon 1/4 cup fat from drippings into 2-quart saucepan. Discard any remaining fat.

9. Place roasting pan over 2 burners on top of range and cook 2 to 4 minutes on medium-high to brown giblets, neck, and bits on bottom of pan, stirring constantly. Carefully add wine to roasting pan and boil about 3 minutes or until wine is reduced by half, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of pan. Strain wine mixture into meat juices in measuring cup; add any additional meat juices on platter. Discard giblets and neck. Add enough broth to meat-juice mixture in cup to equal 4 cups total. (You may have some broth left over; save for use another day.)

10. With wire whisk, mix flour into fat in saucepan; cook on medium 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture turns golden-brown, whisking constantly. While still whisking, gradually add meat-juice mixture to saucepan; cook on medium-high until mixture boils and thickens, stirring frequently; boil 1 minute. Stir in mushroom mixture; heat through. Pour gravy into gravy boat and serve with turkey. Garnish turkey platter with herbs and fruit. Makes about 6 cups gravy.

Nutritional information is based on 1 serving of turkey without skin or gravy.

Each serving of gravy: About 80 calories, 2 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 5 g total fat (1 g saturated), 1 g fiber, 4 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium.

11. To make Roast Turkey with White Wine Gravy: Prepare turkey and gravy as above, but omit margarine and mushrooms and all of step 5 and increase white wine to 1 1/2 cups. Makes about 4 cups gravy.

Each serving: About 50 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 5 g total fat (1 g saturated), 1 g fiber, 4 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium.

To make Roast Turkey with Roasted-Garlic Gravy: Prepare turkey and gravy as above, but omit margarine and mushrooms and all of step 5. In step 3, separate 1 head garlic into cloves; do not peel. Add garlic to bowl with vegetable mixture. In step 8, before straining pan drippings, with spatula or back of spoon, press garlic cloves, still in roasting pan, to squeeze soft roasted garlic into pan drippings; discard peels. Complete recipe as in steps 9 and 10. Makes about 4 cups gravy.

Each serving: About 50 calories, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), 0 g fiber, 4 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium.

Tips & Techniques

To keep the gravy lovers in the crowd happy, have enough chicken broth on hand (we suggest 2 cans) to add to gravies as needed in step 9. The amount of meat juice your particular turkey gives off during roasting will determine how much chicken broth you’ll need to add.

Source: Goodhousekeeping

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