Sausage and Apple stuffing

My favorite Thanksgiving side dish! This recipe was adapted from the Food Network.

Ingredients:

1 pound mild italian sausage
4 tablespoons butter
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped (I used Macintosh)
1 cup chopped celery with leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
6 cups boxed bread cubes
2 to 3 cups chicken stock (I actually prefer apple juice to give it more of an appley flavor)
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Saute the sausage in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling coarsely with the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage and drippings to a large bowl. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, celery and poultry seasoning to the skillet and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the mixture to the sausage, then mix in the bread cubes. Next add the chicken stock (or apple juice) a little at a time until the stuffing is very moist. Be sure not to overdo it; it shouldn't be mushy. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a casserole dish. Bake in a 9 by 13-inch rectangular casserole dish and place, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is crispy and the center piping hot. Remove and serve immediately.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Thursday was one of my favorite holidays. I volunteered to host Thanksgiving at my house this year. I'm actually thinking of claiming the holiday as my holiday to host for good, I enjoy it that much! My menu this year consisted of Alton Brown's (from Good Eats) famous fool proof turkey. It turned out very delightful! The recipe requires you to brine the turkey for anywhere from 6-16hrs (depending on the size of the turkey). My turkey was 25lbs this year! I'm pretty sure I will continue to buy this size of turkey in the future, as it comfortably leaves me room to pass out leftovers and still have plenty left for my own use. I have plans to make turkey cran-chiladas with some of the leftovers. But I also just love my plain and simple turkey sandwiches with mayo. Yum!

Next, we had sausage and apple stuffing. That too was quite good if I do say so myself. I might make this on a more regular basis. Mashed potatoes were also in the line up for dinner that day, along with green bean casserole (lovingly made by my sister-in-law, Jenny). My next big project that day was making homemade rolls, something I've always wanted to try but been too doubtful of my skills. My family loved the end result and requested I make them for every holiday from now on.

My mom made one of my all time favorite desserts growing up, chocolate eclair cake. I was excited for Sam to try this, as I know how much he loves store bought chocolate eclairs. I think I'm going to have to steal the recipe from my mom, so I am able to make them for my hubby on my own in the future.

I will post recipes for the turkey, stuffing and rolls later this week.

Muffin Tin Pot Pies

I love good old fashion winter food. Pot pies are one of those delightful foods. This is another one of Rachael Ray's recipes. I've made this particular recipe once before and thought it was going to be the last time. The recipe leaves you room to choose which seasoning you like more and I went with dill at the time, end result it was over-powering. I liked the "guts" (as I refer to the inside mixture of the pot pie) but maybe without so much dill. Well since I still had unused pastry sheet dough left I decided to make it one more time. This go around I used thyme instead and my husband and I decided it really made a difference. I'm glad I decided to give this recipe one more chance.

As a side note, I also realized my daughter has a weird quirk. She likes the "guts" of the pot pie but will not eat the crust of any pot pie whether homemade or store bought. I find this very odd. I guess I know what to do with my left over "gut" mixture, though.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, halved, divided
1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus a drizzle or cooking spray for oiling muffin tin
A handful mushroom caps, sliced or chopped
1 small rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup defrosted frozen peas and carrots
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour, plus a sprinkle to roll out dough
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half
1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh dill or thyme, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
8-ounce sheet frozen puff pastry dough, defrosted
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place chicken in a pan with 1/2 of the onion and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Gently poach chicken until cooked through. Remove from liquid and dice or shred with forks in a mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and brown 5 minutes. Finely chop remaining 1/2 onion and add to the pan along with the celery. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender, a few minutes more. Add frozen veggies and heat through, a minute or 2 more. Add veggies to bowl with shredded or cut chicken.

Return the skillet to the heat and add butter. Melt butter, add flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in stock and let thicken a minute or 2. Stir in cream and heat through. Add Dijon, dill or thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and pour over chicken and vegetables, and stir to combine.

Wipe a large, 6-cup muffin tin with oil or spray with cooking spray. Roll out dough and cut into 6 squares. Place each square in a cup, fill with chicken, vegetable and gravy mix. Pull in all four points of the crust over the filling so they meet in the middle, forming 6 individual pot pies. Brush pies with egg wash and bake 25-30 minutes until crisp and deeply golden. Let stand a few minutes before removing from the muffin cups.