Turkey Tetrazzini

To make use of some of our left over Thanksgiving turkey we decided to make some delicious Turkey Tetrazzini. I say "we" but it was really the man of the house who made this dish! My Nana used to make turkey tetrazzini all the time, I swear she'd roast a whole turkey just to make tetrazzini. She used spaghetti, but Emeril's recipe called for egg noodles. This dish wasn't exactly like Nana's, but it was definitely tasty!

Start by sauteing the red bell pepper and onions in butter in a large dutch oven. Add garlic, mushrooms, Essence, and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are soft...about 6 minutes. This part smelled great!

Sprinkle with flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and chicken stock and cook stirring until smooth, about 2 more minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

After the sauce has thickened add the cooked egg noodles, turkey, parsley, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Stir until mixed. Transfer to a buttered baking dish. And here comes my favorite part....

Cover the whole thing in crushed potato chips (for those of you who live in New England--my favorite kind of potato chips are Wachusett Brand. I really like their sour cream and onion, but we used their regular flavor here...they are small bags and are usually sold 2 for $3. Can't go wrong). Bake the whole thing uncovered at 375 for 3o minutes or until bubbly and golden brown! This was a winner at our house. We ate the entire thing! For the complete recipe, click HERE.

BB; Mexican Chicken Soup

This week's Barefoot Bloggers challenge was Ina's Mexican Chicken Soup chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. I have made other versions of similar soups in the past, but this one is probably the best. It was perfect for the rainy New England weather we've been having.

The soup starts with carrots, celery and onions sauteing in a pan. Let that go until the onions brown. Then add garlic for 30 seconds, then proceed and add tomatoes, chicken stock, jalapeno peppers, cumin, coriander seed, (I skipped the cilantro), and fresh corn tortilla strips. Let that simmer for 25 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, roast chicken breasts in a 350 degree oven. The recipe calls for bone in, skin on breasts, but after my husband went to two stores to find them with no luck, we used boneless, skinless breasts. They worked fine. After the chicken is cooked, shred and add to soup. I think the breaking down of the tortillas added to the depth of the soup. We ate this Monday night, Tuesday night and I brought a little for lunch on Wednesday. Thanks Judy for picking a great recipe for before Thanksgiving....easy and not too heavy!

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

So, this isn't the prettiest picture and with it almost my bedtime (9pm...haha) this is all I'm going to upload. I needed a quick, finger type dessert option for Thanksgiving, and No Bake Chocolate Cookies came to mind. These are so easy and require no electric mixer or oven. Perfect for making while the little one is sleeping.

No Bake Chocolate Cookies:

In a sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter, two cups of sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add 3 1/2 cups quick cooking oats, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Stir to combine and drop onto waxed paper covered cookie sheets. Let rest until set. Enjoy!
They are perfect with a nice gallon of milk!

Cowboy Spaghetti

This is a Rachael Ray recipe, that believe it or not, I had never made before having it at a friend's house for dinner. We instantly loved this dish and had to make it at home. The spaghetti is tossed in a sauce with ground meat, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, onion, hot sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, and tomato sauce. To finish the dish toss with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese and scallions.

The sauce has a nice flavor, different from your traditional spaghetti sauce. And, as you know, anything tastes better with bacon! We used Pastene brand spaghetti and if you've never tried the Pastene line of pastas, you need to. So worth the little extra money. I highly recommend making this dish. Our almost two year old loved it...so you know it's good. You can find the recipe in its entirety HERE.

BB; Herb Roasted Onions

This week's challenge for the Barefoot Bloggers was chosen by Kelly of Baking with the Boys. She chose Ina's simple and delicious Herb Roasted Onions. I had every intention of making these yesterday and actually posting them on the "due" date, however, when I got home from the grocery store I realized, much to my dismay, that I had forgotten a bag of food at the store. I frantically called the store...as this bag also contained a few new spice containers which cost a pretty penny....they had my bag...phew! So, I went back today and retrieved my bag, which also contained the onions and lemon. So, there you have it, one day late! Moving on...I want to thank Kelly for picking such a great, easy recipe. These smelled great and now so does my house.

The onions are tossed in a marinade consisting of lemon, mustard (I used a stone ground variation), fresh thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and oil. Then the onions are roasted in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. After removing them from the oven, drizzle with left over marinade. We had already eaten dinner by the time I made these, but we did still snack on a few bites. Thanks, Kelly!

Chicken Chili

Last weekend's dinner was another Ina favorite; her Chicken Chili. Once we found and tried this recipe a few years back, it has become a staple in our house once the weather starts to get a little cooler. This chili is lighter than its meat and beans counterpart, so have an extra helping!

Onions are sauteed, then added to them is garlic, red and yellow peppers, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, crushed plum tomatoes, and basil. This simmers for about 30 minutes then baked, shredded chicken is added and simmered for 20 minutes. It comes together easily and makes enough for company...

...or for left overs the next night! We enjoyed ours topped with sour cream and shredded cheddar. If you haven't made this recipe yet, you really should. A+ Ina!

Happy Halloween

Well, the day is finally here....Halloween! We did a costume run though last night (you can see the jammies sticking out the bottom). The "baby" is 21 months old and is a bat this year. I must have taken 10 pictures and most of them were of him crying because he thinks he's ready to use the camera...silly man! Hopefully he scores mommy and daddy some good candy tonight!

And for food....this dish is from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals cookbook. It's called Sesame Ginger Pork with Soba Noodles and it's delicious and quick to prepare. It calls for soba noodles but I use whole wheat spaghetti instead and have had great results. I also double the water chestnuts because I like them. Everything else is pretty much the same. So, if you like pork, ginger, sesame, soy sauce and noodles...this dish is for you!

Have a great Halloween everyone!