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Okay, it’s still before Thanksgiving but it must have crossed your mind how much turkey you are going to have left over again this year, right? For years, I bought a large turkey specifically for the purpose of having leftovers from it. Yes, we grew tired of turkey so I froze some of it. We always loved it again after a break. All you have to do is have freezer bags on hand, divide up the turkey into portions just the size for either sandwiches or an ingredient in soup, casseroles or what I am about to tell you. Turkey hash is easy and quick. It will be a new “must have” after the big holiday meal. And don’t forget, I like to cook for several people at a time.

Time to get out those ingredients: 6 potatoes (diced), 8-10 slices of bacon, about a lb. of cooked turkey (either cubed or small strips), 1 medium onion (diced), 1 cup green or red pepper (diced), salt and pepper to taste.

Once again, if you are not blessed with a bacon cooker that works in the microwave, cook the bacon in a skillet until it’s crispy. Chop them into bacon bits and set aside. In the bacon grease (if you need more grease, just add a small amount of extra virgin olive oil), add the potatoes and cook them for 10 minutes or until they are brown and crispy. Set the potatoes to one side of the skillet. Add the onions and peppers. Cook until the onions start to get clear, then add in the turkey. Once the turkey is hot which should only take a minute or two, add in the potatoes and bacon. Season the whole thing.

The traditional way to serve is to place a portion of hash onto the plate, add a pair of eggs that were cooked either over easy or sunny side up! Actually, you can have the hash without the eggs or with them any way you like.

A variation would be poached eggs on top. Also you could use paprika in the hash just before serving. Instead of turkey, in case you run out before they sell them again, you could use ham, chicken or beef strips. Hungry people will thank you profusely for using the turkey in a dish they will love the rest of the year.

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With this recipe, you can cook this in a crockpot or on a stove top. For our purposes, we will use the crockpot so we can leave for the day but you can do this in a matter of less than an hour on the stove. We just like to have it simmering longer than the stove does it. And, once again, this is a crowd pleaser. Cold weather is starting to set in for a large portion of the northern states plus those of us in the middle southern states as well. We need something to keep us warm! Remembering that we use a large crockpot, 7 quart, this is for that size. You can cut down on some of the ingredients to fit yours.

Our ingredients list includes: 2 cloves garlic (chopped), 1 chopped onion, 2-3 lbs. ground turkey (if you are using the turkey from Thanksgiving, you can make it with several cups of cubed turkey or chicken, if you like), 2-4 cups of spinach, 2 cans of great northern beans, 1 can carrots, 1 package of extra wide noodles.

Brown the ground turkey, garlic and chopped onion. Add those to the crockpot. Put all the other ingredients into the crockpot as well except the noodles. Set on low and cook for 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours. Add noodles during the last hour.

If you would rather do this on the stove top, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil into a large pot. Brown the turkey, garlic and onion as before. If you are using the cubed turkey or chicken, just saute the garlic and onions for several minutes until the onions look clear. Then add all the other ingredients. Bring all that to a boil. Turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes. Option: you can add things like salt and pepper to taste. We have removed salt from our lives so I do not mention it here very often. You can also use things like Italian seasoning which we use quite often.

People out on a cold day need a refreshing and warming supper or lunch. Recipes like this will please them and warm them up, make them happy and sleepy. What more can you ask?

Technorati Tags: turkey, turkey noodle soup, crockpot, noodles, slow cooker

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How often have you told yourself that everything you have for Thanksgiving is the same old thing every year? That runs through my mind once in a while too. What if we did something different? Would the sky fall in? No, we found that out ourselves. Most people have the usual stuff like the turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, sometimes sweet potatoes. My Mom makes a wonderful sweet potato dish she bakes in the oven. We all love it. But I thought that this year, we might change things a little at least. So, this dish is a variation on the marshmallow stuff with no marshmallows.

Get your ingredients together for a really great dish that everyone will love and enjoy: 4 cups mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp. vanilla, 4 beaten eggs, 1/2 pint heavy cream. For the topping you will use: 1/4 lb. butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, (optional) 1 1/4 cups pecans.

You will want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish. In a bowl, mix together thoroughly potatoes, sugar, cream, vanilla and eggs. Put mixture into the casserole dish and spread evenly. Preparing the topping, you combine the brown sugar, flour, butter and optional pecans. Mix until it’s crumbly. Sprinkle or spread over the entire dish. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Add that to your traditional Thanksgiving menu and people will be giving thanks for the sweet potatoes! They blend so well with the turkey, ham or any other thing you choose to have at this time. Happy Thanksgiving meal to you.

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Frankly, I don’t remember when I first learned about Hoppin’ John. This is a traditional dish in the south that is supposed to give good luck to those who eat it on New Year’s Eve. Personally, I don’t believe in luck, good or bad, so I eat it whenever the mood suits me. This is such a good dish especially for crowds. The combo of the rice, peas and spices will give your palate a nice taste for the rest of the day. And it is so simple. I love simple.

On to the ingredients: (remembering always that I cook for a crowd) 1 lb. bacon, 2 cans of blackeyed peas, 1 chopped onion, 4 cups of dry rice (we use brown rice but white works with this). Spices to taste.

Unless you are blessed to have a bacon cooker like we do that works in the microwave, you will need to take a large skillet and cook the bacon to very crispy. Drain bacon and set aside. Leave the grease in the skillet. Fry the chopped onion until it’s clear. There is a debate about this so you must do whatever your heart tells you about this. We cook the rice to almost finished before it goes into the skillet full of grease. Some will tell you not to cook it first but we use brown rice which takes a good deal longer to cook. And when you do cook the rice, use the chicken broth to cook it up instead of cooking it with water. That makes a much richer taste without getting really rich.

Put the almost finished rice and broth into the grease with onions and heat it up. Add the two cans of blackeyed peas with the liquid. Add in the bacon. Simmer for about twenty minutes.

Having recently had this particular dish, I will tell you that we enjoyed the aroma of it long before we were able to eat the dish. This is a crowd pleaser for sure. And if you are one of those traditional people who simply must have it on New Year’s Eve, have at it. Enjoy!

Variations include using ham hocks, ham and bone, white rice (if you use the dry rice, add two cups of water or chicken broth to allow for the rice to cook properly), green pepper, green onions, garlic.

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I love to find and have variations on what I already know. This one is very simple and is something like another crockpot dinner that I posted here a while back that had layered ham, potatoes and cheese. This time you want to have lots of cheese on hand because it’s going to take a bunch of it.

Ready? Starting with the ingredients, we have: (depending on the size of your crockpot, mine is 7 quarts) several potatoes sliced thin, 1-2 cans of cheddar soup, 2 1/2-3 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, 1 can evaporated milk. You may need more in case the mixture dries out in the crockpot before it’s done.

Many people like to spray the inside of the crockpot. I am one of them. Then begin to construct your meal by layering the potatoes on the bottom, adding one half of the cheddar cheese, soup and milk. Continue to layer the ingredients until the crockpot is full or you run out of potatoes and cheese. In my experience, it takes two layers to do this. Place your crockpot on high for 6 or so hours. You may have that drying out I mentioned so you will need to have some milk to add to it. Keep watch on this one.

Now, you can always boil the potatoes before adding them to cut down on your cooking time in the crockpot. As with the previous recipe, you can add different things to help the recipe along or give it a change of taste. Such things to add include ham, onions, green onions, green peppers, a different meat like cubed turkey or chicken. It’s all good with recipes like this one. You could have this with the turkey dinner you’re planning or have it with the leftover turkey in the days after the big meal. It’s very handy and easy to adapt to your needs.

Technorati Tags: scalloped potatoes, turkey, cheddar cheese, crockpot recipe, potatoes

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Perhaps you have heard of this particular recipe. The truth is that there are probably a load of diferent versions of this cake but the one that I know about is going to do just fine. It’s an old recipe that my sister got from my Mom some years ago. It’s always a hit when served and it is so doggone easy to do that it’s almost a shame to say that. You want people to believe that you slaved in the kitchen over this but the truth is that it takes a few things and dump em.

Ready? Okay, the ingredients are: 1 can of pie filling (you can use almost any of them. Blueberry, cherry, apple are just a few), 1 can of crushed pineapple, 1 yellow cake mix, 1 stick butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 and start dumping. On the bottom of the cake pan dump the two cans and smooth them out to make it even. Then put the cake mix (dry) on top of that evenly. Melt about a stick or so of butter. That would be to taste. Drizzle the butter on top. You can use pats of butter too but it isn’t as nice looking. Put in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Cut into pieces and serve warm or cool. The family will love you for it. And it looks very much like you have been slaving over the stove all day with the dump cake. Before I had ever had a dump cake, I thought the name was not so hot. Now, I love the idea of such easy fixings. And so will you. Your family will look forward to more and more. It’s that good.

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One of the most versatile little packages on the market is a package of ramen noodles. In some areas, you can get this for less than 15 cents. When I ran across them years ago, it was less than a dime to buy a ramen. You can use this awesome little noodle-fest for so many things. We have a few recipes that we use ramen in. It’s a time saver plus easy to fix. So many dishes can be made with this.

I saw one where all you need is a package of ramen and a couple of eggs. You get the water boiling and cook the ramen as you normally would. When it’s getting almost done, crack two eggs into a bowl and then pour them gently into the ramen water. Makes for ramen and poached eggs.

You can make a salad out of it by taking a slaw in the package from the store, pour it onto a dish or plate. Break up the ramen onto the plate with the slaw or salad mixture. Add in nuts, other veggies as you like. Add dressing of choice and you are in business.

My husband cooks ramen for supper sometimes. He likes to use it for a change of pace. In a skillet, add 2 lbs. ground meat of choice (we use turkey but you can add ground beef, chicken or sausage), a chopped medium onion, a chopped green pepper, garlic to taste. Cook until completely brown and the onions are looking clear. Add in 3-4 chicken bullion cubes, the flavor packets from 6 ramens, 3 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes and 6 cups of chicken broth. Simmer for a couple of hours. With only a little time remaining, add in the 6 packets of ramen noodles, crushed and still dry. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the ramen are completely cooked and stirred in.

These are just a few of the things you can do with ramen noodles. Why not try it out with your gang sometime when you just cannot think of a single thing to have for supper. They will love it. Smells pretty good when it’s cooking too.

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This is a fantastic “go with” that you can fix in a few minutes. And the best part is that they are NOT fried potatoes. That makes them healthier. I have actually run across this recipe a number of times while researching recipes for us to have for dinner. We have had them a couple of times now and love them a lot. Ir would make a great side dish with steak or grilled burgers. The thing is, this recipe is so simple!

So, for the ingredients you will need: 1-2 pounds of potatoes cut into quarters or if they are really big, cut into slices. They do not have to be peeled. (We use red or white baking potatoes but some of the recipes call for new potatoes. If you want the new potatoes, just cut them in half), Italian seasoning, olive oil, paprika. Some of these ingredients are not marked as to how much because I like to do what Rachel Ray says…”eyeball it”. Frankly, if you have been cooking long, you will know what your family likes with the seasonings or you can experiment on them. If you have not been cooking long, just try the “less is better” theory until you know the tastes better.

You will want to preheat your oven to about 425 degrees. Putting the rack closer to the heat helps to brown the potatoes better so you will need to have the rack in the top third of your oven for best results. Put your cut potatoes into a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Shake in the Italian seasonings and paprika to taste. Shake on olive oil. Use only enough to slightly coat the potatoes. Toss all ingredients until well coated. If you like, you can put all the ingredients into a plastic storage bag and shake. That happens to be my favorite way of coating food anyway.

On a greased cookie or baking sheet, place the potatoes mixture, spread out evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove and turn the potato pieces over. Bake another 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are brown and a fork goes through easily.

These potatoes are always a winner especially when they are the substitute for the same old potato dishes that are usually on the table.

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Doesn’t sound so traditional? Sure it is. We are headed into the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s less than a month away. Time to get started thinking about what to have for that wonderful meal that everyone is anticipating at your house. Our family gets together every year at my Mom’s house. Her house is big enough to accommodate all of us. Each year, we bring in or she cooks parts of the meal. One year we decided to change things a bit and brought the scalloped corn. It was a hit. And now we are expected to bring it every year. I call that a winner!

When we originally made this dish, I used part condensed milk and part regular milk. That made it too sweet for several family members. So, we changed that to evaporated milk and all is well. But if you prefer the sweeter taste, go half and half with the condensed and regular milk. But I will warn you now that the sweet taste is very rich with the condensed milk.

Frankly, this could not possibly get any easier than this. These are your ingredients: 3 cans of corn (drain the liquid off), 3 cans of cream corn, finely crushed crackers (we use the saltine kind that come in stacks. This requires 2 stacks) and 1 can evaporated milk.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix thoroughly all of the ingredients so that it comes to a thick and creamy consistency. Then pour it into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Just like a cake, you test with a knife or toothpick. When the thing comes out clean, it’s done.

Just try this out with your crowd before the big event. I am guessing that they will want to have it more often than just at the holiday meal. Our family does!

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Imagine a cold morning or afternoon. You are chilled and find that the family is also. Maybe it’s time to bring out the recipe that you have been wanting to try for a few weeks now. That Apple Bread recipe is just the thing for a day like today. Hey, maybe the kids can help with the mixing. You know that the aroma from the baking bread is going to drive everyone nuts…including you. And this recipe is soooo simple. So, take that recipe out of mothballs and get going on it.

You don’t have that recipe? Well, you came to the right place. Getting your ingredients ready: 4 cups of finely chopped or grated apples (your favorites), 3 eggs, 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, 1 tsp each of vanilla, salt and baking soda. Then the topping ingredients are: a 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of cinnamon and 2 tsp of flour.

Start with the topping since you will be putting it on the bottom of the pan as well as the top of the loaves. Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle in the pan and after the bread mixture is poured in the pan, on top of it as well.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get out a couple of loaf pans for in a few minutes. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, vanilla and baking soda. Add the flour and apples and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture into two parts and pour equally into the two loaf pans. Bake for an hour.

Your family will be asking for more and more. Perhaps if you purchased more loaf pans, you could make some for later too? Uh, maybe not. If they want this Apple Bread as much as I think they will, you may not have any left anyway. So, maybe getting more apples would be a good idea. This is the season!

EDIT NOTE: If you saw this recipe earlier, it had a larger amount of flour for the topping. That was a typo. I’m sorry for any inconvenience that might have happened due to the mistake.

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