Category Archives: Recipes

Thanksgiving Turkey

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Allison| Leave a comment

This year I volunteered to make a turkey for our pre-Thanksgiving dinner with our small group at church. I’ve made two Thanksgiving turkeys now (the first for a pot-luck Thanksgiving that we hosted for some graduate school friend a few years ago when work and school prevented all of us from traveling home), and I’m really happy with how they turned out. I know that cooking a whole turkey seems a little bit scary, so I thought I’d share the recipe and show you how easy it can be:

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole, thawed turkey (about 1 to 1.5 lbs per person, and plan to let it defrost in the refrigerator for several days if you buy it frozen)
  • Oil or butter (optional)
  • 1 medium to large onion
  • 1-2 apples (I usually get Fuji)
  • 1 package of poultry herbs (this is usually in the produce section of the grocery store – I think it’s a couple sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, and sage)
  • Salt, pepper, paprika
  • 1tbsp flour
  • 1 Reynolds oven bag
  • 1 aluminum roasting pan

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.

2. Toss flour in the oven bag (to prevent the bag from popping).

3. Make sure your turkey is defrosted and you have removed everything from the inside (neck, giblets, occasional bag of gravy), then place the turkey inside the oven bag and in the roasting pan.

4. Rub or brush oil or butter over the turkey (not necessary if you purchase a Butterball).

5. Chop apple and onion into eights. Place about half of the onions, apple, and herbs in the bag under the turkey and half inside the turkey cavity.

6. Sprinkle turkey with salt, pepper, and paprika.

7. Tie bag closed and cut 6 slits into the top.

8. Cook turkey until a meat thermometer inside the fattest part of the inner thigh reads 180F. I follow the times on the oven bag instructions, which are 1.5-2hrs for 8-12lbs, 2-2.5hrs for 12-16lbs, 2.5-3hrs for 16-20lbs, or 3-3.5hrs for 20-24lbs.

Easy, right? Here are pictures of both of my turkeys:

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After Thanksgiving, if you’re looking to use up the leftover turkey, check out my Turkey & Andouille Gumbo recipe!

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Pickles

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Allison| 1 Comment

Since I’ve been fairly successful in growing cucumbers in my garden, I’ve made several batches of pickles to use them up. I believe I’ve had at least 12 cucumbers so far, and 10 have become pickles.

I wanted to start out simple and easy, so I chose Microwave Bread and Butter Pickles for my first attempt. I made two separate batches of these, reducing the amount of sugar in the second. I used large yellow onions, so I kind of eyeballed the amount of cucumber and onion to go with each batch of doubled brine. The pickles are ready as soon as they have cooled (although you can taste them while warm to test them out), so I’ve already finished two jars of these. I also gave a jar to a good friend, who declared them the best pickles she’s ever had. Overall, an A+ recipe for quick, easy, bread & butter pickles!

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I got a little bit more adventurous for the next batch and made Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles. I used about 3 large cucumbers instead of 12 pickling cucumbers, cutting them in half first to shorten them and then into spears lengthwise. I made a couple of modifications in the process. First, I missed the dill seed when I browsed the recipe before I went to the grocery store, so I decided to just leave it out. Second, I doubled the amount of crushed red pepper as some of the comments suggest, because I love spicy. I chopped up the dill as the recipe directs, but I’m not sure I would do that again, since it’s a huge mess. These are ready after 10 days in the refrigerator, but I sampled them several times before the time was up, and they’re still pretty tasty. As it turns out, at least two of the cucumbers were bitter, so the resulting pickles are pretty bitter. The bitterness is going away though slowly, so maybe after another week or so I think they’ll be really good – bitter or not, I’ve been eating and enjoying them. I love spice, so I don’t think these are crazy hot, but I wouldn’t double the red pepper if you don’t like spicy food. I give this recipe an A-, definitely worth repeating with a couple more modifications.

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My most recent attempt at pickles used a dill pickle recipe from a Ravelry friend, consisting simply of water, vinegar, salt, garlic, dill, and cucumbers. Having learned about the bitterness issue from my last batch, I actually tasted the cucumbers before pickling. I had two good and two bitter pickles, so I separated them into two batches each and labeled which were the bitter ones. For these, I attempted to properly process the jars, since my refrigerator is full of pickles now and running low on space. I even purchased a canning set to make things easier. After sterilizing the jars, filling the jars, boiling the jars to seal them, and letting them sit on the counter for about an hour, I got nervous that they hadn’t sealed properly, so I put them in the fridge anyway. I think I have about 9 jars of pickles in the fridge, so I need to get eating! I haven’t tried these out yet, but I’m told they’re the best pickles you’ll ever eat, and for now I can’t argue with that.

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Leave a comment with any recipe suggestions – I’ve got a couple more recipes from my mom that I’m hoping to try next, including Lime Pickles and Christmas Red Pickles – I’m always looking to try new recipes!

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Homemade Chipotle Burritos

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Allison| 1 Comment

Based on a mutual obsession for Chipotle burritos, my friend Jennifer and I decided to try making it all at home. We based most of the food off of the recipes from this site: chipotlefan.com. Because they didn’t have a good beans recipe, we searched around and found these as a good substitute. Finally, I also made some pico de gallo using the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.

Overall, this was a major success. There are a few things we might do differently next time (like scale down the salsa recipes and make the hot salsa a little bit less hot), but it’s safe to say that we had a really good time making and eating all the food, and it might happen again someday. If you’re just feeding a few people, you’ll save a lot of money by just driving over to Chipotle and getting a couple of burritos. But, if you want to have some fun and feed at least 12 people (or fewer with plenty of leftovers), I highly recommend trying out these recipes!

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Pesto Hummus

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Allison| 1 Comment

With all the basil I’m growing, I’ve been looking for some good recipes so that I can use it – we can only eat so much pesto chicken and pasta!

I love hummus, and I have a wonderful new food processor, so I decided to try some pesto hummus. I started off with this recipe from allrecipes.com, but it seemed to be missing something. So, I decided to start modifying it, tasting it after every addition until I was happy with the outcome.

I ended up adding extra basil (probably about a cup total), a lot of extra olive oil (didn’t measure, but keep adding until you have a smooth consistency), two extra cloves of garlic, about 1/8 cup of pine nuts and shaved parmesan, and probably 1/2 tsp of salt and lemon juice.

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Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Allison| Leave a comment

After living for several years in Texas, I developed a love for all things Tex-Mex. Enchiladas are one of my favorite foods, but I discovered that it’s very hard to find them made correctly outside of Texas. After missing them for long enough, I learned to make them myself. This is a combination of several recipes I’ve found, made slightly healthier by using reduced fat ingredients and chicken broth instead of oil to soften the tortillas. Use of a rotisserie chicken also makes it easier, but you’re welcome to substitute any kind of chicken you’d like.

Everything can be prepared the day before, and this freezes well and makes delicious leftovers. I like to serve it with guacamole and mexican rice.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 rotisserie chicken
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup diced onions
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup (can use FF)
  • 16 oz sour cream (can use RF)
  • 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • 16-24 corn tortillas (depending on whether your tortillas come in packages of 8, 10, or 12)
  • 1 can chicken broth (can use FF)
  • 2 cups cheddar or mexican blend shredded cheese (can use RF)
  • Bunch of cilantro or red onions (optional)

Directions
1. Pick chicken from the bones and chop. Mix with tomato sauce and onions, and set aside.

2. Mix together sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and diced green chiles and set aside.

3. In a small pan, heat chicken broth until boiling. Dip tortilla in broth until softened (about 10 seconds). Add about 2 tbsp of chicken mixture into tortilla and roll up, then place into a greased 9×13 glass casserole dish. Repeat for all tortillas.

4. Cover enchiladas with sour cream sauce then cheese.

5. Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

6. Garnish with cilantro and onions, and enjoy!

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Turkey-Andouille Gumbo

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Allison| 1 Comment

While growing up in Louisiana, I developed a love for gumbo, and I discovered that making a pot is the best way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Tom Fitzmorris has an excellent recipe here, but I’m going to share my modified version.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup Instant Roux
  • 2 bags frozen onions, peppers, and celery (mirepoix or seasoning blend)*
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • One or two cooked turkey carcasses, with all available scraps**
  • 3 quarts water
  • 1 Tbs. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Tabasco
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 bag frozen okra
  • 1 lb. andouille or smoked sausage, cooked
  • 2-3 cups cooked rice

* Or 1 large onion, 1 red bell pepper, 2 ribs celery, chopped
** If you don’t have much meat left, you can buy turkey wings for relative cheap, and they work well for making the stock and adding a bit of extra meat!

Directions:
1. Whisk together instant roux and water, set aside.

2. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and parsley to oil and sauté them until the onions are clear and have begun to brown a little.

3. Slowly stir in roux.

4. Add the turkey bones and meat to the pot, along with the water, salt, pepper, Tabasco, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook for about an hour.

5. Skim fat from the top of the gumbo pot. Remove the turkey bones, but strip off all the meat and return it to the pot.

6. Slice the sausage into one-inch-thick discs. Add the okra and sausage to the gumbo pot.

7. Lower to a simmer and cook the gumbo for one to two hours. Stir and skim fat every now and then. You can add water or stock if it’s starting to thicken too much, and taste to make sure you’re happy with the seasoning.

8. Server over rice and enjoy!

The gumbo only gets better in the refrigerator overnight, and it freezes really well!

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Cream of Chicken Soup

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Allison| Leave a comment

I have a few things that I keep as staples in my pantry for quick meals.  One of these is cream of chicken soup (frequently fat free).  This inexpensive, simple can ends up being extremely versatile and easy in the creation of some very different tasty, quick meals.   Here are some of the combinations that I frequently use:

  • Scampi: soup, garlic, lemon juice with chicken and spaghetti
  • Cajun Pasta: soup, cajun seasoning (e.g. Tony Chachere’s) with chicken and penne
  • Mexican Pasta: soup, rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies), cheese (could melt in velveeta or sprinkle with shredded cheddar), with chicken and penne
  • Yumasetta: mix soup with egg noodles, layer with ground meat and tomato soup, top with shredded cheddar and bake
  • Alfredo sauce: soup, parmesan, pepper with chicken, broccoli, and/or your favorite pasta
  • Enchiladas: fill corn tortillas with chicken (I like to buy rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and chop it up), top with mixture of soup, sour cream and green chilies, then sprinkle with shredded cheddar

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Easy Cheesy Taco Pasta

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Allison| Leave a comment

Several months ago I was trying to think of some quick new recipes that used ingredients that I typically have in the pantry. I happened to have some leftover Velveeta, so I wanted to include it too. I was reminded about an Enchilada pasta at a restaurant that I used to love, so this is what I came up with:

Ingredients:

  • 1lb ground turkey (or beef)
  • 8oz whole wheat penne pasta (or any other pasta)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 1 15oz can corn, drained
  • 1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 10oz can rotel, drained
  • 4oz velveeta

Directions:

  1. Brown meat.
  2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.
  3. Once meat is cooked, drain.
  4. Add water and seasoning to meat and stir.
  5. Add corn, beans, and rotel to meat.
  6. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add velveeta, stirring until completely melted.
  8. Add drained, cooked pasta.

This recipe makes about 6 servings, give or take a couple depending on how hungry you are. It makes delicious leftovers too!

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Pesto

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Allison| 1 Comment

I’ve been trying to come up with more recipes lately, and today my sister wanted to make pesto with a whole plastic grocery bag full of basil that she picked from a friend’s garden. I had a recipe from the food processor cookbook, but I ended up making a few adjustments. Here’s what I ended up with:

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp shredded parmesan
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2-2.5 cups (packed) basil
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

  1. Process parmesan and pine nuts, then set aside.
  2. Process garlic and sea salt.
  3. Add in basil and olive oil, then process.
  4. Add back in parmesan and pine nuts, and process.

We ended up making 4 of these batches and freezing most of it in old baby food or small minced garlic jars. Some of it we used tonight on a chicken, tomato, and pesto pizza that was delicious!

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