I'm so over Turkey right now.

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving... our family came over and we cooked a big bird in the oven. Which yielded lots of leftovers. Even after one extra go-round of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and cranberries, I was pretty much over turkey today. But we still had two Gladwares' worth. What to do? I thought about making Turkey Tettrazini from Elise's recipes.... but the thought of more creaminess and thickness, I wasn't ready. So how about Meseidy again... I had seen her Chicken Chilaquiles recipe last week or so and thought that would be good to do with the leftover turkey. It's hard to find real, good Mexican food here and I haven't had good chilaquiles in a looong time, so here's how it all went down.


First, get some onion and garlic going. If your recipe starts this way, it's pretty much going to be a winner. Just saying. Then shred up your leftovers, so they are nice and stringy. Toss the skin. It's gross when it's cold, huh?
Add the turkey to the softened onions and add in your seasonings... I used cumin, cayenne and chili powder... a few shakes of each. Also salt and pepper. Heat the turkey through and start chopping some roma tomatoes. Add those in and let them get all melty and groovy. Then... add in a jar of tomato salsa. I'm partial to Whole Foods brand... but use whatever. And then add half a jar of green salsa. Then, add some hot sauce to your taste... We love Cholula and lots of it! Also, squeeze a lime in there and add a handful of chopped fresh cilantro.
I think at this point, you could cover all of it with turkey stock or chicken stock, heat through and call it a delicious soup. But no... keep going. Make sure to taste it right here... does it need more salt or spices or hot sauce? Good? Yes? Okay.


Then, in a small casserole, spray with with Pam and layer the bottom with tortilla chips. You could use taco shells, or tostada shells, or fry up your own chips if you want. I think this is the best way to use day old chips that you left open that have that stale chew to them. But whatever you think is best. They just have to be crunchy. On top of the layer, add half of the turkey mixture, then a layer of cheese I had half of one of those Mexican blend pre-shredded cheese bags on hand, so I used that and shredded up some aged Australian white cheddar too. Mmmm. You could use Queso Fresco or Cotija like Meseidy did, too, but you need something cheddary to glue everything together. Layer again with chips, turkey and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so until it's bubbly and melty and you can hear it making that bubble sound. Behold....

See look... some of the corners will be kind of burnt and good. So delicious. Cut yourself a piece and serve it with some beans or rice or both... I made seasoned black beans with mine. I served it with cilantro, sour cream and chopped avocado. (I'm a California girl, I could eat avocado on a shoe and call it good.)

This is a yummy, hearty meal... it will cure your turkey leftover blues in a hurry, and it will warm you up from the inside out. It also makes great leftovers... it's spicier the next day. Easily giving this 5 stars and a dannnnnng for good measure. Enjoy!

Don't be alarmed.

It's just salsa.

The easiest and best tasting salsa you've ever made. If, indeed, you've ever made salsa. Which I had not. Because it scared the chili peppers out of me. But my friend Angela makes it look so easy, and when she shared her recipe with me, I said "What the heck?!"

It's a large (28 oz.) can of diced tomatoes. 1 bunch of cilantro. 1 bunch of green onions. 2 cloves of garlic. 2 jalepenos (de-seeded and de-ribbed). 2 serrano chilies (also de-seeded and de-ribbed). Salt and pepper. That's it. Chop it up rough, and then give it a whirl.


It's not pretty, but DANG, is it good. Play with the proportions, make it your own. Give it a try!

Elvis would approve.

Legend has it that Elvis loved him some banana and peanut butter sandwiches. In honor of October being Midwestern Chic month here at Let's Get Together, I'm taking the banana and peanut butter combo and turning it upside down.

I like my banana cake like I like my men. Smooth and rich, with some naughty, naughty frosting on top.

Here's the Banana Cake recipe (I skipped the caramel sauce in favor of Nutella. I would probably skip most things in favor of Nutella). It's good. Really, really good.

Nutella Frosting
4 Tbs. butter, softened
2 Tbs. Nutella
3 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs. milk

Blend the butter and Nutella together until creamy. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk until well blended. If you like a stiffer frosting, decrease the amount of milk. If you like your frosting to be on the softer side (which I do), increase the amount of milk.

You've been Mattin-ed.

Tasty?

Followers of The Pioneer Woman (or, as she's known to some of us, PDub) know that she's launched a new recipe website called The Tasty Kitchen. It seems like a great idea - home cooks who are internet savvy sharing their recipes. So clearly this calls for an experiment.

I had half a loaf of french bread left over from dinner, and it got a bit stale. What better to do with stale bread than to make a bread pudding? Yum! Now when I was 15 the words "bread pudding" would have filled me with pure terror, but who knew?! My mom was right. Now that I'm OLD, I like all kinds of foods I never thought I would. Except for beets. Mom's still wrong about that.

I went to The Tasty Kitchen and searched for bread pudding recipes. There were a couple to choose from, but when it came down to it I went for the chocolate (surprise!) instead of the raisins (no surprise!). This recipe has a rating of 4.07 mitts. Notice, however, that the reviews that are posted are from people who haven't actually prepared the recipe. Honestly, that blows. How can a rating system work when people flaunt the commonly accepted guidelines in such a cavalier manner, I ask you?!

Anyway.


It turned out okay. Nothing crazy good, but not bad. Definitely 3 stars, not no 4.07 mitts. My kids liked it, but they'll eat just about anything with a chocolate chip in it.

Probably the Best Cupcakes I've ever made.

And believe me, I've made an obscene amount of cupcakes in my lifetime. These, however... a masterpiece. I don't know if I can top them.

They are Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache. And before you squish your nose all on me at the thought of "Banana" I'm about to school you. If you think you don't like banana, then I urge you, please try these cupcakes. The banana in them merely acts as a sweet, hint of flavor that 1. enhances the chocolate and espresso, 2. Makes these cupcakes so moist and dense you would think they sopped up something tasty, and 3. doesn't really overly taste like banana, more like a underlying note of sweetness... almost like a honey flavor. The come out the most beautiful golden brown... like a chocolate chip cookie. And the ganache totally sends it over the edge.

For you normal people that enjoy a nice slice of fresh baked banana bread, these cupcakes will take that flavor payoff and RAISE you about a hundred. I mean. Seriously. Look at the inside... there's hunks of banana in these squishy pockets and those funky black flecks that show up when you bake banana (what are those anyway, like banana seeds?) Lest we forget to mention the chocolate. The CHOCOLATE that sets everything off perfectly. Ahhhh... I can't say enough.The Recipe:

4 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed but not all the way (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup melted butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg

Stir all of these together with your best wooden spoon... NO MIXER, please.

Then, the dry stuff:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. instant espresso (I used just over)
1 tsp. salt (I used just under.)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (don't use Milk Chocolate ones. Trust me.)

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ones. Again, please no mixer. You want this to be soft and mooshy. Not all beaten up and bruised.

This makes about 12 cupcakes, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for a few minutes in the pan and then move them to a rack.

When they have cooled, make the ganache: ( I made this recipe doubled, and ended up with tons of ganache leftover, so I'm giving you the half recipe. If you want to make the whole thing and have ganache for something else, knock yourself out and double the recipe.)

1/2 cup cream
4-5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat the cream juuuuuust to a boil, stirring gently the whole time to avoid that nasty dairy skin thing. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until smooth. Even whisk, maybe. Then dip the top of each precious cupcake in the ganache and let dry on a cooling rack to catch any drips.

It's actually a super easy and quick recipe. Easily, 5 Stars... no doubt. The recipe I read called for a peanut butter frosting, but I think that it wouldn't be right to add another flavor in there... I will have to try it to be sure. I'm glad I went with my instincts on this one.

Recipe for the cake courtesy of The Noshery and the Ganache Recipe is one I remembered from something I made of Martha Stewart's, but I don't have a link. But thanks, Martha.

Happy Cupcake eating! Make these for your sweetie and I'm sure you'll get a little PG-13 action at the very least.

Makes me want to get out a bowl.

I needed a quick little something to add to a wedding shower gift. I think this fits the bill! You can find directions and recipe here.