Green Enchiladas with Beef

Well Monday is here again. I definitely had a crazy weekend and all my plans fell through. Right now work and having a job is pretty important, so sometimes sacrifices have to be made and fun plans have to not happen. Life!

Like I promised, today I'd share with you my beef enchiladas. I pretty much followed the same recipe I used for my chicken enchiladas. This time though I used a London broil, green sauce, and no black beans. Then instead of being deconstructed I decided to make actual enchiladas using corn tortillas, a little Mexican cheese and baked until everything became hot and gooey!

Green sauce is my favorite! I had a hard time deciding what brand to choose. I find lots of store bought enchilada sauces have some funky ingredients. I managed to find one I could understand with 5-6 ingredients. I'll pick it up again because it was so good. I should see if Wholefoods carries enchilada sauce! What brand do you use? Do you make your own sauce?

The meat was tender, juicy and full of flavor. The slow cooker does wonders. The best kitchen appliance ever. As for putting the enchiladas together the task is very simple. Since I used corn tortillas I simply preheated a pan to warm them up and make them more pliable for rolling. I added cheese to the beef filling to act as glue when rolling them up. Then I topped with green sauce and more cheese. Baked in a preheated oven over 350 degrees until everything was warmed through and the cheese melted!

Tender beef

 

Served on top of steamed broccoli. I

always feel better when I have

some vegetable ;)

Check out my Deconstructed Chicken Enchiladas to find the recipe I used.

Enjoy!!

Fallon

PS: This is my first post using Windows Live Writer and so far I'm happy with the results. Way easier and no bugs so far. Yay!! I still have a "few" issues but they will get worked out.

Deconstructed Chicken Enchiladas

It is here again, a Mexican food craving that is. With my recent trip to El Paso to visit my boyfriend I realized we had zero Mexican food. I was having withdrawals after this realization and I got into this kick for enchiladas. I don't even order enchiladas when I go out but I wanted them! I actually had this recipe bookmarked for Hearty Chicken Enchiladas. This recipe is great because it uses a slow cooker to cook the chicken. The chicken breast was literally falling apart as I kept trying to remove it from the slow cooker. I basically followed the recipe minus making actual enchiladas. I just wanted the meat and sauce. I topped it on a delicious salad and called it a Deconstructed Chicken Enchilada. Instead of having flour tortillas on hand I picked up corn tortillas and made home made chips instead.

Not my favorite enchilada sauce, but I have to try everything at least once.

Kept falling apart as I tried to remove it from the slow cooker to shred.

Spinach, romaine, avocado, salsa, plain Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, and chicken enchilada mixture.

Homemade baked tortilla chips are the best!

Click HERE to get the recipe I followed to cook the meat for Hearty Chicken Enchiladas. This couldn't be easier to follow and it will make a lot. This lasted me for a few days. Of course it only my mother and I eating this. ;) Come back on Monday to see my beef enchiladas! I told you I have a bad craving for Mexican food! Fallon PS: I’m having a difficult time formatting my posts with blogger. I recently downloaded Windows Live Writer and I hope this will make it easier for me. I’m constantly fighting with blogger and it is so stressful lately. I want my blog to look nice, not like I put it together in less than 5 minutes. So please bare with me, while I get over this bump! Thanks.

Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs

Looking for a lighter version when it comes to meatballs? Ground turkey is always a great alternative but not always as flavorful or moist. Well after going through old magazines I came across a recipe for Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs in the September 2008 edition of Cooking Light.

Fresh basil smells so GOOD!

These were easy and fast to make. They were very moist and full of flavor. I loved the green specks of basil in the meatballs, it made for a nice presentation and pure basil sweetness. As for the sauce I whipped up my own creation using canned plum tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, fresh basil, garlic, sweet onion, salt and pepper. All on top of Italian spaghetti with a lovely side salad this dinner had me humming the whole way! These meatballs can be made into an appetizer by rolling out into smaller meatballs and served with a sauce to dip in. I'll be making these a lot more once the weather starts to get chilly!

 
Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs (From Cooking Light, September 2008)  
Ingredients
1 pound extra lean ground turkey
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Pepper and Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine one pound extra lean ground turkey with the above ingredients in a bowl, then shape mixture into about 18 meatballs. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add meatballs, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet; transfer to broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and bake for 15 minutes or until done.  

To Freeze: Follow cooking directions, then allow meatballs to cool to room temperature. Place on a baking sheet, making sure they don't touch one another, and place in the freezer for an hour. Next, transfer hardened meatballs to an airtight container, and store in the freezer. Thaw meatballs in the refrigerator, then bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated.

I love extra sauce, I swear there is a meatball under there. ;)

Enjoy!!
Fallon

In a Jiffy Curry Chickpea Burgers

Whenever I see something curry in the blog world it definitely gets my attention. It is a new spice I've introduced to my pantry and I'm loving it! Like when Ashley from The Edible Perspective posted her recipe for Curry Honey Hummus that was the first time I ever experienced curry. Just recently Angela at Oh She Glows took her jiffy burger recipe and transformed it into a Curry Chickpea Burger. In a Jiffy Curry Chickpea Burgers (Adapted from Angela, Oh She Glows) Ingredients: 15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinse 1/2 cup regular oats 10 baby carrots or 2 carrots ( I used 11 baby carrots for good luck.) 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil, melted 1-2 tsp water 1 1/2 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp tumeric 1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp parsley flakes 3 tbsp raw sunflower seeds 1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds) Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside. *I used a pizza stone, I left it in the oven while it was preheating to give the burgers a nice crunchy outside.*

Love the colors.

In a food processor, process the oats, carrots and all the spices/seasonings for 30 seconds or until somewhat smooth. Now add in the chickpeas for 1/2 cup increments and coconut oil, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. If the mixture is still a bit dry, add a teaspoon or two of water to have everything come together smoothly. Once the chickpeas are mostly processed and smooth, take the mixture and place in a medium sized bowl. *I left mine in the food processor, don't forget to remove the blade if you do this.* Stir in the sunflower seeds and pepita seeds. Wet your hands and shape into patties. Makes about 6-8 patties. Bake for 20 minutes and then flip over for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy as a burger or on top of a delicious salad! And a delicious salad it was. I had made a tomato, radish and artichoke heart salad earlier with an orange champagne vinegar. Topped on a bed of romaine and a generous portion of crumbled goat cheese, this salad was popping with flavors! The curry chickpea burgers were the perfect topping to this salad. While the burgers cooked, it also toasted up the nuts that left a great flavor to counteract with the sweetness of the carrots and the tang of the curry spice. I'll be making these again because they took minutes to put together and minimal kitchen mess! Fallon PS: I think this is the year I'll be getting a new camera. Can you see how poor quality some of my photos have been lately? Blurry, grainy.. It is driving me nuts!

Grilled Turkey Breast

I think it is silly to wait all year for Thanksgiving to roast a whole turkey, and make up all the lovely sides to go with it. It is July and I want turkey breast!! The Proud Italian Cook had the same thing in mind with grilling up a turkey breast and sweet potatoes. She inspired me to buy a turkey breast and grill it up. I used her technique when it came to the rub except I used dried seasonings and lime zest.

I used basil, oregano, parsley, smashed garlic, salt, pepper, lime zest and olive oil. I kept tasting till I felt it was right, and pasty enough to rub down the entire turkey. The garlic was key and I added extra!

I kept the grill on a medium heat and cover down. I kept checking back on the turkey every 4-5 minutes. Since my meat thermometer broke on me, I didn't have one to test the temperature, so I had to cut into it to make sure it was fully cooked and juices were running clear. I believe the whole cooking process took about 30-40 minutes. It was probably a bit overcooked, but once I cut into it to serve it was very juicy and full of flavor from the rub. 

This was the best dinner by far this summer. The turkey was juicy, not dry. It had that grilled taste that you can't get from roasting. The rub was delicious, and the garlic/lime zest combination added a huge burst of flavor. I paired it with some steamed brussel sprouts, 1/2 a baked sweet potato, and a butter lettuce salad with red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Please check out the Proud Italian Cook. This is definitely one of my top 10 favorite blogs. She has great photography along with simple, quick, and healthy meals!

Buon Appetito!! ;)
Fallon

Main Course: Eggplant Parmigiana and Spaghetti

Eggplant Parmesan is my boyfriend's favorite meal. Over the last Christmas his grandma had made eggplant Parmesan, and he said it was his favorite. I was excited to try it out and couldn't believe how good it was! Nothing like a home cooked meal especially when it made by grandma. Her eggplant was very different from the usual eggplant fare you will eat. When he through out the idea he'd want me to make eggplant Parmesan I warned him it won't be like grandmas so don't compare. LOL. I did my own spin on the eggplant Parmesan like usual and it turned out to be really good. I made sure to make it extra special for my boyfriend. Eggplant Parmesan is definitely a process if you want to make it the right way. I spent almost 3 hours draining the liquid out of my eggplant. You do this by setting slices in a colander and sprinkling with sea salt. Every 15 or so minutes I would press more liquid out by pushing it against the colander and shaking it around. Once this process is complete, rinse the eggplant off with water and let set to dry.  

Usually if I make eggplant for myself I skip this step and just get to cooking! In Italian cooking the sauce is very important. I've made many red sauces, but mine aren't the kind I will spend all day cooking. Which I need to start practicing FYI. If you remember a few months ago I discovered the best jarred marinara sauce EVER! I was not ashamed to use this at all because it honestly taste like a sauce that been cooking all day. Definitely saved me a lot of time in the kitchen. I took a little help from my new favorite cookbook, The Joy of Cooking to help guide me. This cookbook is very helpful and I'm starting to use it for everything. Definitely one of the best gifts someone could ever give me. Cooking I rarely measure out ingredients. My goal when I cook for my boyfriend is to basically cook for an army. LOL. I want to make sure there is plenty to eat, and leftovers are always a bonus. So my estimates may sound like big numbers but you can cut the recipe in half or estimate your own measurements as well. It's only cooking!! 

 
Eggplant Parmigiana #2 (Adapted from The Joy of Cooking)   
Ingredients
4-5 eggplants, sliced slightly thick (My eggplants varied in size, some were large and some quite small.)
3 large eggs
All-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Italian style panko bread crumbs (Fresh bread crumbs would be amazing!)
Olive oil
Favorite red sauce (Make sure to make a lot.)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Spaghetti  

Baking the eggplant: You can either fry or bake the eggplant. I baked my eggplant with an oven preheated at425 degrees and 2 baking sheets with a healthy coating of olive oil to crisp up the eggplant. Once you have drained all water from the eggplant (you could skip that draining process if you don't have time) it is time to get the breading station ready. I don't normally measure out my flour or bread crumbs because when I do I always end up needing more anyways. For the breading station in this order season the flour with salt a pepper, whisk the eggs with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and the seasoned Italian bread crumbs all in breading dishes. First, dredge the eggplant into the flour, and shake off the excess flour. Next dip into the egg mixture and letting excess egg drip off. Then finally into the bread crumbs making sure to coat the entire surface of your eggplant slices. Line up onto the pre-olive oiled baking sheets. Bake the eggplant for at least 30 minutes or until both sides are crisped up and lightly brown. At this time you will want to start boiling water in a large pot for the spaghetti. Season the water with salt and bring to a boil. Once water boil add spaghetti and cooked till al dente. About 7-8 minutes depending on the pasta.  

Preparing the eggplant parmigiana: While the eggplant is baking I like to get my sauce heated up, and make sure my cheeses are ready for layering. I used a huge lasagna pan to bake my eggplant up. You can use a casserole dish if you prefer it layered instead. I opted to have the slices to be lightly layer, and for a nice presentation. When the eggplant has cooled off from the oven it it time to layer. I always start with sauce on the bottom, then eggplant, cheese and repeat. Pop back into the oven on the top rack till the cheese melts and lightly browns. I changed the oven setting to 450 degrees. Garnish with basil and serve along side spaghetti. I also had roasted cauliflower and cheesy garlic bread as additional sides!

My boyfriend's plate!

Next up.. DESSERT! Fallon

Eggplant Parmesan

I once again had a lonely eggplant in my fridge. The last time I had an eggplant I baked it plain with sauce and spinach, topped with either ricotta or goat cheese on the side. It was absolutely delicious. I had more time around to actually make real eggplant parmesan, Fallon style that is. I can't always just stick to an original recipe because I always look for a healthier alternative if I'll be eating it. I know once my boyfriend comes home from Iraq he is expecting some eggplant parmesan from me. I'm not sure how I should make it because it will never compare to his grandma's recipe. Which I had tried during Christmas and it was so good! I warned him and he said something along the lines that he was sure it will taste good in a different way. I feel a little pressure on this task. I mean who wouldn't? I want him to love it! The recipe I share with you today basically came on a whim. I wanted it baked and then layered. I used panko bread crumbs with a mixture of almond flour. I've used almond flour for breading before, and everything has always turned out crunchy and nutty. My father walked in on me while I was starting to layer the baked eggplants with cheese and sauce. He actually flipped! He said it would lose its crunch. I was aware of this but I've seen plenty of people layer eggplant parmesan in a casserole dish. Let's just say he was surprised at how well it actually was and he said he didn't miss the texture from the crisp coating from the breading. You can still taste the baked breading deliciousness, with the marriage of the sauce! Yes I'm still using this brand of sauce because it is so damn good! I swear just like homemade.  

Baked Eggplant Parmesan By Fallon   
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
3/4 cup plain panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup almond meal
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
Oregano, salt, pepper
Olive Oil
Tomato Sauce
Fresh or skimmed mozzarella cheese (I used 6 slices)

Preheat the over to 425 degrees F. Get all the breading ingredients ready. Crack the eggs in a flat bowl and mix with a fork till incorporated, season with salt and pepper. In another flat bowl combine both the panko and almond flour with oregano, salt and pepper. Next have a baking sheet lightly sprayed with olive oil. 


Slice the eggplant horizontally. This will allow for more coverage in the casserole dish and saves time. I kept the skin on, I figured more fiber. If you aren't a fan of skin, then peel it. Now start by dipping a slice of eggplant into the egg, making sure it is coated well, and to let any extra egg drip off before heading into the crumbs. Bread the eggplant well by pressing gently down into the dish. Then place onto baking sheet. Repeat till all eggplant has been coated. Place in oven. After 20 minutes flip the eggplant around to crisp the other side. After 15-20 minutes eggplant should be browned and perfectly crisp. If your oven cooks quickly, then please adjust the settings. Burnt eggplant is no bueno!

About to go into the oven.

While the eggplant is baking, make sure to have a casserole dish, sauce and cheese ready for layering. I took them out early so they wouldn't be as cold. Once the eggplant is done, let it cool off for about 10 minutes. Up the oven to 475 degrees F, so the cheese will melt, everything is warmed through, and the top becomes lightly brown and bubbly. In a casserole dish start by spraying it with olive oil and then spreading sauce on the bottom. Layer in the eggplant trying not to overlap. Then top with more sauce and 2 slices of cheese. Continue to repeat till you have 3 layers, maybe 4, and you top it off with the last layer being cheese!

This is the first layer.

Place in the oven for another 15 minutes or until perfectly bubbly and light brown on top. Serve right away either with a side of pasta or a nice hearty piece of bread for dipping!

Love brown cheese!

This was my messy serving! I was hungry ;)

This tasted better even the next day! Everything came together well and I actually had a clear shot of the layers. It shows the division of the eggplant and the nice coating of breading. 


Ciao,
Fallon  

PS: I'm slowly making some changes to my blog like the layout and colors. Trying to complete my recipe page and maybe some other pages as well. It may take some time but I just wanted to let you guys know. I'm always open for suggestions, tips, comment etc. on my blog. You guys read this for a reason and if there is something you'd like to see let me know! My email is listed on here so send me one if you have any advice. I definitely need it since I'm new to this blog thing! The beautiful header you see above was made by my friend Nidia. She is very creative and artsy when it comes to design and graphics. She surprised me one day with a few graphics for my blog. I was actually quite thrilled she randomly sent me these graphics because I knew it was time for a change! She will definitely be helping me out with some of the changes to the blog, and I just want to give credit where it is deserved! Thanks Nidia!

Lazy Eggplant

So here is an example of something I threw together one night for dinner. It made fabulous leftovers I might add. Also.. don't tell my boyfriend but I think I found a WAY to get out of making homemade pasta sauce. Has anyone ever heard of White Linen Collection by Victoria All Natural Marinara sauce? The ingredients are made with 100% all natural Italian plum tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and fresh onions. Not one "odd" ingredient to be labeled. It is low in sodium and sugar, unlike most pre-packed pasta sauces. It tastes absolutely fresh, just like homemade sauce. We picked up our 32oz jar from Costco for $5 and between my mom and I, the jar is almost empty. 

I had this sad eggplant in the fridge that really needed to be cooked up soon. When I bought it I had actually planned to make eggplant parmesan. Well that plan failed and I wanted something quick for dinner. We had this yummy sauce, tons of spinach and eggplant. I pulled out a casserole dish and started layering. Started with slices of eggplant seasoned with salt and pepper, sauce on top, and a bunch of spinach seasoned with an Italian blend. Then I repeated till all the eggplant was used up. Now you are probably thinking where is the cheese? Well I wanted to use goat cheese and my mom refused to eat it with goat cheese. So being lazy, I left the cheese off and topped my lazy eggplant with goat cheese on my dinner plate instead. My mom used ricotta instead. 

As bland as it might seem it was DELICIOUS and packed with flavor! This sauce, I'm telling you is amazing and made the dish. On the side we had roasted broccoli and asparagus. I needed some carbs and had an Alexia Whole Grain Roll warm out of the oven as well!

I'll be back soon with something sweeet,
Fallon

Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole

Lately I've been wanting to try some new flavors in my food. In particular Indian type cuisines. Just reading about it all over the blogs and how yummy everyone raves it is, makes me very curious! The spices and flavor sound real appealing to me. Plus must of them are vegetarian based meals and I have no problem with that! Vegetables can get boring, so it is always good to spice them up in a new way. I found this Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole over at Ashley's blog The Edible Perspective. The dish was easy to put together and sounded delicious with the use of cinnamon added to the tomato sauce. I figured this would be a good start to my new flavors in food. I didn't have any naan bread but I did have my favorite pita toasted and topped with a gooey slice of mozzarella cheese! I had this dish again the next night and it tasted even better! They tell you it always better the next day. Gives a chance for the flavors to marry. If you don't like onions then I definitely wouldn't recommend this dish since it calls for a lot of onions! They are necessary since they make up for the sweetness with the sauce and pairs well with the use of cinnamon.

The recipe actually came from The New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section. There are some REALLY good recipes in there. You can click here for the Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole recipe. (Sorry for the photo's poor quality, it was around 7:30pm when this came out of the oven for dinner.)

Fallon

Pineapple Chicken

(The natural light was already lacking in the kitchen, so I did the best I could to get a decent photo!) If you don't own a slow cooker you need to stop what you are doing right now and go get yourself one! It makes the best meals. All you do is dump a bunch of stuff in the cooker, and then depending if you want a low or high setting, it will cook for several hours. No fuss in the kitchen and you have a dinner ready, waiting for you. At home I use it for a lot of things, like shredded Mexican beef, split pea soup, roasted chicken, turkey chili, etc. This time around I used it for Pineapple Chicken. I found this recipe on Kath Eats Real Food. This was SO good that I'm making again for Sunday. I get off of work at 6pm, so I'll have dinner ready in my slow cooker when I get home! 

I'm definitely going to add cilantro to mine on Sunday since I forgot to buy some for when I first made it! It was really missing that fresh, cilantro flavor. I didn't even need a knife for my chicken because it was so tender, it just fell apart as you poked it with the fork. I served mine topped with avocado, a side of Israeli couscous that was a medley from Trader Joe's, and a small caesar salad.  

 
Click this link for Pineapple Chicken. Thanks KERF for sharing!
Always, Fallon

Bunko Recap!

Monday night my mom had her annual bunko for the month of December. She always picks December because she has so much fun doing it. The past few years I've helped her with the food and this year I decided to do EVERYTHING on my own. We usually buy items pre-made to make it easier and then add fresh along, like a pre-made dessert from somewhere. Not this year though. I planned out everything and it was going to be all made at home! I had to cook for a large crowd 12 ladies including myself because I wasn't going to cook all the food and not have some! LOL.

The end result was a HUGE success. The ladies loved their meal and dessert. We had fun when it came time to do the present exchange, and were giggly from the lovely drinks we've all been drinking down, like red wine or my new favorite, prosecco and pomegranate juice. They were also using Chambord in their prosecco which is really delicious as well! My goal for the bunko menu was to keep it Italian, simple, healthy, delicious, and no meat. I don't think anyone notice that it was all vegetarian! One lady is allergic to chocolate and another is allergic to pecans. So I made sure none of those items were included in this menu because I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy everything.  

Appetizers:

Cream Cheese with Fischer and Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle sauce, pita chips on the side.

This plate was CLEAN at the end of the night. This is always a huge hit at parties with everyone. The creamy cheese and the sweet, spicy kick from the sauce is so good! I like this with goat cheese too ;)

 

Mrs. May's Naturals Ultimate Crunch

These were all gone, they are so good! I get a huge bag at Costco for a good deal.

 

Meal:  

Caesar Salad (which I've made before and shared on the blog.)


Baked Ziti ( I adapted my recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.)

• I used Barilla Plus pasta. You can't tell the difference and you get the health benefits of Omega 3's and extra fiber.
• I didn't make meatballs and I added fresh basil to my sauce.

This was such a hit! I didn't make ziti in a while, so I wanted something to follow. My dad gave me some good tips, and now I'll be able to make this my way next time. I'm thinking for my boyfriend and I'll add meatballs to it for him! 

Ciabatta Garlic bread (This came from Trader Joe's, heated up in the oven, crunchy outside, soft middle with chunks of roasted garlic!)

My plate, but I went back for seconds on bread, pasta and salad! The bread was my favorite, I took a roasted tomato and smeared it on top of it when I ate it.

 

Roasted Vegetables ( I made a variation of this during the summer.) Yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, mini tomatoes, sweet onion, garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and EVOO.
  Dessert:

Butterscotch Apple Cake (made this for Thanksgiving.) Vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce, no pecans.
 

I'm eating my cake and forgot to take a picture!! So here it is almost done =P

  This was what was left of the cake, and my dad came home and FINISHED the rest. Wish I had some leftover dessert for the next day!

 

It was a very successful evening. I had so many compliments on the meal I provided. I even had to give away copies of the dessert! They loved it a lot. I tried to get a mother/daughter photo but we never got one! Oh well. The food is always the most important part right ;) So this week I'm going to finally start Christmas baking! I can't wait, I'm really in the mood for my peppermint bark and fudge!

So stay tune!

Good night,
Fallon

Thanksgiving 2009.. Flop?!?! :)

Hey bloggers! I've been enjoying everyone's Thanksgiving posts, and figured I better get my picture's edited and blogged about tonight. I must say some blogger's entire Thanksgiving spread looked beautiful, especially the "turkey." Thanksgiving this year was just my mom and I. We had plans to see a movie, go shopping at the Forum Shops, or go to our friends house for wine and dessert. I really wanted to go out and do something, but once I came home I didn't want to leave. It was definitely a lazy day for me. Constantly working the days leading up to Thanksgiving and knowing I had to work on black Friday, I just needed the lazy time.

It is tradition that my mom and I will go to a spin class Thanksgiving morning and then afterward to Starbucks. I always feel a good workout before a big event/meal is needed because then I don't feel guilty! Definitely was a much needed workout and we had fun looking at all the black Friday deals while having our Starbucks. If you notice in my title I said flop because well this year our turkey was not very good. We thought it looked sick when cleaning it. I did my usually stuffing aromatics into the cavity and stuffing fresh poultry herbs into the breasts and cavity. Rub down in olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Well I saw somewhere to cover the breasts with tin foil and then the last hour of cooking to take the foil off and let the top brown. They said this keeps the breast moist and from drying out. Made sense right? FLOP! Turkey breast was DRY and my bird still wasn't finish cooking after almost hitting the 5 hour mark and was only a 12 pound turkey. We picked through the breast with the parts cooked but basically felt "weird" eating it and just chucked the bird out. Major flop :( But I'm still here to show you the other wonderful things we had and already have a fresh turkey to cook up tomorrow since my dad will be home. He can take control and hopefully turkey #2 will come out delicious! I love my turkey and cranberry sauce.

Before going into the oven, apples, pecans and butterscotch chips definitely NO mistake here. ;)
 

I'm going to start backwards. Tuesday I made our dessert, Butterscotch Apple Cake from the lovely Noble Pig. I've had this recipe bookmarked for several months and that when I knew this was a Thanksgiving dessert. I decided to cut the recipe in half since my family is small, 3 people. Worked perfectly. I used a pink lady apple and granny smith apple. The combo worked perfectly with the cake, and my mom loved it so much she wants me to make this for her bunko coming up on December 14th! Good because I already want another piece! At least dessert made up for the bad turkey!

The cake smell the whole house up and was 
very hard to not have a piece till Thanksgiving.
 

I loved the apple contrast from light pink and grassy green. 
Definitely made for a very festive cake!
 

Don't get me wrong I like a good glass of Pinot Noir, but give me a good glass of champagne and I can't stomach it! Just something about the taste that I don't care for. I think it is over-rated! Well my mom's good friend mentioned this great Prosecco she picks up from Trader Joe's for only $6.95 a bottle and said she goes through a bottle a night. Yeah she likes to drink a little ;) I knew about Prosecco because they use that in a Peach Bellini and I know those are delicious. We picked up a bottle along with some pomegranate juice to give a splash of color to our drink. Umm can I say I found my new favorite holiday cocktail? Prosecco with a splash of pomegranate juice was delicious! It was a very smooth sparkling wine, and the juice took away from the slight dryness from the Prosecco. Yeah I usually don't drink 2 glasses but that day I had 2 glasses!

Glass #1 of course. This was very refreshing!
 

If you see this brand pick it up because I think you'll like it! 
I'm not a champagne girl, I'm a Prosecco girl!

With my first drink I also had a mini appetizer. I was going to actually eat this with my meal but figured it be way too much all at the same time. I was already a bit snacky so I sat down with a bowl of my tomato cucumber salad and a pumpkin cornmeal muffin!

But my snack didn't stop there. My dad was heading into work soon and I promised he could have his dessert then. I figured it was time for my dessert too and then my mom said, "Well if everyone having dessert, I want mine too!" Okay let's have dessert!

I heated the cake for a few seconds in the microwave, 
so it be warm as if it was fresh out of the oven!
 

 Noble Pig used whipped cream, I thought vanilla ice cream would be even better!
 

It is Thanksgiving and I want the real stuff! This was DELICIOUS vanilla ice cream. 
It was light and rich. Easily scoop-able straight from the freezer.

Which brings me to the "main event." The turkey that was a flop! I'm so glad everything else turned out delicious or else we would of been scrambling up some eggs for dinner.

I love the fall colors. I added a gala apple, sweet onion, carrots, lemon, and celery. 
This was stuffed into the turkey cavity. Perhaps it was over stuffed?
 

After all our snacking, we realized it was almost 5 hours and the turkey was still cooking! We couldn't wait no longer. I guess a few drinks down, anything looked good at this point to eat. haha.

Looking at this turkey now, it is still PINK! We need a meat thermometer. 
I'm glad no one got sick off the turkey.
 

The turkey breast were so dry.. we almost used up this whole bottle to hide the 
dryness. Verdict? I missed the jelly cranberry sauce, it has a more 
pungent flavor and I don't need to use as much.
 

We were so hungry, that I forgot to take a picture of my plate before digging in! 

Basically licked clean! So something must of been good ;)
 

This was one of our sides, roasted brussel sprouts and carrots. 

We also had baked sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon! I totally forgot to take a picture of this, but I think you get the idea! ;) It was nice spending the time with my mom! We finished watching up all the Biggest Loser shows from that week and just relaxed. I was so tired but I ended up staying up to watch the Beyonce concert on TV. That girl can sing! I was literally out by 10pm and up early to get ready for the Black Friday shoppers! I've been working in retail for 6 years now and I KNOW what to expect. It was a very successful day and this holiday season will be very busy. I'm just happy to see people out shopping and spending money! I hope this makes for a better year economy wise in 2010!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday because tomorrow is Monday. That means we all go back to work! Be well,
Fallon