Leftover Turkey

After consuming 4 Thanksgiving meals you would think I would have been sick of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes…. you’re wrong. I think I could eat a Thanksgiving feast once a week all year round.

After leaving South Dakota, we returned to our home with a container full of turkey and stuffing. Neither lasted long.

The lovely stuffing needed no variation. The turkey got shoved into a new dish though- Turkey Enchiladas.

They were a simple, throw together meal. We were eating lunch 40 minutes later, including baking time.

Turkey Enchiladas

1 1/2 cup chopped/shredded turkey
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 cups tomato sauce
3/4 cup crushed/diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 tortillas

- cook tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, & red pepper flakes. bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
- warm tortillas
- scoop turkey & 1/4 sauce into tortilla. roll. place in pan. repeat with other 5 tortillas.
- pour remaining sauce on top or tortillas
- sprinkle cheese across top
- bake at 350 degrees– 20 minutes covered, 10 min uncovered

This was a super simple way to play with the left over turkey.

Apple Braid

This little treat was a cinch. It was sweet and lovely and just what this perfect fall weather needs.

Do you see all that apple-y goodness? Run along. Gather your apples. You only need 5-6 of them. Scurry scurry. Shan’t waste time!

Here’s the recipe:

Apple Braid

1 loaf of frozen bread dough, thawed
5-6 apples, peeled & sliced & diced
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg
toasted almonds
icing

- melt butter in sauce pan, add in the apples, and cook for a few minutes. add in sugars, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg. cook until apples are tender.
-roll out the loaf, long and skinny.
- scatter apples down the middle (try not to drag all the sauce with, or after you bake you will have just a soggy pile of apples. no bueno.
- cut strips along the sides of the loaf, braid the lovely fellow shut.
- bake at 325 degrees until golden brown (20-25 min)
- cool
- pour icing over the top (I chose the classic milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar route)
- sprinkle with almonds

Bake him good. Blow on him to cool him off super fast so you can lather him in icing. Sprinkle with nutty drops of love. Then eat.

We ate the apple braid for breakfast for the most part. It was lovely. A nice complement to a steaming cup of coffee.

Our camera died half way through the apple braid’s process. So my dull phone photo will have to suffice. I know you want to grab that fork and eat it.

I highly recommend a lovely breakfast of apple braid & coffee. Give it a shot.

 

 

 

 

Apple & Pumpkin

I’ll be truly sad when fall ends and all the lovely things fall possesses fade away for another year. Until then, I’ll milk it for all its worth.

This last week we made Apple Cider Pancakes. Yum. Nice apple hint of flavor. I spread maple butter on them. It made for a cozy little lunch.

Several days later we made pumpkin pie. Nothing too crazy with that- just the recipe on the can. Pumpkin pie is always a welcomed fall favorite of mine. Classy, cozy, velvety, and sweet.

To top off the fall experience- I went to the apple orchard today, picked some lovely apples, drank some warm apple cider, indulged in a sweet apple cider doughnut, and brought home a jar of apple salsa and a cute little pumpkin.

And if all of my fall posts have yet to satisfy your yearning for fall, I have a dreamy board over on Pinterest, accumulating photographs that I find to be an enjoyable representation of fall.

I hope you’re all enjoying this while it lasts! The snow will be blowing before we know it.

Quick Fall Fix

I love soup. Almost as much as I love fall… not quite. But its close.

I also don’t have a lot of time to cook lately, so anything that is registers as quick is on my radar.

I am fan of the Bear Creek dry soup mixes- they are found right next to all the canned soup and broth. They make 8 cups of soup. Ya. Feed your hungry family with this stuff.

Tonight I threw together a pot of cheddar potato soup. Now, the bag of soup is good all on its own. I choose to add a few things though.

2 cups ham, cooked, chopped small
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 slices of bacon (to sprinkle on the top)

I add the seasonings as it cooked. Then I stirred in the ham after I finished. After I dished it up I sprinkled it generously with bacon. Serve with some bread. Eat. Enjoy. Smile at life’s joyous simplicity.

Pumpkin Party

My body has been craving pumpkin like crazy. PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN! Like seriously, I can’t get enough. I see a recipe that calls for pumpkin and I am instantly trying to decide if I have time to make it. Usually the answer is no. However, I did find time to play with two pumpkin recipes in the last week.

I am leading a freshman girl Bible Study this year, and as part of that I am in charge of bringing a treat every other week. So regardless of how little time I have to bake- I will be baking at least every two weeks. Hopefully.

The pumpkin party in my kitchen last week included Pumpkin Cookies with Pecans and Pumpkin Muffins sprinkled with Cinnamon & Sugar. Both of which were A+ choices.

 

 

Pumpkin Cookies

Here is the deal with these beautiful little mounds. They are super light and fluffy and soft and melt in your mouth. I ditched the frosting and opted to just shove a few pecans on top of each cookie instead. Lovely nutty addition. Excellent choice. They aren’t as good after a few days, so gobble them up fast, which you will have no problem doing. This recipe made about 2 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin Muffins

 

These guys. Oh my. Adorable. Love that Smitten Kitchen added cinnamon & sugar to the tops. It was a nice way to bring a little extra sugar into the muffins. Her recipe was a little weird at the bottom when she added her additional notes (I did 1/3 cup oil and 1 cup sugar). In place of pumpkin spice I did 1/4 tsp of the following: cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg. They were lovely. And super cute. Pair them with a cup of apple cider and you’re set.

Both of these recipes were super easy and perfect for fall. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather still. I certainly am.

 

Festive Fall Food

I don’t have a recipe of my own, or a do-it-yourself project today. I haven’t had time. I do, however, have time to day dream about fall. And you can bet I spend my moments doing so.

 

Fall Food Cravings

…here are a few recipes I would love to try this fall.

gingerbread cake bars with espresso frosting

baked pumpkin doughnuts

spiced maple glazed pecans

caramel apple bites

pumpkin pie bites

 

So if this cool weather leaves you craving pumpkin, spices, and all things cozy, give any one of these recipes a whirl and let me know how it goes. I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful beginnings of fall!