Uses for Leftover Cranberry Sauce

Nobody in my husband's family likes cranberry sauce. So, it is usually just me and my daughters eating it at Thanksgiving dinner. But I don't care. I make lots of it anyway because I know that I am going to be eating the leftovers all week. And I have lots of delicious uses for leftover cranberry sauce.

Here are three of my favorites:

Cranberry pomegranate tarts.

Crust

1/2 Cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 Cup cream cheese, softened

1 Cup all-purpose flour

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add flour; and beat until a soft dough forms. Form into a ball and chill in plastic wrap for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 425.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place a ball into mini muffin or tart pan. Dip a spoon or tart shaper into flour; press into dough to form tart shells.

Filling

cranberry sauce

pomegranate arils

canned peaches or fresh peach slices

Fill tarts with a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Top with pomegranates and a peach slice.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, carefully remove tart shells from pan.

Stir it into your oatmeal for a warm tangy breakfast treat on a cold morning.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

OK I don't really know what the breakfast of champions is. But this breakfast makes me feel uber-healthy.

Plain yogurt for a little digestive health

a handful of uncooked oatmeal for cholesterol and heart health

and cranberry sauce for antioxidants.

A dash of cinnamon for blood sugar control.
Yep it is good stuff.

What is your favorite way to eat leftover cranberry sauce?

Cranberry Carrot Muffins

I watch the produce shelves, waiting for the day the cranberries will appear. Because it's virtually impossible to track down these seasonal gems the rest of the year I feel obligated to start using them the moment they make an appearance. So they are here and oh the plans I have. I got a special little sample package today from POM Wonderful full of pomegranate juice. I can promise you that the POM and the cranberries are going to get together soon but for now I whipped up some moist carrot muffins with sweet flavors of pineapple and tangy bursts of cranberry. I am afraid I can't tell you how many I ate by myself. What I can tell you is that I stayed true to the purpose of this blog and I experimented with one of my food storage items. I exchanged the shredded carrot for the dehydrated carrot pieces that have been waiting to be used. I am on a mission to learn how to use dehydrated carrots. These carrot muffins are a great pantry/food storage recipe. If you leave out the cranberries, the rest of the recipe comes straight from the pantry shelves.

Recipe adapted from recipe in Lunch Boxes and Snacks by Annabel Karmel

3/4 Cup flour

3/4 Cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup veggie oil

1/2 Cup sugar

1/4 of dehydrated carrots, re hydrated to 1/2 cup or 1 large carrot shredded

one 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, partially drained

3/4 Cup fresh cranberries or craisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin tin

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl beat oil, sugar and eggs until combined. Add carrot, pineapple and cranberries and mix. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour into muffin tins. Bake 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to wire rack.

Coconut Thai Chicken Soup -- Cure For A Wintry Day

Featured Food Storage: Chicken Broth and Rice
Suggested Pantry Item: Canned Coconut Milk. This week's suggested pantry item is coconut milk. This tasty little pantry item brings a whole new international flavor to plain old rice or other Asian or Thai dishes. I always keep at least one can on hand for those days I need a little Thai flavor.

My family is seriously weird. They don't really enjoy Thai food or coconut milk flavored dishes. Seriously, I could drink coconut milk straight from the can or the coconut. Sometimes I crave a good Thai dish. This soup is my new favorite. Mostly because I can whip it up pretty quickly and freeze the leftovers just for me, just for those blah lunch days. This soup is not really hip friendly but it is the best cure for snowy day blues. This creamy white stuff is warm, bright, and comforting. As opposed to the other white stuff which is cold wet and sometimes a little dreary.

Whip some up for your family or take a day this week to make some for your lunch and then save the rest for yourself. Sometimes you need a little something exotic to keep you going.

TIP:My Thai cooking, loving expert Australian sister -in-law liked the soup as well but she did offer a few tips like adding a little lime juice, extra chili or lime kaffir leaves. She knows her Thai stuff and so next time I am going to add one of her suggestions

One of my favorite things about the library is the opportunity to check out cookbooks. This recipe comes from the cookbook Lunch Boxes and Snacks by Annabel Karmel. I may have to buy this book. It is only $6.15 at Amazon.com

RECIPE:
1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic crushed
1/2 to 1 red chili pepper (finely chopped)
1 small boneless, skinless chicken breast or 3 chicken tenders (cut into strips)
1 cup broccoli crowns
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 cups coconut milk (1 can)
1 cup rice (cooked)

Heat oil in large sauce pan and saute onion, garlic and chili for 2 minutes. Add strips of chicken and saute for 2 more minutes. Add broccoli, chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk, reduce and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Tangy Crusty Onion Pork Chops

Sorry about the awful photo. No good lighting to be found that night.

Did you know that you can use those cans of French's Fried onions for more than just green bean casserole? Do you have a can sitting in your pantry right now waiting for Thanksgiving or green beans? Poor neglected onions. In a twist on crispy onion baked chicken I bring you these pork chops which were gobbled up by even the onion hater in our home. She never knew what hit her. She just gobbled.

First a word on pork chops. For some reason pork (all varieties) and I have a good relationship in the kitchen. We really get along. The same can not always be said for me and the other meats. However, I know that pork can have a bad rep if you cook it wrong. So let me say this: Those super thick boneless pork chops are almost always going to come out dry and tasteless. Unless, of course you brine those fatties up good. I don't buy pork chops more than an inch thick. EVER! I actually like the bone-in pork chops but I usually buy the variety pack because they are so cheap. This recipe will work for any type of pork chop and I guarantee yumminess.

The second secret to a good breaded, or in this case encrusted, pork chop is yogurt. Dip your pork chop in plain nonfat yogurt instead of egg and you will have a moist and tangy chop. This works for chicken also.

The Recipe

4 to 5 pork chops

1 6 oz can of fried onions

1 TB AP flour

1 1/2 cups of plain non fat yogurt

salt and pepper

Place onions in plastic bag with flour. Seal bag and crush with a rolling pin until coarse crumb.

Place onion crumbs in a dish for dipping.

Season your pork chops with salt and pepper. Coat chops in yougurt. Dip into onion crumbs.

Line a baking dish with parchment paper or grease well. Place chops in dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until no loger pink inside.

Hammy Hashbrowns Straight From the Pantry

Featured Food Storage: Canned Ham
Pantry Suggestion: Boxed dehydrated Golden Russet hash brown potatoes

I bought a case of canned smoked ham. Unfortunately, I have never used smoked canned ham. I have been trying to think of a way to use this new addition to my food storage when I caught sight of the dwindling supply of boxed hash browns. Oh Yes! This had to work. And it did and it was delicious and it was so pantry friendly. This is so ridiculously easy it is more like a tip on how to use that canned ham. It is also a review of one of my favorite pantry items. I love these hash brown boxes.

They store so beautifully, they cook up absolutely delicious with just a little oil and they are way better than the frozen variety. Yes, I know I could shred my own hash browns but frankly this is so much easier. Open box, pour water to fill line and let sit for 10 minutes. I buy mine in a multi-pack from Costco.

Here is my recipe for Hammy Hash browns.

One box of hash browns or 3 cups other hash browns

2 - 6 oz cans of smoked ham

Salt and pepper

2 Tb oil

1/2 Cup cheddar cheese (optional)

Prepare your hash browns according to directions. Heat grill pan. Heat oil. Add hash browns and ham. Stir with spatula and then let set until underside begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to turn hash browns and ham until browned. Add cheese if using and stir until cheese starts to melt. Serve warm

TIP: These would be yummy with a little salsa from the pantry.

Asian Tuna Casserole

Featured Food Storage or Pantry Items: Tuna Fish, instant ramen noodle packs, Cream of Mushroom Soup

I know what you are thinking: Another Tuna Fish Casserole recipe. Yep. But this one has an Asian twist and since I am always looking for some variety for my canned tuna, I thought this would be a great addition, especially if you keep those instant ramen packs in your pantry. I don't actually stock up on these. But they are so ridiculously cheap that even if you just use the noodles without the seasoning packet you are saving a bundle.

The family verdict on this recipe: First, I really liked it. It was lower fat than my standard tuna casserole and it had some crunchiness from the cashews and celery that I appreciated. My husband didn't love it (but he still liked it) because he is not an Asian noodle fan or a nuts in his casserole fan. My daughters liked it but they ate around the mushrooms. So, if you like all those things you may find this tuna casserole version a tasty change of pace.

TUNA AND CASHEW BAKE

From the One Pot Meals cookbook (which is good cookbook stuff, by the way)

3 cans of tuna fish, drained (the original recipe called for 2 cans)

1/2 Cup sliced mushrooms

1 Cup unsalted cashews

3 scallions or green onions trimmed and sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

4 packages ramen noodles, flavor packet discarded Cooked according to package directions and drained.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

4 Tb water

1 Tb soy sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place tuna in a bowl and break apart. Add mushrooms, cashes, onions, celery and 2/3 of the cooked noodles. Stir gently until fillings are distributed evenly in the noodles. Spoon mixture into casserole dish.

Pour soup into a separate bowl and add water and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Pour soup mixture over casserole. Top with the remaining noodles, sprinkle with pepper. Bake for 45 minutes.

Swiss Cheese Popover

I am always looking for a simple bread side for dinner. I want easy and I want variety. My husband actually whipped these up for Tuesday soup night and I really liked them. The Swiss cheese and egg added to this simple batter was delicious. To be fair my children did not love them. But we are still in the process of trying to convert them to Swiss cheese. My hubby liked the toasted cheese crust the best and I liked the interesting texture of these popovers.

Swiss Cheese Popovers
1/2 Cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 Cup milk room temperature ( we actually used reconstituted Morning Moos powdered milk and these turned out fine)
1 TB melted butter
1.2 tsp Dijon-Style mustard
6 TB shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir flour and salt in medium bowl. Beat egg, milk, melted butter, and mustard in a different bowl. Pour over flour and stir to form batter. Do not beat.

Grease 4muffin cups and fill each cup with 1 TB shredded cheese. Allow cheese to stick to sides of muffin tins. Divide batter between cheese coated cups. Top with remaining cheese. Fill empty cups half-full of water for even baking.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until popovers have risen and are golden brown. Remove from muffin tin and serve warm.

Pumpkin Super Foods

Photo by Basil Magazine

I have been waiting to share a couple of my favorite pumpkin recipes with you but I was waiting for them to come out with my article in Basil Magazine.

Check out the super-hero powers of pumpkins and cranberries and my recipes for Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse and Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins. BASIL MAGAZINE