Turkey Salad

I'm tired of turkey sandwiches, so I used the remaining white turkey meat to make this turkey salad.  I had some for lunch, on top of a romaine lettuce salad.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups cooked turkey, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup roasted sunflower seed kernels 

1/2 cup craisins

2 small apples, cored and chopped

1/2 cup soy-free Veganaisen

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Salt to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl.  Refrigerate.  Serve on bed of lettuce or in sandwiches.

Nutritional information:  makes 8 servings, per serving = 224.9 calories, 15.4 g fat, 18.3 mg cholesterol, 130.3 mg sodium, 12.6 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 13 g protein

Grandma's Hot Cranberry Punch

We were especially glad to have our family's traditional hot punch Christmas Day this year.  Nancy was getting over a cold, and the rest of us were coming down with one.  It was very nice on my sore throat.  The recipe is from Nancy's mom.  We often have this Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

INGREDIENTS

1 qt (32 oz) cranberry juice

1/2 cup cinnamon candies (the little ones melt faster)

2 1/2 qt water

1/2 of a 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate

1/3 of a 6 oz can frozen lemonade concentrate

1 cup sugar (or less)

12 whole cloves

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Heat thoroughly in a crock pot.  Make sure the cinnamon candies are melted.  Don't drink the cloves - either fish them out (they float) or add them in a tea ball.  Can be kept hot all day in the crock pot.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookie-Like Treats - No Flour, No Shortening, No Added Sugar

This is a recipe originally made with raisins and from the Evergreen Institute for Wellness Facebook page.  These cookie-like treats are actually very sweet because of the bananas and Craisins.

INGREDIENTS

3 mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup Craisins

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Use a dinner spoon to scoop up batter and place on cookie sheet. 

Bake 15-20 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on cooling rack.  Repeat for additional sheets full.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Squash Tarte Tatin

One of the TV shows I watch sometimes while doing the treadmill is The Chew.  This recipe is one of the Thanksgiving sides from their series of shows about Thanksgiving food.  My version is adapted from the Michael Symon recipe http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/squash-tarte-tatin-michael-symon.  Mine isn't nearly as pretty as his was, but we all liked it a lot.

2/17/16 - Susie wanted this for her birthday dinner.  Delicata squash was not available, so I made it with butternut squash.  Also, I did not have any apple cider, or even apple juice, so I used cranberry juice.  Turned out very nice.

INGREDIENTS

1 prepared pie crust (rolled kind, not in pie pan)

1 Delicata squash, halved, seeded and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces

1Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp soy-free Earth Balance buttery spread

Salt and pepper

1/2 onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 tsp Rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Apple cider

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Juice and zest from one lemon

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

in a 10" cast iron skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add 1 Tbsp buttery spread.  Swirl together in skillet.  Add half of the squash, spread in one layer.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes per side until lightly carmelized.  Remove squash from skillet and set aside.  Repeat with other half of squash.  Add 1 Tbsp buttery spread to skillet.  Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring around, for about 5 minutes, until carmelized.  Add squash back to skillet in single layer.  Add 1 Tbsp buttery spread, brown sugar, apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest, and herbs.  Mix together and spread into single layer.  Cook approximately 2 minutes to reduce.  Remove from heat.  Unroll defrosted store-bought pie crust and place over squash mixture.  Tuck in around the sides.  Bake 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  Let rest for 10 minutes before flipping out onto plate so crust is on bottom and squash filling on top.  Cut into wedges like a pie to serve.

Roasted Rosemary Brussels and Rutabaga

This is a pretty simple recipe from one of my favorite blogs, PaleOMG http://paleomg.com/roasted-rosemary-brussels-and-rutabaga/.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of Brussel sprouts, halved length-wise

1 cup of rutabaga, peeled and diced

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh or dried rosemary

Salt and pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 405 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Spray an edged cookie sheet with Pam olive oil and spread ingredients in single layer on cooking pan.  Cook 25-30 minutes, turning sprouts and rutabaga over about half-way through the cooking time, until rutabaga is cooked.

Maple Bacon Pecan Roasted Butternut Squash

This is another PaleOMG blog recipe.  I made mine with turkey bacon and olive oil instead of regular bacon and bacon grease - one of my dinner guests doesn't eat pork.  I like this a whole lot.

INGREDIENTS

1 small to medium butternut squash, peeled and diced (about 5 cups)

6-8 slices bacon or turkey bacon

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or bacon grease

1 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4-1/2 tsp salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Place bacon slices on the foil-lined baking sheet and cook about 20 minutes.  Bacon should be cooked, but not crunchy.  Remove from oven and chop bacon up.  If using real bacon, save the grease.

Up oven temperature to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the squash, bacon, pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and bacon grease or olive oil.  Transfer to 9" x 11" or 13" glass baking pan.  Bake 40-45 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until squash is soft.

Chicken Diane with Mushrooms

I used this Reckless Abandon Cook recipe as the starting place for my adapted recipe http://www.recklessabandoncook.com/2011/06/chicken-diane.html.  This recipe does not include mushrooms, but many of the chicken Diane recipes I looked at do include mushroom - and since Jean isn't home and both Nancy and I like mushrooms, I included them.

INGREDIENTS

1-2 boneless chicken breasts divided into 2-4 half-breasts

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp soy-free Earth Balance buttery spread

1-2 Tbsp shallots, finely diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

8-12 oz sliced mushrooms

2-3 Tbsp brandy or whiskey

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup almond milk

Dried or fresh parsley

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Salt & pepper both sides of the chicken breasts.  Heat oil in skillet  on medium high.  Add chicken breasts and cook 6 minutes, uncovered.  Turn the chicken breasts over, cover the skillet, and cook another 6 minutes.  Remove chicken breasts to small plate and cover with aluminum foil.  Add buttery spread to skillet.  Add shallots and garlic.  Sauté a couple of minutes.  Add mushrooms and sauté until cooked.  Remove mushrooms from skillet.  Add brandy or whiskey to deglaze pan.  Add mustard and Worcestershire sauce.  Whisk well.  Add almond milk.  Whisk and cook a couple of minutes.  Add parsley and whisk.  Remove from heat.  Return chicken to pan, being sure to get them covered with sauce on both sides.  Drain mushrooms and return to pan.  Stir to mix well with sauce.