Ive FALLen in Love again this year.

(i totally cheated and bumped this post from last year, life has been nuts lately, I do intend on getting back into blogging my life and home, soon.)

Fall is my favorite time of the year. September 1st rolls around and I pull out my fall decor. October 1st-ish (or whenever i feel like it) the Halloween stuff gets added. November 1st-ish the Halloween gets put away and any Thankgiving specific decor gets added to the decor.

here are some pictures of some of the Fall only stuff:

I had 2 little punkies and the gourd in the middle, but one of the punkies got moldy, so I had to toss it out. During my recent Gift Wrap Organization project, I found the gold/orange bow and thought it was too Fall-y to pack it away, (I love it too much to gift it anyway) the vase was from some flowers we got at our wedding, and the flowers (silk) were purchased on clearance at Walmart for .75/10 stems, intended for our orange/blue wedding, but they were too fall-looking for the wedding theme, so I didn't use many of them in the wedding. The cloth was purchased to cover an ugly air-conditioner I had in my old apartment.

COST: $1.50 for the 3 real veggies(one was tossed out). $0 for the vase I already had, $0 for the flowers (they were in the wedding budget), $0 for the reused bow, $0 for scrap fabric from before (was like $1)

This cake stand/punch bowl was my favorite bridal shower gift. Purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond (although I'm not finding on their website today) Here is a similar one from Bloomingales. Its super versatile, has a divided tray under that turns upside down to be a flat cake plate when the domed lid is also inverted. it can also be covered with the domed lid with the divided tray as it is in the picture. Since I got it, it has been a fruit bowl, a cookie/brownie tray, candy bowl, and during the glorious days of summer, tomato bowl. Hasnt been either a cake stand or punch bowl yet, go figure.

In the bowl are faux punkies, I was disappointed when one of my real ones got moldy already this year, thats never happended to me before, usually they last from beginning of September through Thanksgiving. So after Halloween, I snagged a bunch of these little moldless punkies and gourds for .75 each on clearance. They will pay for themselves next year when I don't buy real ones. There are more of those non-wedding flowers in there too. And of course, underneith, some candy, not Halloween candy, just candy, I am pregnant with a sweet tooth. This would great with a bowl of red apples, silk flowers and leaves too.

Under the bowl is a faux suede placemat bought on clearance a few years ago for $1. I have more of them in other places in the house.

COST $6 for the faux punkies, everything else was from before.

This is actually the back/top of my bedroom armoirs, covered in a blue bedsheet. I really like how it hides the back of the armoires from the living room (were in a loft, remember). I also gives a "wall"/"mantle" area for decorating. The daisy picture(free at a yardsale, $10 walmart poster frame) is hanging by a chain (hidden by the scarecrow pik) and a 3M command hook from the other side. I love the little dangly leg guys in the middle. They make me happy every year.

COST: $0, I already had everything from previous years. The scarecrow pik was, I think, $0.25 on clearance. The little dangly leg guys were under $1 each, also on clearance, The candles were in a set with 3 small ones also for, I think, $3 on sale.

BTW, The picture frame was this:
but it was out of place with all the other fall decor, so with some handy Scotch Double sided tape, a leftover wedding flower ripped from its stem, and some silk leaves it became this (temporarily):


Happy Fall!
Im linking to: It's A Blog Party's Days of Thanksgiving Holiday Party and Cottage Instincts Make it for Monday

Polka Dot Poultry

I cannot remember where I got the idea, probably Food Network, but for the last few years I have been making my turkey this way and, not to toot my own horn, its the best turkey I've ever had.

This is a great way to prep some ahead of time, 2+ days before Turkey Day, even longer if you'd like. Prevents having to prep/chop herbs day of.

Roasted Turkey with Herb Medallions

Make The Herb Butter:

Chop fresh herbs, normally thyme, rosemary and sage but I will be omitting the sage this year (MIL is allergic). More or less depending on how much butter.

Mix into 1-3 cubes softened, but not melted butter(or margarine, margarine slices better), add smashed garlic if you like, (I can't this year, allergic aunt). More or less if your bird is bigger or smaller and if you will be using some for stuffing or not.

Place the butter/herb mixture into a quart or gallon size freezer Ziploc. (The log shown below was a gallon size.)

Squish the butter to the bottom of the bag to form a log.

Refrigerate for at least a day so the flavor can really mature. (if you must, its ok to skip this step)

Freeze the log at least the night before Turkey Day, sooner if preferred, I've done it a week ahead of time before.

Prep Bird:
Thaw, (ideally you would have done this plenty ahead of time) make kid sister remove extra parts from cavity, (not that its hard, its just fun to watch her face!) rinse/dry off.

Gently slide your hand, your kid sisters hand, or both, between the skin and the meat all over the top and sides of your gobbler. Try not to tear the skin, you don't want any moisture escape paths.

Polka Dot Your Poultry:
Remove the frozen butter log from the Ziploc (cut the bag away if needed) and cut into slices, about 1/4 to a 1/3 of an inch thick, creating disks or medallions. Using real butter, its harder to slice thin, I have used both margarine and butter, and both taste very good.
Slide the medallions between the skin and meat, polka-dotting the bird. Save a few medallions for the inside and, if preferred, for sauteing veggies for your stuffing/dressing.
(you can see the medallions poking up through the skin in this picture)

In the cavity, place 1 small/medium onion (if no one is allergic), quartered, a few celery stalks and carrots, cut to fit. and a few more medallions.
We also like to add 2 fresh satsuma mandarin oranges, halved.

Cook Your Polka Dotted Poultry:

Roast in the oven according to standard turkey cooking guidelines for weight. I have had great success using Reynold's Oven Bags (their website offers great turkey cooking tips and information,) and an extra large disposable foil roasting pan. no basting necessary. Follow the directions to prep the bag on the package.
its not necessary to have a pajama party the night before Thanksgiving, but it does help to have little sisters to do the heavy lifting for you. Prep the oven bag per instructions, and insert prepped bird.

If you prefer, you can cook however you like, tenting with foil to prevent too much skin browning, basting with drippings, whatever works for you.

Be sure to allow 15-20 mins rest after removing from oven before carving, so the juices don't run out.

The Turkey will come out polka-dotted with herb circles, looks fun. the skin gets crisp and its almost impossible to keep helping aunts away from picking at it. (I'm sure this is why they offer to help)

and I failed at remembering to take a picture of the finished bird. oh well. it was delicious! (even without the garlic, sage, or onions.

Btw, this bird yeilded over 6 cups of super delicions drippings for gravy making! No need to add any fat to make gravy.

Let the Thanksgiving Planning Begin

OK so the Menu was the easy part, since this isn't my first (or 8th) Thanksgiving in the last 6 years. Recipes:
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Parmesan
Chex
Mix


(mostly copy/pasted from Chex.com)

Ingredients ~3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
~3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
~3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal (or any combination of cereal totally about 9 cups) (off brand is fine)
~1 cup mixed nuts (or more if your family is nutty like mine)
~1 cup bite-size pretzels (I have sticks leftover from Halloween spiders)
~1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces (the mini ones are hard to find) ~2 cups Cheeze Its ~ Parmesan flavor
~6 tablespoons butter or margarine
~2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
~1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (sometimes I leave this out)
~3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
~1/2 teaspoon onion powder
~A tub of Parmesan cheese (from the cheese section, not the Kraft shaker canister)

Oven Directions: (you can google the recipe to get the microwave directions, I prefer the oven)
Heat oven to 250°F. In large ungreased roasting pan, (I use the big disposable foil one I will cook the turkey in, its easy to wash after), mix cereals, nuts, pretzels, crackers and bagel chips; set aside. In microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Stir in seasonings and Worcestershire sauce.
Gradually pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. For the last 15 minutes, mix in Parmesan cheese. (if making more than a day ahead, save this step for same day to finish up.) Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Note: Can be re-baked if begins to stale a few days later, (if it lasts that long)
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Artichoke Dip
Ingredients:
~1/2 Costco size jar of marinated artichoke chunks, drained well
(you can buy multiple little jars from other grocery stores but its cheaper to buy a full jar from Costco/Cash & Carry than multiple little jars and you can freeze the other half of the jar, people will request this dip again)
~2 bricks cream cheese softened
~1 can diced green chilies (or diced jalapenos, more or less, depending on personal taste)
~about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
~1 - 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (from tub works better than the bag for some reason)

Directions:
~I put a Ziploc bag on my hand as a glove to break up the artichoke chunks, its easier and funner than with a knife or bare hands.
~Add the cream cheese, if its not softened, put the bricks in the mixing bowl with the artichokes and microwave for 30-45 seconds.
~Mix with potato masher
~Add mayo (I don't measure, just plop in a big spoonful), the diced chilies and 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese.
~Mix until, well, you know, mixed.
~Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
~Cook in a 375ish oven for 15 mins or until hot and bubbly. OR as I usually do, Microwave on high, uncovered for 5-10 mins (depending on the size/shape of the dish)

Note: Microwaving works great if you bring this dip to someones house, or a workplace potluck. Serve with tortilla chips, or our favorite Tomato Basil Wheat Thins.

Another note: Can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, wrapped tight and cooked day of.

Yet another note: I recently tried this with a small crock pot for the first time, because it would be served in a colder building, and it worked very well. My crock pot has a removable microwave save crock, I made the dip the morning of and stashed the crock it in the fridge. i took it out and microwaved it for about 12 minutes (the crock is deeper/denser than average casserole pans) then put it in the crock pot on "warm".

One last note: a more shallow baking pan will create more of the bubbly cheesey crusty top that people love.

~~~~~~~




Sugared
Cranberries




photo courtesy When Pigs Fly




Ingredients:
~1 bag of cranberries
~tiny bit, like 1 tablespoon, juice or water
~less than 1 cup of regular table sugar

Directions:
wash and dry the cranberries watching for any mushy or icky ones.

add juice or water (i have a pampered chef spritzer thingy) to lightly coat berries
add enough sugar to coat, tossing often in a big ziplock bag, .
remove from bag, store uncovered, the sugar will dry and get crusty, which is good.

Note: I wouldnt make more than 1 bag worth, people like them, but dont tend to eat many of them, unless you invite my sister to the party, then they will all get eaten.

~~~~~~~

Mom's
Fruit
Salad





photo courtesy Something So Clever



Ingredients:
1 big can of fruit cocktail
1 medium can of pinapple tidbits
2 small cans (or like 10 fresh, peeled & sectioned) mandarin oranges
1/2 lb of green or red grapes or both
1 green apple, diced small
1 red apple, diced small
small amount of lemon or lime juice
2 bananas, cut in half lenthwise, then sliced (or left bigger if there are banana haters in your family)
1/2 lb strawberries, if in season
1 bag mini marshmellows
1 small tub whipped cream, or make from whipping cream/sugar/vanilla
(other fruits can be added or omitted depending on taste)

Directions:
Drain canned veggies very well. (offer pineapple juice to sister, but then drink it in front of her)
toss cut apples with small amount of lemon or lime juice to prevent browning.
mix all fruit together except bananas, mix them in last so they dont get too beat up and mushy
fold in marshmellows and whipped cream.

Note: when making ahead of time, drain and mix fruit (all except bananas), and wait to add bananas (cut them right before adding) marshmellos and whipped cream until within a few hours of serving.

~~~~
Roasted Turkey with Herb Medallions

has its own blog post

~~~~


Cheesy
Green
Bean
Casserole.


pic shown without mushrooms because its courtesy Things We Heart

This recipe originated from the back of the French's Fried Onions can, but made less mushy, and with more flavor.

Ingredients:
~about 2lbs fresh or frozen greenbeans (or however close you get with the bag sizes this isnt chemistry lab) frozen is usually better, since theyre not in season. and more affordable, less prep work too.

~1 large can of lower sodium/lower fat cream of mushroom soup. (off brand is fine, we'll be dolling it up.

~1 large can of French's Fried Onions, regular or cheddar flavored

~1 lb fresh mushrooms (buy them cleaned and presliced if you'd like, but not too far in advance, or save $ and buy whole.

~1-2 tubs of parmesan or mixed italian shredded cheese, or 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar~several cloves garlic, or prediced garlic from a jar

~EVOO/butter, pepper, soy sauce(optional)

Directions:
if you bought them whole, brush off mushrooms (dont wash) to get dirt off. Slice mushrooms. Super awesome tip: use one if these fancy egg/strawberry/mushroom/kiwi slicers. (mine is from Pampered Chef)

Save 5-7 pretty looking slices aside. Then crumble (easy job for kiddos to help) the rest into chunks, no need for a knife, just break the slices up. (I do this sitting down at the table, to save my feetsies from getting to tired, can also be done night before)

~sautee mushroom chunks in garic/EVOO/butter until carmelized (the picture isnt carmelized yet)~ add soup, pepper, dash of soy sauce and 2/3 can of onions. (skip the soy if you got regular sodium soup)

~ set soup mixture aside, (on a warm burner if you have one empty) cover or my mom will constanty have to "taste" a few chunks of mushrooms, you want to save some for the casserole.

You have 2 options to cook the greenbeans:

~If they came in a steamer bag, or if you just prefer to, go ahead and steam them until tender, but not over cooked.

~Otherwise, blanch them in boiling water until tender, but not over cooked. (while waiting for water to boil, prep a large bowl of ice water). When cooked, drain and dunk collander in ice water to stop the cooking process. (or simply run cold water over top from the tap)

~In large casserole pan, mix 2/3 of the cheese, the soup mixture and greenbeans.

~Cook, covered, at 350-375 (or whatever tem the rest of the T-day oven co-habitants are hanging out in) until hot through. Plan for this to take about 20 minutes, depending on pan size/oven temp etc. A few minutes before serving, top with remaining cheese, fried onions and fresh mushroom slices, and finish cooking uncovered, so the cheese gets bubbly and the onions crisp.

Note: The casserole can be done ahead of time, even the night before, then just cooked day of, heating through will take longer though than if starting from warm soup/beans.

Another Note: I have made this and then put it into a crockpot instead of casserole pan. It worked well, the top doesnt get crispy like it does in the oven though. (it was for a potluck at work, no ovens) this year, I am going to try to put it in the crockpot, but then top with broiled-crispy fried onions, and see how that works. There is always so much shuffling going on in the oven, and this year, all the dishes have to be carried downstairs to our home theater/shop for the buffet. My loft just wont hold 30-40 people comfertably, so luckily we have a shop-turned-banquet hall for large gatherings.

~~~~~

Sausage

Mushroom

Stuffing

photo courtesy Mikes Table

This recipe evolved over years of making it up as I went along. I'll be honest, I used to pull out a box of Stove Top and just make it with turkey stock instead. Then I started adding to that, chopped celery and onion, then my mom made stuffing one time using boxed stuffing cubes looked easiy enough. So I started doing that, recently, I added the sausage. Bringing this to my then-boyfriend's grandma's for Thanksgiving sealed the deal for his family and he was forbidden to break up with me. This year I will be bringing it again, as his wife.

I appologize for the measurements, I'm not so great at measuring, just eyeballing stuff. Ingredients:

~1 lb italian sausage.(or whatever sausage you like)
~1 box/bag seasoned bread cubes(or crumbs)
~1 egg
~a bunch of store bought or homemade chicken/turkey stock (I usually make some with turkey neck/giblets and ends/scraps of the veggies that go in the turkey, poultry seasoning, and boullion cubes) but have to supplement with more from the store. I prefer the box version over the canned, because its easier to store leftovers in the fridge.
~1-2 lb of mushrooms sliced then broken into peices
~2 stalks of celery, diced
~1 or 2 carrots, diced fine
~about 1/4 cup chopped onion
~about 2 cloves garlic (or prediced jarred equivilant)
~EVOO (or butter) (or reserved sausage drippings)
~poultry herbs: sage, rosemary, thyme
~optional: meat picked from the neck(that was cooked in the stock) and additional scraps of turkey meat (if this is being prepared at about the same time as the turkey is done)

(this is half or 1/3 of what I usually make)

Directions:
~to save effort on T-Day, I brown the sausage up a few days in advance, draining the fat, and store them seperate. I also chop veggies a few days in advance, but you can brown the sausage same day, draining, set aside.
~in butter/fat/evoo: saute veggies, starting with onions/carrots/garlic most of the way, then add mushrooms. Mix in warmed (usually in microwave) pre-browned sausage and turkey meat bits. add finely chopped herbs.
~toss veggie/sausage mixture with the bread cubes. add enough stock to moisten very well, (i toss with my hands so i can feel it) when mixed, add a gently scrambled egg(for binding) pour into buttered casserole dish.
~bake covered, until hot through at 350-375 (or whatever temperature other T-Day oven occupants are hanging out in after the turkey is removed from the hot-box). (if it will be a while before ready to bake, cover and store in fridge). remove cover for a few minutes at the end of bake time to crisp top.

Note: I use some leftover stock to remoisten and bake leftovers the next few days. or make a patty and fry in a pan for a ultimate sandwich with turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce.

~~~~

Pumpkin

Cheesecake

with pecan crust

photo courtesy Leites Culinaria

So I goofed and lost the recipe I have used for the pumpkin cheesecakes I have made the last few years, but when I saw this one in All You magazine, it looked pretty close.

I will be making mini cheesecakes with foil cupcake liners in cupcake pans. I really cannot be bothered with a springform pan, water bathes, or cutting and serving each slice. Cupcakes are kind of my signature....

I just spoon a bit of the crust mixture into each cup, pressing into the bottoms with the end of a shot glass (I havent got the fancy Pampered Chef Mini-Tart Shaper yet). The rest of the directions are pretty close to what I do. I also top each cheesecake with a candied pecan (store bought) so people know there are pecans in it.

(Copy/Pasted from All You link above)
Ingredients
CRUST:
1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (from about 30 cookies)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
FILLING:
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
Preparation
1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch springform pan. Cover outside of pan with 2 layers of foil. Stir together all crust ingredients. Press into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

2. Make filling: With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and both sugars until light. Beat in eggs and yolks, 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour and spice. Pour into crust.

3. Place cheesecake in a large roasting pan; fill pan with 2 inches of hot water. Bake until cake is set around edges but still slightly jiggly when lightly shaken (cheesecake will firm as it cools), 55 to 65 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 10 hours or up to 2 days.

This recipe from Leites Culinaria is also pretty similar to the one Ive used before.

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Im linking to Its A blog Party's Days of Thanksgiving Holiday Party