Thanksgiving at the Strand House

Kenny and I decided this year that we would host a small get together with our two immediate families at our new house. That meant that I was going to tackle the turkey once again. My first turkey was last year and it was quite the learning experience. This year I had some help and support, since my mom was joining us.

It still meant an early morning as I was making cinnamon rolls for breakfast and I needed to get them in the oven before the turkey took-over. Of course this meant turning on the Macy's Day Parade, the fire to take the chill off the house, and coffee pot since it was so early.

I was so happy at how it all turned out. Thank you Mom for all the help. When all was said and done, Kenny and I settled in with our turkey/eggnog comas and happily congratulated ourselves on hosting our first family holiday.

And in good ol' Jennifer & Kenny Strand fashion (yes, I married the man who loves Christmas just as much as I do—I wouldn't have asked for anything less), down came Thanksgiving and up went Christmas.

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Cleansing the World, while Cleansing the Body

The sunset before the storm.

As the snow fell in our Portland metro area over the last few days off and on, I was able to revel in its beauty. It blankets the world and muffles all noises, and I feel surrounded by a peaceful world.

Snow falling.

While the world was being purified by snow, I began my juice cleanse.

A blanket of snow.

Yesterday was a struggle, while I suffered from a headache (which just started to subside tonight), and I started with a hot mug of water and lemon juice. My first blended juice was a strawberry raspberry cucumber juice by Daphne Oz (the recipes are from The Chew).

Strawberry Raspberry Cucumber Juice

I continued the day with drinking chicken broth, more strawberry raspberry cucumber juice, and a green juice.

Daphne Oz's Green Drink

 Today I had a delicious breakfast blueberry banana juice along side some green tea and lemon water.

Blueberry Banana Juice

This afternoon I allowed myself some broth based tomato soup and more lemon water. And tonight I had the best juice yet! And the surprise ingredient: a jalapeño! But I promise it is delicious.

Daphne Oz's Secret Juice

I'm hoping each day will get a little bit easier. Tonight, as the snow has passed us and been replaced by rain and wind, I only have three days left. Now, I just need to stay off pinterest, with all the foodie pins—I'm torturing myself!

A Very Merry Engaged Christmas

This Christmas has been quite a whirlwind, but Kenny and I did stop and smell the pine tree. 

On December 14th, Kenny and I celebrated St. Lucia's Day, getting in touch with his Norwegian roots, and hopefully adding this to our holiday traditions. I made a delicious pot of lamb shanks, which were a complete hit! You can find the recipe here. And made St. Lucia buns, which are basically hot-crossed buns with saffron and raisins. Delicious when warm with a little butter and a hot cup of gluhwein. 

I also crafted a few gifts this year, one which were attic journals and ribbon bookmarks for my bridesmaids.

For the kids in our lives I made snowman kits. Can't wait till it snows so I can see pictures of the kids and their snowman!

One of Kenny and my favorite gifts this year was a beautiful handmade quilt from his dad's girlfriend.

We hope everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas as we had! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rice Bowls on a Budget by Everything Golden

I just have to share this, from my best friend's blog! I thought this was a great way to make a healthy dish under $5 and make several meals out of it. And if you love Cafe Yumm!, you will love this rendition. You can either go here Rice Bowls or read below.

In our house we cook a lot with rice. Rice and chicken, rice and steak, rice and beans, rice and veggies....you get the idea. Rice is easy to cook, cheap and goes with just about any delicious sauce you have sitting around. Yesterday I needed to make some lunches for my hubby so he has something good to eat at work the rest of the week. We had one box of flavored rice as well as some canned veggies so I got a bit creative and this is what I came up with!



Ingredients:


1 box Broccoli Au Gratin Rice ($1.00)
1 can Black Beans ($1.00)
1 can Mushrooms ($0.25)
1 can Peas and Carrots ($0.75)
1 can Zucchini in tomato sauce ($0.75)
1 small handful of shredded cheese to garnish ($1.00)

Cook rice as directed. Let cool just slightly then add beans and veggies. I used canned veggies because (a) they were cheaper and (2) when I bought the ingredients I knew I wasn't going to be making it right away. I've made this before using chicken or tuna as the protein but beans (again) are cheaper so that's what I went with this time. But really, you can do just about anything you want with rice, a sauce and some veggies!

After it cools a bit, divide it into lunch portions, top with a little cheese, and refrigerate. I was able to get four good size lunches out of this recipe for Jermaine so two went into the fridge and another two into the freezer. So for only $4.75 I was able to feed him for almost an entire week of work lunches. Not bad!

Me vs. Mr. Turkey

Since Kenny's mother and my future mother-in-law was laid up with a ruptured disc in her back, I thought I would try to tackle my first Thanksgiving meal (since Kenny loves his Turkey Day leftovers and I love him). I kept telling myself, "I can do this! I can do this!" Of course, per my style, I stressed over all that could go wrong and even had a nightmare I dropped the turkey on the floor. Let me just say, I think I bit off more than I could chew. However, I learned many valuable lessons. And as my mom and Granny said, "It's a rite of passage."

Lesson 1: Don't allow your fiance to pick out the bird. It will be the second largest one he can find and one I can't carry. (He picked out a 23lb turkey. At least it wasn't the 38lb turkey he found first!)
Lesson 2: If I can pick it up and dance with it, it's the bird for us! The smaller the better!
Lesson 3: Do as much prep work as possible.
Lesson 5: Drink wine.
Lesson 6: Make sure you have the oven on bake, not broil (the skin will burn before the turkey is cooked—if this does happen, make sure to put a tinfoil tent over it ASAP).
Lesson 7: Drink wine.
Lesson 8: Get a bigger kitchen and oven. Or just buy a bird that is in ratio to the kitchen/oven size. Note to self: register for a large roasting pan.
Lesson 9: Date the gravy. Be patient. Don't add so much flour that it becomes a paste.
Lesson 10: Did I say drink wine? If not, drink wine!

There are some things that are necessary to do ahead of time, like the brine. Yes, I brined the turkey and yes, I'm probably crazy.

4 cups kosher salt (grocery store was out of kosher salt, so I used sea salt)
5 cups granulated sugar
2 large onions, cut into 1" chunks
2 leeks (including green portion), cut into 1" chunks
2 carrots, cut into 1" chunks
2 celery stalks, cut into 1" chunks
1 garlic head, halved but not peeled
3 bay leaves
2 1/2 Tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole allspice
8 cups water (or however much fits in your largest pot—it does fill up fast with the ingredients so make sure and leave room—I had to dump a little water out as I went when I realized it would overflow if I kept adding things).

Directions: Place all ingredients in the pot of water. Stir and combine and let boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely (over night) before putting the turkey in the brine. I bought an oven bag, put the turkey in (with the help of Kenny) breast side down, poured the brine over the turkey and filled the rest up with water to cover the turkey. [Note: make sure you take out the neck and giblets before you do all this.]

I also made a spiced butter rub for the turkey. (Sorry, no picture.)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt (or in my case, regular salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Directions: Combine ingredients and rub all over turkey. You can use all of it, even if it seems like a lot of butter. It's supposed to make a fine crusty skin. Since I accidentally had my oven on broil for the first 30 minutes, my poor skin burned.

I was so frazzled making the rest of the sides, I did not take a picture before Kenny started carving it. Luckily, no one was poisoned, I did not drop the turkey on the floor, and everyone was well satisfied. In fact, I felt rather accomplished after I was all done. Here is a turkey roasting guide that I used to help me know how much time I needed: Turked Cooking Time Guide.

Here is the stuffing recipe I used: good ol' herb stuffing.

Thankfully, after we filled our bellies, Kenny and I traveled over to the Strand family Thanksgiving dinner and got our fill of laughter, joy, and drinks galore!

A Cold, Wet Evening in the Northwest

After a very wet and windy afternoon, we hunkered down for the evening. While Thomasina slept by the fire, I made a chicken pot pie casserole.

Per request of my BFF, here is the recipe. Give yourself an hour to an hour and a half to prepare and cook. The recipe requires white wine, so make sure you pick one you enjoy, so you can pour yourself some while you are cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 roasted chicken, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped red sweet pepper
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups peas, blanched
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, blanched
• 2 potatoes, peeled, diced, and boiled
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Directions

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, sweet pepper, and shallots and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in flour, salt, tarragon, and black pepper. Add milk and cream all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in wine, peas, carrots and potatoes; heat thoroughly. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Place pastry over the hot chicken mixture in casserole dish. Brush puff pastry with egg wash then cut slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes. 

Pour yourself another glass, make a little salad, and enjoy being warm inside while the wind howls, while catching up on DVR-ed shows.