- This leftovers quiche. Throw ALL THE FOOD in.
- SO many sandwiches. This one has brie. Or you could go crazy with this one. So crazy.
- Warm, comforting, hearty soup for a leftovers lunch. I used this recipe and subbed quinoa for the rice and extra turkey broth for the can of creamed soup. So good.
- Stuffing but in muffin form. Recipe perfection.
- For those of us who's thanksgiving was lacking in the chocolate department. These brownies.
- I really really love waffles.
- Top one of these bad boys with an egg and i'm pretty sure you've got the best brunch ever.
- And if all of these suggestions weren't enough, check out everything you can make with your leftovers.
If the idea of food hasn't completely disgusted you yet, I've found the best from the web and am here to provide you with the most mouthwatering ways to use your Thanksgiving leftovers. You're welcome.
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I'm pretty sure a bunch of over-ripened bananas is the universal signal for, "bake me!" I mean, aren't we all guilty? Secretly letting our perfectly ripe bananas over-ripen so we can justify why we made cookies, bread, pancakes, muffins...you get the idea. We tell ourselves it's totally fine because...fruit. I can picture how this would go over if my mother were here. Mom: "Did you really need to bake cookies?" Me: "Why would I waste bananas?" See what I mean? The perfect excuse. I don't know if your family has the same problem as my family. If someone were to bake muffins, or bring muffins into the house, mysteriously, all the muffin tops seem to disappear. Kind of like the crust to a good loaf of bread seems to disappear, and the crunchy topping on a casserole gets picked off the top. We are a crunchy, crust loving, topping eating family. I think it's just who we are. That's why when Panera invented the muffie, I pretty much fell in love. It basically solved all my dilemmas. No more bottom of the muffin waste; the perfect part of the muffin AKA the top is the only part of the muffin when you eat a muffie. It's pure genius. Kind of how my family has a love affair with muffin tops, we have a similar love affair with coffee. I blame my dad for that one. Always asking if we wanted coffee at weird times like 2pm. Who needs coffee at 2pm? Wait, that's what I used to say. Now, coffee pretty much runs through my veins. I drink it all the time. ALL DAY LONG. When they invent an IV drip for coffee, sign me up. I'll overcome my fear of needles for coffee. A coffee draught would be pretty much the worst thing ever. I wouldn't survive. Not having a baked good to eat with my coffee is a close second to the worst thing ever. Don't worry though. These cookies are like a cross between the best muffie you've ever eaten, and the best cookie you've ever eaten. I think they make the perfect partner in crime for your cup of mid-afternoon joe. I think they are more muffiny than cookie-like but they are certainly 100% delicious. |
1/3 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1 ripe medium/large banana, mashed 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips recipe adapted from Taste of Home. | Preheat the oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in the egg, banana and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a fork (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice). Turn the mixer on low and add half of the dry ingredients at a time until incorporated with the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the mini chocolate chips. Scoop batter by the tablespoonful onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes (until the edges are golden brown). |
I'm bringing Friday back. Homemade challah Fridays. Today is Friday, so the timing for this post couldn't be better (or more exciting...It's my first #RecipeReDux post)!
I guess if you didn't grow up with me, you'd have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. If you're Jewish too, you might have an inkling. But the power of the internet does not allow me to read your mind or know what you are thinking, unfortunately. I was recently accepted in to this super cool group of healthy food bloggers, The Recipe ReDux, where member bloggers participate in monthly themed posts that go live on the 21st or 22nd of each month; the theme for November is a food memory you're thankful for. So, instead of reading your mind, let me just tell you what I'm talking about. I'm going to tell you about about a food memory I'm thankful for! (HINT: it involves homemade challah and Friday).
Per family tradition, as a child, Friday's were always reserved for Shabbat. Pretty much all things that happened on Friday night had to happen after dinner. Kind of frustrating for your average teenager. Shabbat, if you're unfamiliar, is considered to be a "day of rest," observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Now, my family wasn't strict in our rituals of all things Shabbat, however, Friday night dinners seemed to be a repeating occasion (Side-note: ever since Gilmore Girls was added to Netflix, all I can think about when I hear "Friday night dinner" are Friday dinners with Richard and Emily Gilmore. I promise mine were way less formal and way more exciting). I remember more Fridays with these dinners than without. Like I said, tradition. As we all know traditions dictate many things, and in my case, challah bread! Now if you've heard of Challah before, you are probably are thinking about the best French toast you've ever eaten. I know that thinking of French toast is a close second for me (like this stuffed French toast). For a period of time I remember being significant (although I'm sure my father may argue the period of time wasn't significant at all, but hey, it's my memory, right?), my father would make challah bread from scratch every Thursday night so we could have freshly baked bread for Friday dinner. I remember sometimes I'd even be lucky enough to have the immense honor of braiding the dough myself! My braiding skills probably go back to my year as a Girl Scout; it feels like I probably learned then... or at a sleepover?
Our Shabbat dinners had more than Challah, we ate other traditional foods too. I'm going to be honest though, I don't get excited about that many Jewish foods. Do you get excited about kuggel? No? I didn't think so. Actually, I bet you don't even know what it is. Thankfully Buzfeed will tell you, and then you can decide for yourself. See, not every family and/or culture is as lucky as you people from the south. I mean c'mon, who doesn't love a good biscuit or crisp piece of fried chicken? That beats kuggel in my book any day. Anyways...in my eyes, Challah is one of the few Jewish foods worth getting excited about. Now, I know what you're thinking. Your favorite food memory is about a loaf of bread? And yes, you'd be right. But I'm thankful for this memory because of more than the bread. This was the first time that I can remember spending time in the kitchen as a kid. While I may not have known it then, food has kind of become a focal point in my life, so in a weird way, I probably owe a lot of thanks to these bread baking memories.
When I asked my dad a few months back for his Challah recipe, it's safe to say he was excited. He sent me emails saying things like, "I can't wait to see your braids." So weird. My family likes our bread on the sweet side. You don't have to like what I like (but I definitely encourage it). Feel free to omit the honey for a slightly less sweet version. And be patient. When I say the dough needs to rise overnight, I'm being serious. I'm not always serious, but I'm serious about this (why do you think we made the bread Thursday to eat for dinner Friday!?) I took my dad's recipe and changed it ever so slightly. You'll notice the addition of whole wheat flour for some fiber action there. I promise, it's still just as delicious.
Homemade Challah BRead
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients: 2 packages dry yeast 1 1/4 cup very warm water 3/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup canola oil 2 tsp salt 3 eggs 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, unsifted 1 1/2 cups wheat flour, unsifted 1 egg, mixed with honey (1-2 tbsp should work) | Instructions: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, mixing with a fork. Add sugar, oil, salt and 3 eggs, mixing well with fork. In a separate bowl, combine flours. Add flour to wet mixture 1 cup at a time, beating with fork after each addition just until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Add enough flour to make dough too thick to beat with a fork. Dough should be stiff but very sticky. Turn dough onto floured board and with floured hands, knead for 5-10 minutes, or until dough is stretchy. During the kneading, continue to add flour if dough remains too sticky. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with cloth, and let rise to double in size in a warm place. Let dough rise overnight for best results. In the morning, punch dough down and knead again on a floured board. Divide dough in half. Take 1 half and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll parts into strips and pinch all three together at one end and braid. Repeat with other dough half. Place on a well oiled baking sheet and cover. Let rise for an hour. Preheat oven to 375 F. Brush loaves with the egg-honey mixture and bake for about 35 minutes on middle rack. Check bread after 15 minutes. If dough is getting too dark, cover with foil for remainder of the time. Dough should be golden brown when done baking. Cool bread for at least 20 minutes before removing from baking sheet and slicing. |
Pumpkin is still in style, right?
Okay... good. I'd be so depressed if it wasn't. It wouldn't stop me from eating it though. If you've been following my blog, you know I have a love (and partial obsession) with ALL THE PUMPKIN foods. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I mean, I'm bringing you yet another pumpkin themed recipe, right? You also probably know of my love and partial obsession of coffee. I promise there's a connection here.
So a few weekends ago, I went home to Ohio to visit my parents and sister and had to make a stop at one of my favorite places in Cincinnati, Coffee Emporium (a coffee shop, obviously). I had to stop by, because in trying to fit so many things in to one day, I may have only had 4 hours of sleep the night before, so coffee was needed, obviously. I had also come to town that specific weekend because Alton Brown was visiting as part of his tour (sidenote: it was awesome, go see it when he comes to your city). This brings me to reason number two for stopping by Coffee Emporium. Rumor had it Alton Brown was going to pay a visit. Spoiler alert, I missed him by an hour. Sad day indeed. However, it seems Alton really enjoyed his honey late.
Coffee Emporium happens to be the place back home that also sells my all time favorite chocolate chip scones. Is your mouth watering? Mine is. Well they were out of them the day I stopped in. It's fine. They also happen to make these amazing pumpkin rice crispy treats. Except I was really lucky that day because they were out of those too. So instead of crying about my bad luck (because of course, on my way back to my parents house after the Coffee Emporium stop, I got a flat tire on the highway), I decided I'd just make my own version of the pumpkin rice crispy treats (plus chocolate, obviously) when I got back to Peoria. Seems my luck must have turned around at some point because they turned out pretty great, which is why I'm sharing the recipe with you. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Treats
Makes 24 rice crispy squares.
Ingredients: Cooking spray 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 (10 ounce) bag mini marshmallows 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 6 cups rice crispy cereal 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips. | Instructions: Grease a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Line a small mixing bowl with a paper towel. Measure out pumpkin puree onto paper towel. Use a second paper towel and ring out some of the moisture from the pumpkin. This is important because you want "crisp" treats, not soggy ones. Think of this the same way you would think of removing extra moisture from defrosted frozen spinach. Measure out 1/3 cup marshmallows (these are for mixing in later). In a saucepan, melt butter and remaining marshmallows together. Remove from heat and fold in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Allow mixture to cool completely (20-30 minutes). Not allowing mixture to cool will result in soggy treats. In a mixing bowl, combine cereal, cooled marshmallow mixture, reserved marshmallows, and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in greased baking pan and allow to set for 20-30 minutes before cutting in to squares. Treats should last about 1 week. Enjoy! |
Just call me "Suzie Homemaker," I've been into roasting whole chickens lately, or in this case, chicken thighs.
I recently realized how cheap it is to buy a whole bird. Like way cheap. Like 99 cents a pound cheap. And when the boneless skinless breasts are 2.99 / lb (sometimes more!), I feel lke I'm getting a steal because let's face it, a whole chicken, or a roast chicken thigh... it just sounds fancier. I like it when things sound fancy. Especially budget friendly things.
I'm not sure why, but you are guaranteed to grab my attention when the words "sale," "managers special," or any other discount related words are written on anything. You could probably tell me the grocery store was having a sale and the little voice inside my head would tell me i'm getting a good deal. I think that's why I like Black Friday so much. I think at this point, I've realized that there isn't much being sold that is a good deal, but for some reason, I feel like I've struck gold with every purchase made on that silly shopping day. Right now, I'm holding out for a deep fryer. I'm sure I could buy a deep fryer today for the same price as the ones being sold on Black Friday, but something about waiting to buy it then, in a crowd of people at 3 AM seems more exciting. My life could use some more excitement, so I will patiently wait to be excited about my not so great but really awesome deal. I know you totally understand what I just said there.
When I think of fancy things, dinner parties, designer clothes and whole roasted birds come to mind. This chicken comes in as a close second. I don't know about you, but I'm all about the re-purposing. I use the thigh meat here because let's face it, dark meat is delish. I use skin on, bone in, because these two elements allow the chicken to be flavorful and moist after roasting. And honey mustard? Who doesn't love honey mustard. If you say you, picture me staring you down right now. Ok? Cool.
So here's your plan. You're going to roast off more of these little guys then you plan on eating. You're going to remove the skin from the leftovers and shred the leftover meat and eat it on things like salads and in quesadillas all week long. Because who doesn't love quesadillas? You're welcome.
Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
INGREDIENTS: 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 lemon, juiced 2 tsp poultry seasoning Salt and Pepepr 1 T brown mustard 1-2 T honey | INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Roast chicken skin side down in an oiled roasting pan. Allow to roast for 20-25 minutes skin side down. Flip chicken over and allow to roast for 10-15 more minutes. Combine the honey and mustard in a bowl and brush over chicken. Turn the oven on broil and put chicken back in. Allow the chicken skin to crisp up, about 5 minutes. Serve warm! |
I took your donut craving to the next level. Well.. maybe my donut craving.
Consider this recipe 1 of my "Thanksgiving and Holiday" themed recipes. These are the lazy man's donuts. The poor man's donuts. AND, they are super easy to make. They may not be quick, or healthy, but they sure are delicious. If you ask me, anything you make yourself automatically feels healthier, so win number one. And since these are sweet potato donuts, lots of vitamin A from those little orange guys. So, "healthy," right? That's win number two.
So why did I decide to make my own donuts? Well it's something I've always wanted to do, but I finally got the inspiration to get the ball rolling in St. Louis Friday. I'm not a huge fan of heights. Like really at all. So while everybody I was with went up the arch, I walked around the exhibits below the arch which are always incredibly interesting. Lot's of facts about Lewis and Clark and their journey. It's good stuff. Well the gift shop at the Arch has these incredible books by Bear Wallow Books. The "Old Pioneer Recipes" book has a recipe for poor man's donuts aka sweet potato donuts. That's where inspiration hit. I modified the recipe a bit to suit my liking but it's got the same idea.
Anybody who's known me for even a second knows donuts are my forever food. The one thing I could eat copious amounts of and never get sick of. They also know I like things that are easy to make and require minimal clean-up. These satisfy my craving for donuts and my desire for easy clean-up. Let me introduce to you the drop donut. There are drop biscuits, and drop rolls, so why not drop donuts? They are easy, rustic, and all the little nooks and crannies get super crispy. It's just wonderful.
So here's the deal. This time of year, sweet potatoes can be purchased in a can. Now I'm not advocating for the canned version, but it's an option if time is of the essence. You could also use canned pumpkin. But sweet potato is fun, it's different, and let's face it it's delicious. To make these donuts, dough is dropped in hot oil by the tablespoon. They fry until golden brown. When they are done, they get tossed in pumpkin pie spiced sugar. What could be better?
Now if you've made it this far, you're probably thinking... why is a future dietitian promoting eating donuts? I'm not forcing you to eat these. In fact, you don't have to make them at all. But, delicious things bring happiness and happy things are allowed in moderation. Just promise me you won't eat all of them and you won't eat them every day. Then we are good. These donuts would make a great snack on Thanksgiving or just a great fall treat any time of day. So what are you waiting for, get cooking!
Sweet Potato Drop Donuts
Ingredients: 3 T. butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 cup sweet potato, cooked / mashed 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 2 cups white flour 4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup almond milk 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice | Instructions: In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Blend in the eggs and sweet potato. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. Combine a little at a time into the sweet potato mixture, alternating with the almond milk. Once the dough is combined, allow to chill for an hour. Fill a pot with oil and place over medium heat. To make the spiced sugar, combine sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. You want your oil at about 375 F. You'll know the oil is ready when bubbles form around the back of a wooden spoon. Drop the dough in by the tablespoon and let fry for 60-90 seconds on each side, or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to remove excess oil and then coat in the spiced sugar. Serve with a big mug of coffee and enjoy. |