Healthy, inexpensive, satisfying dinner

I am fortunate that nobody in my house minds skipping meat at dinnertime; I try to do at least 2 nights a week without meat and the substitute main course is usually pasta or potatoes. The meal pictured is one we have had twice this week and everyone around here just loves it. All three recipes are ones I've posted here before:

Ranch roasted potatoes (this time I only used half the packet of ranch, and added lots of salt, pepper, garlic powder, & Italian seasoning)

Italian peas

Glazed carrots

Our Christmas Menu

We hosted out-of-town relatives this year for Christmas, and I really wanted to cook a turkey since it had been a while since I last cooked one. I was in the kitchen all day but everything turned out delicious! I will share with you all the recipes I used this year on Christmas Day...

Emeril's Turkey I have made this a few times and love the flavor. I don't make the giblet gravy; just use the turkey part of the recipe. And, I always cook a bigger bird (17-18 lb) so I nearly double the other ingredients since this recipe calls for a smaller bird.

Gravy My Grandma makes the best gravy. However, I have not watched her do it so I know I don't do it like her... therefore my gravy doesn't turn out nearly as good :) But, in making the turkey recipe above, I am able to easily make a pretty decent gravy. After taking the turkey out of the roasting pan, pour all drippings into a large bowl or Pyrex glass 2 qt measure. Let it sit for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top. With a large spoon, skim off several spoonfuls of the fat/grease and put it in a medium saucepan. Put it over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of flour and whisk it well. Let it cook for a minute, and keep whisking. While still whisking, pour two or three cups of the drippings into the pan. Allow it to come to a boil, and you can see how thick your gravy will be. If it's too thick, add more of the liquid.

Mashed Potatoes Pioneer Woman says not to use a hand mixer on mashed potatoes, but I always do. I do most of the work with a potato masher by hand, but I always finish them with a hand mixer to ensure ultimate creaminess.

Stuffing My mother-in-law's delicious recipe; yum!

Sweet Potatoes Super easy, and who doesn't love marshmellows on top?


Rolls I was assigned to bring rolls for Thanksgiving at my Grandma's this year and I made these, and to fancy them up I put a small pat of butter in the big end of each triangle before rolling them up. I also brushed them with melted butter before baking. However, I found that they actually turned out too buttery for me (and I didn't think there was such a thing as too buttery!) For Christmas dinner I made a double batch, and I melted one stick of butter to spread on them before rolling up. So for each rolled-out circle (each circle yielding crescent 12 rolls) I spread 2 T butter. I thought they turned out just right this way.

Peas I actually did not make this recipe because I ran out of time (the turkey was done! I hadn't made the gravy! The sweet potatoes had browned!) but I had every intention to. We did eat peas, just regular frozen cooked peas that I added a pat of butter to after draining.



... and we had cranberry sauce (whole berry) from a can. I had to simplify somewhere! Dessert was a Costco cheesecake. Today I'm loving the leftovers... my favorite part about a big turkey dinner! And then in another few days I'll take the turkey carcass out of the freezer and make some turkey soup.





I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Easy Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes
1/2tsp salt
4 T melted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1-2 c mini marshmellows (however many you want!)

Boil sweet potatoes until tender. This can be done ahead of time; if you're making these with a big turkey dinner then boil the sweet potatoes right after you put the turkey in the oven. Once they're cooked and cooled, peel the skin off (it comes off easily). With a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl and add salt, butter, and brown sugar. Mix with a hand mixer to make them nice and creamy. Spread evenly into an 8x8 casserole dish and top with mini marshmellows. Bake at 350 until heated through and marshmellows are browned. I keep this at the bottom of the oven to prevent the marshmellows from browning too soon.

Italian Peas

I am always looking for ways to spice up some of the "normal" veggies we eat as side dishes around here. I found this recipe tonight for dinner and I was very pleased; the peas looked, smelled, and tasted much better than "plain" peas, and even my picky kids ate them up!


2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped (I used about 1/2 an onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz bag of frozen green peas
1-2 T chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste


Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook about 5 minutes. Add frozen peas, and stir in stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the peas are tender, about 10 minutes.



Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

Such an easy side dish that even my picky kids will eat!

4-5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1" cubes are good)

1 packet of Ranch dressing mix

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss peeled/cubed potatoes in a big bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and Ranch mix. Mix it well so that every piece of potato is covered. Tonight for dinner I thought it needed a little additional spice so I added some salt & pepper too. Spread potatoes in one layer on a large sheet pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. At least once or twice during cooking, remove pan from the oven and turn potatoes over, scraping the pan well with a large non-stick spatula. Remember that hot potatoes really hold their heat so I always serve them up a few minutes early on the kids' plates.

Baked Potato Cheese Soup

I came across a potato cheese soup recipe on another cooking blog but made several changes to it for dinner tonight... it turned out delicious. Very filling, and my husband had thirds! My kids liked it too.


6-8 large baking potatoes
1 stick butter
chopped carrots (see "tips" for quantities)
chopped onions
chopped celery
1/3 c flour
salt & pepper
3 bay leaves
Emeril's Essence Seasoning
Season Salt
2 c milk
4 c chicken broth (I used 2 cans which was about 3 1/2 cups but that was fine)
8-12 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
8 oz grated cheddar cheese (I did two handfuls)
1 c sour cream

Wash potatoes, prick with a fork, wrap in foil and bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender. Melt half of the stick of butter in a large soup pot. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, & spices and sautee over medium heat until carrot is nearly cooked (not too soft but not crunchy either). Then add the rest of the butter, let it melt and then add the 1/3 c flour, stir and cook for one minute. Add milk and chicken broth slowly, whisking to incorporate the roux (butter/flour) into the liquid. Cook on medium-high until it comes to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the baked potatoes and either mash or cube them, depending on how you want the soup's texture to be. Stir in potatoes, bacon, and cheese; then taste to see if it needs more salt/pepper. Just before serving add one cup sour cream.


Tips:

• I mash about half the potatoes and cube the other half; that way the mashed potatoes thicken the soup but there are still enough chunks for a nice texture. If you decide ahead of time that you won't be mashing any of the potatoes, add more flour in the beginning, up to 2/3 c.

• Spices are of course to taste. I put in about a teaspoon of salt at the beginning, and taste it later to see if it needs more. Bacon will add a salty flavor, so you might not need as much salt if you put in a lot of bacon. The cheese will add saltiness too, so don't oversalt it in the beginning. I put in about 1 1/2 teaspoons of Essence, and several dashes each of pepper & season salt.

• As for the vegetables... the recipe I adapted this from didn't call for any onion/carrots/celery so I just guess on quantities (and actually didn't put in any celery since my husband doesn't like it, but it would've tasted really good in there!) I had about two big handfuls of carrots and about 1/3 of a chopped onion.

• A soup like this really holds the heat, so if you turn off the burner and then stir in the sour cream at the end, the sour cream will help it to cool off just a bit before you serve it.

Glazed Carrots

If your kids are like mine and carrots are one of the few vegetables they like, give this recipe a try!

1 pound baby carrots, or peeled & sliced regular carrots

1/3 c orange juice

3 T brown sugar

2 T butter

1 tsp orange peel
1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

dash of mustard spice

Place carrots in a saucepan, cover halfway with water. Cover with a lid, boil until carrots are just tender*. Drain, then return carrots to pan. But butter in pan so it can start melting. Mix cornstarch with orange juice and pour over carrots. Add remaining ingredients, mix carefully so as not to break up the carrots. Bring mixture to a boil so the cornstarch has a chance to thicken the liquid. Remove from heat and serve!

*Be sure not to overcook the carrots; if anything, undercook slightly when boiling since they will be returned to the heat for the sauce.