Food trip Friday PLUS Photo Friday

I like doing memes from time to time, and these are both pretty new to me.  Food Trip Friday is where you post a food – any kind of food.   Photo Friday is where you post a photo that represents the word of the week – this week’s word is PLEASURE.  Food is pleasure to me, AS IS photography.  Two of my favorite things – food and photography!  So here ya go!

If you are new to my blog, welcome!  Please take a moment to click on the “follow” or join my facebook fan page if you like what you see.    The more, the merrier!

I chose this photo because of the colors in the photo, which I love, but also because it demonstrates the complexities of cooking, which I love as well!  A twofer!

And, of course, because this IS a recipe blog, afterall, the recipe that this came from!

I decided to (re)do another of my favorites from my blog, the Grilled Southwest Chicken recipe that I’d gotten from an old blogging friend, Karen – formally of Pediascribe – but now blogging at Forgiven & Loved.

 

In any case, it was a hit then, but not so much of a hit this time.  I think it’s because I tried to tweak it by adding a new favorite of mine, LIME, and doubling the spice/oil mixture.  IT didn’t work – do NOT try it. LOL  Follow THIS recipe instead :)

 

Grilled Southwest Chicken

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp each cumin, oregano & chili powder
3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon(ish) lime juice.  DO NOT USE LOL
salt & pepper to taste

Mix the spices in a bowl together with the oil.  Poke chicken breasts with a fork. In a zipper-type bag, place chicken breasts and spice mixture. Mush together so that each breast is coated. I let mine sit for about 10 minutes while the grill heated up.

Grill the chicken approximately 10 minutes on one side, flip and another 5 on the other.

Be sure to visit my other blog, Coming to a Nursery Near You, for my other take on the photo friday theme as well :)  Thanks for visiting!

Grilled chicken salad, redux

I don't think it gets much easier than this, truly.  I've made grilled chicken salad before, but this may be my new favorite.

Sunday morning, I woke up and knew it was going to be a busy day. My son's first hockey game of the year was Sunday afternoon, and I had errands to run, shopping to do, and my husband did too.  So I took a package of McCormick's Grill Mates Baja Citrus Marinade, mixed it (per the directions) and threw in 4 boneless chicken breasts, which I'd poked a few times with a fork.  It all went into a large zipper bag and into the fridge for the rest of the day.

8 hours later, at 6 pm, I had turned on the grill to a medium flame.  Once it was heated, I put the chicken on and closed the top.  I went to work assembling my salad, which was (admittedly) lacking in ingredients.  But a half a head of iceberg, some croutons and some Roma tomatoes later, and it looked good anyway.  Not very exotic, but it had been a LONG day.

The chicken took at least 20-25 minutes to cook.  But ALL I had to do was turn them, and once they registered the appropriate 165 on the thermometer, they were ready to go.  I sliced them up, placed them on our salad, topped with some spray on salad dressing (vinaigrette, actually) and mmmmMMmm - combined with another version of my new favorite flatbreads, it was a delicious and SIMPLE dinner!

The chicken came out so juicy and so full of flavor - my kids loved it as well.  Next time, I'll make it and slice it for wraps - Yum!

My foray into Grilled Flatbread

Ever since my first experience with grilled flatbreads, being on the buying end of them, I've been enamored with them.  However,  not enough to attempt them on our little tabletop grill that we had.

Just as soon as we moved south to West Virginia, into a house with a deck, I've been obsessed with buying a real, normal grill, and grilled flatbreads were one of my many, many reasons for wanting one.

Well, 2 weeks ago, we became the proud owners of our very first grown-up toy, a two burner grill that now resides on our deck.

In the 2 weeks since the grill joined our family, I've made steak (one of the best in my LIFE, btw), grilled veggies, burgers, burgers and more burgers, and of course, hot dogs.  But no flat breads.  I was a little intimidated, because HELLO? putting dough on a grill?  A HOT grill? How in the heck do they DO that?

I looked up a basic recipe for grilled flatbreads, and when my son nagged me for the 99,000th time, I gave in and wrote it down.
Today, though, I decided to make it.  I don't even know why, because I'd already made lunch and we'd already eaten THAT.  But I suppose it was the fact that I was also making peanut butter play dough that I decided hey, why not try it.  It's a beautiful day, perfect for the grill.

As much as I LOVED the flatbreads we used ot get at the LIttleton Farmer's Market, they weren't exactly brimming with healthy, nutricious stuff.  Sure, you could get them with just tomato, but they were also topped with quite a bit of oil, and my stomach not being what I'd call healthy, I didn't want to do that.  So these flatbreads weren't exactly like what we'd had there, but they came out delicious anyway, and will definitely become a staple in our menu.

Basic flatbread recipe:

1-1/3 c. flour.  I used white flour today, but will definitely be experimenting with whole wheat next time.
1/2 tsp. yeast.  I think I used the wrong kind the first time, because it didn't rise, but the 2nd one didn't either. I think I don't have the right yeast, period.
1/2 c. water
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt - I used Lawry's garlic salt

Mix the water with the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes. It should get frosthy.

While that is setting, mix together the flour, salt and olive oil.  Once the yeast mixture is frothy, mix that into the flour mixture and knead for 2 minutes.  I figure that at this point, I'll add other herbs to the dough once I settle on what I want to use.  For now, though, just using the garlic salt gave the bread a really good taste so that eating it all by itself was still very tasty.  Sit the dough in a warm place, covered with plastic wrap. 

Meanwhile, I heated my grill on high.  The temp got to about 200 degrees or so, I believe.  I only used one burner.  Once the dough had risen, I cut it into 4 sections.  One by one, I rolled it out to a verrrry thin sheet, , lightly brushed it with olive oil, lifted the lid to the grill and, while holding my breath, placed it directly onto the grill's grill.    The heat, though, was such that my dough didn't sag through!  I was thrilled!  I closed the top and waited, MAYYYYBe a minute or so, and checked it, just to be sure.  It was fine.  The edges were getting toasty, and so I took my spatula and checked it's bottom.  It was also getting nicely brown, so at that point, I flipped it.  It probably took about 2 minutes per side, but of course, your grill, and mileage, may vary.

After the first one, where I found that the taste by itself was excellent, I decided to experiment, and while the second one was cooking, I sliced some roma tomato very thinly and put them on the 2nd side.  For the 3rd, I put some more tomato AND some thinly sliced basil.  For #4, I used freshly grated parmesan and more basil.

Unfortunately, I got so distracted with my toppings that I let the flatbreads cook a little too much, but even though they were a bit crunchy, they still turned out wonderfully!

I can't wait to try new ingredients and new toppings and you can be sure, I'll share them with you!

I think I need this book next:

Canned Food Alliance’s message

Did you know that, in some cases, canned foods are actually MORE nutritious for us than their fresh, and typically much more costly counterparts?  I didn’t.  I’ve been operating under the assumption that fresher is ALWAYS better.  Turns out, after watching a video from the Canned Food Alliance that, I was wrong.  Or at least, slightly uneducated.

Did you know that canned pumpkin contains almost
3x the amount of Vitamin A than fresh cooked pumpkin?

Beyond being much easier on the wallet and shopping bill, canned foods last longer and are a big time saver when to a busy person’s day in the kitchen – or especially a busy, not-quite-as-experienced-in-the-kitchen person’s day in the kitchen(ette). 

The process of canning foods has been so perfected that the foods that go into the cans are even fresher when they’re finally cooked (in the can) than the ones that you’ve bought that may have come from across the country!

TwitterMoms has asked us to take a look at this really informative video (that you can watch from my sidebar to the left here) from the Canned Food Alliance and blog about our favorite recipe using at least 2 canned food items.  That’s pretty easy for me, since my cupboard (and recycling bin) is typically full of cans!

If you’ve been a reader for any length of time, you’ll know that I do rely on canned foods, especially on those nights when I’m caught off-guard by the “OMG, it’s 4 o’clock and I haven’t taken anything out for dinner” panic.

Here’s one of my family’s absolute FAVORITE meals, and one that I can literally throw together in less than an hour, usually in the morning, so it can ‘stew’ all day – but I’ve also been known to throw this together at 4pm and serve it at 5:15!

It’s also very cost effective, in that the veggies all can come from cans!

My ALL TIME FAVORITE Beef Stew

• 1 16oz can sliced carrots

• 2 16 oz cans potatoes (you can use whole or sliced)

• 1 4oz. can peas

• 2 lbs. stew meat – this particular time, I left the chunks big.

• 1 large onion, cut into chunks

• 2-4 Tbls flour or corn starch

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

In a big pot, brown the onions in the olive oil.  Add the stew beef and brown it.  It does not have to be cooked through.  Add water to cover the beef (plus maybe an extra inch).  Bring to a boil, and then simmer for a few hours. There’s really no wrong way to do so, as long as the meat becomes tender.  Add the carrots midway through.   After about 2 hours of simmer, add the peas and carrots.   Bring back to a boil.

In a bowl, add the 2-4 Tbls of flour and whisk a small amount of water into it until you’ve got a smooth mixture.  Slowly add this to the boiling stew – this will thicken your stew.  But be sure to do it slowly, and continue to stir as you add, or you’ll have chunks of flour in your stew. NOT COOL!

It’s really easy, and wonderfully YUMMY! :) 

As for spices –I add salt & pepper when I'm cooking the meat - but I leave this up to you and your preference. 

There you have it. It’s so hearty and incredibly delicious, especially paired with some yummy bread!

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About Canned Food Alliance

The Canned Food Alliance is a partnership of the American Iron and Steel Institute’s Steel Packaging Council, the Can Manufacturers Institute, select food processors and affiliate members.  The CFA serves as a resource for information on the nutrition, convenience, contemporary appeal and versatility of canned food.  The CFA is a proud supporter of the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Fruits and Veggies More Matters program.  For hundreds of mealtime solutions, visit www.mealtime.org.

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Fridge Scampi

Yet another witty title, eh?

There are no shortage of low-fat shrimp scampi recipes. But if you’re like me and you just, out of the blue, decide that you want to make shrimp scampi, chances are you’ll not have everything that’s called for in the given recipe.  That was the situation when I came up with tonight’s dinner.

Most low fat scampi recipes call for butter, wine, chicken broth, shrimp, parsley, garlic, perhaps some olive oil.   

I had a handful of frozen shrimp (small, size 55-60 cocktail shrimp left over from New Year’s LOL)

I had garlic.

I had grape tomatoes.

I had wilted parsley.

I had no wine.

I had no chicken broth and didn’t feel like mixing any up from the package.

I came up with my own version.

First, I lightly browned 2 cloves of garlic in a pan with about a teaspoon of unsalted butter while I put some water on to boil for angel hair.

Once the garlic was nice & happy, I tossed the tomatoes in – probably 10-15 of them.  They danced around the pan while I finished taking the tails off the defrosted shrimp.   (WHY do they leave them on?!)

Once the tomatoes began to soften, I added the shrimp and and tossed them together with the rest of the pan, trying to make sure everything was coated in the garlic/butter/tomatoey goodness.  Since my shrimp were already precooked, once they were heated, they were done.  I shut the pan off and waited for the angel hair to finish.

Once the pasta was done, I strained it and then drizzled roughly a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into the same pan I’d boiled the pasta in.  When the pasta was drained thoroughly, I added it back to the pan and tossed to coat with the EVOO.  I then dumped the shrimp/tomato/garlic/butter madness into the same pan as the pasta and again, lightly tossed them together, coating everything with pan juices.  It was beautiful.

 

Enjoy!

Guest Post: Breakfast Soft Tacos

Recently, I came across Simple Daily Recipes, and I was immediately drawn to the beautiful photos and delicious recipes that the site’s author, Jill McKeever, offers.  She’d mentioned that she was looking to do some guest posts, and while it’s not something I normally do, it’s not for lack of WANT!  So I jumped at the chance to have her do something here on My Tasty Space.  The following is Jill’s post.  Enjoy!

Also, if you happen to come visit via Jill’s blog, welcome!  I hope you’ll take a look around, perhaps follow me or friend me on facebook. I love meeting new people and getting comments!

Thanks Jill!

 

Breakfast Soft Tacos

During the week or on the weekends, you always have time to make Breakfast Soft Tacos.  You can easily make them from any leftover sautéed vegetables or thinly sliced fresh vegetables.  The time saving trick is tossing them in the pan with the eggs and milk and scrambling them all together. 

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

To make 2 healthy size tacos

1 teaspoon butter or use non-stick spray for pan

2 tablespoons thinly sliced yellow onion

2 eggs

2 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon favorite chunky salsa

a good pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

10 baby spinach leaves or 1/4 cup spinach

2 flour tortillas

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or your favorite sharp cheese

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small fry pan.  Add onions, eggs, milk, salsa, and seasonings; scramble together.  When the eggs first begin to set, stir in spinach; continue scrambling eggs until fully set, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan over medium high heat.  Warm one tortilla for 30 seconds, checking that the griddle is not too hot to burn the tortilla.  Flip and layer one half with cheese and scrambled eggs.  If you wish to add more salsa, this is the time to do it.  Use a spatula to fold the tortilla in half and continue heating until tortilla is lightly crispy.  If you like your tortilla crunchy, keep cooking and flipping until you have crunchy breakfast quesadillas.  Those rock!

Try this recipe; I guarantee you'll be full until lunchtime. 

Recipe and photo by Jill McKeever at SimpleDailyRecipes.com

Challenges

My enjoyment in cooking, and specifically in cooking healthy meals has become a real challenge.  It’s one of the reasons why I haven’t been posting as much as I used to, because it’s just so hard sometimes to come up with alternatives for the favorites I’ve always used.  The list of things I can’t eat seems to grow more and more, which – when you’re a foodie like me, is just depressing!

I can’t eat/use:

• onions
• peppers
• milk or cream
• ANYTHING high in fat

As a result, I’ve been forced away from some of the things I’ve always enjoyed, like STUFFED PEPPERS, sausage and peppers, sausage and potatoes, even my favored American Chop Suey, has changed because of the whole NO ONIONS thing.  IT SUCKS!

So, too, is the stomach problems I’ve developed in the last couple of years since my gallbladder removal and hernia repair surgery.  It seems that it made things worse, instead of better!

As a result, I’ve been eating low-fat as much as I can, as often as I can.  This often means that I’ve cooked something completely different for my family if it’s too high in fat – which, it seems, I have a very low threshhold for, and me eating a microwave-baked potato  with some low-fat cheese and sour cream. Yah, not much fun, especially for a food blogger.

Of course, one of the POSITIVE effects of this is that I did lose some weight, and I HAVE been actively seeking out and creating recipes that are low enough in fat for me to eat, that are still yummy and enticing to my kids and husband!  They’ve learned to enjoy Boca Burgers, mainly out of my need for BURGERS once in a while, and my 6 year old daughter, who was watching me make myself a salad for lunch last week, purposely asked for and made herself a salad as well – of SPINACH, broccoli and low-fat cheese! 

I’ve also learned how much more rewarding it is to buy frozen vegetables and cook them in some veggie broth, than to buy canned veggies, which have been cooked processed!  Plus, it’s MUCH cheaper, and I’m ALL ABOUT THE CHEAP!

So, I hope you will stick around, maybe say HELLO, offer some advice about my goofy problems.

Spanish Rice & Chicken Casserole

Ok, I really don’t know what to call this recipe, but it’s so good, you won’t care what the name is.

I was feeding my family of 5, so these are the amounts I used to make probably twice as much as I really needed, but YAY for leftovers!

Spanish Rice & Chicken Casserole

• 2 boxes (store brand) Spanish rice mix
• 1 14.5oz can stewed tomatoes (zesty style)
• 2 half chicken breasts, boneless
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Light sour cream
• flour tortillas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 really big skillet!

First off, I sliced the chicken breasts into 1/4” medallions and then sauteed them in the skillet with a very light coating of butter.  Once they’d started cooking, I added one package of Spanish rice seasoning mix to the pan and coated the chicken.  I cooked the chicken for approximately 3 minutes, then removed it from the pan to a plate.

Next, I prepared the rest of the Spanish rice as directed but because I only had 1 can of stewed tomatoes, that’s all I used.  Once the rice had been “browned”, I added the seasoning mix, water, tomatoes according to package. I also added the chicken back into the mixture, along with the cup of frozen corn and cup of frozen spinach.  I added these things in because well, corn goes great with mexican anything, and they’d never notice the spinach and they could definitely use the added nutrients!

I let the huge mixture cook for probably 30 minutes or until the juices had all be absorbed by the rice, and then I topped it with maybe 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar.  I heated up some tortillas in the microwave and my family chose whether they’d have it on that or in the bowl or both.  It was DELICIOUS, both of my kids wanted 2nds – and even though there was some spiciness from the “zesty” tomatoes, they both agreed that it was awesome.

Now I like to figure this out, too

spanish rice mix x 2 - $2

can of tomatoes x 1 - $1

1 lb chicken  - $2

frozen veggies - $1

tortillas - $1

$7 for a full, satisfying and nutritious meal that served my 5, plus 2nds, plus still PLENTY for today’s lunch!

The ooos and ahhhs of a well-fed family?  PRICELESS! LOL

Notes:  I’ve made this similarly with hamburger before, but now that I’m thinking about it, I would bet it would be great with pork as well. 

Catch him in the act! LOL

It's not food related, but how SO TOTALLY COOL is this!?  If you have little ones who are looking for concrete PROOF that Santa exists, check this out.

Mead Johnson, Maker of Enfamil, Loses Multi-Million Dollar False Advertising Case Against Store-Brand

This is a sponsored guest post written by a Press Release on behalf of PBM Products. Post powered by Sponzai.

GORDONSVILLE, VA., December  2 , 2009—PBM Products, LLC, a leading infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to Walmart, Sam's Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, and other retailers, has received a favorable jury verdict and a $13.5 million damages award in its false advertising lawsuit against Mead Johnson & Co., the operating subsidiary of   Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) (“Mead Johnson”), the makers of the national-brand Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula.  Mead Johnson is 83 percent-owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

 

PBM’s lawsuit claimed that Mead Johnson engaged in false and misleading campaigns against PBM’s competing store-brand of infant formulas, suggesting they do not provide the same nutrition as Mead Johnson’s brands.  PBM’s store-brand infant formulas cost up to 50 percent less than Enfamil® LIPIL®.  The $13.5 million in damages awarded by the jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the largest damages awards ever for a false advertising case.

 

“This decision by a jury of the people confirms that Mead Johnson’s ads have been false in suggesting that there is a nutritional difference between our store-brand formula products and their products, when in fact the only major difference is price,” said PBM CEO Paul B. Manning.  “Despite Mead Johnson’s scare tactics, parents are assured that PBM’s formula products are as high quality and nutritious as Mead Johnson’s.”

 

U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer issued his written rulings yesterday following the November 10^th jury verdict. Judge Spencer’s written rulings permanently enjoined Mead Johnson from making any false statements concerning PBM's infant formula, including the claims Mead Johnson previously made in Enfamil advertising that "It may be tempting to try a less expensive store brand, but only Enfamil LIPIL is clinically proven to improve brain and eye development," and "there are plenty of other ways to save on baby expenses without cutting back on nutrition."  The Court also ordered Mead Johnson to retrieve from the public domain all advertising or promotional materials containing these or any other false claims about PBM's store brand infant formula.  

The details of the decision and the complaint are posted online in full at:

 

·      http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/Order_Laches.pdf

·      http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/PBM_Complaint_MJ_III_LIPIL.pdf

 

The nutritional supplements under examination in the case are two fats, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which Mead Johnson calls “LIPIL®” solely for marketing purposes and touts as promoting infant brain and eye development. PBM’s claim focused on Mead Johnson’s direct mailing to more than 1.6 million parents of an alarming blurry picture of a child’s cartoon duck next to a clear picture of the same image which suggested that anything other than the Enfamil LIPIL® blend of ingredients is inferior and will result in poor eye and brain development.  Other parts of the false advertising campaign consist of statements that only Enfamil LIPIL has been proven to confer visual and mental benefits on infants, and store-brand formulas are a “cut-back in nutrition” compared to Enfamil. 

 

PBM successfully argued that these advertisements were false and misleading especially since PBM store- brand infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil.  PBM infant formulas are formulated to contain DHA and ARA, and are sourced from the same supplier in amounts which equal or exceed the DHA and ARA in Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL®. 

 

This decision marks the third time PBM Products has sued Mead Johnson for false advertising claims. On the prior occasions Mead Johnson admitted that it made false claims about PBM’s products.  It is also the first false advertising case to focus on the issue of DHA and ARA nutritional ingredients in formula, which were introduced into the market in 2003 and have become a staple in recent years by many brands as key components for infant development.

 

“This jury verdict should send a significant and clear message to Mead Johnson about the way it conducts marketing and advertising for its brands,” said Manning.  “This lawsuit also demonstrates our complete commitment to defending our products and the valuable brands of our retail partners.”

 

“As a parent and supporter of children’s medical research, I take a personal responsibility in assuring our customers that the products we produce are healthy and nutritionally equivalent to brand names like Enfamil® LIPIL®.  It is important, especially now, for parents to know that there are lower priced yet highly nutritious store-brand formulas that will provide the same benefit to their children as any national brand name formula product,” Manning added.  

 

The U.S. infant formula market is estimated at $3.4 billion and the global market is estimated at $7.9 billion.

 

All of PBM’s formulas, and for that matter all of U.S. infant formulas, are subject to the exacting standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980.  This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formula products sold in the United States provide the necessary levels of identified nutrients required for the growth of healthy babies. For more information, visit this FDA link.

 

PBM Products was represented by the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.  Partners from the firm’s advertising practice, Harold P. Weinberger and Jonathan M. Wagner in New York, led the team.  

 

About PBM

PBM is privately owned and based in Gordonsville, VA.  PBM companies specialize in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing consumer food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit www.pbmproducts.com.

 

Enfamil® LIPIL® are registered trademarks of Mead Johnson & Co.

Save with Sav-a-Lot

As I’ve mentioned before, I need to be able to be thrifty when feeding my family.  As a 1 income family, we can’t afford to over-spend on ANYTHING, even food. So when I hear about things like this, I feel the NEED to pass it along to my bloggy friends.

In fact, I’ve written in the past about how I can easily feed my family for under $15 a meal, but the fact is, when it comes to HOLIDAY meals, that’s just impossible.

Or is it?!

Sav-A-Lot is making it easy this holiday season to feed your family of 4 a wonderful holiday meal for UNDER $20!  I know – it sounds impossible, right?  But it’s not!  They’re offering a $5 coupon on their website, and with the rest of the fixings for a delicious holiday meal priced REALLY nice, it’s a snap.  Santa would be proud.

 

You might be thinking “yeah, but what do THEY consider a nice holiday meal? Spam and boxed mashed?”

No!

Their menu includes ham, sweet potatoes, salad (with dressing), veggies, pineapple for the ham, rolls, mac & cheese AND PIE!  All of that for $20 and then you apply the $5 coupon and you’re feeding your family for $15. 

With over 1,500 stores nationwide, there’s sure to be one near you. Go grab your holiday dinner and then put the extra money you saved towards a present for yourself! :)

Have a bigger family than 4?  No problem – the coupon is good for purchases over $20, so grab some extras and still, you save $5 on it. 

Happy holidays!

My Thanksgiving Menu 2009

I’m attempting to scale back this year.   In the last few years, I’ve attempted to really make our dinner something spectacular.  I don’t think anyone but me noticed – so this year? Basics is #1.

• Turkey – cleaned inside and out, buttered inside and out, sprinkled with salt and pepper - roasted on 250°F all night*.  By the morning, it will be done, the house will smell incredible.  This in itself is a tradition that’s been a part of my family history for decades.  Truly, it is NOT Thanksgiving for any of my siblings if we haven’t woken up to the smell of Thanksgiving. [low-fat option for me – eating the white meat instead of my REAL love of the thigh meat!]
  
• Mashed potatoes – not boxed – REAL potatoes.  I peel and cut them into cubes and cover them in salted water the day before.  30 minutes before I’m ready to serve dinner, I place them on the stove, bring them to a boil and then time them.  10 minutes later, they’re done (usually).  I poke them with a fork to make sure.  Then I mash them with some canned milk and butter.  Canned milk (evaporated) just makes them SO creamy and delicious!  [low-fat option for me? None really – although I might try an old standby of mashing some with chicken broth instead. I dunno]
  
• Baked mashed sweet potatoes – I wrap my peeled sweet potatoes in foil and bake them in a 350 oven the day before – typically when I also cook the corn bread for my next item. [low-fat option for me – I can eat these because I don’t put butter on them at all!]
  
• A new favorite of mine – cornbread cranberry stuffing.  Corn bread, cranberries, almonds, ginger – it’s incredible.  I’ll post the directions for this soon.  [low-fat option for me – I can eat this if I scale back on the butter that the recipe calls for. This works out well, considering I’m the only one who eats it LOL]
  
• Sausage stuffing.  Here’s another OLD family tradition.  Although I do not technically STUFF the bird, it’s stuffing.  It’s not DRESSING.  DRESSING is what you put on salad! ;) Another tradition involving this particular holiday food is being sure to include your kids in the tearing the bread into bite-sized pieces preparation that goes along with it.  My grandmother reminded me, every.singe.time I helped her make this stuffing to make sure “the bread isn’t too big or too small!” – just as she did with my mom – and now just as I do with my son (and soon, daughter!).  If I’m on the phone with my mom or sister and mention that I’m making the stuffing, they’ll chime in with “and make sure the bread isn’t too big or too small!” in loving tribute to my Nana.  [low-fat option for me? hahahahaha. NONE. I will have just a tiny bit, though – stomach be damned.]
  
• The one thing I have made a concerted effort to do now is that NOTHING comes from a can on the big holidays.  My family deserves freshly made food.  So I’ll also include some corn and perhaps carrots – oooh, maybe some honey glazed carrots – as side dishes! [low-fat option for me – no brainer. I can eat all the veggies I want, as long as there’s no butter. ]
  
• Home-made pan gravy.  Made from the drippings from the turkey, I add some addition broth (chicken broth, truth be told).  Brought to a boil, you just thicken it with some flour & water (mixed together).  [Be sure to use COLD water when mixing the flour & water.]  Whisk out the lumps and voila! YUMMY gravy not from a jar. [low-fat option for me? Kind of out of luck with that, but I’ll have a tiny bit.  JUST a tiny bit, though.]
  
• Dessert.  I’m thinking maybe my apple pie, since it is such a crowd (read: all 5 of us) pleaser, and it’s easily made!  [low-fat option for me – MINE. ALL MINE!  oops.  I can have *some* – a small piece.]

That’s it.  No home-made orange cranberry sauce. No homemade rolls. No baked squash with apples. I have to live a low-fat lifestyle, so I won’t even be able to EAT most of what I’m cooking – or at least, not in the manner to which I have been accustomed to for the last 40(ish) years.

My new family tradition is when we all gather around the table and we each give thanks for something. Sometimes, it makes me cry, thinking about my grandparents and how much I miss them - but it makes me thankful that I've passed their memories on to my kids, and although 2 of my kids never even met them, they will know them in their hearts, always.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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*Note: I KNOW that the way I cook the turkey isn't up to snuff with the turkey hotline people. I've TRIED the turkey hotline people's way for several years - and was paid back by turkey that I didn't enjoy. Turkey that I would even wind up throwing away because we didn't eat it all. Last year, I decided to go back to my mom's way of cooking it and we quite literally would have licked the bones, if there were any meat left on them! So please. I know. Ok? :)

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Target & TwitterMoms wants to know what what your Thanksgiving traditions are. You could win too!

 

 

The OMG-SO-Good apple pie, revisited

Apple pie is like the official mascot of Fall, isn't it? Once the apple trees are laden with their beautiful babes, we start thinking of pies, crisps, crumbles, cakes and more.

I, of course, am one of those people. Just this last couple of months, I've followed and created so many delicious apple recipes, my family have been VERY happy with me.

One such recipe that I had to come searching my own blog for was my apple pie. Of course, things had changed and I had a different kind of apple, but it turned out even better than I remembered!

You will need:

• 7 Macintosh YORK apples or other similarly tart apple
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbls. butter
• 2 Tbls. flour
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Ready-to-use pie crust (the kind you unroll)
• an extremely helpful 6 yr old named Libby
• Deep dish pie dish is helpful.

First things first, I put the bottom pie crust into my glass pie dish and threw it in the oven while I prepared the apples. I poked the bottom of the crust with a fork several times, though I have no idea what that did for it LOL

Thanks to AMAZINGINLY fast shipping from Amazon, I peeled my apples in record time with my new apple peeler and then cored and chopped them into chunks.

My daughter mixed the sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.

Once the apples were chopped into bite-sized pieces, we tossed the apples into the bowl with the sugar mixture and made sure every single apple piece was coated!

Next, we layered the apples into the pie dish, being careful because it's hot now. We cut the butter up into small chunks and placed it around the apples.

Next, we placed the top crust on to the pie, pinching the pie crust closed along the edges. We cut a couple of ventilation holes on top and then rimmed the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning. I painted some scrambled egg white on top of the crust to help encourage that golden brown..ness.

Into the 375 degree oven (on a cookie sheet to prevent messy, burning spills). I baked ours for about 45 minutes or so - it really depends on the apples you use. The firmer the apple, the longer in the oven. But don't let them get TOO mushy. My suggestion for after the pie is done is to let it sit for a little while - an hour is good. That lets the juices settle and of course, the pie cools down from the molten lava stage. Top with some GOOD vanilla ice cream and you're in HEAVEN!!!!!