I have to admit, I'm pretty sad that the Thanksgiving holiday is over. I love getting together with family and enjoying great food. We started our Thanksgiving by doing the Turkey Trot 5K in Springfield. Eric and I both got a 5K PR, and Corey had another good run after coming off of an injury during cross country. It's a very fun race because of all of the families spending time together doing something good for their bodies. There were over 8000 people there this year!

After the race, we headed to my mom's house in Monett. My brother Kevin and his family joined us, and we had a great time together. The weather was gorgeous so we all took a walk together after our dinner. My family stayed through the weekend to help mom get the house ready for Christmas. It was definitely a weekend focused on family, which is my favorite.



This week's menu has a couple of new items, so check back later to see photos. I have book club later in the week, and Eric's parents will be visiting on the weekend. Here's this week's menu. Enjoy and have a great week! Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get fast updates from the blog. :)

Sunday - Beef Fajitas, Strawberries (yes, I found some out of season that were good!)
Monday - Turkey and Dumpling Casserole, Green Beans, Salad
Tuesday - Leftovers from Monday
Wednesday - Baked Cheddar Chicken with Cream Sauce, Broccoli, Salad
Thursday -Salisbury Steak, Day Before Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad
Friday - Book club - I will be making Sausage Potato Soup
Saturday - Steak, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad

For more menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com.  

I've seen this recipe in several places online, and I adapted it to make it somewhat lower in calories.

Ingredients

4 3 oz. chicken breasts
1 sleeve reduced fat Ritz crackers
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C skim milk
4 oz. reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated
1 t dried parsley

Sauce

1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
2 T fat free sour cream

Directions

In a gallon size baggie, smash ritz crackers into crumbs.
Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
Dip each piece of chicken into the milk, cheese & crumbs in succession.
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
Combine the sauce ingredients into a microwaveable safe dish, and cook until warm.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

I thought this would be a great way to use some of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. You could also use chicken (leftover rotisserie chicken would be perfect). It really does taste just like chicken and dumplings! Yum!

Ingredients:
3-4 cups of cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
2 T unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
1 can Campbell's reduced fat cream of chicken soup

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in the microwave and pour that into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Shred the chicken and spread it on top of the butter.

Whisk together the milk and the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly pour over the chicken.  Don't stir.

Whisk together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Very carefully pour over the flour and milk mixture.  Don't stir.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until top is light golden brown.

Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken

This pasta dish is my take on French onion soup - pasta style. :) It's loaded with super foods - caramelized onions and tons of yummy mushrooms. I use a high-fiber pasta, so this is pretty good for you. Even the hubby liked this one. I love when I make up a recipe and it is successful.

Ingredients:

4 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste Spaghetti Noodles
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine
2 t. olive oil
1 T reduced fat parmesan cheese
1 t parsley

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, saute the onions in a non-stick skillet sprayed with olive oil over medium  heat. Cook until they are well-caramelized. Add the sliced mushrooms, garlic and wine, cover and cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Drain the pasta and mix in with the mushroom and onion mixture. Mix in the olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Thanksgiving dinner this year will be at my mom's house, but I still get to help cook (thanks, Mom!). :) I'm not going to experiment as much as I did last year (I haven't been watching Food Network), and instead, I'm going to focus on family favorites. Here's what's on the menu:

Turkey (stuffed this year) with Savory Sausage Stuffing

Sausage and Stuffing Criss-Cross Pastry (maybe)

Hot Rolls

Cream Cheese Corn

Green Beans Almondine

Day Before Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Roll-Up

I have to admit, I'm not a pie person. I'm especially not a pumpkin pie person. This isn't usually a problem until Thanksgiving comes around. Then, everyone expects you to eat pumpkin pie for dessert. Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to pumpkin - I just don't like it in pie form. I'm always on the lookout for alternative recipes to make for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. This year, I've decided on this one. I haven't made a pumpkin and cream cheese roll-up for years (which is why you are just now seeing this on the blog), but I love them. Moist pumpkin cake swirled with cream cheese filling - yum!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
Cream Cheese Filling (recipe follows)
 
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 15x10x1 inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment paper/waxed paper; grease and flour the paper.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and salt into bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick and fluffy; beat in pumpkin. Stir in sifted dry ingredients all at once. Pour into prepared pan; spread evenly with rubber spatula.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched with a fingertip.

5. Loosen cake around edges with a knife. Invert onto clean damp towel dusted with confectioners sugar; peel off wax paper. Trip ¼ inch from all sides. Roll up cake and towel together from short side. Place seam-side down on wire rack; cool completely.

6. Unroll cake. Spread with Cream Cheese Filling. Reroll cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Filling:
Beat together 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar, 1 8 oz. package softened cream cheese, 6 tablespoons butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth.

Last year around Thanksgiving, I watched a lot of Thanksgiving cooking specials on Food Network. I'm not sure why, because I really don't watch a lot of television, but I did. And, it got me to experiment with some different recipes for my Thanksgiving dinner menu. I tried a new stuffing recipe (it was ok, but I prefer my mom's recipe, or even better yet, my stuffing roll), I roasted fresh Brussels sprouts, and I made a "fancy" roux for my gravy (and yes, I forgot to get photos of these items in my rush to get dinner on the table). Now, you know me, I don't usually make a lot of stuff that calls for butter or pan drippings, but I have to admit, this was the best gravy I've ever made. Before adding the roux (recipe below), I deglazed my pan with a little white wine, added in a little water, and heated it through. I then whisked in the cooled roux. Best gravy ever! Follow the directions exactly (adjust proportions to match your needs), and you'll have an amazing, lump-free gravy that your family will love.


Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of pan drippings and/or butter
6 tablespoons flour

Directions:
Heat fat or over medium high heat. Add flour all at once whisking vigorously. When mixture thins and starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and cut back on the whisking. Cook until you smell a toasty aroma then cook 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Roux can be used immediately to thicken a liquid that is at or below room temperature. To thicken a hot liquid, allow roux to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate.

Tightly wrapped, roux can be refrigerated for up to a month. Simply break off pieces and use as needed.

Makes enough roux to thicken 1 pint of liquid.

Recipe source - Alton Brown