Turkey Pot Pie

So it's Monday, and you STILL have turkey leftovers (even after making the awesome Reuben posted below!!).

Well, I have a delicious solution: turkey pot pie. I personally enjoy this meal more than actual Thanksgiving. Follow the easy (seriously, very easy - if I can make it, anyone can!) recipe listed here, and get ready to love your leftovers. When I don't have any turkey just lying around, I go to the deli and ask for 1/2 pound hunk of turkey. It also works really nicely in this recipe.

1 med. onion

1/3 c. butter/margarine

1/2 c. flour

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 3/4 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. milk

2 c. cubed turkey

1. c shredded cheddar cheese (I always put more in!)

1 (10 oz.) bag of frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 box pastry crusts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let pastry crusts sit out for a few minutes and put bottom crust in the pie plate before starting recipe.

Saute chopped onion in butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Add broth and milk. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened (stir while thickening). Add the turkey, cheese, and vegetables; cook until the cheese is melted. Pour the mixture into the bottom crust. Top with the 2nd crust; seal and flute edges. Cut slits in the pastry and brush the top lightly with milk.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes - ENJOY!

Reuben Casserole

I believe Mom got this recipe from an episode of WQED Cooks. However this time, I used left over turkey in replace of corned beef. Great alternative to a hot turkey sandwich or any other leftover dish that resembles Thanksgiving.

What I used:
-Left over turkey, sliced
-1 can sauerkraut
-1 cup Thousand Island Dressing (or more if you like)
-Swiss cheese slices
-Pumpernickel bread, buttered on both sides and cubed

In a casserole dish, layer sauerkraut, turkey, Thousand Island Dressing, Swiss cheese and cubed Pumpernickel bread.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until bread is toasty and you hear the casserole bubbling.


Enjoy!! Great for lunch the next couple days too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nothing says Thanksgiving like pumpkin pies!!

I made two pies using the classic Libby's recipe and I added a little something extra to one of them, a pecan crumble topping, which I placed on the pie half way through baking.

Left, Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe
Right, Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe with Pecan Crumble Topping from here

Spinach Dip

My friend Emily makes this dip for every holiday, party and/or friend get-together, usually by request of all of us hungry friends. It's so good. The recipe is simple and can be found on the Knorr's website here or on the back of the Knorr Vegetable recipe mix package.

In my variation above, I did not include the water chestnuts or green onion.

My dipping recommendations:

• Veggies, such as carrots, celery, green peppers.
• Baguette cut into small rounds
• Pumpernickel bagel cup up or bagel chips
• Pretzel crisps or regular pretzels
  
• Anything you hungry heart desires.
  

Almost lactose-free chocolate chip cookies

Yes. Almost. I've been on the hunt for dairy-free chocolate chips for some time now. Just when I thought I grabbed the right bag, I was mistaken. I purchased organic chocolate chips instead of dairy-free ones. Whoops. Next time I make this recipe, I will use carob chips instead.

This recipe is from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine, Oct/Nov Issue. I was super excited I found this recipe because several times during the year, I have to eat non-dairy/meat. I know what you are thinking. Quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding- What you mean he eat no meat?! That's okay, I make lamb! (probably not exactly quoted correctly, but you can watch the movie for preciseness)

You can find the recipe over here on the Taste of Home Website.

I wasn't sure how they would come out, but I have to say they are quite incredible. The organic chocolate chips tasted super fantastic compared to normal chocolate chips. (I guess that's what you get for paying $8 a bag). The cookies are on the soft side and would probably make a great cookie cake :)

Happy baking!

Karmic Yogurt

- Shadyside

Sunny days = frozen confections. So, when it was sunny out this week, I needed a frozen treat! I decided to try Karmic Yogurt on Filbert Street in Shadyside. It is apparently made of REAL yogurt, not like TCBYish frozen yogurt. It certainly tasted like real yogurt - tart, I guess? (Looking at their website, this is confirmed...and I quote: "Pittsburgh's first Gourmet Tart Frozen Yogurt")

There were two flavor options: original (just plain yogurt) or green tea. I chose the original. Also, I had my choice of three toppings, (i.e. fruit, nuts) but I opted for all chocolate chips. Win. It was interesting eating what looked to be ice cream, yet tasted like a yogurt. And, I felt healthier after eating it, even with the 3 pounds of semi-sweet goodness piled on top.

If you visit, note that its cash only and a little pricey! Next time I'll have to try the green tea...

Bean salad

I want to first start out with an apology because I have no idea where I got this recipe from and wherever I did deserves to receive credit for such an awesome dish. All I know is that I found it on the Internet on a site that talked about healthy lunches.

Now on to the recipe:

This is a fool-proof recipe that really has no recipe. You can make as much or as little as you want. I have no measurements for it either. Honestly, you can totally make this however your little belly desires.

My version:

- Cans of beans. I used a can of kidney beans and a can of garbanzo beans above, but you can use whatever beans you want.
-1 can of corn
-Chopped tomato
-Chopped green pepper
-Chopped garlic
-Chopped onion
-lemon juice
-Italian dressing
-salt and pepper.

Wash beans and corn and drain. Mix all ingredients and chill.

Honestly it's this easy. It is a great summer salad or side-dish for anytime of the year. ALso great way to eat more veggies, I know I can use some.

Let me know how this turns out if you make it!

Maple Scones

I heart pastries. More so, I heart eating pastries in the morning with a good cup of coffee or three.

Because of this, I decided to make some morning pastries, aka Maple Scones from 101 Cookbooks found here.

Some notes about how I made the scones:

• I mixed the dough with my hands. Call me old world, but I love baking things the traditional way and when I saw the recipe said you can cut the butter and flour with your hands, I was all about it.
• I used rolled oats instead of quinoa flakes because I had them in stock.
• I recommend using the large-grain sugar as a topping to give the scones extra flavor, crunch and texture.
  

Now what am I going to do with the rest of the maple syrup I bought specifically for this recipe?
Just wait and see. I have a few recipes up my sleeve for this weekend.

Happy Baking.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for this recipe over here.

What I used:

1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 bag mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Course salt (amount depending on your likeness)

Grease pan with extra butter ( I used an 8 x 14 inch pan).

In a saucepan, melt butter until it starts to foam and turn nutty brown. You will see speckles of brown in the butter. (Note: If you are use to making pierogies in brown butter you know exactly what I'm talking about :) )


Once you see the butter start to burn, take it off the heat and stir in marshmallows. You may need to place the saucepan back on LOW heat in order to get the marshmallows to melt.


Mix Krispies into the mallow/butter mixture and press into greased pan. Top with course salt. I used a DASH of the salt because I wasn't sure I would like the salt, but its wonderful!

Refrigerate until harden then enjoy!

Market District Pics

Honestly, this is the greatest place on Earth. Hands down. Mandy and I had an amazing time!!!

Thanks to Amie and everyone at Giant Eagle for inviting us, seriously you guys rock!

This place was so big, it was hard to take an overall shot.

See more pics from Mandy and me on flickr here.