I love me some Thanksgiving Leftovers

I will admit - I LOVE Thanksgiving.  The food and the relaxed family time all make the holiday quite appealing to me.  Growing up, all of the holidays were very busy and spent traveling to family member's homes, except Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving was spent at my parent's home.  It was relaxed, it was fun and down-right cozy!  Being that we are now farther away from both sides of our family, we do not get to celebrate with them, but that doesn't mean that I have stopped loving this holiday.

This will be my second year hosting the holiday on the west coast and this year we have a 14 pound turkey waiting for us.  One of the extra bonus' of hosting Thanksgiving is having the leftovers at your home, just waiting for you.  And I am pretty excited about having these leftovers!

Turkey Pot Pie is one of my favorite "leftover" meals.  Last year, I froze a few of these pies, so we could eat them several months down the road.  Leftover turkey is the gift that keeps giving! :)

What you need:

1 package of pie crust (2 shells)

2 cups shredded turkey

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1 package of frozen mixed vegetables (thawed and drained)

1 teaspoon of salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Line a pie pan with one of the pie crust shells

2. In a separate bowl, combine the turkey, cream of chicken soup, cheese, veggies, salt and pepper.

3. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and cover with the second shell.  Pinch the edges shut and cut slits into the top so that it can vent.

When you are ready to bake the Chicken Pot Pie, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and pop it in the oven for about 40 minutes.  By that time the crust should be a golden brown color.   It is a hardy, tasty meal - love those leftovers! :)

Soup in the Making

Well, well - the weather has turned cold on me quite quickly!  Here in the Pacific Northwest, this last week the temperature has dropped quickly (hopefully it will warm up a bit).  On top of that, my husband had a minor surgery on his eyes (which he has quickly recovered).   What food is the best comfort food in cold weather?  SOUP, of course!! :)  

For these cold weather, recovery days, I adapted the recipe from Gimme Some Oven for some Zuppa Toscana soup.  Who doesn't love the comfort that a good, hot bowl of soup brings.  I made a lot of soup, so we were able to eat it for several days.  I do not consider myself a "fancy" chef, but I think that I did well with this one.  My husband at least thought so!  He couldn't stop eating it! :)  A wife win! :P

What you need:
1 lb. of ground Italian sausage (I used the hot kind)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 red pepper
4 cups of chicken stock
1 bunch of kale (I only used half of the bunch, but you can't buy a half bunch! :P)
1 lb. cheese tortellini
1/4 cup cream cheese
salt & pepper

What you do:
1. In a large stock pan, Add the sausage and onion.  Over medium-high heat, begin to brown the sausage.  When it is about half way browned, add the red pepper too.  While the sausage is cooking, break up the meat chunks.  Once done, try to drain the extra grease, if you are able.

2. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a light boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low add the kale and tortellini.  Mix it all together.  Let the mixture cook, covered, for about 5 minutes (make sure that the tortellini is cooked).  Add the cream cheese and mix it in.  Season with salt and pepper.

Although it was a rather simple recipe, it had great results and tasted like it was a lot harder to make than it actually was!  I have already bought the ingredients to make this again! Husband will be happy. :)

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