Thanksgiving leftovers

Happy belated Thanksgiving all!  Yes, I was very busy cooking, preparing and serving up the family all the traditional holiday fare at our house.  This year we had 2 thanksgivings one on the traditional day and then the second on Saturday when our son and his wife were able to drive up for a visit and a meal.

Every year, my family expects to find on the table, their daddy's baked turkey (baked in a bag) and all the fine sides their mom (me!)can come up with.  Usually, that means the "Yankee dressing" as the kids like to call it, the "green salad" also deemed by the family years ago, pumpkin bread and pecan pie.  This year all our kids came from other places where they live...dorms and homes, so with all the leftovers and just the two of us, I got to thinking about what to do with the turkey, sausage, and ham............

Turkey Rice soup

3 stalks of celery, minced
1 onion, chopped/minced
1 small carrot, chopped/minced
1 tsp, minced garlic
1/2 of a large green pepper, minced
1/3 c    Olive oil
1 cup of spiced sausage
4 slices of bacon, cooked and diced

In a large stew pot, cook all the ingredients until tender, 10 minutes.
Then add:

5 cups of turkey stock
4 cups of water
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp  parsley flakes
1-2 Bay leaves
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Turkey meat from the Thanksgiving Bird

Stir and heat to boiling, stirring periodically.
Then add:
1.5 cups of uncooked rice

Cook at a low boil for 25 minutes, or until the rice is completely tender.

Well, it was delicious and I learned something along the way, homemade worcestershire sauce...I'm still working on the recipe, so I'' post it when it's ready for publication.

Thankfully!

Thursday night throw together

Last night I worked all day and was hungry for something different.  My husband was coming down with a cold and I knew a good hearty dinner was in order.   Getting in the door before my husband, I dropped my purse, and hit the kitchen with hardly a plan, but that is me...."A cook on the fly"!!

Looking in the fridge, I realized that I had some cabbage and celery that needed to be used asap.  I got out a couple of pieces of chicken and chopped up the red cabbage which was just a quarter of a head and 2 stalks of celery, and one small onion and put them all in my deep frying pan.  I really like the chicken stock in paste form from Sam's club and made 1.5 cups of stock with it.  Poured some olive oil in the pan first and let it heat up.  After it started to steam, I added the stock, salt, a dash of sugar (for the cabbage) and pepper and garlic powder then put the lid on it.

Note:  did you know that the leaves of the celery are delicious and make the dish that much more flavorful??  Oh yea!

Anyway, the chicken dish was cooking along and I knew I had to get some sides and a starch for my honey, so I got out some Brussels sprouts that were frozen and put a stick of unsalted butter in the pan and after it melted, put the Brussels sprouts in and let them steam on low heat.  Cousus is a great and quick side that provides starch and flavor if you do it right.  I always add garlic and butter and some chicken stock while it cooks.

Looking back at the chicken and cabbage cooking, I realized that the whole dish had turned purple, including the chicken!  Well, the show must go on and as my better half walked in the door exhausted and sick, I had a warm meal provided for him.

It turned out to be very VERY good!!  The chicken was well cooked and moist simmering in the cabbage, and stock, and the couscous was the perfect foundation for the dish.  I finished the meal with grating some cheddar cheese on the tender Brussel sprouts and serving them with some bread crumbs as a topping.

Voila!  a meal on the fly!!