My family is crazy about stuffing, or dressing as some people call that wonderful concoction that fills the inside of our Holiday bird.  I not only fill the bird, but I also have to be sure to make several casserole dishes of stuffing to cook alongside it, as well.  As much as we all love our stuffing, even we have our limits.  After a couple hours of lingering at the table, we can’t touch another forkful of stuffing to save our souls.  But, we are always happy to have leftover stuffing!  Until about the fourth day of looking at bowls of stuffing in the refrigerator that need to be eaten or thrown away.  Now what?

Aside from heating the stuffing up and eating it, once again, what should I do with our wealth of stuffing?  I know there has to be wonderful casseroles that call for already made stuffing.  I’m trying to be as creative as I can here, but I think the long Holiday hours have left me unimaginative. 

There is sort of a “Holiday In A Dish” recipe that I have made which everyone likes pretty well.  I just take all the ingredients of our traditional Holiday meal and turn them into a layered casserole.  Not very inventive, but my family likes it.  This meal is one that I actually make anytime of the year using newly made stuffing on those occasions. 

If anyone has an idea, whether it’s anything from soup to casseroles to sandwiches, I’m ready to hear about them.  I can’t bring myself to cook less stuffing, so there will be leftovers, once again.

I’m always a little sad to see all the gravy that’s left after a Holiday dinner.  I work hard at getting the gravy just right, and I always want to be sure that there is enough to go around, so we always end up with a container of gravy leftover in our refrigerator, staring at us for days on end.  I hate to waste it, so we start making hot turkey or beef sandwiches, but after about the third sandwich my family starts to get tired of them. 

I’m thinking that replacing the cream of mushroom soup that’s called for in a casserole recipe might be a good idea and something worth trying.  The leftover gravy is much more flavorful than a bland can of  soup and would pack a little welcome pizazz into your casserole.  Your classic skillet meal of ground beef or chicken, with rice or pasta, and veggies might also benefit from a dollop of gravy.  Or stir in a touch to some hot, cooked green beans to add another layer of flavor and a creamy texture. How about using some gravy in a cream soup?  It should help thicken the soup as well as add a boost of flavor.

Knowing that so many of us are watching our weight, I know gravy may not be the most popular food right now, but it may have some redemption because 1) it’s homemade and 2) it packs a lot of flavor in a little amount.   For a lot of flavor with fewer calories, you could add just a dab of gravy to a cup or so of yogurt for the creamy ingredient of a nice baked casserole.   

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Do you have some tried-and-true recipes in which you throw in some of your fabulous homemade gravy? 

Tis’ the Season… the grocery stores are starting to get their fresh cranberries in and do they look yummy!  I have a few favorites that we always make during the Holidays, but I’m sure there are lots of other uses for those beautiful cranberries. 

I actually lived for some time close to cranberry bogs, so had access to the freshest cranberries around.  As kids, we would even eat them uncooked right out of the bag. That’s a taste explosion worth trying, once.  We tried drying them, but never was successful with that project.  We probably needed some sort of fruit drying machine in order for it to work, but we were kids so we just left them out in the sun on a pan. Not the preferred method, to be sure. 

Aside from the classic cooked version of cranberries, where you just boil them down in water and sugar and serve, are there some recipes that would really be a surprise?  We also make a Cranberry Relish by putting fresh cranberries in the food processor, throwing in a whole cut up orange, and a little bit of lemon, and a touch of sugar, and just grind them all up together.  It’s pretty simple, but seems to be one of our family favorites, so we haven’t messed with that formula at all.

I’m looking for a recipe that’s a bit unusual that you have made with fresh cranberries.  Something that your family asks for year after year and has become a classic dish on your table.  Any ideas?

We have an abundance of apples in our neck of the woods and, therefore, we have an abundance of wonderful, homemade apple cider.  In fact, I’m considering purchasing a cider press one of these years so I can make my own apple cider.  If you have never tried REAL apple cider, you need to treat yourself to a mug full.  The flavor is a great deal shall we say “deeper” than the store bought stuff.  If you get a chance, try it. 

So, here I am with my jugs of apple cider, enjoying it simply by warming it in a pan on top of the stove and sipping it hot out of my favorite mug.  That is certainly a little bit of Heaven, but I’m wondering what else I can make with apple cider. 

One recipe I saw recently, but of course have lost, is using apple cider as a glaze for ham or turkey.  I think it should be simple enough to figure out.  Has anyone tried that sort of apple cider based glaze?  I wonder if you’d have to add any brown sugar or molasses to cut some of the tartness of the cider.  Or how about using apple cider as a marinade?  Interesting, yes?

Then of course there are the spiced cider drinks to try over the Holidays.  I do have one that I like to make and share with my guests.  I’ll share it here:

1 quart of apple cider
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
2 inch stick cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to boil slowly, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes.  Pour through sieve to remove spices, and serve.  I put a half slice of orange on top of the mug for extra color and sweetness.  Some people add brown sugar during the cooking to sweeten up the cider, but I like mine tart.

So, I put it to you dear readers, what have you used apple cider for other than sipping? Or do you have a more unusual Mulled Cider drink that you could share?  I’ve got a lot of apple cider here and am anxiously awaiting some ideas.

I had a lot of questions about artichokes, besides what to make with them.  Like what are they and how do I prepare them?  They are so pretty and elegant, I wanted to find out how to serve them to my family and friends.  So, I did a little research and found out a few things, like they are actually not a vegetable, but a blossom bud belonging to the sunflower family. 

So, now how do I cook them?  It’s not as difficult as I thought, really. Cut off the bottom stem, cut off the top a little, and stand it up in a big pot of enough water to cover the artichoke completely, and add some lemon or vinegar to keep the color bright.  Bring water to a boil and gently boil the artichoke, covered, for around 30 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke.  Pull it out and put it upside- down to drain.  When drained and cool enough to handle, turn it over, gently spread the pedals out a little and give the top “plug” a tug, discard, and scoop out any loose purplish stuff inside.  This cavity is where you would put some nice sauce for dipping.  You can have your serving dish and eat it too!

Simple enough.  But then comes the intimidating part… how to eat it.  I had to watch somebody eat an artichoke before I would try it.  I was in a restaurant and discreetly, I hope, peered over my husband’s shoulder to observe the fascinating technique.  Again, relatively simple… just pull off the pedals one at a time by grasping the end and gently tugging down, dip the end that you pulled off into the sauce or butter provided, put pedal in your mouth and pull out between your clenched teeth.  How funny is that!  You get all the pulp off the pedal, the yummy stuff, and discard the little pedal skeleton. 

Now for the dipping sauce.  From my understanding, this is where you can go wild.  There are Thai dips, Mustard dips, Seafood dips, and the list goes on.  I haven’t tried any of the recipes I’ve found yet because I’m a little leery.  I’m wondering if anyone has a favorite.

When I find a really great recipe for baked ham, I’ve got to try it.  I remember having wonderful baked ham during the Holidays at my Grandparent’s house and am always trying to recreate that memory.  I’ve made some fabulous baked ham recipes and enjoyed them immensely.  Of course, I always cook way too much food and end up with leftovers that, after a few days, start to frighten me.  What can be done with all this food?

So, once again, I’m faced with a plate of ham piled high in my refrigerator, and a family begging me not to make it into sandwiches again.  I feel their pain.  I’m rather tired of ham sandwiches, too.  Although I think I could convince them to eat ham sandwiches once more if I toasted them with a slice of provolone cheese, add a little mustard, and I think everyone would be happy.

Still I have quite a bit of ham left, even after the sandwiches.  I believe with just a few more recipes in my repertoire, my family and I would be happy to see leftover ham in the refrigerator.  Then I can continue to bake beautiful hams in my Grandparent’s tradition and love the leftovers, too!

My husband and I each had a hankering for mushrooms and were grocery shopping separately.  Well, you can see where this is going. We now have a mountain of nice, white button mushrooms and I’m afraid they’re going to get bad before I can use them up in salads and casseroles.  I would like to be able to use a large amount in something, but what?

I do make a beef stroganoff in which I use a lot of mushrooms, but I want to try something different.  How about a really good recipe for Creamy Mushroom Soup?  That has to be a little tricky what with the whole cream sauce thing that you have to get right.  I’m also afraid if the seasonings aren’t just right, it will end up tasting like the canned stuff.  Any thoughts?

My Dad used to pick wild mushrooms which was great fun.  There are varieties of mushrooms at the grocery store that resemble the wild mushrooms he picked, but I believe they are cultivated.  I wonder if by mixing some of these more exotic mushrooms with our little white button mushrooms, if we’d get a whole new taste sensation?  That might be worth trying.  Your thoughts and guidance are most welcome in my search for recipes to conquer our mountain of mushrooms. 

Since I’ve been on a low-glycemic diet, I’ve had to be very selective about my choices when I buy fruit.  Pears are low on the glycemic index, so they are my new best friend.  Besides being a good choice for weight loss, the nutritional value and fiber is remarkable.  And, as you know, I would never just buy one pear at a time.  They’re at peak season now and looked so good, you know I had to buy a bushel.  So, aside from just eating a pear, what can I make with them?

One of the ways I know how to serve pears is in salads.  Pears are particularly good in a salad made with mixed greens, a few green onions chopped up, a nice vinaigrette dressing, and topped with chopped walnuts. That’s a “company’s coming” salad!  As a kid, we used to have pears encased in Jello, which was always fun. 

Are there any tried-and-true recipes out there that would help me work my way through a bushel of pears?  Has anyone tried to freeze them, and if so, how.  I’m not an expert on canning, but would give it a try if there was a method that didn’t involve too much science.  Let me hear from all you fellow pear fanatics, won’t you?

I often get a little over exuberant when I find a sale, and I’ve done it again.  This great bread was on sale and I had good intentions of using it up in sandwiches and french toast, which I did for awhile.  But, I am still left with several loaves of bread that are now going stale.  I’m not a real fan of freezing bread, so I need some great bread dishes and casseroles. 

Here is one yummy dessert that I make with stale bread, that I will share with you.  It’s a tasty, simple Bread Pudding.  Here’s what you need:

2 cups of stale bread cut into cubes
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk (more or less depending on the bread)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins

Mix everything in a big bowl and pour into 8 inch square baking dish. 
Put dish into a larger baking dish and put in oven and pour about an inch of hot water into larger dish. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes, until knife inserted comes out dry. 

It would be nice to have a few main dish meals to make with stale bread.  I also have a vague memory of one that my Mom made like a cheese casserole, but can’t remember it well enough to duplicate.  Anyone have some recipes to share so I can use up my stale bread before I have to feed it to the birds?