Turkey Leftovers

My sister-in-law's mom made this recipe for us when we visited one Thanksgiving and it has since become a family favorite.

Turkey Tostadas

Chop leftover turkey into small pieces and place in a skillet with some turkey broth.

Season generously with Mrs. Dash.

Stir and let simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.

After the broth has cooked out the meat will be tender enough to shred when stirred.

Spread salsa on a tostada shell.

Add seasoned turkey.

Top with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.

Enjoy!

Heavenly Goodness

I guess all my Thanksgiving cooking wasn't enough for me; this morning I made some homemade cinnamon rolls.

My cinnamon roll recipe begins with a plain white bread recipe with added sugar.
After the dough has risen I divide it into two sections.

Each section is rolled flat;

Now I spread on melted butter (I used the homemade butter left over from Thanksgiving) and generously sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, raisin and pecans;

And gently roll into a log.

My pizza cutter is used to cut the log into sections.

Each section is placed into a greased pan until they double in size; bake at 350-degrees until brown.

My recipe always makes enough to share with others.

Yummy, they are picture perfect.

Thanksgiving Feast

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING"

Our food is all prepared and we are just waiting for out guest to arrive from town.

I have so much food on the counter that I had to photograph it all in three pictures...

We are going to have so many leftovers I wont need to cook for several days...

This is good; it gives me more play time in the sewing room.

I hope everyone enjoys their meal; I know we will.

Pies and More

Today, while the turkey was cooking, I made three pies; one deep dish apple, one pecan and one pumpkin. We love homemade pies and sometimes it is hard to decide which to eat first. Pat requested homemade butter to go with our meal; this butter is the best!

And the last of todays cooking was cornbread, for the dressing; deviled eggs; and pistachio pudding.

Tomorrow I will be making bread, dressing, gravey, mashed potatoes, sweetpotatoes, corn and warming up the turkey and ham.

After tomorrow my cooking and cleaning will be over and I can spend more time in the sewing room!

Preparing A Turkey

Today I baked a 20-pound turkey. My family likes turkey plain so the only seasoning I used was salt. Here is how I cooked my turkey;


I first begin by rinsing the turkey and removing the giblet bag from the neck cavity. I usually give this to the dogs instead of cooking it. Once the turkey is ready for the pan I place it breast side down. Next I add salt to the neck cavity as well as adding salt to the inside of the body; now I add water to the bottom of the pan; at least 6 cups are needed but since we use a lot of broth for cooking I added extra water.We like our turkey to fall off the bones so I usually cover it well and cook it at 250 to 300 degrees for at least 6 hours; the longer you cook it the more tender the meat becomes. Sometimes I will cook it at 200 degrees over night.

As soon as the turkey is cool enough to handle I like to remove it from the bones; placing the broth from the pan to the side. Next I put the bones and skin in a large stock pot and cover with water and a little salt; this is boiled for at least an hour.

When the second broth is ready I combine it with the first and put it in the fridge so the fat will firm up making it easy to remove.

Now my turkey is ready for tomorrow and I have a lot of broth for gravy and future soup.

Saving Money During Thanksgiving and Christmas

I love Thanksgiving and Christmas!...Not just because these holidays are a nice time to spend with family and friends...but because this is a wonderful time to stock up your freezer with bargains.

Yesterday I baked a 12-pound ham...I paid 99-cents per pound...this ham will be served on Thanksgiving along with turkey...and here is how I am going to stretch my dollar;

First, I baked my ham unseasoned in my roaster on 200-degrees all morning. Water is added to the bottom of the roaster; this water keeps the ham moist and will become a rich broth. When the ham has cooled I cut it into slices and hunks;

Next the ham is put in a zip lock bag and stored in the fridge until Thanksgiving. Any ham that is leftover after our meal will be used for sandwiches over the next several days. When we are tired of ham sandwiches the last of the ham is packaged for the freezer to be used in future dishes such as scalloped potatoes; cubed and cooked with eggs for breakfast burritos...

The broth is placed in containers and set to the side;

And the bone and fat is put in a pot to be boiled for about an hour.

This second broth is added to the first and placed in the fridge so the fat will harden and can easily be skimmed.

The broth is now divided into 3 Ziploc bags, each consisting of approximately 8 cups.

My crock pot is a 5 1/2 quart size. One bag of broth is enough to make a full pot of beans; the beans are packed with flavor from the broth and go well with corn bread. The leftover beans are then packaged into 2-cup servings and placed in the freezer to be used for chili; chalupas; burritos or any recipe that calls for beans.

I love getting the most for my dollar!

Amigos United

Today Elizabeth and I visited a newly remodeled grocery store. We watched flour tortillas being made in a machine as well as sampled freshly made flour and corn tortillas. Next we purchased a wonderful watermelon drink offered in the deli department...

But the highlight of our visit to the newly remodeled store was this pig!

He was being sold in the fresh meat market area.

A Birthday Gift

Elizabeth was invited to a Birthday Party on Sunday. I wasn't sure what to make; Pat suggested a monogrammed pillow.I am very pleased with how it turned out.

In the past I usually added ruffles to the edge of my pillows but I really like how using piping worked.

The size is approximately 18 x 21.

Next time I may try using a soft coordinating fabric for the back; maybe chenille or minky.

The Aftermath

Elizabeth's room was, and still is, a huge mess;I made the mistake of not covering everything while we were working on the closet and everything was, and still is, covered in dust.

I have had to wash all her clothes; today I should be able to wash the bedding since I can now reach it.

Organizing the new closet feels great! I love all the shelf space for all our games and puzzles.

I have big hopes that today her room will be back to normal.

The Closet is Finished!!!!!!!

I am so excited to now have the closet finished!Everything in Elizabeth's room is covered in fine dust so all her clothes have to be washed and all her puzzles and games will need to be dusted before being put in the new closet.

We are hoping to have everything completed by this evening so she can sleep in her room tonight.

It took just under 2-weeks to complete this project and it cost us just under $200!

Home Improvement Day ????

I have forgotten what day we are on with the closet but the progress is coming along at a nice steady pace.

The texture has been added to the walls.
The painting has begun; Elizabeth was able to help out.
Framing for the shelves is done.

Measuring, fitting, cutting and then more measuring has been done for the shelves.

And painting the shelves is still in progress.

Tomorrow we get to put in the floor before installing all the newly painted shelves!