Turkey remix 2013

Turkey is probably the preferred poultry in our house.

And since we're entering the glorious time of holiday feasting we're also looking to make the most of our leftovers.

Here are two new couldn't-be-easier ways to rework your turkey bird.

Balsamic Pasta with Turkey and Roasted Vegetables
1-2 cups leftover cooked turkey
1 pound box of pasta (i had tri-color rotini on hand)
1 bottle of balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1-2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup crumbled feta, plus more for garnish

Cook up a box of your family's favorite pasta-or whatever you have on hand-penne, rotini, rigatoni, ziti.

While your pasta's boiling chop or dice 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups of turkey and coat with about 1/3 bottle of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Set aside.

Chop tomatoes in half, if they are really juicy, squeeze some of the juice and seeds out onto a paper towel. Grab two handfuls of fresh spinach and roughly chop.

Once pasta has been cooked and drained combine pasta, turkey, tomatoes, spinach, 1/2 cup feta cheese and another 1/3 bottle of the dressing and toss. Place in a large covered casserole and bake covered at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. You want this to be warm, but not baked and dry.

Serve up and top with a bit more crumbled feta.

You could marinade your turkey overnight for this dish, it certainly couldn't hurt.

Turkey Tacos
A turkey and a taco kit walk into a bar.....have yourself a margarita and guess what happens.

My advice is this--warm your leftover turkey in a skillet with 1/2 cup chicken stock, then add taco seasoning and instead of using the water that the box calls for, replace it with chicken stock. You simply can't go wrong.


If you want more turkey ideas here are some other dishes we've done at our house

BBQ Turkey Stack on Pumpkin Cornbread

Turkey Vegetable Pie

Calzones just sub your turkey for the chicken

Cavatappi with Turkey and Peas

Happy Thanksgiving!
Watch a parade or some football!
Have a laugh and/or an adult beverage!
Enjoy the weekend shopping or hunting or trimming your tree!

Introducing Holiday Hostess (Prep the Pantry)

It's November 1st-otherwise known at our house as "bring on the Holidays".

There will be meals and merriment, guests and gracious blessings. It's my job to help make all of this happen without driving myself and everyone around me bonkers.

Behold the "blog-series"---

I'm starting my Holiday Hostess prep now and sharing my steps to managing the household for the holidays and happy hostessing. Because, if there's one thing I can do, it's make a plan.

I hope you'll join in the fun!

I say fun, because to me it IS FUN.

It requires the use of a bit of logic, a little forethought and lots of been-around-the-block-experience. That's all.

Its not rocket-science. Its party science. There's a difference.

I think there are those of us who enjoy Hostessing and those who are burdened by it, if you want to embrace it then stick with me and we'll hostess our way through the Holidays together.

Holiday Hostess- Prep the Pantry

As the hub for all of your everyday meal planning, holiday treat prep and perhaps last-minute sanity saver, it's helpful to get your pantry in tip-top shape well before the craziness begins.

At our house, the pantry needs extra attention this time of year because ever since Christmas ended last year, it's gradually accumulated unexplainable junk. Its as if every holiday and birthday leaves us with a few extra random "treats" that somehow wind up in the furthest reaches of my pantry. 

Easter Grass, party blowers, floral wire, camouflage napkins, super why treat bags anyone? No? Okay, they're going to the trash then...

So, now is the perfect time to clean out (yes, everything), clean up (might as well since you've emptied everything anyhow) and rearrange. This also enables you to inventory what you need and organize your storage space in a way that works for you.

(This is where I could tell you exactly how to organize your pantry, but you see your is yours and mine is mine and it isn't for me to say what method works for you.)

Here's my "after" pantry and I will tell you that for me I have sugars and sweeteners together, oils together, flours and meal together, pastas, canned goods (soups, veggies then fruits), I have a section of bevereages and mixes, baking needs, sweet seasoning, savory seasonings, snacks for the family. Breakfast is always on the top shelf for us. I have no explanation for that one. It just is.

Do what works for you and makes sense to you. 

I can't tell you how much better this feels once you have it done and out of the way. You must know that if you are hosting any type of holiday gathering or any company that they will inevitably want to "help" while they are at your house and the last thing you want is the dread of embarrassment when they go to try to grab the flour for you and are engulfed in a pumpkin-bubble-piñata-peep-avalanche. What a way to go.....

Now that you're all prepped and organized, your guests safety's no longer an issue! Ha!

Now, for the inventory. Here's my (probably incomplete) list of items I stock for the Holidays. If I am out (or currently have the same one I bought LAST November) I put these on the list of things to get:

Sugars- White, Brown, Confectioner's

Poultry Seasoning

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Cloves

Extract-Vanilla, Almond, Peppermint

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Canned Pumpkin

Cream Soups- Mushroom, Chicken, Celery

Chicken Stock

Salt-Kosher and Table

Flours- All Purpose, Self Rising

Cornmeal Mix
Dipping Chocolate
Emergency Jar of Turkey Gravy

The good news is that most if not all of these items will be on sale now or in coming weeks.
Take inventory now and stock up. 

Let me just tell you that the canned goods and dried items in the store on Thanksgiving eve are not one iota fresher than the ones in the stores now. The only difference is you can save yourself some sanity by getting what you know you'll need now instead of battling the holiday chaos at the last minute.

While you're in the pantry--also take a moment to inventory your food storage containers and bags/wraps. This is another tricky area that can cause a less-than-helpful moment when you have a kitchen full of company.

Match up tops and bottoms of containers, evaluate what you need now. 

Get some containers for sending home leftovers with folks that you never plan to get back. 

Pick up a few disposable pans for taking items to neighbors and get-togethers. 

Get gallon sized storage bags for meal prep and leftovers and make sure you have extra aluminum foil on hand. 

Thank me later. :)

Next time we'll talk about prepping the rest of your kitchen for success as a Holiday Hostess. Be sure you're following along here or on Bloglovin' for the rest of the Holiday Hostess series. 

I'm working on my 12 Goals for Christmas 2013 that i shared last week and these are just steps in the process to be prepared for the holidays. I hope your holidays are happy, too!

12 Goals of Christmas 2013

Less than 10 days until Halloween and this is what's on my mind.

The truth is, I know that the day after Halloween, all of our attention jumps to Christmas...and a little Thanksgiving in between.

I've been thinking a lot about what it is that I want the holidays to be for our family and I knew I had goals in mind, so while unloading the dishwasher during snack time, I was able to jot them down...in absolutely no particular order...

1. Made in USA- I would like for the majority of gifts we give this year to be made in America. This will be tricky with nieces and nephews, but I'm going to give it a shot.

2. Support Local. When I can, I'll shop locally and support small business. I'm sure I'll be shopping online as well, but want to try to stick to small shops.

3. Give to others and involve the kids. Courtney deFeo's Light Em Up is gearing up and is a wealth of tools and information to get this going for families. I want to join in and keep the kids right in the middle of it.

4. Jay and Lizzy will get 3 gifts and a stocking on Christmas morning. Forever and ever, Amen.

5. Ann Voskamp's book. Check. I ordered mine last night and it will arrive this afternoon. Thank you Amazon Prime. I've read wonderful things about this one and I'm sure it will be a useful tool to building a firm foundation about the real meaning of Christmas for our children. I think it will be a true compass for us parents, too.

6. Advent.
I want to practice it at home as well as church and for the whole family-something relevant to the kids. I already bought my candles when the Cokesbury store was closing. Now I just have to find them. :)

7. Wear our Christmas clothes, don't save them.
You know what "saving" Christmas clothes does for you? Helps you send awesome, fairly expensive clothes to consignment sales for pennies. This year the kids are going to wear the heck out of their Christmas clothes, I'd rather wear and enjoy them than send like new items off for others and have $7 to show for it.

8. Don't Judge.
I hate that we have the tendency to make so many comparisons between ourselves and others during the holidays. I'm not a fan of folks judging what we do and comparing it to what they do. So, I am trying to be part of the solution by not being part of the problem. I like what we're doing for our family and you like what you're doing for yours. It works for all of us to be happy with what is happening in our own lives. If we're happy with that we're less concerned with what others may be doing. "Don't judge lest ye be judged." Check.

9. Life...Be In It.
For those of us who grew up in Nashville, spending a huge chunk of summer Wave Country was a rite of passage. Well, I remember their cups said "Life...Be In It." and that's sort of the mantra I'm using for our everyday lately and the holidays will be no exception. I want to experience our experiences, not just plan them and move on to the next.

10. Jesus in ALL of it. 
Everything with meaning this Christmas should go back to the meaning of Christmas.

11. Ban Doubt.
Despite the list making, thoughtful early selections and purchases I always make, I always give in to the last minute "Have I bought enough for __________ ?????" doubt. It always ends with spending several hundred dollars the week before Christmas. Even thought I've made my list, crossed off every needed item, I give in to this weird doubt and get stressed about gifts at the last minute. I also do the same with food if we're hosting anything. At the last minute I double the menu then have leftovers for days and days. Its just not worth it and I am saying NO this year.

12. Give extra grace (this includes me).
I need to allow myself to let more things slide. Know that everyone gets busy during the holidays and things may not always turn out the way we hope. I'm sure I'll need extra grace this year so I want to make sure I'm giving extra grace whenever I get the chance.

Joseph and I have discussed these goals and are moving into the holidays with them in mind. I'm praying for a special holy season for our family and may need to keep this list taped to the fridge and bookmarked on our phones/iPad--but I think we're off to a good start and pray that 10 years from now all of this is our normal way of dong things and this list isn't necessary.