Livebloggin the Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today is the day all domestic geeks look forward to (or dread for some)…a day focused on food, family and more food. I started my preparations at about 3 pm yesterday by making an Apple-Cranberry Sauce, Curry Sweet Potato Mash, baking bread (gluten free) for the stuffing, making the butternut squash for the stuffing and setting the turkey to brine (brining is a surefire way to create a moist and juicy turkey). I cheated a bit and just got a pre-made brine from Whole Foods…it smelled delicious and was almost identical to the one I was going to make so why not save some time? All I have left today is roast the turkey…which I forgot to mention will be bacon wrapped. I bacon wrapped the turkey last year and it was amazing! I waited until the turkey was almost done and applied the bacon for the last half hour and the bacony taste permeated the turkey to the core. Well this year I decided to start wrapping the turkey from the beginning and just remove and reapply the bacon throughout (to keep it from burning. By my calculations, this will either cause the turkey to have a bacony flavor the likes of which the world has never seen….or I will blow up my kitchen. Either way it should be good times!

So you might be wondering why Im here now and why Im live blogging. Well why not? People live blog stupid stuff all the time (ie: Live Blogging Martha Stewart) and dammit Im going to liveblog cooking my turkey. So keep checking back for more turkey updates and let me know what youre cooking and how its going. ;)

8:33- Ok Ive hit snooze long enough, time to get up and get this bird going! I removed it from the brine and patted it dry. Next I heated up an apple quartered, a half onion, some cinnamin, some sage, a cup of water and a splash of maple syrup and filled the bird with the mixture (leaving out most of the liquid).

9:06- The Turkey has entered the oven! Its a scorching 500 degrees and Ive opened up all the windows in my apartment to avoid setting off any smoke alarms. It kind of sucks because it lets all the delicious turkey scent out.

9:36- Alright 30 minutes of broiling (and only one burn to my hand) and the heat has been reduced to 350 and the turkey wrapped in its FIRST layer of bacon! Look at this beauty!

Bacon application #1

10:15- OMG my apartment smells like bacon and all kinds of deliciousness. I wish I could transmit scent over the internet because this is what love smells like. Im trying to gauge how long to leave each bacon application on. I want it to cook trough but not burn…but I also need to make sure I dont open the oven too much because that will just add more cook time to the bird and lead to drying it out. Oh and have no fear the bacon from the turkey will not go to waste…what I manage to avoid eating will be diced and added to the stuffing to make a Bacon Butternut Squash Stuffing.

11:01- Alrighty, so the bacon has cooked and is ready to be removed…although some of the bacon decided to graft itself to the turkey and it took some finagling to remove it. But the first layer was shed and the second applied and the turkey is popped back into the oven for the final hour to 2 hours. Sadly I just realized I forgot to get a turkey thermometer so I have to run out and procure that. Lets hope the store isnt too crazy!

12:09- Back from the store and shockingly enough, there were hardly any lines! I was able to walk right up to a register and was out in less than 10 minutes! So now the thermometer is in the turkey and its just under 140 degrees and looking lovely. Check out the all that turkey n bacon juice accumulating at the bottom of the pan…that will make for some tasty gravy! Time to dice up the bacon I removed earlier and make the stuffing! Going to make the executive decision to drop the temperature of the oven a bit so that I dont overdo the bird (chow time is scheduled for around 2pm).

12:47- Success! The turkey has reached peak deliciousness (and something about proper temperature)! Final result was 2 bacon applications (about an hour and 15 minutes for each application). I cooked up some extra bacon and along with the bacon from before, diced it for the stuffing. Ive got to say, I might actually be more excited for the stuffing! Look at it! Homemade bread…butternut squash sauteed with onions, celery and herbs…and now bacon. Just popped that into the oven while the turkey sits wrapped in foil awaiting its transportation.

fun fact- between the turkey and the stuffing there is a total of 3 lbs of bacon!

1:33- Stuffing is almost done and the Curry Sweet Potato Mash is warming up. Just finished the gravy which involved not only the bacon/turkey drippings but a secret ingredient (hint- Aunt Jemima would be proud).

1:46- Huzzah its all done! Now to back it up and pray it survives the 2 mile trek to my friend’s house. Wish me luck!

2:21- Food arrived safely! Got a celebratory glass of wine and am waiting for everyone’s delicious contribution to the feast. Will post final pics later. Thanks for following and happy Thanksgiving everyone!

<3 seanalyn

the holidays are here! clean out your fridge.

not sure if you are, but i am traveling for the holidays.  this means that i need to clear out anything that may spoil during my trip.  so for the next couple nights, including last night, it’s leftover time!

also, check out my previous post: 5 things to do in your kitchen before your trip.

last night’s tortilla encrusted tilapia and southwestern salad

a hefty southwestern salad

my planned meal consisted of a southwestern salad and baked tortilla encrusted tilapia.  i made the salad while the tilapia was baking.  when i pulled the tilapia out, i realized that i might have too much food!

the salad alone was filling with all of it’s ingredients: spicy tomatillo salsa, a little ranch dressing, spinach, lettuce, grape tomatoes, red onions, shredded mozzarella, corn, pinto beans, and some crunched tortilla chips.

frozen & preseason-ed from the grocery store, tortilla encrusted tilapia!

i ended up not eating even half of my tilapia, which was actually a good thing because my boyfriend took it for lunch today!  overall, it was super easy and stress free.  the frozen preseason-ed fish from the grocery store was delicious.  i would definitely get it again.  especially since it makes weeknight meals easier!

<3 kt

delay in menu: comfort food for the sick

first of all, here are the results of Monday night’s dinner:

vinaigrette salad with shaved midnight moon goat gouda

sun-dried tomato chicken sausage with vodka penne

tonight, i was supposed to make tortilla crusted tilapia and a southwestern salad. but, pk was sick!  so i made my sunday night meal early: chicken noodle soup.  i wasn’t as prepared as i would have been on sunday, but it all came together!

as soon as i got home from work, i filled a pot up with water and added my defrosted chicken breast (just two of them).  next, i diced up my veggies: carrots, celery, italian squash, mushrooms, and onions.  i added a bunch of spices including cayenne pepper (i like things spicey!), cumin, garlic, paprika, pepper, and salt.  i let this simmer and boil for about 40 minutes.  then i added whatever pasta i could find: fusilli and macroni.  i let the pasta cook and simmer in the pasta for another 15 minutes.

while the soup was simmering, i made grilled cheese with tomato:

a hodge podge chicken noodle soup

hopefully this cured my sick boyfriend!  also, i have tons of leftover soup!  i put half of it in a huge container and put it in the freezer.  i made 3 portions for the fridge (two hefty ones for the sicky).

i picked up some wellness formula, orange juice, cold medicine, kleenex, and anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.  hopefully i don’t get sick. :)

<3 kt

Unemployment and Burritos

Well this (pardon my French) shit storm of economy finally caught up with me in the form of being laid off last week. At first I could really see the silver lining to the whole situation because I loved my job and Im one of those weirdos that actually enjoys working. But as the days have gone on Ive started to be okay with this whole unemployment thing. Ok of course Id prefer to be gainfully employed, but my former company gave me a nice severance which allows me the time to take a look at my career and take my time finding new employment. Its also giving me some time to get back to doing some things that I love and havent had much time for lately…like exercise, photography and of course, cooking.

Right after I got laid off I saw an interesting article on Divine Caroline called Can Unemployment Be the Healthiest Time of Your Life? all about another professional woman who was laid off and found time to cook and enjoy life more. Now I do cook almost every day, unless my boyfriend and I are going out, I make dinner every night. Breakfast and lunch, however, were always grabbed on the go or at the office. But now Im realizing “hey theres two more meals I can make in a day!”

So here I am embarking on a journey of unemployment..of course this wont last forever…as much as I enjoy having some free time financial woes will begin to bear down. But for now Im going to take my former boss’ advice and take a few weeks of personal vacation. I really want to use this time to explore new money saving ideas around the house that I can continue to use when I find a new job. Thankfully my fellow domestic geek Katie is a pro at maximizing home cooked meals so I got a good guide to go off of. In fact, yesterday I used one of her ideas to make a tasty money saving breakfast/snack!

A few days before my boyfriend and I had some friends over to our house and we had some salsa and bean dip. The bean dip was made simply by mashing some chili beans (not canned premade chili, but spiced chili beans) with some garlic, dried onion and cumin. So I decided instead of tossing out the leftovers, I would make mini breakfast burritos!

Mini Breakfast Burritos
Ingredients
Bean dip or black beans or re-fried beans
8 eggs
1 red or yellow pepper
1/2 yellow onion
salsa
soy milk or regular milk
corn tortillas
cheese

Crack 4 eggs open on a bowl and add 4 egg whites to the mixture and beat with a fork. Add a splash of either soy milk or regular milk, dont add too much though, you dont want the eggs to become runny. Add a bit of salt and pepper and set aside. Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan and add a bit of oil and add the egg mixture. Dice the onions and pepper and add them to the eggs and slowly cook the whole mixture so as not to burn the eggs. Once the eggs are nice and fluffy remove from heat and set them aside.

Next take the corn tortillas and lightly wet them and throw them on an oiled skillet for a few seconds to soften them up. This is a little trick my boyfriend’s mother taught me for making nice soft corn tortillas that are easy to fold. Dont cook them too long or they will get crispy!

To assemble the burritos take a spoonful of the bean dip or whatever canned bean you have on hand (pinto or black, make sure to drain them!) and spread it in a line on the tortilla. Add a spoonful of eggs, salsa and a bit of whatever leftover cheese you have available. Now these tortillas are small so you wont be able to roll them like normal burritos but rater like a taquito. It might take a try to two to figure out the ratio of the ingredients…you dont want too much or you wont be able to roll the burritos.

After you roll each burrito wrap it in plastic wrap and throw it in the freezer. Now you should have a nice little fleet of breakfast burritos ready for a quick breakfast or snack! Just pop them in the microwave for about a minute and a half and youre good to go!

<3 seanalyn

menu planning monday!

hope you had a glorious weekend!  i know that they are never long enough.  it’s that time again, monday. ugh!

here’s my week’s meals

monday:  sun-dried tomato sausage and penne in vodka sauce, Caesar salad, and garlic bread

tuesday: baked tortilla crusted tilapia with a southwestern salad (i bought some preseason-ed frozen tilapia this weekend)

wednesday: chicken pot pie empanadas

thursday: frozen pizza and a salad

friday: leftover chili with cornbread

saturday: going to Erin’s birthday party dinner!

sunday: chicken noodle soup

plan your meals!  it makes your busy week easier to manage!

<3 kt

such an easy meal: grilled steak, loaded potatoes, and green beans

over the weekend, i picked up some seasoned steaks from Trader Joes.  i tossed two potatoes in the microwave to cook while my boyfriend headed to the grill to cook the steaks.  meanwhile, i tossed the green beans and cabbage in some olive oil, minced garlic, and a little balsamic vinaigrette.  when my bf came back with the cooked steaks, my portion of the dinner was ready!  overall, it took roughly 15 minutes!

i love quick, delicious, hearty meals!

 

<3 kt

how i saved my spaghetti and meatballs

last night i planned on making spaghetti and meatballs.  i came home late and rushed around the kitchen trying to get my meatballs prepared.  i thought i had 1 lb of turkey burger, so i add enough breadcrumbs soaked in buttermilk, egg, basil, and onions.  however, the meat was short, thus turning my mixture into a slimy mess. 

i thought my dinner was doomed.  but instead, i whipped out a skillet, added some olive oil, and decided to attempt to solidify my mixture by frying them first.  luckily, it worked!  i was able to cook the ‘meatballs’ enough that they took little patty shapes.

then i baked them for 20 minutes.

my dinner was delicious and the meatballs were actually very flavorful, fluffy, and light.

i might not make them exactly like that again, but it’s good to know that a) i didn’t give up, b) i saved the meal, and c) it was delicious!

<3 kt

menu planning monday

here’s my plan for the week:

monday – spaghetti and homemade meatballs, small Caesar salad, and garlic bread

tuesday – grilled flat iron steak, loaded baked potatoes, and seasoned green beans

wednesday – butternut squash ravioli with a Gorgonzola pomegranate vinaigrette salad

thursday – Bears vs 49′ers football night!  grilled buffalo chicken, blue cheese and ranch salad, and homemade fries

friday – sun-dried tomato chicken sausages, pierogis, and cabbage & carrot slaw

saturday – going out for dinner and a comedy show

sunday – chicken pot pies

pictures and recipes to follow as i complete these meals!

<3 kt

new idea: chili cheese burritos!

originally, i had set out to use my leftover chili and make chili mac. but instead, i came up with the chili cheese burrito!

i had to stop eating this glorious thing to take a picture!

here’s how i made this:

first, i sauteed some diced onions in some olive oil.  when they were nice and yellow, i added diced red peppers and jalapenos.  after a few minutes of cooking, i then seasoned them with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and cumin.  next, i added the leftover chili.  while the chili was heating, i warmed a tortilla.  next i diced up some cabbage and fresh cheddar cheese.  then i built the burrito, first layering the cabbage for some cruchiness, then the chili mix, then topping with sour cream and cheddar cheese.  i next wrapped it up, heated up a skillet with a bit of olive oil, and seared the sides of the burrito.  because of all the liquid inside, you’ll have to eat this monster with a fork and knife!

enjoy!

<3 kt