Stuffing Casserole

I know it has been over a week since Thanksgiving. But I still have leftovers! Specifically stuffing. I've been stumped on it. I can serve it alongside chicken or anything else, but there had to be a better way.

I was trying to find something to make for breakfast today. I thought I could make a hash-brown casserole, but didn't have any hash-browns. But I do still have stuffing.

I did not expect it to be this good. The smell of the rosemary combined with everything else was really great. I will definitely make this again.

Stuffing Casserole

All these measurements depend on the size of your pan. So please adjust them to your needs.

3 cups stuffing
6 links breakfast sausage
1/2 cup shredded cheese, any kind
3 eggs

Cook the sausage in a pan and chop it up. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 325degrees.

Place the stuffing and sausage in a large bowl. Lightly beat the eggs and pour over top. Toss with the cheese and make sure that everything is well coated.

Turn everything into an oven safe dish and bake for 35-50 minutes. This also depends on the size of the pan you use. If you are making something small like mine, it only took 35 minutes. If you do a really large pan, it may take up to an hour. Just make sure that all the eggs are set.

Cranberry Mayo

I love sandwiches. I make lots of other food, but the sandwich is my favorite form of food. As a child, I could make a sandwich out of any meal, much to my parent's horror. And I knew that I had found the guy to for me when I was on a date and watched him make a sandwich out of spaghetti. I married that one.

So the leftovers sandwich is my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

You need to start with the bread. To cram the most stuff on, I suggest a round kaiser or long roll. I used a small potato roll for this sandwich, it is only a little bit for breakfast.

On the bottom, start with cranberry sauce. Then some stuffing. If this was a larger roll, I'd put potatoes on too. Give it a nice wedge of turkey and a dollop of Cranberry Balsamic Mayo.

Sandwich heaven.

Cranberry Mayo

2 tbsp Mayo

1 tsp Cranberry Balsamic

Stir it together.

I suggest making a bunch of this ahead and refrigerating it until needed. The ratio works out the same however much you make, but taste test it! Make sure you like it. Add a little more balsamic if you want to!

It's your sandwich, go wild!

No Meat Chili and Pineapple Cornbread

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Turkey Day.

My day was fun, but my families celebration combined with the cooking I've been doing for you guys, I am turkey-ed out!

To get completely away from turkey, I made this no meat chili. I'm going to show you some good things to do with leftovers this coming week, you could even put shredded turkey into this. But right now, turkey is out and beans are in!

No Meat Chili

2 cans black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can chopped carrots,
         or 2 fresh carrots
1 can, diced new potatoes,
          or 1 large baking potato, diced
1 cup chopped or crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup juice from the can of pineapple
1 large onion, diced
3-4 tbsp Taco, Southwest, Jerk or Wings seasoning blends
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2-4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Jalapeno Olive Oil
1 cup vegetable stock

Heat the Olive Oil on medium heat in a large stock pot. Add in the onion and saute 5-7 minutes, until they start to become translucent. Add in the potatoes and the carrot and one tbsp of your seasoning blend. Saute 2-3 minutes.

Rinse and drain all your beans. Add them to the pot along with the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally. Cook for 10 minutes. Taste. Add the rest of your seasonings blend one tbsp at a time along with 2 tbsp of the brown sugar. Simmer 5-10 mins. Taste again. If still too spicy, add a little more brown sugar. If too sweet, add more spices. The spices will intensify a bit as you cook.

Add the pineapple bits, juice and tomatoes and simmer 1- 1 1/2 hours. Sauce will thicken and turn darker.

Serve with Pineapple Cornbread (recipe follows)

Pineapple Cornbread

Take one package cornbread mix and empty it into a bowl. If the directions call for water or milk, substitute an equal amount of crushed or chopped pineapple in juice, plus 2 tbsp of the juice.

Add in eggs if it calls for it, also 2 tbsp Jalapeno Olive Oil.

Stir and bake as directed. Remember to grease your pan well. The pineapple bits make it stick more than usual.

Cool slightly and turn out onto wire racks. Slice and brush the tops with White Pineapple Balsamic. Serve warm with chili.




*If you would like to make a meat chili, I would saute the meat in one of the spicy oils before I put in the onions. I would use Jalapeno for preference, but Citrus Habanero if you are feeling the need to breathe fire. If you do, you may only need 1-2 tbsp additional spices.

Mushroom Pumpkin Pasta

With Thanksgiving over, some people might be done with pumpkin flavors. Not me. I've been buying at least one can of pumpkin puree every time I go to the grocery store for the past month. And I'll keep going until my kitchen is buried in a pumpkin avalanche!

Well, maybe not. But it is the season for shopping, and with all the long hours we are putting in trying to find the perfect gifts for people, sometimes it's hard to find time to make the perfect meal too.

This pasta is awesome. You can make a big batch at the beginning of the week and heat it up as you need it. I'm going to be bringing it to work with me for most of the winter season.


Mushroom Pumpkin Pasta

1 pkg Ricciarelle pasta*
1 medium onion, roughly sliced
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped into bite size pieces
2 cup sliced mushrooms, any kind
1 cup spinach, washed and drained
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3 tbsp Porcini Cream*
2 tbsp Olive Oil, I used Garlic
2 tbsp pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
1 tsp Wild Porcini Sea Salt*
1tsp sugar
roasted salted pumpkin seeds, for garnish

Cook pasta until al dente. Rinse and set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat your Olive Oil to medium and add the onion, roasted red pepper and sugar. Saute, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Add the green beans, mushrooms and salt. Cook another 5 minutes.

Stir in the spinach. Once it starts to wilt, add the pumpkin and cream of porcini. Give it a quick stir and add the vegetable broth.

Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. If you like your green beans more tender, let it go for 15 minutes.

Plate your pasta. Top with sauce and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!

*all starred items can be found in our store, or can be ordered by phone.

That's it!

That's it for the recipes! Get your cooking on!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 

Enjoy it all, I'll see you all back on Friday. 

Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Crust

Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Crust

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup Vanilla Olive Oil*

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk and Olive Oil and mix with a fork.

Pat into a 9 inch pan with your fingertips. Set aside.


Pie Filling:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup milk or cream (I sometimes use chocolate milk!)
2 large eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (you can use the premixed kind, but taste your spices to find out when you have            too much!)

Stir all the ingredients together and pour into your pie crust. Smooth the top.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 35- 40 minutes. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean when it is done.

*unfortunately, the Vanilla Olive Oil is no longer available. I am very sad. The Meyer Lemon or the Blood Orange would be nice here too.

White Honey Ginger Sweet Potatoes

White Honey Ginger Sweet Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup White Honey Ginger Balsamic
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fill a large pan halfway with water. Add a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and boil 10-15 minutes. A knife should be able easily inserted into the center. Drain and cool slightly. Peel and dice.

In a large pan, melt the butter and add the Balsamic. Cook for one minute. Stir in the water and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the sweet potatoes  and walnuts, toss well to coat. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir again. Transfer to a lightly buttered baking dish and cover with foil.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Stirring about halfway through. Remove the foil and cook an additional 15 minutes. The sauce should thicken and become more like a glaze.

Serve.