Martha Monday: Leftover Turkey Recipes

This Monday's project was to use up all that leftover turkey from Thanksgiving by choosing one of these Recipes from Martha Stewart's Whole Living series. Just so you know, I have lots of turkey left over. I roasted a TWENTY POUND bird!!! And served it to a measly 5 people, two of which were children under the age of 7. Ha! I have lots of turkey left over. We are turkey-d out! We've eaten it plain, in sandwiches, in soup, and tonight in a tetrazzini. But back to the issue at hand.

I chose to make the turkey salad wrap since it uses one of my favorites - honey mustard - plus I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and didn't have to make a special trip to the grocery. I made two of these last night, wrapped them in wax paper. They were really easy. Just fill a 12-inch tortilla with some greens (spinach, watercress, whatever), half a shredded carrot, two ounces of turkey meat chopped, and a mixture of honey-mustard, mayo, and vinegar. One was sent to work with my husband who has yet to comment on it. I ate mine at lunchtime and really liked it. While not exotic, it was a departure from the usual turkey sandwich.

So . . . give it a go if you still have some turkey to swallow down. Or try one of the other recipes and let me know what you think.

Martha Mondays: Cheese Straws

Tah-dah! I'm on time. For once. Today's Martha Monday project was to make these Cheese Straws. It's an incredibly easy recipe. I'll post it below so you can make them too. And you will want to make them because they are really yummy and addictive. Perfect for all those family members who are coming to your house in search of munchies.

Cheese Straws

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice cheese into 8 or so slices. Place in food processor with rotating cutting blade. Process until well chopped. Pieces should be about the size of small peas.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Process until dough forms a ball. This took me about a minute of processing. Do not fear. It WILL come together.

4. Divide dough into 8 portions. Roll portions into a log about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut each log into pieces. Each piece should be about 3 inches long. Place on a baking sheet.

5. Bake for 12-13 minutes until golden and firm to the touch. Remove from oven. Cool. Serve.

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Martha Mondays: Thanksgiving Table Setting

Monday's project was to select one of these beautiful ideas Martha Stewart has for decorating your Thanksgiving table. I chose the first idea, Pear Place Cards, and tailored it to my own liking. I chose to use little Pink Lady apples that were available at Whole Foods.I made a leaf shape out of white card stock, but I'm thinking gold might have been a better choice if I'd had it. With a fine-tipped Sharpie I wrote names on each leaf.After punching a hole in the leaves, I attached them with some fine gold wire that my husband uses for tying flies (much to his chagrin.) This was a really easy place card idea and very cute. My kids will love to sit down with a little apple all their own in front of them. Now . . . if I can just decide on a menu for the big day!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I know. I know. "This is not gourmet food!" you want to say. "Tuna Noodle Casserole!?!?! That's so out-of-style." But, let me tell you, there is nothing like being able to feed your family something delicious, cheap, and quick, so I give you my favorite recipe for this retro-dish. It is so creamy and tasty you will find yourself sneaking spoonfuls out of the serving dish. Serve with a nice green salad with a tart, vinegar dressing and your tummy will thank you.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

8 ounces egg noodles

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrot

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 3/4 cups skim milk

4 ounces low fat cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 6-ounce cans tuna packed in water, drained

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Boil noodles in a large pot of unsalted water according to package directions. Drain.

3. Meanwhile, heat a very large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Saute onions and carrots for six minutes. Add flour. Stir to coat veggies and cook for a minute. Slowly pour in milk while stirring constantly so that no lumps form. Cook mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until slightly thick. Turn off the heat but leave pan on burner. Add cream cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir constantly for two minutes. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and stir into creamy mixture until fully melted and incorporated. Add the tuna. You may need to mash at the tuna to break it up especially if you use solid-packed tuna. Finally add the peas, parsley, and cooked noodles. Stir well.

4. Grease a 2-quart baking dish or spray with cooking spray. Dump tuna noodle mixture into dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden. Let stand five minutes before serving. Serves 4-6 depending on appetites.

Note: If you do not have a very large saute pan (Mine is 14-inches and even the kitchen sink fits into it), stop adding ingredients to your pan once you've incorporated the tuna. Return the noodles to the pot you boiled them in. Then add the peas, parsley, and creamy mixture from the saute pan. Stir and dump into the casserole dish.

Martha Mondays: Guacamole and Tortilla chips

This week's challenge was in honor of Halloween, Guacamoldy with Creature Chips. The idea is to make a simple guacamole. Then cut Halloween shapes out of tortillas using cookie cutters. Place on a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the tortilla shapes generously. And bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Well, I, of course, didn't get to mine until after Halloween AND I have absolutely no Halloween cookie cutters. So, I used my husband's favorite shape - a trout. I cut out hearts and trout to celebrate his love of fishing. Then, while they baked in the oven, I made my own version of guacamole. I don't really have a recipe. Just avocado, sour cream, salsa, lime juice, salt and pepper. I add everything to taste until my mouth is happy.

This was really cute. And I thought the "chips" were tasty. You could even sprinkle them with some chili powder and salt to give them a little kick. A fun idea for any holiday, really, or just to celebrate the end of fishing season!