 Anyone else still eating leftover turkey sandwiches with dressing and cranberries? I love Thanksgiving leftovers as much as the next girl but, 4 days of turkey sandwiches in a row is about my limit. 😅 Can anyone recommend a good casserole with cornbread dressing, hasselback sweet potatoes and macaroni and cheese? 🤣 Not all of our Thanksgiving leftovers, ended up in the refrigerator this year. And I'm not talking about the container filled with leftover sweet potato casserole that accidentally got left out on the counter overnight. 🤦🏻♀️ I'm talking about the crackers that didn't fit on the charcuterie board, the special chocolates that are still in my pantry because I forgot to set them out with the desserts and the potatoes that were left in the bag after we made our mashed potatoes. 🥔  You don't actually have to have "leftover" potatoes to make these delicious, melt in your mouth, potato rounds. I had 4 extra yukon gold potatoes and 2 extra sweet potatoes, so I made a half recipe instead of the full recipe.🥔🍠 You could even make these with small roasting potatoes. The point is - find some potatoes and make these potato rounds!! As a side note: the cooking time for this recipe will depend on how thick you slice your potatoes. Keep an eye on them while they're in the oven so they don't get too brown.👀 If you're in a hurry - slice them thinner. If you want that nice crispy outside and lots of soft, tender potato inside - make your slices closer to an inch thick.  Potato Rounds 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 6 Tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 cup chicken broth 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.  Leftovers never tasted so good. Enjoy!
Ciao!
0 Comments
 There are only a few celebrations that we actually have control over when they happen. Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas - we don't get to choose those dates. But, wedding anniversary's and the birth of our children (to some extent) - those we have some control over. 🙃 So can someone please explain to me why in the world I ever thought it was a good idea to have a baby at the end of November? 🤣👶🏻 Seriously, I can't think of a busier, crazier or more stressful time of year and we decided that would be the perfect time of year to throw a family birthday into the mix. 🤷🏻♀️ So this week, like you, I'm putting away pumpkins and Fall decorations and replacing them with Christmas wreaths, artificial trees and lighted garland. And in all my free time, I'm baking funfetti cupcakes and wrapping birthday gifts in non-Christmas themed paper. 😂  To be clear - I take full responsibility for the timing of this birthday but I absolutely love celebrating the life of this amazing girl - no matter time of year it is. My youngest child is the absolute embodiment of joy and I really can't think of a better time to celebrate her than smack dab in the midst of the excitement of the holidays. Anyone who is lucky enough to know her, knows that she is a bright light in this world. She truly exemplifies the spirit of Christmas. 🎄
My December birthday girl is my right hand in the kitchen. I depend on her help when I have big catering orders and long cookie decorating days. (She's the best flooder in town. 🤣) She doesn't ever ask for pay in return for her help - she prefers to be paid in food. 🤣 #mychild And I know that the way to this girls heart is, meat. 🥩 She is a carnivore, through and through and these patty melts were her right up her alley. Also my way of showing appreciation for a day spent helping me in the kitchen.  Patty Melts 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper 1/2 cup water 2 Tablespoons ketchup 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar 2 teaspoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 8 slices rye bread, toasted 8 slices deli Swiss cheese 4 slices deli American cheese 1 pound 80% lean ground beef 6 Tablespoons butter 2 onions, thinly sliced
 Flip patties and add 1 T. butter. Cover and cook another 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining patty melts.  Slice sandwiches in half and serve.  Full disclosure - I quit eating red meat a few years ago so I didn't even taste these Diner Style Patty Melts. BUT... I can tell you that my family ooohed and aahhhed over them the entire time. I can also tell you that there wasn't even a single morsel left on anyone's plate at the end of the meal. And that's about the best review of a meal that I can get.
Ciao!  Well, we did it. We've all managed to navigate our way through Thanksgiving and officially enter into the Christmas season.🎄 Some of you may have come out a little battered and bruised from the experience, while some of you thrived and reviled in the Thanksgiving festivities. Either way, Thanksgiving 2022 is officially in the books. I think I can speak for the all the hosts and hostesses of the Thanksgiving meal when I say that leftovers are the best part of hosting. The food that we can sit down and enjoy without worrying if the green beans are getting cold, if we made enough mashed potatoes and when the right time is to start the coffee.☕️ There are so many timers, schedules and expectations running though my brain on Thanksgiving day that I didn't feel like I really had the time to relax and enjoy my meal. Leftovers, on the other hand, those are the real deal. The meals that I can actually enjoy while not having to worry about the turkey getting cold.  The first few days following Thanksgiving, I eat a variation of our Thanksgiving meal: a slice of turkey, a spoonful of dressing, a slice of jellied cranberry and a scoop of sweet potatoes. After several identical meals in a row though - I like to change it up and I start making soups, salads and turkey sandwiches. I know this blog post is titled chicken panini but for all of you out there with turkey leftovers - this could just as easily be turned into a turkey panini. Slice up some of your leftover turkey and use it to make this delicious sandwich. And in case you're wondering, I don't own a panini press so I had to "make do." Don't let that stop you from trying this yummy sandwich either.  Chicken Panini 4 french bread 2 chicken breasts, sliced thin 8 slices of mozzarella cheese 2 Roma tomatoes sliced ¼ cup fresh basil leaves ½ cup Greek yogurt or mayonnaise 1 teaspoon smoked chili powder ½ a red onion sliced
   Ready or not, here it comes.🤣 Thanksgiving is just 2 days away!!🦃 This is the point in the week that I surrender my list of unnecessary Thanksgiving tasks and accept the fact that my guests will appreciate whatever food makes it to our Thanksgiving table. I am certain that I'm the only person in the house that will even be aware of the fact that there will be no whipped, honey, cinnamon butter drops or homemade parmesan herb croutons on the salad this year. 😅 In retrospect, I can admit that my expectations for this years Thanksgiving meal were slightly unrealistic.😅 A month ago when I put together the menu, I figured I'd have plenty of time to cut cheese into darling little leaf shapes and make a homemade pumpkin shaped cheeseball for the appetizer tray. 🧀 But, clearly, I was mistaken. 🤣  Today, my focus shifts from the small details to the big picture of Thanksgiving. I'm choosing to concentrate on the most essential parts of the meal. Chocolate acorns and individual mousse cups are being pushed aside so that I can focus on what's really important - the turkey, the dressing and the potatoes. I've learned that if I can get those 3 things on the table - my family will deem our Thanksgiving meal, a success. Any other food that gets made is really just a bonus. 🙃 Traditional mashed potatoes are a non-negotiable for my family on Thanksgiving. 🥔 I'm more of a sweet potato girl, myself so I always make a small batch of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving, as well.🍠 I've mashed, stuffed, casseroled and souffléd my sweet potatoes but this year, I'm trying out a new starchy delicacy - Hassleback Sweet Potato Casserole. I can hardly wait for these leftovers. 😂  Hassleback Sweet Potato Casserole 3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes 2 cups heavy cream 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 4 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 cup flour 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
 Place under broiler until browned.  I made these sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving but, you know that I taste tested them before tucking them away for Thursdays big dinner. 😋 This may just be my new favorite way to eat sweet potatoes. These are a must try if you are a sweet potato fan, like me. 😉
Ciao!  Have you ever experienced that sense of overwhelming peaceful calm that envelopes you when you're facing a particularly stressful or turbulent situation? Me neither.🤪 Here we are, 4 days before Thanksgiving, and I'm still waiting for that serene tranquility to kick in. This week, I'm feeling the exact opposite of calm as we enter the chaos of the holiday season. I'm over here running around like a chicken with it's head but off. (Sorry for that visual.😅) I feel like I've been making multiple trips, to multiple grocery stores, to gather up all of the supplies that I need for my busy week of baking. And I apologize in advance if the frazzled me accidentally happens to bump into you, quite literally, while running through the aisles of the grocery store this week. 😜 I know that I'm too stressed out by the fact that I need a list to remember the 2 things that I need to pick up at the grocery store. 🤷🏻♀️  Despite the busyness that they bring - these food driven holidays are my jam. I'm in my element when there are menus to be planned, food to be prepared and guests to be hosted. So many lists and schedules - it's makes my borderline obsessively organized heart, very, very happy. 😆 My time this week is being split between catering orders and Thanksgiving prep. I have a refrigerator covered in to-do lists and that's all it takes for me to feel like I've got this whole Thanksgiving cooking thing, under control. 🙃 Prepping food and crossing each thing off of my list as I go, is the name of the game this week. This year, I made 2 different kinds of dressing to accompany our grilled turkey. I made a cornbread and sausage dressing and a spinach and artichoke dressing. Both recipes are new for me and I'm curious to see which one my guests will prefer. For those that are spinach dip lovers - this Spinach and Artichoke Dressing will be right up their alley. It's all of the cheesy, creamy, spinachy goodness of the popular dip - without the chips.  Spinach and Artichoke Dressing 1 large loaf French bread 2 cups frozen spinach, defrosted and drained 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 2 cups mozzarella 1 Tablespoon butter 1/2 Onion, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon freshly chopped sage 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme 1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
 Pour over cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.  Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.  You'll notice in the pictures that I divided my spinach and artichoke dressing between 2 dishes. Since I am serving 2 different dressings this year, I didn't need 2 full dishes of each so... I divided this recipe in half. I'll serve 1 dish for Thanksgiving and I froze the other to pull out at Christmas when my Spinach Dip loving daughter-in-law is in town. 😉
Ciao! |
