Sunday, November 28, 2010

Turkey Day Leftovers

Now that the festivities have commenced and the family and friends have gone home . . . what do you do with the fridge that's still full of food? Here's an idea: Turkey Pot Pie.

As the weather cools, this is a delicious, hearty, warm meal that provides a new taste for the holiday leftovers. We have a batch cooking in the over right now!

Ingredients
4 cups turkey
1 3/4 -2 cups chicken stock
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or light cream
lemon juice
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
2 small celery sticks (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup frozen peas (thawed)
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp beaten egg

For the biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2-5 tbsp cold unsalted butter but into pieces
3/8 cup milk

Directions:

~ Cut or shred turkey into bit size pieces.

~ Melt 4 tbsp butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add 2 cups chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk(cream or 1/2 and 1/2). Increase heat to medium and bring mixture to simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from pan, scrape sides, whisk to break up all lumps. Bring back to simmer and cook one minute. Stir in cooked poultry and cook one minute. Remove from heat and add several drops lemon juice, salt and pepper and 2-3 pinches of nutmeg (all to taste).

Make biscuit dough:

~Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix with rubber spatula until most dry ingredients are moistened. With lightly floured hands kneed into a ball and against sides of bowl 5-10 times. Refrigerate until later.

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~ Butter a 13x9 baking pan

~ Heat in large skillet over medium high heat 2 tbsp butter. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until barely tender (about 5 minutes). Stir vegetables into creamed turkey and add peas and parsley.

~Pour the chicken mixture into prepared pan. Roll out biscuit dough 1/2 inch thick and cut into 2 inch rounds. Arrange on top of chicken, overlapping if necessary.

~Brush top of biscuits with beaten egg.

~ Bake until chic is bubbly and topping is nicely browned (25-35 minutes).

Enjoy!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Pumpkin Bread


I have two recipes for "pumpkin bread", one that I typically use to make bread loaves and one that I typically use to make cupcakes. I think both are equally good (so the better one is probably the one with less sugar) but for some reason I keep alternating between then. So here they are:


Pumpkin Bread
Prep: 20 min

Bake: 55 minutes

Oven: 350º

Makes: 2 or 3 loaves (or you can make into cupcakes/muffins)

3 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water

2 teaspoons baking soda
1 15-ounce can pumpkin




1. Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch, three 8x4x2-inch, or four 7 ½ x3 ½ x2-inch loaf pans; set aside (you can also use muffin cups). In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed.

2.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until it combines. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

3.
Bake in a 350º oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. 4. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.





Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(Makes 26-28 cupcakes)

4 eggs

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin

1 cup sugar

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil; beat well. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended.

Scoop better into paper-lines muffin tins and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting
(you can use this recipe or choose your favorite cream cheese frosting to top these cupcakes)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients except sugar in large bowl with a mixer on medium speed. Reduce speed to medium low and add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before using.

Pumpkin Cheesecake ala Cheryl


We enjoyed this delicious recipe a few weeks ago during a dinner get-together with the Gaters, and we've already had it a second time. I haven't been the one to make it, but from what I understand it's easy to make. I do know that it is delicious!

**We made it gluten free by using gluten free gingersnaps. An easy change to meet everyone's needs :-)**

Crust:
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Cheesecake:
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease or spray 9-inch springform pan. Wrap outside of pan in heavy-duty foil. In bowl, mix crust ingredients. Press in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the mixture into pan; spread evenly. Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.
Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.
Prep time: 40 minutes
Start to finish: 9 hours 10 minutes
1 service: Calories 400 (Calories from fat 230); Total Fat 26g (Saturated fat 15g; Trans fat 1g); Cholesterol 125 mg; Sodium 300mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary fiber 1g; Sugar 25g); Protein 7g

(from: Betty Crocker's Fall Baking Oct/Nov 2009 No.251)