Menu Monday-Turkey Two New Ways

It's Monday again! When I put together this week's menu I tried using turkey two new ways and they were both AWESOME. These are yummy anytime of year, but go ahead and try them this week to build up your tryptophan tolerance (i am not a scientist and have no idea if that is even possible) and keep them handy during the holidays when thinking of uses for leftover turkey!

BBQ Turkey Stack on Pumpkin Corncake

oooh yeah!

Here's what I did--I bought a packaged Turkey brease "tenderloin" (mine was Jennie O brand)-these are usually near the pork tenderloin packeaged to look like one piece of meat. When you open them up-there are two huge breasts. Place them both in a pyrex, bake at 350 for about an hour (per directions). Save one in the fridge for the next recipe and go ahead and slice the other fairly thin.

Coat your sliced turkey breast with your favorite barbecue sauce (turkey and sauce in a storage container, lid on and shake) then set aside.

Add about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to a skillet and get it heating. Make a basic cornbread batter with your favorite cornmeal mix, but make it thick--I would suggest cutting the liquid by half. Then add 3/4 cup canned pumpkin and a dash of ground Allspice and stir to combine. Your batter should be to thick to pour.

Once oil is HOT spoon cornbread batter (about 1/3 cup) into skillet for each corncake. Brown 2 minutes (or so) per side, move to towel to drain.

Stack warm bbq turkey slices on each corncake and prepare to be amazed with yourself! So simple and delicious!!

Vegetable Turkey Pie

Using cooked turkey, chop 1-1/2 cups and set aside. In a mixing bowl combine 1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (I used birdseye "Primavera blend" for this dish-asparagus, peas, red pepper, green beans- but any type you prefer would probably work), 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and chopped turkey. Add mixture to a pie plate (or any small casserole dish), top with prepared pie crust, crimp edges and brush with eggwash, cut three slits in the top and bake at 350 for one hour. Keep an eye on the edge of the crust.

Serve with a Salad. Watch it disappear.

SO that's two days of Turkey, but I would serve something different in between--

Cheesy Gnocchi Casserole with Ham and Peas--this is a great, different but yummy recipe from the food network--I'd never cooked gnocchi before I found this recipe and it was a hit. It's also a great way to use leftover ham after the holidays!

Cheese Burger Casserole
1 pound ground beef, browned with a dash or two of garlic salt
Mixed with 1/2 bag (thawed) frozen shredded hashbrowns, 1 can cream of mushroom, 1+cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Beef Stroganoff there are no less that 6 zillion ways to make beef stroganoff, I think I do something different to mine every time. :) Its always a good go-to to change up the usual menus for us.


That's what's cooking at our house this week! I hope you've found some ways to make the most of turkey time and inspired your own menu this week.

2 new muffins

We're definitely on a muffin kick and I wanted to get these two recipes added to the collection quickly before I forget how much we like them.

Based on the overwhelming success of the Awesome Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins at our house, I came up with my own recipe that has been another hit.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Begin with the basic dry ingredients combined in a bowl:

1 and 1/2 Cups of flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 T brown sugar

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Then add:

1/2 cup oatmeal (dry)

1/2 cup bran buds (All-Bran or Grape Nuts)

2  very ripe mashed bananas

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Now add your wet ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Scoop into lined muffin cups (only fill 2/3 full), bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

The result is a rich, hearty muffin that will start your day off right. They make an awesome snack, too!

Biscuit Muffins

I finally tried some biscuit-muffin cups and they turned out so great. This one is so east and tasty and both kids loved this breakfast. The parents did too!

You'll need:

1 package (8 count) refrigerated biscuit dough

1/3 package pre-cooked breakfast sausage crumbles (I used Jimmy Dean)

3 eggs

Splash of milk

Freshly grated cheddar cheese, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

**12 cup muffin tin AND A BAKING SHEET**

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Place one refrigerated biscuit into each muffin cup making a cup shape with edges just above top of pan. Mix all other ingredients in a small bowl and whip with a fork. I used a small ladle to dip the egg mixture into each of the 8 biscuit cups. I poured the leftover mixture into the 4 remaining spaces of my muffin tin. 

**Place muffin tin ONTO baking sheet then put both into the preheated oven.** The baking sheet is very necessary unless you like to clean your oven very early in the morning. Bake 12-15 minutes or until biscuits are golden and centers appear set. 

I would also add salsa or chopped veggies into this as a way to incorporate more veggies into our meals. I don't think you could go wrong with bell peppers (any color) some finely chopped mushrooms, spinach, or maybe even broccoli. oh, the possibilities!

The biscuits will rise somewhat irregularly, but the end result is beautiful.

and delicious. 

Winner, winner (not chicken) dinner

Yesterday, I told you about our nuggetless month. I thought I'd share some new favorites we've found.

1. Mini Tomatoes-orange, yellow and red. I first mentioned them here.

2. Fried Okra!

Photo Source

Remember, this has been a month of introducing new things and eating more veggies, not necessarily "clean" eating.

Jay really, truly likes okra now and has even ordered it instead of fries at a restaurant. Of course there's ketchup involved and that's okay with me.

Grab a bag of frozen, or make your own when okra's in season, get out your iron skillet and it takes half the time of making French fries in the oven!

3. Meatballs {2 ways}

I don't know about you but ever since this episode of Duck Dynasty, I've questioned myself when making spaghetti and meatballs.

I made turkey meatballs (added plenty of seasoning), browned in a skillet and added a jar of sauce then simmered for maybe an hour. I also used vegetable spaghetti noodles. Jay has asked for "bisghetti" and meatballs over and over.  Joseph also asked me what kind of sausage I used, so I would say I seasoned it well and we didn't need pizza.

I also made "porcupine" meatballs, again using ground turkey. I used a Lipton onion soup mix and one bag of (uncooked) brown minute rice to make my meatballs. I browned them in a skillet, added a can of cream of mushroom and some chicken broth and covered the skillet to simmer for about 40 minutes.

I served them with a big salad and some Mac-n-cheese, (made with veggie noodles). Lizzy and Jay both ate them easily and I will definitely be keeping this in our rotation.

Sorry no food photos. I can't figure out when food bloggers take awesome photos of "what's for dinner" whilst actually cooking, serving and eating dinner. Perhaps I'll get that figured out soon. 

That time I forgot to buy chicken...

Almost a month ago, a perfect storm came about...

I'd been feeling like I wasn't doing enough to keep healthy veggies on the menu for the kids...

Jay's 3 year checkup and encouragement from our doctor to get and keep Jay eating new fruits and veggies....

I totally flaked and forgot to buy chicken nuggets at the store.

So, I thought this might be a good time to force us to eat different things instead of going back to the freezer to ol' faithful night after night.

I'm happy to share that we survived a month without chicken nuggets for dinner.

Not to say the kids haven't had their fair share as in a few trips to CFA and a couple of dinners out with grandparents, but we have only had them out and in moderation which is a win in my book.

We've tried lots and lots of new foods, not had a single fit or meltdown and no one has had to go on a hunger strike. I'm proud of this little accidental experiment.

And, in full-disclosure I bought some nuggets today and will probably serve them to the kids for dinner tomorrow.

Here's what I've learned--

1. If you don't ask, you won't receive. On the first night of my attempt to "get Jay to eat more veggies" I just cooked some steam-in-the-bag-with-cheese frozen veggies, put 1/2  cup in a small bowl for him and 1/4 for Lizzy. I just asked Jay to eat them and explained that we'd be trying new things like Dr. Malone said. He proceeded to eat his veggies right along with the rest of his meal and was proud in the end. Don't ask why this was surprising to me, it just was.

2. Asking a toddler to try something new is not the same as asking him to pretend he likes it. I had to remind myself that my request to the kids each day was "try it". They did it!! They did not, however, always have a good reaction. Its important to realize they are toddlers, not 5th graders and they do not have to clean their plates or use polite compliments. Nor do they know how. If something was gross to them they let me know.

3. This is not about me. Its my job to offer the new experience and encourage them to try new things, it is not my job to force feed them things they do not like in the interest of saying "My kids eat all of their veggies." or "My kids eat anything I put in front of them." A rejection or acceptance of food is just that. It is not a reflection of my parenting, cooking or care for my kids. It just isn't.

4. Getting them involved helps. This is true with Jay at 3, not so much with Lizzy at 16 months. We've taken more trips to the grocery store and Whole Foods with Jay on foot rather than in the cart. While it is more expensive to go this route, it has proven to get him interested in the produce department, paying more attention to what he sees people eating (in real life and on TV), and tasting things.

5. Samples are your friend. I'm sure this is not always true, but it has helped me to buy things I ordinarily wouldn't have and would keep me from buying things the kids won't like if we try then at the store first. Again, probably not the best tip if you're trying to manage your grocery budget to the penny, but for this it worked. We discovered cherry tomatoes, cherries and guacamole that we liked by doing this. I never would have bought the tomatoes or the cherries. It also provides good conversation points to go back to later.

6. Hide the veggies. Some things we've tried outright and others have been hidden. Chocolate Chip (Zucchini) Muffins are a good example. We've also tried Sweet Potato Biscuits. Both are yummy.

7. There's a place for everything. Yes, I am going back to keeping some nuggets on hand. Why? Because my kids do really like them. They will try new things, eat some fruits and vegetables and sometimes eat chicken nuggets and applesauce. I want them to try new things and find new favorites, I also want them to enjoy mealtimes and treats from time to time. That's what we do as adults, so I see no need to set a false set of expectations for my kids. We're just a real family, not a commercial for "clean" eating.

This month has forced me to cook creatively and rely of some tried and true family favorite recipes. I'll try to share some more this week to help me remember what worked and what didn't  keep handy here on the blog.

We've tried new meats, veggies, fruits, breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinner. It became more of an all around "shake up the menu" than an attempt to try every veggie under the sun. Maybe you've been here before and can share some tips with me or maybe you're on this journey yourself and we can all learn from each other.