resolutions

Dear Mom,

I'm sitting here enjoying a rather strong beer while my cookies are baking away in the oven.  That is what the holidays are all about.  "Beer and cookies???" you may ask, no-no not just beer and cookies, but everything I've been eating the past week, a.k.a. over-indulgence.  Yes, spending time with the family is great, chestnuts roasting on a open fire and jack frost nipping at your nose and all, but what it's really about is the fact that I ate some type of pork for the last 6 days in a row.  Bacon, slow-roasted pork shank, all-day Italian-style pork, pulled pork (from two different restaurants) and, of course, ham! 

So now it is time for the sweet stuff, and considering that John and I have made a resolution to eat healthier in the New Year, I have to get it all out now!  So that means beer and cookies.  Right now I've got a batch of cowboy cookies in the oven.  (You know that cowboys would not have milk with their cookies, they would have beer!)  I went with cowboy cookies because I wanted to prepare us for the upcoming year of healthy eating, so we get the sinfulness of the chocolate, but the heart-healthy oats at the same time.  Also, this is my reduced-fat, reduced-sugar cookie recipe, which as any cookie-lover knows, you can eat twice as many! (Three-times as many on a holiday!)

cowboy cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. molasses
1/4 butter, softened
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Place the 1/2 cup apple sauce in a strainer over a bowl and stain the liquid from the apple sauce for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine flour through cinnamon in a bowl with a mix.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the drained apple sauce and the rest of the ingredients through the egg.  Blend together in the mixer until combined.  Slowly add dry ingredients. 

Place cookie dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.  Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake cookies for 10 minutes, until almost set.  Let cool on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes and then transfer to wire racks.

crazy for casseroles

Dear Kristin,

The thing I like about casseroles is that they are best eaten slowly, so that you can enjoy the whole of the dish while pondering each ingredient that went into its making. They also make great leftovers, so you can reheat them quickly and enjoy a hot, satisfying home-cooked meal even on the busiest of days. Casseroles also help rid your fridge of that last piece of yesterday’s chicken or that stalk of celery that is just about to lose any sense of rigidity and slither to the bottom of the vegetable crisper, never to be seen again in a solid state.
This particular casserole is one of my favorites. It’s just the right mix of savory and creamy, and is totally addicting.

 

chicken and wild rice casserole

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
½ of a large red onion, roughly diced
3-4 stalks celery, roughly diced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 6 oz. package wild rice mix (I use Uncle Ben's)
1 10 ¾ can cream of celery soup
¾ cup sour cream
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook rice mix according to package instructions.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Sauté onion and celery in the butter until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

Butter a 9x13” baking dish.

Mix all ingredients except parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Pour mixture into prepared dish.

Bake for 30 minutes. Top with parmesan cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and bubbly.

leftovers, take two!

Dear Mom,

I too love a good leftover Thanksgiving sandwich, although I prefer to put all of the side dishes on the sandwich itself.  This probably stems from when as a child, I'm sure you remember, instead of leaving the stuffing, mashed potatoes and veggies in neat little piles on my T-day plate, I would pile everything in layers in the middle of my plate and then mix it all up until I had one big pile of Thanksgiving-goodness.  I imagine it would have been difficult explaining my behavior to most family members, but if I remember correctly, I got the idea from Grandpa, so my methods were not questioned. 

I still occasionally will scoop up my mashed potatoes and stuffing together, but for the most part I've been keeping my sides separated.  John and I visited his family's place this year, and his mother made a whole turkey and an additional breast as well.  We were sent home with a lot of leftovers, and as much as I love the leftovers, sometimes they get a little boring after the 8th or 9th dinner.  So when I started getting eye-rolls from John in response to "So what's for dinner" - "Turkey" I figured it was time to switch things up.  It was mid-week so I didn't want anything overly complicated, stuffed manicotti with turkey, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and kale sounded different enough.

baked manicotti with turkey, artichokes,
sun-dried tomatoes & kale

1 8oz pkg. manicotti shells
1 8oz pkg. frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped
1-1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, rinsed, drained & chopped
1 16oz container part-skim ricotta
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1 bunch kale (or spinach) chopped
cooking spray
1 jar prepared marinara
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzerella or italian blend cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Cook manicotti according to package directions. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together all ingredients from the artichokes through the parmesan cheese.  When the pasta is finished cooking remove from the water, but keep the cooking water boiling.  Add the kale (or spinach) and cook until wilted.  Drain and add to the other ingredients.  Stir to combine and season to taste. 

Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.  Coat the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of marinara.  Carefully take each manicotti tube and cut open, place a heaping 1/4 cup of the filling in each tube, roll it back up and place seam side down in the 9x13.  Place all filled tubes in a single layer in the bottom of the dish.  Spread any leftover filling over top, and cover with the rest of the marinara.  Cover dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cover with shredded mozzerella, and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered, until golden and bubbly.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.