Leftovers...Again?!

It's that time...The Thanksgiving leftovers need to get eaten, but nobody wants another microwaved plate of turkey, potatoes and stuffing.

So...Time to get creative!

The goal this week:  Combine as many leftovers with as few new ingredients as possible until it is all gone - oh- and make it taste good so Hubby will not run from the dinner bell tomorrow night!

Leftover Dinner 1:  Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

   Ingredients:

- Carrot and Celery Sticks (from the appetizer table) diced

-Onions Chopped (Non-Thanksgiving ingredient)

-Green bean casserole

-Chicken Broth (Left from making gravy and stuffing)

-Chopped leftover turkey

-Frozen peas (Found semi-buried in the freezer)

- Mashed Potatoes (Leftover - of course!)

- Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Non-TG ingredient)

1.  Saute the Carrots, Celery and Onion until crisp-tender

2.  Add in the Green bean casserole and the broth until it is the consistency of thick soup.

3.  Add in the chopped turkey and the frozen peas.

4.  Transfer to a casserole and top with the mashed potatoes. 

5.  Bake, covered, at 350 degrees until bubbly.  Take off the cover and add a couple Tablespoons of cheese - however much or little you like.  Bake until cheese is melted

Serve with a salad and dinner is on!

Stay tuned for leftover dinner #2 tomorrow.  

What is your favorite leftover feast?  Leave a comment and let us know!

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone already!  How?!  It was a wonderful weekend with friends and family - All three of my children were able to make it home for the weekend!

The table is all set!

I won't bore you with all the details but may post a few of my favorite recipes over the next few days.  

Here is a peek of what we are thankful for in our family...

We are thankful for the plenty that we are provided with each day.

We are thankful for the food that nourishes our body and the family and friends that nourish our soul.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup by The Barefoot Contessa

Cheddar and Gruyere Pinwheel Rolls

We are thankful for our home, country and freedom that so many have sacrificed to protect.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Nana's Pecan Pie A La Carolyn

We are thankful for all the sweetness in our life each day.

Dutch Apple Pie

 I am hoping that you had a restful and joy-filled Thanksgiving full of feasts and family!

Cheddar and Gruyere Pinwheel Rolls

1 loaf frozen white bread dough

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/4 cup white cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup gruyere Cheese, grated

2 Tbsp Butter

1.  Allow the bread dough to thaw in the refrigerator according to package directions.

2.  When thawed, roll dough into a 12" x 15" rectangle.  (This takes some patience because it likes to spring back to its original shape)

3.  Brush melted butter over the dough.

4.  Mix the onion and cheeses in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the buttered dough.

5.  Roll up the dough starting on one long side

6.  Cut the dough into 9 - approximately 1" - slices and place cut side up in a 2" deep baking pan.  Leave a little room between rolls for rising.

7.  Cover with greased plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place until dough is almost doubled in size.

8.  Bake at 350 degrees until rolls are golden brown - approximately 20 minutes.

Easy and delicious - and no one will know that you
had a little help from the freezer section!

Puff Pastry Cherry Blossoms...A little smile on a plate!

As promised...The Calories-Don't-Count-At-Bookclub Treat...Puff Pastry Cherry Blossoms.  

Trust me...You want these!

These are another Pinterest gem found at Get Off Your Butt and Bake.  The author of this blog is moving her blog, but the new one looks like it has many delicious ideas like this one.  And this is soooo easy!  

Here are the basics of how to make these delicious little gems:

1.  Unroll puff pastry sheets and cut in thirds length-wise and then again cross-wise to make 9 squares.  

2.  Drop a small Tbsp of cherry pie filling (yes, right from the can!) into the center of the puff pastry.  Don't be tempted to put more in.  It will just bubble out and make a mess.

Here is where I got a little creative and added just a smidge of some nutella that I had in the cabinet left from the hazelnut banana bread that I made a while ago.  

You could add any pie filling that you like...apple, peach, strawberry...whatever you love.

3.  Gather 2 of the diagonal sides and pinch to seal.  

4.  Gather the opposite 2 sides and pinch it all together to make a cute little packet of yumminess.

5.  Place the packets on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

6.  Beat one egg and lightly brush the pastries with the egg wash.

7.  Top with sugar.  I used turbinado (Raw) sugar because I love the big chunky crystals.

8.  Bake at 375 degrees until puffed and golden brown - about 15 - 20 minutes.

9.  While pastries are baking mix up a glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and enough milk to make a thick, but pourable glaze.

10.  Drizzle warm pastries with glaze and then try not to eat the entire tray!  

Doesn't that just make you smile?

I'm thinking these might have to join our Christmas morning feast...

Hope you have had some sweetness in your week!

<3  Pam

Bite-Sized Book Club Treats

Friday night was book club night.  I hadn't finished the book - The Finkler Question - Not my favorite...So instead of rushing to finish the book I decided to try out some of my Pinterest pins for snacks.

I got home from school early and headed to the grocery store for the few things I needed for my little bites.  I decided to make one, sort-of healthy, savory bite and one delicious, calories-don't-count-at-book-club treat.  (I'll post about that one tomorrow!) 

For the sort-of-healthy treat, I made Zucchini and Goat Cheese Rollups from Edible Perspective.

Curry-Spiced Zucchini Roll-ups

These were really easy to make and delicious!  I am definitely going to make them again.  Next time I might change up the spice mix a bit - make it more curry powder and a bit less of the garam masala, but that is just my personal taste.

The trickiest part is cutting the ribbons of Zucchini.  If you have a mandolin cutter it might be easier.  I have one, but have had a lot of good luck cutting my fingers and not such good luck cutting my veggies!  OUCH!

Grill the ribbons for a few minutes.  Layer with  a piece of roasted red pepper on one end and goat cheese down the middle and roll up.  

Done!

Follow the link above to find the complete recipe.  

Of course, I cannot end without thanking our veterans - past, present and future - for their service to our nation.  Happy Veteran's Day!

...And...Happy Feasting - Even if it is Bite-sized!  :-)

Quick Head Band Project

My niece recently celebrated her birthday and I got her a store-bought present, but she is a crafty/sewer sort of girl so I also wanted to make her a little something.  I had tons of this purple sweater fabric in my stash that I bought forever ago at the outdoor market in Spain and have been meaning to make a sweater out of.  I thought it would make a cute winter headband for my niece.

Quick Headband for a favorite tween - oops-teen!

I started out by cutting a strip of the sweater material and then serging the edges.  You could get a similar effect without a serger by zigzagging the edges or just leaving them raw if they don't ravel.  Then I gathered one edge and pulled it into a circle and stitched the ends together to form the rosette.












Next, I made a tube of the sweater fabric and overlapped the ends, turned them under and stitched them with a zigzag.







To finish it off, attach the rosette to the headband with a few stitches.  (I stitched to the part where I zigzagged to cover that up.) Add a decorative button.  Mine was a vintage button that I inherited from my mother-in-law.

Not me, maybe?

It's hard to get a good picture
at a birthday party full
of giggling girls!

I think that my niece looks a bit better in it!  :-)

So a bit of the purple fabric was put to use...Now if only I could get to that sweater!

Hoping that you are able to carve out a small piece of time to do what makes your heart sing!