Creamy Turkey and Biscuits Recipe

This was our "mosh posh" meal last night.....I substituted ground turkey for the cubed turkey because that's what I had on hand; it worked out just fine. Everyone in my family liked it, so it's a keeper! Always a fan of Taste of Home Cookbooks...

Creamy Turkey and Biscuits

1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup biscuit/baking mix (Bisquick)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 cups cubed cooked turkey (or ground turkey)
1 cup frozen peas
1 tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

If you don't already have cooked turkey, start by doing that...quick and easy way is in a fryin' pan until no longer pink/juices are clear. Set aside. In a large saucepan, saute green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Stir in biscuit mix until blended (makes a sort of rue). Gradually add milk and soup; stir until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min. Stir in turkey and peas. Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. Separate biscuits and arrange over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 17-20 min. or until golden brown. Yield: 4-6 servings



Creamy Turkey and Biscuits



Cornbread Recipes

Cornbread

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup fat free milk
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp oil

Grease bottom of a 9x9x2 square baking dish; set aside. In a medium size bowl stir together the dry ingredients; then add in the rest of the moist ingredients. Mix well but not too much! Poor batter into prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered, @ 425 for 20 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 9 servings.

Regular Cornbread shown in pic

Confetti Cornbread

Add : 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
          1/4 cup shredded carrot
          1/4 cup shredded zucchini
Prepare batter as shown above for regular cornbread, except also add in the cheddar cheese, carrot and zucchini to the batter before baking.


Personal Note: The recipe for the cornbread is my own personal recipe that I developed after many attempts in tweaking the Better Homes & Gardens recipe. I perfected it to our liking a handful of years ago and my family really enjoys it...it's moist and has a mildly sweet flavor.

2 Week Dinner Plan

Saturday December 3rd - Friday December 9th

Saturday - Bringing Sandwiches, Chips & Apple Slices with us to our family fun Christmas outing

Sunday - *Sweet & Sour Chops with Rice (make extra rice for Friday's meal)

Monday - *Italian Wedding Soup with Biscuits

Tuesday - *Breakfast Sausage Patties with Toast & Fruit

Wednesday - *Wintertime Beef Soup with Side Salad & *Garlic Bread

Thursday - Chicken Caesar Salad with *Smoked Cheddar Loaf (cook extra chicken for Friday's meal)

Friday - *Chicken Fried Rice

Special Treats of the Week: *Chocolate Dipped Phyllo Sticks, Rice Krispie Treats, *Granola Cereal Bars

Saturday December 10th - Friday December 16th

Saturday - *Homemade Turkey Chili with *Cornbread (save leftover cornbread for Sunday's meal)

Sunday - *Enchilada Meatballs with Homemade Nachos

Monday - Bacon & Eggs with *Homemade Bagels

Tuesday - Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches with Applesauce

Wednesday - *Beef Taco Lasagna (make extra taco meat for Friday's meal)

Thursday - *Coney Island Dogs with Homemade Fries

Friday - Taco Salad with Crispy Tortilla Strips

Special Treats of the Week: *Hazelnut Toffee, *Pumpkin Pie

* Denotes use of cookbook recipe

I will try and share as many recipes as I can...if you see something that sounds good to you, comment on the post and let me know what recipe you're wanting and I'll be sure to get it posted!

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Grease bottom and 1/2 way up sides of 8x4x2 baking pan (loaf pan); set aside. In a medium bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a small mixing bowl mix together sugar, zucchini, oil and egg. Add zucchini mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. (Batter will be lumpy)

Pour batter into prepared pan, be sure to scrape sides of mixing bowl so you don't miss any! Sprinkle top of batter with chopped nuts. Bake, uncovered, @ 350 in oven for 55-60 min. or until toothpick inserted near middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Once completely cool, cover with Saran wrap until ready to serve. Makes 1 loaf, but recipe can easily be doubled to make 2 loaves!


Fresh from my oven today! One with nuts & one without.

 I grow zucchini in my garden, so thinkin' ahead to the fall & winter months...I make sure to freeze lots of shredded zucchini in 1 or 2 cup quantities so it's ready to go for fresh zucchini bread later on!

Makin' Mashed Potatoes

These next few recipes are dedicated to my husband's friend who was lucky enough to be one of the FEW men that actually end up getting custody of their kids...heard your mashed potato story last night, bless your heart for trying! Hope this helps you......the amounts are based on what I make for our family of 5. You can adjust the recipes when making them for larger family gatherings.

Knowing how many potatoes to use: 1/2 of a large baking (russet) potato per person or 1-2 average sized red potatoes per person.....whatever that total is, I add a couple more servings for sending leftovers in my husband's lunch or for extra hungry tummies that want seconds at dinner.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
7-8 red potatoes
2 garlic cloves minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk
2 tsp dried parsley

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, wash the potatoes thoroughly (do not peel). Quarter the potatoes, add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15 min. or until a fork pierces the potato easily. Drain the water. If your pans are coated with Teflon be sure to transfer the potatoes into a large bowl before mashing so you don't ruin your pans! Add the garlic, butter, milk and parsley to potatoes, mash with either an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Mashed Potatoes
3-4 large baking (russet) potatoes
2 tbsp butter
Splash of milk

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil. While the water's heating up, peel potatoes & rinse with water. Cut potatoes in 1/2, then quarter each 1/2 (8 sections total); add to boiling water. Boil potatoes for approx. 15-20 min. (depending on how big the sections are), test with a fork poke. Drain the water. Again, if using Teflon coated pans, transfer to a large bowl before mashing potatoes. Add the butter and milk, mash with an electric handheld mixer or non-electric potato masher. Return to pan to keep warm until ready to serve.

Different Flavor Options for Regular Mashed Potatoes
You can always change up the flavor of your mashed potatoes to better accompany your main dish.

Example #1 - If your main dish is Italian, you can add 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp dried oregano & 1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove minced.

Example #2 - If your main dish is a red meat such as pot roast, you can add 1 tbsp dried minced onion to the pan while potatoes are boiling and a pinch of salt & pepper.

Example # 3 - Mix up the flavor simply by making a gravy to top your potatoes before serving (easy to use gravy packets are available at the store); whether your main dish is turkey, chicken or roast you can find different flavors of gravy to match your main dish.

ENJOY!

Homemade Applesauce (Crock Pot Recipe)

Homemade Applesauce

10-12 medium sized apples
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Quarter, core & peel apples; put in crock pot. Add water, sugar and cinnamon; stir apples gently to coat. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hrs. Once done, puree with handheld or stationery food processor (or use a blender). Serve either warm or chill in fridge. Store in container with lid in fridge.

Personal Note:
It is a little time consuming to make homemade applesauce, but the satisfaction comes from the thanks I get from my family when I make it. They love it. To make it inexpensive, watch for the pre-bagged apples to go on sale (ex: 5 lbs for $3.99 makes them $0.80 a lb) and use them solely for making batches of applesauce, apple bread or apple pies. They're usually too squishy to eat sliced, that's why they're cheaper than the displayed bulk apples. There's also the satisfaction of knowing when you make something from scratch, you're cutting out a ton of preservatives AND everything tastes better made with love!

Banana Snack Cake Recipe

Banana Snack Cake

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can try 1/2 regular & 1/2 whole wheat, it's different, but still good)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk (I keep powdered buttermilk on hand, it's cheaper and lasts longer!)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I omit because my family doesn't like nuts in breads)

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening & sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and add buttermilk a little at a time until well mixed. (stir in nuts optional) Pour into a greased  13x9x2 baking pan. (I sprinkle the top of the batter w/ cinnamon before putting in oven.) Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. or until toothpick near middle comes out clean.

There is a recipe w/ it for making frosting, but we choose not to add frosting to it...makes it too sweet for us!

Personal Note:
Many of the recipes I use come from my Taste of Home Cookbooks and often times I end up changing them up to make them my own and to my family's taste preference.....this one however, I didn't hardly change. It's great the way it is. This recipe is near and dear to my heart, but I don't make it very often. It brings up many happy memories spending time with my stepdaughter when she was little....BUT, life changed and so it's hard to do now. She'll be 14 next month, wonder if she remembers making this all the time and it being her favorite?