Bring on the Leftovers!

Bring on the Leftovers!

Yes, I’m already fantasizing about them … I love Thanksgiving leftovers more than I love the big meal on the big day! And here’s my all-time favorite way to eat up those poultry leftovers: Turkey Tetrazzini. Yum!!

Turkey Tettrazini

  • 1 cup mayo (or combination of mayo, plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, etc. … I use 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup veganaisse)
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • Dash of pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups milk
  • 4 cups chopped/cooked turkey (or chicken)
  • 8 ounces spaghetti (I use whole wheat), broken in half, cooked & drained
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 3/4 cup chopped, roasted red bell pepper (from a jar is fine)
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1 cup fresh bread cubes or breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine mayo, flour, salt and pepper in large skillet or Dutch oven, over low heat. Gradually add milk. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Add turkey, cooked spaghetti, peas, roasted red pepper and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Mix lightly.

Coat a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon mixture into dish.

Combine 1/2 cup Parmesan, melted butter and bread cubes or breadcrumbs and toss lightly. Sprinkle over turkey mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

(It’s even better the next day!)

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R.I.P., Twinkies

Farewell, Twinkies. 

Goodbye, corn syrup, sugar, shortening, glucose, monoglycerides, diglycerides, Polysorbate 60 (commonly found in cosmetics, derived from petroleum), cellulose gum (used in hair gel and laxatives), “natural flavors” (not!), artificial flavors (no surprise here!), and yellow and red food dye.

R.I.P.

We really won’t miss you!

Fall Florida Garden

Fall Florida Garden

One of the great benefits of living in the sub-tropical climate of central Florida is that we can garden almost all year-round (with the exception of the dead heat of summer … at that point all that will grow for me are hot peppers, which I don’t love!)

Autumn is such a great time of year here. While everyone else is starting to bundle up, we’re just now starting to turn off the air conditioning for a few hours in the morning and enjoy our outdoor spaces. And part of that for me is amping up my garden for the cool (but mild) fall and winter months. Continue reading

Chicken Christmas Wish List

Chicken Christmas Wish List

My girls gave me their Christmas wish list yesterday. Besides the typical “more carrot peel treats” and “longer free range hours in the yard,” they had an item on there that seems rather outlandish for 3 simple backyard hens:

Yep, it’s the Neiman-Marcus Heritage Hen House.

For only $100,000 (not including delivery), you get a posh, French-style chicken condo, inspired by the Versailles Palace, complete with a library full of books, a chandelier and a custom-built garden.

Poor Starr, Honey and Dorie have to make do with these simple digs in their Florida backyard:

Oh well. Even chickens have dreams of Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, I guess.

Keep dreaming, girls!!

Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

I planted sweet potatoes for the first time ever this year. Put them directly into the ground … which I don’t do with many of my edibles, since the Florida dirt is so sandy where I live. But I read that sweet potatoes thrive in poor soil and don’t need fertilizer. So I planted them (I did mix a bit of my chicken poop compost into the dirt first), mulched them, watered them lightly approximately every other day (unless it rained, which it does a lot this time of year here), and that’s it.

Continue reading

Laura Ingalls & Processed Foods

Laura Ingalls & Processed Foods

I’m a little bit obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Not the semi-fictitious character in her “Little House” books as much as the author herself, as farm wife and neighbor and mentor and friend. I’ve been reading her articles that were published regularly in the Missouri Ruralist newspaper for about a decade, starting around 1913. So cool to read her thoughts from 100 years ago that sound so similar to some of my thoughts these days … living close to the land, being kind and neighborly, raising chickens and a garden, doing your best to keep your home nice, taking time for yourself when life gets super-busy.

The World’s Fair 1915

Author Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mrs. Wilder visited the 1915 World’s Fair in San Francisco … a big trip from her home in the Ozarks where she lived with husband “Manly.” Continue reading

Art Gallery, Home-style

Art Gallery, Home-style

Here’s a fun and simple way to display your munchkin’s artwork … and a great, cheap solution for decorating a blank wall! It’s also the perfect spot to hang paintings or other crafts while they dry. Rotate the display every once in a while, and you’ve got your very own revolving art gallery!

 

 

All you need is some picture hanging wire, 2 decorative hooks, and some mini-clothespins. (I ordered mine on Amazon.)

 

 

 

Hang the wire, stretched tightly, on the 2 hooks. Voila!

To Carb or Not To Carb? Bread Baking!

To Carb Or Not To Carb?

Bread Baking!

There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked, homemade bread. And for me, there’s nothing like the pleasure of making it by hand … no machine (except the oven) … just me, my son and some delicious, fresh ingredients.

Courtesy of “The Republican”

I think there are some foods I just would not be happy giving up. Continue reading