Thanksgiving

Well it is already time for Thanksgiving!  Every year we eat dinner at my husband’s Aunt’s house where they make a beautiful spread with all of the classic thanksgiving dinner dishes.  I always make pumpkin cheesecake to bring for dessert and an appetizer or side dish.  This year, I am making sausage and spinach stuffed mushrooms (requested by the family) and goat and cranberry phyllo cups.  I will get to those recipes in a few minutes.

I have noticed lately, mostly today and yesterday, how stressed people were about tomorrow.  I have heard people upset about having to go to the grocery store with all of the crazy shoppers, having to make food, and having to travel.  It makes me wonder what people are thinking about when it comes to thanksgiving.  I can honestly say that even if we didn’t have a traditional meal, ate peanut butter and jelly, and just hung out with my husband’s family … I would be perfectly content with that.  I do have to agree that going grocery shopping this time of year is nutso.  My foot got ran over with a shopping cart yesterday … the person had to have known … but kept on strolling.  I of course responded with “Happy Thanksgiving” … since my kill em with kindness sarcasm tends to keep me going throughout the day!  Anyways, I guess what I am trying to say is instead of focusing on what stresses us out this thanksgiving, let’s really focus on what we are thankful for.

First and foremost, I am thankful for my husband.  I tell him this often, and I am not sure if he will enjoy this public recognition, but it is how I feel.  He is one of the hardest working people I know and has provided me with a life that I am incredibly thankful for.  He is what keeps me going every day and I am lucky to have him as my best friend and husband.

I am incredibly thankful for my parents.  They had my sister and me at a young age and did one hell of a job at raising us and giving us everything we needed to succeed in life.  I still look to them for guidance when I am having a tough day and am blessed to be able to do so.

That leads me to my sister.  I am so thankful that my sister is also my friend … she is one person who can make me laugh all of the time.  I am so happy to also have my great brother-in-law Patrick (aka Dr. Pooh) and a little baby niece on the way. 

I am thankful for my grandparents.  I know that at my age I am incredibly lucky to still be able to create memories with my “Gug” and “Guggabull” and my Gram.  I am also thankful for the memories that I have from my Pap.

 

For my other family … I always talk about just how close my extended family is.  I am very close with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I know that is not always the case.  I love my family more than anything and am incredibly thankful for each and every one of them.  On a side note – I am also thankful for all of the memories I have with my Aunt Michelle. 

My second family, or my in-laws, has also made me feel so welcome into their family since the day I met them.  Words can’t express how thankful I am to have them in my life, especially when some live very close to us.  It is a nice feeling to have in-laws that I care about so deeply! This is especially true for Alex’s grandmother “MomMom” … I love her to the moon and back!

And to my family that I was able to choose … my friends.  I have AMAZING friends and am so thankful for each and every one of them.  My friends back in Pittsburgh keep me grounded and I know that they are always just a phone call away.  It isn’t every day that you see a group of girlfriends from middle school continue to be friends into adult hood.  This is especially true for my first best friend Katie, who remains my best friend to this day!  I am also very lucky to have my friends out here.  Being away from home is hard, but when you are surrounded by friends you love, it makes it easier!

I am also thankful for many other things … like my job, our house, our cars, and most importantly, our son Monkey. 

OK – on to the food.

Mushrooms are super easy.  Clean the mushrooms and take the stems off and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  While those are cooking, brown up some sweet Italian turkey sausage.  In a food processor, chop up 1 small onion, 2 stalks of celery, garlic, and parsley.  Add the mixture into the sausage once it has browned.  Add 1 box of spinach that has been thawed and drained.  Add 1 cup of cubed pieces of bread or stuffing mix and season the mixture to taste. Add ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese.  Allow the mixture to cool and add 1 egg.  Drain the mushrooms caps and stuff each one generously.  Bake for 15 minutes and you have a delicious little appetizer. 

The tarts are very easy as well.  Buy frozen phyllo dough cups, goat cheese, parsley, and cranberry (compote or canned).  Mix the goat cheese and parsley and fill the cups.  Add a dab of the cranberry on each one and bake at 350 for approx 10 minutes. 

Lastly, the cheesecake! Use 3 blocks of cream cheese and mix with ¾ cups of sugar.  Add a tbs of vanilla and continue to beat.  Add 3 eggs (one at a time)  and continue to beat until smooth.  Add 1 cup of canned pumpkin and a few dashes of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.  Continue to beat the mixture.  Once everything is blended well, pour into a graham cracker crust (I buy pre-made).  The filling makes enough for 2 cheesecakes!  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees and you have 2 great desserts to take with you to your thanksgiving meal!!

Big shout out to one of my best friends, Jess!  Her baby is due this week and I wish her and Chris well wishes as they start this new chapter in their life! Love you BOTH so much!

Lastly, I am thankful to all of you … those of you who read my blog.  I know not everyone follows and not everyone comments, but I know people are looking and it makes me very happy!  In fact – I have views from every continent now!!  This is something I love to do and it is very reassuring that people are interested.  I wish EVERYONE a very HAPPY THANKSgiving!!

Love,

Kate

Shrimp & Sausage Stew

I made a dinner this week that was extremely flavorful and incredibly easy to make!  I came home after a day of working 12+ hours and cooked a quick stovetop stew for dinner that evening.  I was happy that it was so quick to make because I was exhausted from work and wanted to have as much time as possible to spend with Alex this particular evening, and not in the kitchen.  I am also happy that it was so good, because this is now my husband’s FAVORITE meal I have made. 

I made a shrimp and sausage stew that was packed full of fresh ingredients and flavor.  In a large pot, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add 1 chopped green bell pepper (you can use any color, green just happened to be on sale) and sauté for approximately 4 minutes. Then add one package of smoked turkey sausage and sauté for a few more minutes.  Add minced garlic to the peppers and sausage (I probably used greater than a heaping tablespoon because we love garlic) and let cook with the peppers for about 1 minute.  Add chicken broth to the pot (I used one large container of low sodium chicken stock) and 1 can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (do not drain, add the entire contents into the pot).  Allow the liquid to warm up to a gentle boil, and add 1 can of kidney beans and fresh peeled shrimp (I probably threw in about 20 pieces for the whole pot).  Allow the shrimp to cook through and become pink, approximately 6-8 minutes.  Serve the soup and sprinkle with fresh parsley for an extra burst of fresh flavor!  The stew is SO good, has a bit of a spicy flavor from the chilies and tomatoes, a smoky flavor from the sausage, and a salty freshness from the shrimp. 

I had to work 3-11 that following evening, and there was 1 bowl of the stew left in the refrigerator (After I had 1 bowl and my husband had about 3).  Apparently, he was very excited to eat it when he got home from work and stopped to get oyster crackers on the way home.  He came home, warmed up the soup, and was about to eat it when he texted me:

I was busy at work but answered … and apparently my answer made him put the soup back and eat something else!  I was so happy when I got home and had the bowl … haha!  I of course wouldn’t have been upset if he ate it, but I was really looking forward to it also!  I guess this just means that I have to make a double batch and more often! Maybe I will even go out and make my handsome husband this stew tonight since he was so sweet this week …

Halloweenie

Last night we attended a Halloween party at Karen and Luke’s house!  I was dressed as Wendy and my handsome husband was dressed as Waldo.  I wanted to bring some food and drinks to the party… since that is what parties revolve around.  I made an appetizer and dessert as well as two different premade shots. 

The appetizer I made was spinach balls!  Listen – these are SO easy.  They consist of 1 box of stuffing mix (I used stove-top chicken flavored – but you can use any kind), 2 boxes of frozen spinach (drained well), 4 eggs, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, 1 small onion diced, and garlic power.  Combine all the ingredients together and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Surprisingly – these were the first thing to go!

The dessert I made was Oreo Truffles.  It was the first time I made them and they turned out pretty delicious.  I crushed 1 container of Oreos and mixed them with 1 block of cream cheese.  I then formed those into little balls and dipped them in melted semi-sweet chocolate.  The chocolates were set on wax paper to harden and become little balls of heaven.  Seriously, these are really really good. 

I wanted to make premade shots to bring because it is certainly better than taking straight shots at a party … maybe I am old, but the thought of taking a straight shot of anything anymore makes me want to vomit.  These were very strong and got the job done, but tasted amaze-balls.  One was a Pumpkin Cider shot, which were my favorite as well as a man named Jim (he took 3 back to back- pretty impressive stuff).  Pinnacle has limited edition pumpkin pie flavored vodka which was mixed with apple cider.  You have to use the real apple cider because it gives the shots amazing flavor.  Add a couple of dashes of pumpkin pie spice and you literally have the best shot ever… just ask Christian Grey (aka my new favorite Ryan).  The other shot was a Red Headed Slut mixture … since many people like jager.  I happen to hate jager … but this party wasn’t about me.  It is equal parts of jager, peach schnapps, vodka, and cranberry juice!  Now … I know anyone can bring things to make shots, but pre-making them and bringing them in cute bottles makes the difference and gets the party started. 

I have some fun recipes I am making this week and can’t wait to share! 

Love,

Wendy