Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd's Pie

I know I'm early with the Thanksgiving leftovers thing, but now you will be prepared when you have eaten turkey, potatoes and stuffing 16 times out of your fridge and you just HAVE to do something different before your mouth dies of boredom.

I have the ticket.

My in-laws prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner at their house before they left to head to California for the holidays. It was super delicious and she graciously sent me home with a little bit of everything.

I posted this recipe last year and it was so good that I made it again. It's kind of the ultimate comfort food in my book, so this is our kind of dish.

Here's the Recipe.



I will be posting a recipe for Risotto again tomorrow. This one has carmelized leeks and red bell pepper in it. If you want to feel fancy, this dish is up there. I have learned that you MUST use quality ingredients for it to taste the way it's supposed to, so I'll talk on that tomorrow.

Design Question: Do you like this new look? It's the first background I have found with a "food" theme, but it may be a little PINK for my liking. Anybody have a preference on this one or should I go back to my red and blue polka-dots?? Thanks girls!

Have a great Thursday!

Apple, Cheddar, Cranberry and Turkey Meatballs

I am fully aware that this dish looks both burnt and un-appetizing. The first part could be partially true because my slow cooker cooks like lightening speed and I forget that sometimes with dishes like this, but the second part is SO NOT TRUE.

These meatballs are beyond yummy. David and I even ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning with our eggs. They were tasty then too.

I am not usually a fruit in my meat kind of girl, but this combo works. I think my friend Shauna said she baked these one time and I would love to hear how those turned out and how long she cooked them and everything. That would be a good option if you don't get these in your crock in time.

My crockpot is so big that I have inserted a small casserole dish inside to cook these in so they will cook a little more slowly. It does help, but I still could've shaved an hour or more off of my cooking time and they would've been a bit better. But, even a little overcooked - we enjoy these alot.

I am going to give credit where credit is due for this one, because this is yet another recipe from over at A Year of Slow Cooking Blog that I love so dearly. Here's the recipe. Enjoy.


I made mine with Risotto with carmelized leeks and bell pepper. I will post the recipes for this side dish tomorrow. You can serve them with anything from pasta to rice to any kind of carb and then a veggie.

Side note: I usually use raisins because I don't often have cranberries on hand and they are still awesome!

Parents Review: So wonderfully flavorful!
Kids Review: Baby Boy likes them, Little Girl gave them 2 thumbs down....just because she likes to torture me. I think she is enjoying giving me the thumbs down on most of my recipes now if they aren't plain and lacking in flavor. :-)

Taco Soup

I'm starting the soup obsession in my house.

Who doesn't love a meal that has every food group in one pan and you can make fairly quickly and it practically screams COMFORT FOOD when you eat it? Or drink it as it were? Not sure. :-)

This taco soup recipe was another find from the internet and it is so easy and so, so tasty. We love bread in this house, but we try not to serve in addition to our meals very often, because, HELLO, the belly fat that I am already fighting in my mid-30's.

SO, we tend to serve this alone and I usually add some sour cream, a little cheese and sometimes some soup crackers (yes- I know this is a bread, but whatever)

Here's the recipe:

Cook Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef ( I use 1 lb. lean beef and 1 lb. ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn ,drained
1 can stewed tomatoes - mexican style (I just used petite diced)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing (dry)
2 1/2 cups water or more, to make soup broth
Preparation:

Brown ground beef and onions in a large pan, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. When ready, serve in big soup bowls, and have a skillet of hot cornbread to eat, too.


Parent Reviews: Love it!
Kid Reviews: They love it too as long as there are crackers involved.