Adam actually made these to go with our steak dinner for Valentines day, it was a fun spin on traditional broccoli and was a way to get Adam my non broccoli eating husband to eat it.

Although this is not the healthest it is good for a once in a while dish, also it needs to be eaten hot out of the fryer otherwise it loses a lot of it’s crunch.

Beer Battered Broccoli (From: Food Network)

• 1 cup beer
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 c. parsley
• 4 cups broccoli
• veggie oil for frying

Whisk beer,  flour,  chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Let the batter rest 1 hour.

Dip  broccoli florets in the batter and fry in 375 degrees F vegetable oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.

I am not a big turkey person, if it wasn’t on the Thanksgiving table I would be fine. This year was a different story though, my mom used one of the bags and the turkey was SO moist, flavorful and yummy. I had 2 helpings at dinner, had  a turkey sandwich later and asked to take leftovers home, yea it was AWESOME! Way to go Mom.

Once we got home I went to put the leftovers in the fridge and saw I had a package of pie crusts sitting there, for some reason I thought turkey pot pie. Tonight I finally made it, this is my first time making a pot pie and I couldn’t be happier it was awesome!!! Definitely try this recipe!!!! I plan to make another with potatoes and chicken.

Turkey Pot Pie (From: Pioneer Woman)

• 1 pie crust
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 2 cups leftover turkey,diced or shredded
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
• splash of white wine (optional)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Frozen peas (optional)
• Fresh thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)

Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)

Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not underseason), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.

Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.

Roll out crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.

Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes or until very golden and bubbly.

Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.

This was our appetizer at our Labor Day BBQ, I have been wanting veggie pizza forever but I am kind of picky about what is on it so buying one just didn’t cut it. I decided to make one. This was loved by everyone and was simple to wipe up before company got here so I could enjoy their company.

When I was looking for a recipe for this I couldn’t find one that I loved so I just made my own taking all those recipes into consideration. I loved the way this turned out.

Veggie Pizza (From: Myself)

• 2 pkgs of cresent rolls (I bought the seamless package)
• Veggies of choice (I used carrot, broccoli and cauliflower)
• 1 pkg. cream cheese
• 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
• 1/4 c.  mayo
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese of your choice

Preheat oven to 350, spray a large baking sheet with non stick spray.

Roll cresent rolls out on pan with a thin “crust” around the sides. Bake until done.  Cool completly.

In a mixer mix cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, and mayo until smooth.

Spread over crust, top with veggies, then top with cheese.

Refrigerate until ready to serve cut into slices and enjoy.

I was super excited to try this recipe. The WC Ingredient Challenge this week was Parmesan, once it was picked I went to food network and typed Parmesan, I wanted to do something different.

This was an awesome meal, I served it over some angel hair and made homemade marinara. We will try this again and again, I like to have a no meat option in our rotation.

****I’m sorry for the horrible picture, my tummy was rumbling and I didn’t have the patients to get a good photo.

Mushroom Parmesan (From: Food Network)

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the grill pan
• 4 to 6 portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce (recipe I use below)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on the grill to prevent the mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve

Garlic and Basil Marinara (From: Myself)

• 1 lg. can chopped tomatoes
• 1 lg. can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• fresh basil
• 1 t. sugar
• salt and pepper

Warm dutch oven on stove, with a little olive oil. Saute onion and garlic until tender.

Add tomotoes and spices, simmer on low for hour to hour and half.

My mom came over for dinner this week and I knew I wanted to make something different and fun. I decided to make meatloaf, mashed cauliflower, and then wanted to do something with sweet potatoes.

I found this recipe and used it as a base, omitting the sausage and onion to make it more savory. This is was wonderful. Even Adam who doesn’t like sweet potatoes took ate this, more so then his regular potato I made him.

Sweet Potato Hash (From: Cooking Light)

Place sweet potatoes and 1/3 cup water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave at HIGH 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Carefully uncover; drain and keep warm.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add onion to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Add sausage and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 4 minutes or until sausage is done, stirring to crumble. Stir in sweet potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, syrup, 1 tablespoon water, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook until liquid is absorbed and sweet potatoes begin to brown (about 5 minutes).