Sweet Love and Ginger

Leftover Turkey Bolognese

Leftover Turkey Bolognese

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Thanksgiving is on its way.

I don’t know about you but there is always turkey leftover around our house this time of year, and it’s always a challenge to find ways to use it up without getting bored. The one dish that I always look forward to making and that is Leftover Turkey Bolognese.

Bolognese is a classic Italian dish typically made with ground beef and/or pork. I have no idea why or how but at some point in college I started making this dish with shredded leftover chicken or turkey instead. Probably because I was at the top of my clean eating game, and always looking for ways to make clean eating comforting. To me, there is very little more comforting than a big bowl of pasta sauce. Just make sure to put it over whole wheat pasta.

 

Leftover Turkey Bolognese

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 3 celery ribs (chopped)
  • 2 large carrots (peeled & chopped)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 8 oz can of tomato paste
  • 1 12 oz can of low sodium diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 lb cooked (shredded chicken or turkey)
  • 2 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1 lb pasta of choice (prepared according to package instructions)
  1. In a large, thick-bottomed saucepan heat the oil and sauté the onion, celery, and carrot for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
  2. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  3. Deglaze with the broth, scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan and allow it to reduce by half
  4. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until browned.
  5. Add the tomatoes, with juices, thyme, bay leaf, and chicken stirring well to combine.
  6. Cover and cook on low for about 30 minutes.
  7. Remove and discard bay leaf.
  8. Stir in the cream and serve warm over cooked pasta.

Similar Recipes:

Leftover Turkey Croquettes

Slow Cooker Pork Ragu

Slow Cooker Pork Ragu

Leftover Turkey & Stuffing Casserole

 

Easy Coaster Craft

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I never thought I was a fan of coasters. They always felt a little
too fussy for me; however since living on my own I have noticed the craving for
them a little more often. It’s not like we have any kind of nice furniture that
needs protecting or anything, but a constant spot to place my mug while sitting
at my desk is a comfort. A simply placed one on a stool to let a guest know
that we are those hobos who use it as an actual table because a. we have no
room for real tables and b. we are cheap as hell and these were by the side of
the road.

Speaking of being cheap there is no way in hell I’m about to
pay more than a couple bucks for a coaster so of course I decided to make them
myself. I had some quark laying around anyway, but you can pick it up at most
hobby stores pretty cheap. I measured out the size I wanted and cut them with
regular old scissors.
I wanted a geometric design so I laid them out with painters
tape and used a stencil brush and craft paint to stamp out my patterns. This was
a great, cheap and easy afternoon project that I’m pretty sure is an awesome
idea for children of all ages, and not just because I’m posting it here.

The extra pieces of quark I up cycled for a quark liner over
my desk. The thriftier in me just can’t let anything go to waste. 

Has the holiday craft bug hit you yet?

Filed Under: Crafts

A Warm Fall Cocktail thats Great for a Crowd

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I’m getting a little behind on the times here.

I have a cocktail recipe that I have wanted to share all
fall long, and now I’m running out of time. I came up with it in college after
an apple picking trip with my roommates. It was frigid and we wanted a warm  cocktail to help us get into the baking mood.

Sigh, I miss those days and those girls. I don’t ever get to
see them enough. We had so much fun living together. The nights that we stayed
in and ate cheese, fruit and full boxes of wine for dinner were easily some of
my best memories.

Spiked Warm Mulled Cider

½ gallon of fresh cider

4 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp whole cloves

1 ½  cups of spiced
rum

1 apple sliced thin


In a large sauce pan add the cider and spices bring to a
simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until fragrant. Be careful not to let it boil.
Reduce the heat to low and add the rum. Serve warm with apple slice garnish. If
you are bringing it to a large party you may want to strain it first for ease
of serving.

Greek Style Pasta Bake

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In our house lamb is something of a delicacy, its expensive
and sometimes hard to find. The favored way to prepare it is in a classic Irish
Sheppard’s pie.  I swear if Chuck could
eat Sheppard’s Pie every day of his life he would without question, but I on
the other hand get bored very quickly. So recently when lamb was on sale I thought
it was the perfect time to try out some new recipes.
This particular one I have made before with regular old
ground beef, and it has always been good, but the addition of the lamb takes it
to a whole new level. It is amazing! I love the way the cinnamon really
elevates the dish to something other than a humdrum tomato based sauce, as well
as showcasing the flavors of the lamb.
I think this same dish could also be stretched a bit with
addition of more vegetables, some carrots, celery, or zucchini would make a
great healthy addition that would stretch it out for closer to 10 people. This
is defiantly something that I would serve to a large party, its clean, a little different,
and delicious!
Greek Style Pasta Bake

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

½ lb lean ground beef

½ lb ground lamb

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp dried oregano

2 cans low sodium diced tomatoes

2-3 cups fresh baby spinach

1 lb whole wheat pasta cooked according to package
instructions

6 oz feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet heat oil and
sauté onion until it begins to soften 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an
additional minute. Stir in ground beef and lamb, breaking it up while it cooks.
Once the meat has browned discard extra grease and stir in cinnamon, oregano
and tomatoes Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Add spinach to the pan and gently stir until it has begun to wilt 1-2 minutes.
Transfer to a prepared baking dish and toss with pasta. Crumble or cube feta
over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the feta begins to crisp on
top. (Serves 8)

Roast Vegetable Tossed Salad

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It’s the time of year when everyone gets all excited for
roasting vegetables. Everywhere I turn there is another roasted vegetable
recipe. I never got into it in the past. I mean I like my roasted veggie sides
but that was about the extent of it.

This year however things are different. This year I have
been making a valiant effort to bring vegetables to the forefront of our meals,
make them the star’s as opposed to the meat and starch that is typical of the American
diet. You can find evidence of this here, here, and here just to name a few.

I decided to jump on this roasted vegetables as a meal kick
and see what it’s all about, and I’m glad I did. This meal came out fabulous, and
Chuck didn’t mind the lack of meat and pile of starch. I was even given
permission to make it again.

It’s a pretty basic recipe that can be easily altered to accommodate
anyone, just add or drop the veggies you like/have on hand. The more veggies
the better in a meal like this, so experiment away. A dressing isn’t necessary for
this since there’s plenty of liquid and herbs in the veggie mixture, but I was craving something creamy so I topped it with my Creamy Pesto Dressing. It
was a wise choice.

Roasted Vegetable Tossed Salad
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 red onion sliced
1 large carrot, peeled & chopped
1 clove garlic, remove the top
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp herbs de province
½ a lemon
1 ½ cup arugala
1 ½ cup spinach

Preheat the oven to 350. On a large sheet tray toss the
sweet potato, onion, and carrot with oil. Arrange the vegetables on half of the
tray. Place the garlic on the tray and drizzle with oil. Place in the oven and
roast for 25-30 minutes. Half way through the roasting time remove the tray and
re-toss the vegetables. On the free half of the tray add the tomatoes also
tossed in oil and finish cooking. In a large bowl toss together the beans, herbs
and roasted vegetables. Squeeze the lemon over the top before adding and toss
again. Set each plate with a ½ a cup of arugula and ½ a cup of spinach, top
with roasted vegetables and serve. (Serves 3)