Lunch: 11.30.11

The Girl has some goldfish crackers for snack.  No picture.

Her lunch is again a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich - turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, sealed in my grilled cheese maker - along with apple slices and some zesty cranberry blueberry pie (which has become more like a crumble, alas..)

Lunch for the Boy: 11.30.11

Welcome to the last day of November!  When did that happen?

Crackers: 20g

For snack, The Boy has Scrabble Cheez-its.

Apple Butter Pie: 10g, Dumplings: 39g, Apple:6g, Oranges:15g

His lunch is pork and leek dumplings from the Asian market, apple butter pie, apple slices, and mandarin oranges.

Lunch: 11.29.11

The Girl's snack is some goldfish crackers and a tangerine.

This does not look like a princess.

Her lunch... I tried to use a Lunch Punch on her Thanksgiving Leftover sandwich (cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey...) but it was a fail... too much filling.  So, I sealed it in my grilled cheese maker instead.

She has that sandwich, some cranberry blueberry pie, and apple slices for lunch.

Lunch for The Boy: 11.29.11

Cheez-its: 20g

The Boy's snack is some Scrabble Cheez-its.

Sandwich: 24g, pie: 12g, cheese: 1g, oranges: 15g, apple: 6g

His lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich cut with the elephant cutter from The Lunch Punch.  I need to practice more with the Lunch Punch, apparently... but it's cute!  He also has some apple pie, cheddar cheese (because apple pie without the cheese is like a hug without the squeeze), apple slices, and mandarin oranges.

Recipe: Red Flannel Hash (with Turkey)

My dear friend Lisa (of the new-ish and fabulous blog, Explayration) requested a special breakfast for her birthday.  She loves red flannel hash, but corned beef does not agree with her tummy.  So, she asked for a non-corned beef version.

Red Flannel Hash (with Turkey), hash brown potatoes, poached egg, and bacon.  Now that's a breakfast worthy of a birthday!

Since her birthday is right after Thanksgiving, how about turkey?  My mother was highly skeptical, but it ended up being astounding, if I do say so myself.

I totally cheated and used store-bought pre-cooked and pre-diced potatoes.  If you choose to cook your own, just throw in some spices - pepper, salt, maybe Montreal steak seasoning.


Red Flannel Hash (with Turkey)

1 bag diced cooked potatoes (or 3-4 potatoes, cooked and diced with some seasoning)
2 beets
1/2 onion
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2-4 Tbsp butter
2 scallions, diced with white and green separate (I just used scissors to cut pieces off)
1/4 c - 1/2 c diced dark meat turkey, cooked

Peel and dice beets and onion, put into a small roasting pan, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast at 450 F for ~20 minutes, or until softened.

In a large saute pan, combine potatoes, roasted beets and onion.  Top with pats of butter and cover.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally but not too much because you want a crispy crust to form on the bottom.

Turkey!

After about 10 minutes, add the turkey.  Cover again and cook until the crusty bit has formed on the bottom.  This could take another 10 minutes.

Serve with a poached egg (alternatively, you can fry eggs right on top of the hash).  Sprinkle with the green part of the scallions.

Lunch: 11.28.11

Snack for The Girl for Monday is some fruit salad and some rainbow goldfish crackers.

Her lunch is a chicken salad sandwich cut with my new Lunch Punch (review & giveaway coming soon!  Stay tuned!) - the sandwich was made my my mother-in-law - a string cheese, a small piece of apple butter pie, apple slices, and some somersault snacks.

Lunch for the Boy: 11.28.11

Welcome back to school, kids!

Oranges: 17g.  Pretzels (not pictured): 11g

For snack, The Boy has mandarin oranges and pretzels (pretzels not in the picture)

Dumplings: 29g, pie: 7g, cheese: 1g, raisins: 8g, apples: 6g

His lunch is some dumplings from the Asian market, apple slices, raisins, a string cheese, and a small piece of apple butter pie.

Recipe: Zesty Cranberry & Blueberry Pie

A new pie for this year, and I think it will be a good one.  I am topping it with some leftover lemon streusel from my muffins a bit ago.  This is optional, but a fun addition.

Don't be like me.  Don't burn your pie crust.  Put foil around it before baking

Zesty Cranberry & Blueberry Pie

2 Pie crusts (bottom and top)
~1/2 c lemon streusel topping (optional)

Filling:
2 c frozen blueberries (don't thaw)
3 c frozen cranberries (don't thaw)
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp Teeny Tiny Spice Garam Masala (or just use cinnamon ... though the Garam Masala makes it more interesting)
zest of 1 lemon
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3-5 Tbsp cornstarch or Clear-Jel

Combine ingredients for filling in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally, until it begins to boil and thicken.  Remove from pan into a glass bowl and cool completely.

Roll out one pie crust and press into a 9" pie plate.  Crimp the edges.  When the pie filling has cooled, pour into the crust and top with lemon topping.

Roll out the second crust thinly, and top decoratively.  You could do a lattice top, or some other decorative topping.  I did a spiral topping with some leaves in the center.

Oops, my crust burned a little.... guess my crust curse isn't done yet!

Bake at 400 F for 45 minutes or until filling is thick and bubbly and crust is lightly browned (I should have put foil around my crust to protect it).  Cool on wire rack.

Recipe: Pie Pops

I saw these on Pinterest the other day, and I knew I had to make my own version to give to Black Friday shoppers at Kiss the Cook.  They turned out so cute!  I based my recipe on this one, but used my home canned apple pie filling.

So simple - take pie crust - I used store bought, but you could also use homemade (I made A Pinch and a Splash's Tangy Pie crust for my pies this year, and it's super easy and I think it's helped me overcome my pie crust failure!!)

All you have to do is roll your pie crust thinly (I rolled it thinner than it came from the store), and cut into circles.  I used a tiny apple cutter from my linzer cookie cutter set to cut the top - not all the way through.

Put a cookie stick on top of one pie crust circle right on a parchment lined cookie sheet, pressing firmly.  Put about a tablespoon of filling on top of the circle, then top with another circle (cut out if desired).  Wet the edges and crimp them closed with a fork.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 375 F for ~15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Let cool completely before taking them off the cookie sheet, or the stick might fall out!

Recipe Round-up: Pies!

Thanksgiving is all about the pie for me... seriously, my family goes way overboard.  And I am probably the biggest culprit. 

So, I thought I'd highlight my favorite pie recipes for you, all in one convenient post.  Get your pie on!

My particular specialty is Shoo Fly Pie.  This one won't win any beauty contests, but, oh... if you like molasses, give this one a try!

A new favorite is my Apple Butter Pie - akin to pumpkin pie, but with delicious apple butter in place of pumpkin.  Yums!  I've also made it mini - because I'm me.  And I love mini things.

We are fans of crumb topped apple pie in my family - and I also made that one mini.  Love it!

Last year, I made this cranberry pecan pie and it was lovely - might have to revisit that one this year!

Stay tuned, I may have more pies on my docket for this year... I'll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, hope that you give at least one of these pies a go!  Hooray for Thanksgiving!

Recipe: Cranberry Orange Mini Scones

I made these using a small heart cookie cutter, but you could make them larger or a different shape if you'd like.  I also sprinkled them with autumnal colored sugar sprinkles, for an extra touch.

Cranberry Orange Mini Scones

3/4 c frozen butter
2 1/2 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp King Arthur Flour orange juice powder (optional)
zest of 1 orange
1 c chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 c buttermilk
(colored sugar for sprinkles, if desired)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grate butter in a food processor (or by hand).  Add the additional ingredients, except for the buttermilk, and pulse until just combined and the cranberries are chopped.  Add in the buttermilk and pulse until a dough forms.  Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2" thick.  Cut into desired shapes and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Spray the tops with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with colored sugar sprinkles if desired.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Lunch: 11.18.11

Posted late, but here's what The Girl had for her last snack and lunch before Thanksgiving break.

Her snack was applesauce and pretzels.

Her lunch was a ham & cheese sandwich cut to look like a lattice top pie, a juicy jelly from the Asian market, apple slices, and a tangerine.

Lunch for The Boy: 11.18.11

Last day of school before Thanksgiving break!  The kids are tired and need the break, that's for sure...

Pretzels: 10g, applesauce: 13g

For snack, The Boy has berry applesauce and pretzels.

Dumplings: 39g, apple: 8g, oranges: 15g, Scrabble Cheez-its: 10g

His lunch is pork & leek dumplings, Scrabble Cheez-its, apple slices, and mandarin oranges.

Lunch: 11.17.11

The Girl's snack is a banana and some yogurt raisins (no pic).

Her lunch is a ham & cheese sandwich on a sandwich thin, applesauce, apple slices, a tangerine, and a juicy jelly from the Asian market.

Lunch for The Boy: 11.17.11

The Boy's snack is a banana (25g) and a berry applesauce (13g).

Dumplings: 39g, apple: 8g, mandarin oranges: 15g, Scrabble Cheez-its: 10g

 

His lunch is pork & leek dumplings from the Asian market, apple slices, mandarin oranges, and some Scrabble Cheez-its.

Lunch: 11.16.11

The Girl's snack is the same as yesterday - bannana and (the last packet of) Welch's Fruit n' Yogurt snacks.  No pic.

Her lunch is ham and cheese on a sandwich thin, a tropical granola bar, apple slices, a tangerine, and a pineapple juicy jelly from the Asian market.

Lunch for the Boy: 11.16.11

The Boy has the same thing for snack as yesterday - banana (25g) and some berry applesauce (13g).  No pic necessary.

Dumplings: 39g, juicy jelly: 9g, cheez-its: 10g, apple: 8g, granola bar: 10g

In his lunch, I have some pork & leek dumplings, which I picked up at the Asian market yesterday.  He is so excited to have them, if memory serves, he'll gobble them down.  He also has an apple, a tropical granola bar, Scrabble cheez-its, and a pineapple juicy jelly from the Asian market as well.

Lunch: 11.15.11

Snack for The Girl for Tuesday is a banana and some Welch's Fruit n' Yogurt snacks.

Lunch is a ham and cheese sandwich cut into puzzle pieces, rainbow goldfish crackers, apple slices, a tangerine, and yogurt raisins.