Thanksgiving Dinner

So I thought I should mention that Thanksgiving turned out pretty well. There were some last minute late night trips to the store(s) the night before and phone calls to my sister for turkey cooking advice the morning of, but it all worked out and we had a delicious meal (even if the kids only ate the store bought rolls).

Thanksgiving

I'm starting to think we should skip Thanksgiving this year. I mean, just the food part. We'll still remember to give thanks. There's not really any point in making a big meal that my kids won't eat. I guess there's the pie. Maybe we'll just eat pie tomorrow.

Roasted Winter Vegetables/Soup

The cool weather has made me feel like making soup. This one is made from the leftovers of the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Winter Vegetables. Delicious! And so easy:

1 lb carrots, 1 lb parsnips, 1 large sweet potato, 1 small butternut squash

Peel, cut, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 425 for 25-35 min. (Sprinkle w/ fresh parsley if you like.)

The Roasted Vegetable Soup is simple. Coarsely puree the roasted veggies in a blender/food processor, add chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want to make it vegetarian) and heat it up! If you have an awesome blender like a VitaMix this would take minutes!

My husband really liked the soup but I think I like the veggies better.

Green Smoothies

We've been sick the last two weeks (my daughter, though immunized twice, even managed to catch the chicken pox). We are are still dealing with lingering coughs and runny noses so I've been making a lot of 'green' smoothies.

I have no exact measurements, just add what you like. If your kids (or you) don't like so much greens start with just a little spinach and then add more each time as you get used to the taste.

Banana Berry Smoothie

1. Fill blender with spinach and about a cup of water/juice, blend

2. Add 1-2 kale leaves, blend

3. Add one banana, blend

4. Add frozen berries (I use blueberries & strawberries- about 1 cup each), blend until smooth

Tropical Green Smoothie (This one actually turns out green)

Follow 1-3 above (I like to use orange juice with this one)

4. Add frozen mango & pineapple (about 1 cup each), blend until smooth

(I don't know why this keeps downloading sideways, sorry.)

safety first

I sliced my thumb while chopping carrots today. Be careful with your fingers when cutting everyone. :P I might have to keep cooking to a minimum for a week or so.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Hot Fudge Sauce (Dani Carbajal)

1 bag chocolate chips

1 stick butter

1 can condensed milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter and chocolate over a low heat in a heavy saucepan. Slowly add canned milk and powdered sugar alternating a little at a time. Turn up heat and cook for 8 minutes stirring constantly. Take off heat and add vanilla. Refrigerate any unused sauce.

(…but make sure your kids don’t know you put it in there. ‘Cause they might get up early and eat it all for breakfast while you’re still sleeping- which is why I have no picture for you.)

Crustless Spinach Quiche

My wonderful friend Chelsea told me about this fabulous last minute recipe. Just keep a some frozen chopped spinach in the freezer and you'll be ready anytime you need a quick and easy dinner. Usually I garnish it with chopped tomatoes with salt and pepper and, since it's crustless, some french bread. This time though we had bruschetta (see post below) along with it- even better!

Crustless Spinach Quiche (allrecipes.com)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups shredded Muenster cheese (I just use whatever I have- cheddar, monteray jack)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
• Cook onions in oil until soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.