This sandwich was originally going to be made with brie cheese, because I know better than anyone just how much Marissa loves brie. But hey, since Marissa is not here to eat the sandwich, I switched it up and made it with Swiss cheese. To turn it back into a brie sandwich, just take a wedge of brie, slice off the rind, cut off a few slices and let the the cheese come to room temperature before putting the whole thing together.

Oh, and I am having so darn much fun playing with the artistic effects on Photoshop, as you can see in my super cool photos – above and far below.

On a personal little side note: Happy 27th Anniversary to my very patient husband, David. I’m looking forward to our celebratory dinner at Binkley’s tonight. (no need  to worry, we’ve hired a driver because, trust me, there will be plenty of wine-parings involved)  xoxo

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Everyone has their favorite way to eat up their leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I’d guess that a good old turkey sandwich would be the hands-down winner for most of us. I like my sandwich one way and one way only – on white bread that is slathered in Miracle Whip with sliced turkey breast only. I don’t eat any of the leftover sides, I just relish that sandwich and I am as happy as can be. If I haven’t remembered to purchase a jar of Miracle Whip before Thanksgiving so that it is ready to be cracked open on the Friday after… well, someone (someone who is not me!) is going to the store to get me my Miracle Whip! Mayo will not do! I buy the smallest jar because this is the only thing I ever use it for, leftover turkey sandwiches.

Connor, on the other hand, makes a sandwich that looks like this…

He’s got the required white bread, but tops it with turkey (white or dark), then spoons on the gravy and the stuffing, tops that with the other slice of bread and heats it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Interesting, but not to my taste.  Marissa also must have the breast only and tops her’s with cranberry sauce and eats some stuffing and maybe some gravy on the side.  Finally there is Dave, he will eat it all and will eat it any and every way, sandwich or a full redo of the Thanksgiving plate.

After a couple or three sandwiches, I am through with the turkey, then it is time to remake it into an entirely different meal, such as this lasagna. Now this is how you get rid of leftover turkey!

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Turkey!?! Is it too early to begin worrying and wondering what you’re going to do with your leftover turkey?  Since Thanksgiving is one week from today, I don’t think so.  After turkey sandwiches,  I think leftover turkey works best treated with a Mexican or a Western flair, so that’s what I’ve provided for you today.

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Last month my dad was in Colorado visiting friends and shopping for beans. OK, not exactly shopping for beans, but he had offered to pick up some anasazi beans for my cousin, Dennice, and some pinto beans for a friend of his. Dennice was thinking he’d get her a pound or two of beans, but in my dad’s usual style, he brought home a 10-pound bag. Really, who needs 10-pounds of dried beans?  I offered to take three pounds off her hands, at $1.20 a pound, they were a steal. If you haven’t seen anasazi beans before, they are pretty cool looking, but honestly, they taste about the same as a kidney bean and once cooked, they lose most of their good looks. Plus they are a lot more expensive than plain-Jane kidney beans as you can see from THIS LINK on Amazon.  Anasazi beans have been available commercially only since 1983, check out THIS LINK to learn more about them… and just about every other bean you might be even remotely interested in. So, feel free to substitute kidney beans in this recipe. And if you don’t want to go to the time (overnight soaking) and trouble of starting with dried beans, use three 15-ounce cans of kidney or pinto beans, drained and reserving the liquid. You’ll be adding that liquid (or the cooking liquid from the dried beans) to the chili. If you don’t have a full 3 cups of liquid to add, supplement with either tap water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth.

The thing that makes this chili special is the blend of three pure chile powders; California, ancho, and chipotle. Do me a favor – go pull out the jar or can of McCormick or Shilling chili powder you have in your spice cabinet. Now look at the ingredients; it probably reads something like this – Ingredients: chili peppers, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic, and silicon dioxide. That’s right, plain chili powder is more than just plain. So buy a selection of pure chile powders and you will be able to control the season of things you use chile powder in. If you want to kick it up a bit, add more chipotle chile powder, to taste. Most grocery stores now carry all three of these chile powders, and you can always find them at Cost Plus World Market.

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It’s been exactly one year to the day since I wrote about what I now refer to as “the big fancy Fry’s”.  On that post, I also told you all about Kobe beef, which Fry’s had on sale during their grand opening last year. And with that beef, I made some pretty terrific meatloaf. Today I am taking another stab at both the Kobe beef and the meatloaf with a new, but not necessarily improved, version. I say that because I really love both recipes. This time around, I’m using half Kobe (or regular ground beef is perfectly fine) and half ground turkey.  And instead of the Pomegranate-Chipotle Tomato Sauce, which took some time, I’m using a ready made product that makes this meatloaf “easy-breezy” and will make a great addition to your pantry.

The product I’m talking about is Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce. It can be found at all Asian stores and most grocery stores in the Asian aisle.  This chili sauce is not too sour, just sweet enough, and has a somewhat gelatinous texture. Don’t worry, I’m not advising you to run out and purchase a bottle just for my meatloaf recipe.

Once you’ve dipped a chilled shrimp into Mae Ploy, you’ll never buy cocktail sauce again for your shrimp cocktails.  And crab cakes get an thrilling boost when dipped in it. Same thing goes for coconut-breaded shrimp.

This sauce is the perfect accomplice for crunchy wontons or egg rolls and it is a marriage made in heaven partnered with crab rangoons!  Don’t get me started… how about Teriyaki hot wings or  jalapeno poppers, or even as the new “secret” ingredient in your next batch of barbecue pork or cocktail meatballs… the list goes on and on…  Go pick up a bottle – start with the meatloaf and then be sure and share with us what other uses you’ve come up with! [Read more →]

Here is the recipe I made yesterday on the Valley Dish, especially for Memorial Day weekend. (And here is the LINK if you would like to watch it online.)  PLEASE don’t be scared off by the long laundry list of ingredients. There are six different condiments/toppings for your sliders, and each one is very easy to make, you can do as many or as few as you like.  Seriously, when I say easy, I’m talking about slicing a couple tomatoes, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and chives, that’s easy! Or laying slices of bacon on foil, sprinkling with rosemary and pepper and tossing in the oven, super easy! And I guarantee your family and friends will be impressed, Enjoy!

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I’ve made these sliders so many times in the past couple of weeks, that I’m afraid they’ve worn out their welcome. When I first made them, all family members were clamoring for more. So I made them again and everyone raved. After FINALLY freeing the house of all things “Christmas” yesterday, I served them again, and this time… the response was barely lukewarm. Oh well, onward and upward.

Give them at try, at least once, I’m sure your family will be delighted. BTW, the reason for the odd amount  (1 1/4 pounds) of ground turkey – that is what our grocery stores sell as a package size, but if you find a 1 pound package, that is fine too. And the buns that I find most readily available are of the King’s Hawaiian Bread variety. I kinda like the sweetness of the bread against the spiciness of the chipotle. Perfect yin-yang.

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Turkey-Day is only 4 days away!!! Complete Thanksgiving Planning Guide and Timeline.

Honestly, our Thanksgivings are drama-free. But we’ve all heard those stories of families that just let it fly on that special day. When you have a small group, let’s say just four people for dinner, those problems probably won’t arise.  Another thing that is different about Thanksgiving without the crowd is the “turkey-situation”. Unless everyone is a huge fan of leftovers, a big turkey may seem like too much, so instead, how about opting for turkey breast?  It’s most everyone’s favorite part of the bird anyhow, and takes much less time to roast. Or, maybe you have just a few too many people for one turkey and don’t have the room to roast another. The addition of a breast or two is the answer!

I am going to skip my usual two birds and do just that, one bird and 1 extra breast half for our crew this year. My dilemma was how do I show you how to do the breast without having to do one ahead of time for this post? I worked it out by stuffing and roasting a boneless chicken thigh instead. This will give you some visuals between now and next week to work from. After the big day, I’ll replace the chicken pictures with the real deal.  I hope this helps if you’re contemplating a smaller and drama free feast.

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When I am at a loss for what to make for dinner, taco salad is a go to recipe. It can be as easy or complicated as you choose. After being out of town for a week and eating out each night, homemade dinner was a must. The problem was I was short on time, I’d driven up to Flagstaff to retrieve Connor, rushed home to get the four of us ready to fly out the next morning for an early flight to Chicago. Normally I wouldn’t even bother making dinner on such a night, but Connor hadn’t had a home-cooked dinner for nearly 3 months, so taco salad it was.

This was the first time the kids were together in 3 months too, so they gave me my birthday gift. These darling herb garden markers! Marissa found and ordered them online from Etsy.com.

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At last the day has arrived – whatever leftovers haven’t been eaten, given away, or frozen; are going in the trash. Marissa and Connor head back to their respective universities this evening. Care packages are going with them and then I will have my refrigerator back!

This recipe is a perfect example of when to use light sour cream and cream cheese. There are so many other prominent flavors going on here, that you’ll never taste the difference.  When the sour cream or cream cheese is the main flavor, then I prefer to use the real thing, because you can truly taste the difference. As for the fat-free versions – not a good choice – they don’t bake up as well. When a recipe calls for canned green chilies, always go for the whole chilies and dice them yourself. They are better quality than the “already diced”, and it takes only seconds to cut them up.  ”Good-bye turkey, see you next November!”

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