Champagne Citrus Turkey Recipe!

Image from Flickr by tuchodi

Are you looking for a new Turkey recipe?  My husband thinks this is the BEST turkey recipe ever.  Only one drawback: you cannot stuff the turkey since you are putting other aromatics in the cavity.  But, if stuffing is not big on your list, this could be THE turkey recipe for you:

Champagne Citrus Turkey

• Turkey sized oven bag
• 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1 apple, cored and quartered
• 1 orange, quartered
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne (you can also use Prosecco or Spanish Cava)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast.  Place oranges and apples inside the turkey’s cavity.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in an oven bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird.  Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees when measured in the thickest part of the thigh.  Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

You can also drain all of the juice from the bag, skim off as much fat as possible and make the best gravy you have ever had.  Also goes extremely well with my killer Sweet Potato Casserole recipe.

Do you have a can’t miss Turkey recipe?

Thanksgiving MUST: Sweet Potato Casserole

Image from Flickr by NatalieMaynor

My family may hunt me down for sharing this with you: Our Highly Classified Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe.  You have to trust me, this is the recipe of all recipes.  Every time I serve this, I get begged for this top-secret recipe.  This is the dish that can turn sweet potato haters into lovers.  Not joking.  And now, I will share it with you.  Shhhhh.

Highly Classified Sweet Potato Casserole

• 4 sweet potatoes which, once cooked (I use the microwave set to potatoes to get the job done quickly) should equal approximately 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup milk

Mix the above together and pour into a lightly greased 9×13 pan.  Now, onto the topping . . .

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar (doesn’t need to be packed down)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter chilled, cut into pieces
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Take brown sugar, flour and butter and pulse in food processor until the butter pieces are pea-sized.  Mixture should be crumbly.  Don’t mix too long or you will end up with a dough-like topping.  Mix together with pecans and spread over the top of casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

YUM!  This is a staple at my family’s Thanksgiving table.  My husband actually requests this at other times of the year as well.

Enjoy!

Perfect Breakfast

Image from Flickr by megan.chromik

I recently got back from a trip where I stayed in a hotel where breakfast was prohibitively expensive.  We had no coffee maker in the room and I forgot the breakfast bars (Luna bars) that I normally travel with for this exact predicament.

Therefore, the best option within walking distance (no car) was the local Starbucks.  Curses!  You might remember how I feel about buying coffee shop coffee.   And I wasn’t in the mood for pastries for breakfast either.  That was when I discovered these little yogurt parfaits with granola.  I am addicted.  Immediately upon arriving home, I set about figuring out how to recreate this breakfast wonder at home.  After a couple of attempts, I have it down:

Yogurt/Granola parfait:

• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (if you want to get fancy, you can use a Greek strained yogurt like Fage)
• 1/4 cup granola of your choice
• small handful of dried cranberries or fresh fruit
• teaspoon or so of honey

Stir it up and enjoy.  So delicious!

So there.  I have recreated something that cost me $4 a pop for under a $1 per serving at home.  Nothing beats that and a cup of your own fresh-brewed coffee.

Save money – make your own baby food!

I don’t think most moms realize how easy it is to make your own baby food.

Think of the money saved!  Plus, you control the ingredients and know exactly what your little bundle o’ joy is eating.

Want to start with green peas?  No problem.  Cook peas as normal.  Put them in the blender – add a little of the cooking water, breastmilk or formula.  Blend until smooth.  Buy little containers or use ice cube trays to store and freeze.  When you are ready to use, thaw and serve or briefly warm in the microwave.

Done!

Apples, carrots, spinach – any other fruit or vegetables your baby likes – exact same process!  I bought a butternut squash and peeled, cubed and roasted it and then pureed it with a little water.  I had more then 10 servings that I could freeze.

Trust me, you will be amazed how easy this is – and you will save those last minute trips to the store as you are about to use up your very last jar of baby food.  And to top it all off, the baby food tastes SO much better!

Here is a wonderful online resource for making baby food:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

Making Holiday Cookies with the kids?

What’s better than home-made cookies?  Well, when your kids get a hold of  the Press Dough Cookie Characters maker, the real magic begins.  I have very strong memories from my childhood of making cookies with my mom.  I loved cutting them out, decorating each one, and then gobbling them all up!  This cookie maker just takes it to the next level.  I love that you can either make your own dough or use store-bought dough (unlike the Easy Bake where you have to buy the mixes).

The Press Dough set includes character cookie molds, a magic cookie shaper that doubles as a frosting decorator with two frosting tips, a cookie press with 6 different shapers, a cutter wheel, flour shaker, spatula and rolling pin.  All for about $10!

And, right now, you can get a 20% discount on the Press Dough Website if you become a fan on Facebook.

Also available at Amazon, Toys R Us, Kroger and Meijer.

Happy cookie making!

Want to Gift a Fabulous New Cook Book?

Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, one bite at a time is not just a cook book, it is a guide to a new way of approaching food, its preparation, and the way we eat.  It is also a wonderful guide to getting back to the basics of food.  Certainly not easy, but overwhelmingly fulfilling.

I shudder to think of the amount of prepackaged food I buy and I am someone who works hard to buy all-natural, organic food.  That still doesn’t mean it is all good for you.  Why is it that I feel better about myself when I buy organic boxed-pasta?  It’s organic, it must be healthier, right? No.  I realized after reading this book that I desperately need to get to know my ingredients again and to remind myself that often, the best way to prepare food is to use simple, basic, and most importantly, fresh local ingredients.

Michele Carbone, the author, lives La Dolce Vita in Santa Barbara, California with her husband and two daughters. After her daughter Kristin’s catastrophic brain injury in 1996, her life in the fast lane came to a screeching halt. Her career ended, and life in the slow lane became the norm. Throughout the sleepless nights, days of therapy, and slow rehabilitation, her life’s priorities changed. Her love of cooking and eating sustained her creative urges and became the catalyst for a transformation into a new, simpler, and more rewarding culinary lifestyle, based on using recently harvested local seasonal foods.

From the book jacket:

“Michele reveals to us her techniques for shopping, taking advantage of fresh seasonal produce, equipping a kitchen and producing authentic meals the Italian way.  Her seasonal menus and humorous stories will inspire you to begin your own culinary journey.  Michele reminds us that the most important aspect of living is Friday Evening with la cucina e la famiglia!“

I’m not sure if I can do this book justice, but I can promise you this: if you know someone that loves to cook or someone that is an aspiring cook, this would make a fantastic, inspiring gift.  You can’t go wrong, the book also happens to be absolutely beautiful and would look great on a coffee table!  Find it here.

Thanksgiving Recipe Success!

Image from Flickr by dpstyles™

Please please please share your “hit” Thanksgiving recipe with us!  Did you cook an awesome Turkey? Was your casserole the bomb?  I’m always looking for great recipes!  Did you try something totally different this year?  Share it with us here!

 

Why give a coffeehouse all your money?

Image from Flickr by OctopusHat

As you already know, one of my biggest financial downfalls is coffee and anything that goes with it.  And as I sit here eating my yogurt parfait, I have to share my newest discovery over at Lifehacker: Lifehacker Cookbook: Homemade Coffee Shop Addictions.

They give up fantastic recipes for things like the Sunday Morning Apple Coffee Cake and Banana Walnut Bread.  Perfect for when the weather is turning cooler.  They also cover scones, homemade granola, cookies and specialty (fancy-pants) espresso drinks.

I am definitely starting with the Sunday Morning Apple Coffee Cake.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  What are your favorites?

Have extra tomatoes sitting on your kitchen counter?

Because my son is not like this, I am currently looking at several tomatoes that are sitting on my counter.  I worry about them – they have no direction, no plans, and are starting to get just the slightest bit wrinkly.  Some are from my garden (but not many) and some were dropped off by some friends with a thriving vegetable garden.

This is why I was thrilled to come across the latest post on Live Great On Less.  They list great ideas and recipes for what to do to rescue these poor tomatoes – Marinara, Tomato Cucumber Salad, Tomato Pizza Sauce, Gazpacho and Salsa.

First up on my list: Pizza Sauce.

Basic Batch Cooking

I love this post over at Simple Mom.

I have been making a consistent effort at batch cooking as a way to cut back spending.  I am notorious for the 5 o’clock panic of not having anything for dinner.  Nada.  Then we end up with take-out or a last minute trip to the grocery store.  NOT economical.

So, what I have been working on is to make at least a double batch of big meals and then freezing leftovers.  What is even better – is if you can coordinate the meals with the super sales at your local grocer.

You are basically doubling your savings!

You can also pick a day every two weeks or so and make several meals to freeze – then you have a fanastic selection to choose from when you go to your freezer.

I love her idea of freezing basic ingredients such as ground beef and chicken in 1 cup portions.

It seems obvious, but I can see this saving me huge amounts of time!

Baby steps. . . !