Turkey Pot Pie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I cheated and made a turkey last weekend as well because after hosting on the actual holiday, I never feel like dealing with the leftovers the next day but I always LOVE having a few of these in the freezer.
I like to make my own pot pie filling. You can make it with a can of soup but I sometimes find them very salty. This way, I can control the salt in the chicken broth and pack it full of meaty goodness.
You can always cheat and buy the pie crust or pick up a ready made fresh one at the Stone Crock bakery in St. Jacobs. I had time so I like to use the real thing.

I add alot of cooked leftover turkey.

And the final product.

Creamed Turkey

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. celery salt
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
4 cups cubed, chopped chicken or turkey

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add veggies and cook until tender.
Stir in flour and celery salt. Cook and stir 1 minute.
Whisk in milk and broth. Cook and whisk until thick and bubbly, then stir in turkey.
Makes 2 pies.

Crockpot Stuffing

Just in time for Thanksgiving, as promised, here's my tried and true Crockpot stuffing recipe. It originally came from Country Woman magazine and once I found it, I have never stuffed another bird. It's tastes very much like a traditional stuffing but is way easier then wrestling with a raw bird at 6 am. Some people that I have passed this along to add a pound of bacon(pre-cooked), some people add a couple cans of mushrooms etc. It can be doctored to suit your family's taste. It sure makes things easier when you have a small kitchen and a lot to prepare at the last minute. Since I haven't actually made it yet, here's a photo of my good 'ole crock pot. Nothing fancy here.

Crockpot Stuffing
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup butter or margarine
about 13 cups of day old bread, cubed ( I use French or Italian, it's a little drier and bigger cubes make for drier stuffing) you can also toast it lightly in the oven first
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
(I just dump in a bunch of seasonings to taste)
2 eggs
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

In a large skillet, saute veggies with butter until tender. IN a large bowl, toss bread crumbs with seasonings. Add veggie mixture. Combine eggs and broth and add to above. Transfer to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. If you like it crispier, turn it up and turn it a couple times.
You can't really go wrong with this recipe. I hope you try it.

Beautiful Fall

It's a beautiful fall day here in Southern Ontario. We've had a couple of light frosts but even the tender impatiens have managed to hang on. I have a weakness for fall Mums. I'm not too big on decorating for Hallowe'en but I really like having some colour outdoors through the fall.
I usually get my plants locally at Belgian Nursery. The selection is huge and the price is very reasonable. Here's a peek.....

 

 

I also have a weakness for the gourds. They are so unique and colourful and I picked up this wicker cornucopia for a very reasonable price also at Belgian. AND I can always bring it in to help decorate the Thanksgiving table.

Of course, Lindor thinks she's "helping"......

with the fall decorating. Enjoy this beautiful season and all it has to offer.

Billy Bars

I couldn't get a decent photo of these bars no matter how many times I took it but you can rest assured, they are simply delicious! Corrina says these are the Number ONE square and they were especially yummy because I used Epicure Belgian milk chocolate this time around. They're nutty, crunchy and smooth with creamy Butterscotch filling. Give them a whirl.

Billy Bars

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter (melted)

Topping:
1 300g package Chipits milk chocolate bits (or Belgian if you're feeling rich)
1 cup slivered almonds
1 225g package Skor bits
1 1/3 cups caramel sundae sauce
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Combine first 4 ingredients in mixing bowl. Add melted butter. Mix well. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the mixture for the topping. Press remainder into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350F for 12 -15 minutes.

Topping: Combine baking chips, almonds and toffee bits. Sprinkle evenly over base, mix together sundae sauce and flour until smooth. Pour evenly over crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture on top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden. Cool completely then cut into squares. If you can wait that long.

Strawberry cards

At last year's Lindor crop, the theme was strawberries, so the cards I designed all had a strawberry theme. I used green gingham paper on most of the ten card designs. I wish someone would come up with a gingham line. It is so useful and looks great in a lot of situations. I found a couple extras in my stash and in the spirit of "finishing" projects, I put them together and have already given one away.
Isn't that why we make cards in the first place?

Blue Hubbard Squash

Like most of you, I'm starting to think about hosting Thanksgiving which I do for the extended family on a regular basis. I like to have as much of the work done ahead of time as possible so I can spend time with the family and visit, instead of slaving in the kitchen for much of the day.

 I have a few tricks up my sleeve which I will be sharing in future posts including my crock pot stuffing recipe that has revolutionized Thanksgiving for many of my friends. Today, though I'm going to talk about another favourite make-ahead dish: squash. And not just any squash, but the motherlode of squashes; the Blue Hubbard. My friend Kathy put me onto this years ago and we both used to find them at the Farmer's market but she recently discovered a little squash farm not that far from Breslau so we can pick these beauties up close to home.

Ok, so that's a mini pumpkin but you get the idea of size.

 It's a bit of a pain to cut in half; sometimes you need the hammer and chisel but then you just bake it on a cookie sheet until it is tender, scrape it out into a bowl, add butter and brown sugar to taste. Put it into Ziploc freezer bags and then when you need it just defrost it and warm up in the oven.

 Of course, if you're lucky enough to have one of these (thanks Kathy)

you can keep your squash piping hot for a considerable time after you take it out of the oven. I admired Kathy's squash pot for years and finally I was lucky enough to get one from her as a gift.
Enjoy your fall preparations.

Homemade Pizza Dough

I've been making my own pizza dough for many years. Probably ever since "Let's Bake Bread": a 4-H homemakers club from way back when. Some of you farm gals would know what I'm talking about. I managed to complete Provincial Honours, which I think was 18 clubs. I had to finish my final club when I was in university, they even had a club on campus. We got a silver teaspoon for every club we completed. Well, nobody uses silver teaspoons anymore; or not too many of those that I hang out with, but I sure do use a lot of the knowledge and basic skills that I learned from those homemaker clubs.

Pizza dough is not that hard to make, it uses just a few ingredients and tastes just like yummy bread right out of the oven. You can make it thin crust or thick crust and it only takes about ten minutes to prepare.

I'm going to type the recipe from memory so I hope I don't leave anything out.

Homemade Pizza Dough
In one cup of warm water, dissolve 1 tsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast. Let sit in a warm place for ten minutes. When time is up, stir with a fork, add 1 tsp of salt and 3 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add to 3 cups of all purpose flour. Mix and turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth. (I usually get lazy hear and just knead it until it's mixed fairly well). Then roll it out with a rolling pin and you're good to go.
I think you can take it from there with the pizza toppings, tomato sauce, your favourite toppings covered with a healthy amount of mozzarella. Bake at 400F for 20 min.