Thanksgiving Meal-Brine Turkey, Chipotle Sweet Potatoes, Apple and Celery Stuffing

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  If you are struggling on how to prepare your turkey struggle no further.  This brine recipe is SO delicious everyone will leave your house talking about that turkey.  Not to mention those sweet potatoes and stuffing.  The stuffing and sweet potatoes are a bit different than your traditional, but who doesn't like a little change?  

This recipe comes from my sister Nicole.  She made a turkey dinner for her friends out in Utah and it was a hit.  Thankfully Nicole shared it with me! You can use the brine for chicken as well.  My mother did that and made hot chicken sandwiches which were awesome!  If you did have your turkey preparation all set I want to suggest you change your mind and try this.


Happy Thanksgiving! 

Brine for Turkey:  

Ingredients:

4 qts water

2 c dark brown sugar

1 c. soy sauce

1 c. 100% maple syrup

3/4 c. sea salt

8-10 whole cloves garlic, peeled

6-8 whole bay leaves

3 large sprigs of thyme

2 tsp whole peppercorn

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, dissolving sugar and maple syrup. Remove from heat and allow brine cool completely before using. Marinate thawed turkey for 1hour per pound (example: 24 pounds = 24 hours) in a huge stock pot.  Make sure it is completely immersed in the brine. Coat between the skin and meat with thyme and butter.  Cook in a bag on 350 until 185 degrees on the leg.

Apple Onion and Celery Stuffing 

2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

6 T softened butter

1 fresh bay leaf

4 celery stalks from hearts with leafy tops, chopped

1 medium onion

3-4 apples quartered and chopped

Sea salt/pepper to taste

2 T poultry seasoning

1/4 c. chopped fresh leaf parsley

8 cups UNSEASONED bread cubes (brownberry) found near stuffing section

2-3 cups chicken stock

Bake at 375 degree. Prep:  EVOO and 4 T butter into frying pan along with bay leaf, celery, onions and apple. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, poultry seasoning and cook for 5-6 minutes until apples are slightly softened. Empty into large mixing bowl. Add parsley and bread cubes. Moisten dressing with chicken stock until all bread is soft but not drenched. Butter casserole dish with remaining butter.  Remove bay leaf. Put in dish/turkey. Bake for 10-20 minutes or until done. I put extra pats of butter on top of the dressing while baking.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes. 

Peel, cube and boil sweet potatoes.  Drain water.  Mix with  mixer while adding heavy whipping cream (I used skim milk just make sure not to make to soupy), ~ 4 T soften butter, sea salt, ground pepper all to taste.  Mix until you get the creaminess you want.  Add pureed chipotle peppers (start with 1TBSP and test)  to spiciness you want and mix some more.  Serve!  

Get a can of chipotle peppers in mexican food aisle of store.  

Happy Eating! 

BBQ Chicken Ring

This is a favorite of mine. Another delicious recipe from my sister Nicole which was inspired by Pampered Chef but she tweaked it to make it a little tastier. I know a lot of people who love this as if it were a gourmet meal. 


BBQ Chicken Ring

 Ingredients: 
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese blend, divided into  1 3/4 c and 1/4 cup
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 pressed garlic clove (or 1-2 TBSP minced garlic)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 small bottle Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ sauce 
2 8 oz packages of refrigerated crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)
2 cups cooked chicken-I boil some chicken breast and then shred it

Directions:
1. Preheat oven 375. Combine chopped cooked chicken, 1 3/4 cups cheese, green onions, garlic and mix well.  I add the BBQ sauce until I feel like there is enough. It won't take the whole bottle unless you want a ton. Just add as much as you think is good. You will know. You can't really screw it up unless you don't add enough. I will guess around 1-2 cups??

2.  On a pizza stone or a pizza pan, separate the 16 triangles. Arrange them, slightly overlapping, in a circle on your pan/stone with wide ends being the inner part of the circle.  Points of the triangle will extend off the edge of the baking stone.  Roll or press overlapping ends to create a connection. the center of the circle is roughly 5 inches.  


3. Scoop filling evenly around the circle with an ice cream scooper.  Then take the points and wrap them around the filling to close the circle.  Brush the top with egg whites, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 25-30 min until brown.  Serves 8

French Toast Bake

This recipes comes from my wonderful best friend Kelly Jo Kemper.  She served it at one of our annual Winter Weekends and it was a hit.  She is a great cook and baker and I always enjoy when she cooks for me.  This is perfect for when you have company and you don't know what to serve for breakfast.  Just remember you must prepare the night before because the bread needs to soak.  My nephew Evan was a huge fan of this.  I believe he ate it for breakfast and dinner a few days in a row and then asked for more.  So Mom's out there if you have a picky eater maybe just maybe they will give this a try.


Ingredients

1 Loaf (10 oz) French Bread, Cut into 1-inch cubs (10 cups)
8 Eggs
3 Cups Milk
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Topping
2 TBSP butter, cubed
3 TBSP Sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Place bread cubes in greased 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking dish. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with syrup if desired.

Pork (the other white meat) Tenderloin

I love pork.  I think I love it more than steak.  It has such a good flavor and who doesn't love bacon it makes everything better?!  My sister Nicole shared this recipe with my family and it is seriously a delicious recipe.  Serve with mashed potatoes and you've got yourself a country hearty meal.

1 Teriyaki flavored pork tenderloin 

1 Packet Brown Gravy

1 Packet Pork Gravy

1 Small Onion

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Garlic Powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an oven safe pan with aluminum foil and spray down with Pam cooking spray.  Add the FROZEN pork tenderloin to the pan and sprinkle with garlic powder (don't be stingy).  Cut onion and add on top of the pork.  Mix 1 Can cream of mushroom soup with water (use about 1/3 of can of water) and add one of the gravy packets, pour mixture over the pork tenderloin.  Cover with the aluminum foil cook for about an hour.  Mix a little water 1/4 to 1/2 C depending if it seems dry or not and the remaining gravy packet together and add to the tenderloin.  Cook for another hour.  Serve with mashed potatoes.  

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaf

This recipe I received from my sister Nicole.  It works for someone who is cooking for themselves because it's individual meatloaves in which you can make all 6 and freeze the leftovers and pull them out as you please! It's also perfect for a family or if you are cooking for a couple of friends.  I've made this for my roommates and my friends they all loved it.  My roommate who was not a meatloaf eater loved it so much she asked me to share the recipe...That is when you know it's good!

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 egg

3/4 C milk (I don't use full 3/4 Cup I check consistency first.  I usually use ground Turkey which seems a little wetter than beef)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

1/2 cup Quaker Cooking Oats (not instant)

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 tsp salt

1 lbs ground beef or ground turkey

Sauce:

2/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (I use spicy brown mustard, I'm not a fan of dijon)

Preparing it.

Preheat oven to 350. In bowl, beat the egg and milk.  Stir in cheese, oats, onion and salt. Add beef and mix well.  Shape into 6 "mini" loaves and place in a greased 9 x 13" baking dish. Combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Spoon over loaves. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. 

If freeze cover with wax paper and then plastic or aluminum foil.  Thaw and cook like usual. Make extra sauce to place over the frozen loaves.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi

A lot of my recipe's I receive from my sisters Nicole and Tara.  They are wonderful cooks and since they both have a family they cook often, so when they make something and they love it they pass the recipe onto me.  
I love cooking so much but sometimes it's hard to cook for one person.  I made this shrimp scampi that my sister Tara sent me for my friends and it was a crowd pleaser.  I need to make sure I give credit where credit is due..Thanks sisters for sharing your recipes with your little sis.  If you are a shrimp lover you will enjoy this greatly.
 If you are using my recipes I would definitely LOVE any sort of feedback.  Whether if you liked it or hated it or even deviated from it.  I love making things better!


Shrimp Scampi

3-4 clove garlic minced

1/4 C. butter cubed

1/4 C. olive oil

1lb uncooked medium shrimp deveined and peeled (I use a pound of fresh shrimp from the seafood stand at the store)

1/4 C. white wine 

Dash of Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed from a lemon) 

1/2 t pepper

1/4 t dried oregeno

1/4 C dry Italian bread crumbs

1/4 C fresh parsley 

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

Angle Hair Pasta

In a 10 inch skillet, saute garlic, butter, olive oil until tender.  then add shrimp, lemon juice, wine, pepper and oregano.  Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp is pink.  Transfer ingredients to a oven safe pan sprinkle top of shrimp w/ parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and parsley.  Broil 6 inches from heat for 2-3 minutes.

Boil water while sautéing ingredients for Angel Hair Pasta. 

Serve Shrimp Scampi over the Angel Hair Pasta and enjoy!

Mom's Tomato Sauce and Lasagna

It's no lie. My mom is a wonderful cook.  One of my favorite things while growing up was her homemade spaghetti sauce and lasagna.  Below is the secret to her recipes!


Sauce:

1 c. chopped onionn
1 lbs beef
2 or more garlic cloves (or more) maybe some garlic powder too
1 lbs can and 14 oz can of diced tom (can get the seasoned kind with basil, garlic, oregano..I do this)
6 oz tom. paste
1/4 cup snipped parsley
1 T Brown sugar
1tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme 1 bay leaf
 


Sautee onion, garlic and beef. Add ingredients into a shallow pot and cook for about an hour. You can freeze left overs.


Lasagna:


Lasagna Noodles (at least 12 plus in case of breakage)
Cottage or Ricotta Cheese (mom used cottage)
Mozzarella
Parmesan Cheese
Sour Cream


Place a little sauce on the bottom of the pan, then noodles, than sauce, little dollop of sour cream. mozzarella and cottage cheese and some parmesan.  Repeat noodle, , sauce, dollop of sour cream, cheese layers as needed.  The top layer of noodle, place sauce ONLY cottage cheese.  Put the remaining mozzarella and some parmesan cheese and bake until cheese is bubbly and a little brown around the edges.


I find it's best to cook the night before and reheat and serve the next day. 


Also you can add whatever you would like to the sauce, meat veggies etc.

Monster Cookies- C is for Cookies

These are such delicious cookies! Something a little different than your normal chocolate chip. 
This is Paula Deen's recipe that I tweaked a little. 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies (I add more)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I add more)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Smokey Flavored Slow Cooked BBQ Ribs

This is a great recipe for delicious BBQ Ribs recipe.  I received it from my sister Tara and I am not to sure where the recipe came from.  I used this recipe the first time I ever made ribs and I had to call my mom immediately and tell her my ribs turned out better than hers! That is a tough task to beat because my mom makes pretty awesome ribs.  Who am I kidding I come from a long line of good cooks.  Anyway here is the recipe.   I would LOVE any feedback you have on my recipes.

3 1/2 LBS pork loin back ribs ( I only used a little over 2)

1/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 t pepper

3 T liquid smoke

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 t salt

1 medium onion

1/2 C cola

1 1/2 C BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby rays sweet and spicy)

1.  Spray inside of 5 to 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

2.  Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic and salt; rub mixture into ribs.  Cut ribs into about 4 inch pieces;Layer ribs and onion in slow cooker.  Pour cola over ribs.

3.  Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-9 hours or until ribs are tender.(i had mine in for a total time of  7.5 hours and they were delish!)  Remove ribs from cooker.  Drain liquid from cooker and discard.

4.  Pour BBQ sauce into shallow bowl.  Dip ribs into sauce.  Place them back into cooker.  Pour remaining sauce over ribs.  Cover and cook on low for another hour.

Enjoy!