Day After Turkey Day Dinner

Well here it is Ladies and Gentlemen! Our "Black Friday" Celebration Dinner! A.K.A Day After Thanksgiving Dinner! I made Turkey, Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Graving, Sausage Brioche Dressing, Rolls, and we brought home some leftover Jell-O Salad from my Mom, then Chuck made Green Bean Casserole!

And of course we had some Sparkling Apple Cider to go with dinner!

I was so happy with how everything turned out!

Other than the food what I really loved this year was that all of the food fit on the table very easily. Even the pie!! I am so happy we got ourself a bigger dining room table, especially since now when I make big dinners I can actually show off all the food!!

Here's the final picture of the meal before we dug in!

And AFTER!! I feel like we barely made a dent in most items. And sadly we had to throw out a lot of food as I can only do so many leftovers of Turkey Dinners, but this meal turned out absolutely amazing!

Every bit of it was delicious and boy were we stuffed after two days of big dinners! The one thing I am most happy about is that even when trying new recipes everything turned out perfect. Nothing was disliked, not even Chuck had anything to say about the food except that he loved. Maybe he was just being nice but somehow I doubt it! I think he really loved every bit of it just like me!

 I really hope everyone had such an amazing Holiday!! And now I'll leave you with the sweetest part of the Thanksgiving Meal :-)

Gobble Gobble!

What's a Thanksgiving Dinner without a Turkey?? In my book it's not Thanksgiving! While technically our dinner wasn't Thanksgiving we were still trying to achieve the feel of a Thanksgiving Dinner! So we of course had a turkey. Neither Chuck or myself enjoy an entire Turkey! We both dislike the dark meat so we go with a Turkey Breast!

Check out this 9lb beautiful baby! Yup that's right 9lbs! While I thought this was the perfect size when I bought I was quickly brought to reality! Both Chuck and my Sister brought in to perspective exactly how much turkey that was! The only thing I can say is thank goodness it freezes!!

And a big ol' thank you to Lucky's! You made my day when I purchased this sweet thing for only $12.10!! We are guranteed at least 4 meals (at least) out of this bird so we got our monies worth!

Yes I turned out kitchen counter into a disaster area when I began prepping our "bird". While I normally just add a little seasoning and toss it into the oven this year I decided again to try something new. Now with Turkey I was not comfortable getting extravagent. I like my turkey and I was not going to chance ruining it. So I just added some seasoning. I rubbed it down with some canola oil, then slathered on the salt & pepper, onion, garlic powder, and paprika

Check her out before!

And after! She's all dressed and ready to go party in the oven!

And party she did! After 3 1/2 hours we removed her from heat and voila! She was gorgeous! And smelled great too!!

We let her sit for about a half hour while I heated up other items and made some mashed potatoes and gravy, then Chuck carved right in!

This had to be one of the most moist turkeys I have ever had the pleasure of eating! She really turned out perfect. I have a feeling since I was stalking the oven checking it constantly waiting for the little red timer to pop that I must have pulled it out right after it popped! This bird was PERFECT!! Even my super picky Chuck said it was one of the best birds he'd ever eaten! Can you say success? I can!!!!!!!!!!!

How did everyone's birds turn out?

It's the Sweet Things in Life!

Another new recipe for our "Black Friday" Celebration!! This time I really went out of my comfort zone and made a food that has never been on my dining room table. I made a Sweet Potato Casserole! Now I've eaten sweet potatoes in the past few years but as a kid growing up...no way!! I was never a fan and then a few years ago I had a bite of them and thought they were okay. But still never ate them much. And then the most amazing thing happened. We had a potluck at work and a coworker of mine brought in a Sweet Potato Casserole and I fell head over heels in love with Sweet Potatoes! It was truly a food-changing experience!

While my Mom always does the typical sweet potatoes with the marshmallows (mainly for my Sister who likes them) I chose a different route. I hopped on my trusty Yahoo search screen and started Googling!! Just Kidding! I searched on both just for a set of different results. And then I found it! A simple sweet potato casserole recipe that I was sure I'd enjoy!

Gather up your ingredients - Sweet Potatoes (next year I won't use them out a can, I'll deal with fresh ones), sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, and milk.

My gosh these were so gorgeous! I just love the color!

Combine your sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla! Oh yes doesn't that sound so healthy for you? :-)

Then mix very well! You want the potatoes to be mashed up!

Pour into a casserole dish and set aside.

Next up time to make the topping! Combine your brown sugar, butter, and flour.

It will be a crumbly texture, then spread on top of your casserole!

Pop it in the oven and wait for the topping to "harden". You will bake this at 350 degrees for about 30 -35 minutes.

This was so good!!!!!!!!!! I was actually shocked they classified this as a side and not a dessert. It was so rich and sweet that I could have this as dessert instead of with dinner. But it defintely didn't stop me from eating it at dinner, after all you must have Pumpkin Pie for dessert.

This may seem weird, I'm not sure because no one I know is a huge sweet potato casserole person but I decided to experiment and I spread some of this on my turkey and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I don't know what makes that combination so amazing but it really was SO AMAZING!!! Super happy about how this turned!!

Any sweet potato lovers out there?

It's Dressing, NOT Stuffing!!

Has anyone ever watched Claire on 5 Ingredient Fix? I have to admit I was slightly annoyed by her at first but now I am in love with her show! I love the recipes and I love how "normal" she seems! She is definitely someone I wouldn't mind cooking with me every night :)

I watched one of her Turkey Day episodes where she made a Sausage Brioche Dressing and I was in LOVE! I of course had to make it for our Black Friday Dinner (from now on I will be referring to this meal as our Black Friday Celebration! We are celebrating being at home and NOT shopping!!!)

This recipe only requires 5 ingredients!!! YUP ONLY 5!!

A loaf of Brioche (unless you can't find it like us so we got Portugese Coastal Sweet Bread), 4 Celery ribs, 1lb Italian Sauages, Chicken Broth, and salt & pepper.

First things first cut up your loaf of bread into 1 inch cubes! Set aside.

Next up time to brown the sausage (by the way do you notice the stainless steel pan!!!???!!! Oh yes NEW POTS AND PANS!! I bought myself a new set of Stainless Steel Pots and Pans)

After the sausage is browned remove it from the pan but keep the fatty leftovers in the pan!! Then in a large bowl (I used my new stock pot) dump the meat over your cubes of bread!

Next take your cut up celery and put in the pan with your leftover over sausage fat and cook for a few minutes.

Dump the celery over the bread and sausage. Add your salt and pepper at this time too.

The pour 4 cups of your chicken stock over the mixture and stir!!

Make sure it all gets coated really nicely and then dump into a 13 x 9 pan!

Pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes UNCOVERED, then cover it with foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes! And voila! You have an amazing dressing!

This recipe is AMAZING!! I usually don't like Homemade Stuffing but I am in love!! Also i learned there is a differenc between stuffing and dressing. Dressing is a side dish while stuffing is actually placed in the turkey then served as a side dish! So this dressing is absolutely to die for and you must try it! I plan on making it again but hopefully I can visit a local bakery to get some Brioche!

Another plus to this recipe is that you can make it the night before and like me I made it the morning of then just reheated for dinner and it was great! I don't think I'd ever make it the night before as I'd worry the whole night it'd be getting soggy and then I wouldn't sleep at all. But it was so easy to make first thing in the morning, pop in the oven for 20 minutes right before dinner and it was a huge success! Even Chuck tried some and liked it! Thank You Claire for giving this super delish recipe!

Time for Apps and I don't mean on the iPhone

It's time for everyone to get a glimpse into my Day After Thanksgiving Feast!! I have been so busy preparing my PHR exam that I've been neglecting my poor blog. But guess what I've got a slew of recipes coming your way because this year I went out on a limb with my dinner and tried a bunch of new recipes!!

You've already checked out my Breakfast Casserole but now it's time to get down to starters! This year we decided to do a "light lunch" A.K.A appetizers!

I made a favorite of Chuck's this year which are these super easy Pepperollies! All you need is Cresent Rolls, Pepperonies, and Mozzarella Cheese! Cut each crescent roll in half longwise. Place a pepperoni at the end, top with mozzarella cheese, and roll up!

Pop these beautiful pizza rolls in the oven for about 10-15 minutes! And you are DONE! See I told you it was super easy!

The other app I made was inspired by the lovely food we had at a friend of mine's birthday recently. STUFFED MUSHROOMS!!! I never ever thought I'd be a fan of these but I have fallen in love! What was even crazier was how simple it was to make these.

Don't be fooled this may look like a lot of ingredients but it's not that bad. To make both Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms you will need: mushrooms, cream cheese, Sausage (all the obvious ones), seasoned bread crumbs, mozzarella cheese, onion powder, paprika, and salt.

First up the Sausage Stuffed Mixture! I ground up my break crumbs, browned the sausage, then combined those with the cheese.

Yum, the mixture looks good already!!

Then I set that mixture aside and put together the cream cheese mushroom mixture. You only need 3 ounces of the Cream Cheese, some onion powder, a small amount of bread crumbs, and paprika! Mix well!

Then after you've removed the stems and rinsed the onions you begin stuffing them. First I have to say mushrooms are super gross to me! I don't like the way they look or feel! I had a huge issue with the insides once I removed the stems because to me it looked like disgusting hair! I don't know what my problem is but mushrooms are a huge ICK for me!

After I sucked it up and stopped being a baby I was able to successful stuff all 22 of my mushrooms with sausage and cheese goodness!! Not too shabby for my first time!

Don't thise look delicious?!?!?

And here's a close up shot of my  "over stuffed" mushrooms! Yeah I wasn't sure how much to put in them so I loaded them up! Note to self you don't have to put quite so much in cause those mushrooms will shrink!

While those are baking away let's check back on our pepperollies!! Don't they just look like mini crescent rolls?? Essentially they are but with some suprises inside :)

And finally after the mushrooms baked for 10 - 15 minutes they were done and we were ready to eat!!

I was really happy that I chose to step out of my comfort zone and make a new app. I was even more proud that I handled the mushrooms like a pro! Even though these are so easy and so quick to make I never ever would have thought I'd be one to enjoy them let alone make them myself!

Anyone else go out of their comfort zone and try something new for the holidays?

If you want the mushroom recipes here you go : Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms (I didn't follow it exactly) and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms.

Yummy in the Tummy!!

Well I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and got to spend time with family. I also hope you got to EAT A LOT!! I know we did. On actual Thanksgiving we got to spend time my family and enjoy a great homecooked meal by my Mom. But because my Mom cooks up on actual Turkey Day we celebrate again on Black Friday! I just love to cook so I can't pass up a free day to cook a HUGE meal!

First things first was the Breakfast Casserole!! I was so excited to put together a breakfast casserole for us to eat because normally it's cereal or toast and since we don't have weekends together anymore we never make big breakfasts!

This casserole is so easy and all you need is: Frozen hash browns, cheddar cheese, milk, eggs, sal and pepper, and then either bacon or breakfast sausage We chose Italian Sausage!

You will need to prepare this night before and let it refrigerate over night. So what was the first thing I did Thursday when I got home (before I headed out shopping)?? Well I got the pumpkin pie in the oven of course :) But then I started in on my breakfast creation!

Combine the eggs, milk and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Then mix well.

Brown your sausage and then drain!

Layer 4 hash brown patties in an 8x8 pan.

Top with your browned (and drained) sausage (or bacon).

Pour your egg mixture over the top. Then cover and put in your fridge overnight.

In the morning preheat your oven (I'll have to get the temperature for you but I am pretty sure it was 350 degrees). Top your casserole with cheese and pop in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Yum!! Doesn't that look so good! I love when the cheese gets brown and really melts into the food.

Then serve up and enjoy!

Aside from Chuck thinking there was too much cheese we both really enjoyed it. Chuck's pretty picky about his breakfast food so I'm not sure how much he really liked it and how much he was humoring me because I LOVED IT! I couldn't definitely go for this on special occasions or maybe even on a morning where we are just laying around and reading the paper. Not that we ever have that anymore but hey in the future we might :)

I give this recipe 2 big thumbs up and I highly recommend it to breakfast lovers!! Does anyone else make any special breakfast items for holidays?

Here's a link to the recipe!