Thanksgiving Food Favorites

Just a quick post today....

Hope you all have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING....gobble gobble!!

Sweet Potato Brulee


Turkey Cupcake Bites


Honey-Poppyseed Butter



Cranberry Sauce


Pumpkin Cheesecake

Turkey Taco Mac Light!

Cooking light doesn't have to mean searching out all new, low-fat recipes. It's usually as simple as making a few substitutions to favorite recipes. This dish is just the lightened up version of the super yummy turkey taco mac.

This dish is basically a homemade hamburger helper and naturally a huge hit with everyone. It already started with lean ground turkey, so all I did is use reduced fat cheeses and sour cream. You could make this lighter by using fat free cheese and sour cream but I'm not a big fan of completely fat free foods. It seems the you get more chemicals than actual food with those, KWIM?

This recipe will yield a good amount but it's ok, because this also makes for excellent leftovers.

Ingredients:

1¼ lbs. ground turkey
8 oz. dry pasta shapes (I used mini penne)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
2-4 tbsp. taco seasoning or 1 envelope of taco seasoning
3 oz. 1/3 fat cream cheese
½ cup light sour cream
1/2 cup frozen corn
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar-jack
Cilantro or parsley chopped (optional)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saute pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the turkey is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the turkey is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Mix in the diced tomatoes,corn and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese,half the cheddar cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.

Remove from the heat and top with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle cilantro or parsley on top if desired.

Click HERE to calculate nutritional info for this dish.

Turkey Day Wrap-Up

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We normally travel up to New Jersey to celebrate this holiday with family. It is always a lot of fun...a house filled with a lot of people, a lot of food and a lot of love. My kids have an especially good time. They get showered with attention from their grandparents, aunts, uncles and many cousins. This year however, we decided to stay here in Virginia and had a more low key celebration with some friends.

One great thing about staying here is that I actually got to do some of the cooking this year. So, I thought I would share with you what I made....because of course you know I had to photograph it :) Yes, I *heart* food porn!

My friend Anne and I planned a pretty traditional dinner with turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn and apple pie. I made the mashed potatoes and the following yums:

Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce

Honey Poppyseed Butter served with an assortment of breads and rolls

Fruit Platter

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust

I had planned on only piping one ring of fresh whipped cream on top of the cheesecake, however my cake developed some big crack while rest on the counter after baking. The funny thing was when my son looked at the cake and the cracks he said to me "Cool Mom! You made a star shape on top!"....ummm, yeah just like I had planned :)

Turkey Cupcakes Bites

I would have liked to have posted this sooner but I only made them for "real" today....for my daughter's preschool Thanksgiving lunch.

Let me say that they can be a bit time consuming and not the type of treat that can be made last minute. I made the fondant turkey heads last Friday and the feathers were made on Sunday. Last night, I made the cake (from a box), added the frosting (I used canned, which I usually hate but needed something quick) and then assembled the cakes (the easy part).

What you need:

Chocolate mini cupcakes
Chocolate frosting (canned or homemade)

White, brown, yellow and red fondant (homemade or pre-made, such as Wiltons)
Black edible marker (can be found at Michaels)

Dark chocolate, orange and yellow candy melts (such as Wiltons)


To make the turkey heads: (can be made up to 5 days in advance, then store in an airtight container)


1. Roll out the brown fondant into a log. Cut the log down to 1 1/2- 2 inch pieces. Shape these pieces into a turkey head shape, tapering at the neck.
2. Shape small pieces of the yellow fondant to form a beak and attach to the head.
3. Roll 2 very small pieces of white fondant to form the eyes and attach above he beak.
4. Dot the eyes with the black edible marker.
5. Take a small piece of red fondant and shape it to look like the gizzard, attach below the beak. Place the turkey heads in an air-tight container until ready to assemble the cupcakes.
*If the fondant pieces aren't staying attached to each other, simple brush a small amount of water to one side to act as a glue.

To make the turkey feathers: (can be made up to 2 days in advance, then store in an airtight container)
Technique is similar to these butterflies.

1. Draw a template of the feathers on a piece of paper. Set aside.

2. Place candy melts in plastic baggies. Seal the baggies, leaving a small opening for air to escape. Microwave at 15-20 second intervals till candies and completely melted. Snip a tiny part of the tip of the bag.
*You will probably have to microwave the melts as you go along, since these harden quickly.

3. Cut a piece of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper on top of the template. Start by tracing the template with the dark chocolate and let that harden. Then fill the feathers with the yellow and orange melts. Use a toothpick to help spread the melts. Let the turkey feathers harden completely before removing from parchment paper.


To assemble the turkeys:

Frost the cupcakes, add the turkey head and the feathers.


What is my daughter thankful for? Desserts! This is how she ate her turkey cupcake...with a cakepop in the other hand :)


Source: Chef Mommy Original

5 Healthy Lunch Ideas

The New Year is here and like so many, I am going to try to eat healthier. For me, lunch time is always a challenge. I always eat lunch after my daughter goes down for her nap (around 1:30) and by then I'm starving and don't usually have something ready to go. So many time what I make for lunch is not always the healthiest thing. Heck, it can be down right junky!! For example, last month I actually made myself a peanut butter, chocolate chip and mini marshmallow sandwich and washed it down with a diet coke...yeah, not good at all!

I decided to post these 5 healthy lunches to remind me of some better options. They only require a small bit of prep work the night before and pack well if I'm not eating at home. Please, feel free to share your favorite healthy lunches too. I need more ideas!!

#1: Turkey Roll-Ups, Melon and Apple

Make it: Mix together chopped romaine lettuce, tomatoes and ranch dressing. Place a few slices of lean turkey and the chopped veggies in a flour tortilla and roll up. Serve with melon and an apple.


#2: Tuna Salad on Whole Wheat Bread, Carrots, Celery and Tangerines

Make it: Take a 3oz can of water-packed tune (drained) and add finely chopped, onion, carrots and celery. Add 1 Tbsp. of light or low cal mayo and mix everything together. Serve on whole wheat bread with romaine lettuce. Add carrots, celery and tangerines to complete meal.


#3 Fettuccine Alfredo with Vegetables

Make it: Cook one Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones frozen fettuccine Alfredo entree in microwave according to instructions. Cook one steam-in-a-bag (such as Bird's Eye)package of mixed vegetables according to directions. Combine fettuccine and vegetables.

#4 Grilled Chicken Salad with Vinaigrette
Make it: Rinse and dry 2 cup of mixed green salad. Add chopped cucumbers, carrots,onions,tomato and a 4oz piece of sliced grilled chicken on top. Serve with a homemade oil& balsamic vinegar or bottled low-fat vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

#5 Soup and Salad

Make it: Heat up homemade or canned (such as Progresso)vegetable soup and serve along side a simple garden salad with homemade or bottled light vinaigrette.

Chinese Meatballs and Rice

Let me start with a disclaimer...this is not Chinese food for grown ups. It is instead, a very kid friendly Chinese style supper. Meatballs (with water chestnuts, soy sauce & scallions), rice (with toasted sesame seeds and scallions) and green beans with a peanut butter dipping sauce. I think this could easily get dressed up with some extra spices or sauce for the grown up palate though.

I got this recipe from C is for Cooking....Recipes from the Street. If you're in the market for a kids cookbook, this Sesame Street cookbook is a good one. It's well organized, has lots of useful tips and wonderful recipes (Cookie Monster's me-love-mini-meatloaves are great too).

My son really liked this dinner, especially since he got to use chopsticks!! The only thing missing were the fortune cookies....next time.

Close-up

My son's plate

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 pound ground pork or turkey
6 water chestnuts, finely diced
2 scallions, minced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine the first five ingredients. Shape the meat mixture into small balls. I used a Tbsp. to scoop out even amounts. This will make about 24 mini meatballs.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Then add the meatballs, stirring often, till browned on all sides. Cover and cook until meatballs are no longer pink in the center. Keep warm till ready to serve.

Scallion Rice

1.5 cups jasmin rice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Cook rice according to package directions. Add scallions and sesame seeds. Toss well to combine.

Green Beans with Peanut- Soy Dipping Sauce

1 pound green beans rinsed and trimmed
1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 tsp. soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

In a large pot, steam or boil green beans til tender crisp. drain.

In another pan combine peanut butter, soy sauce and water. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until sauce thickens. Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the sauce.