Monday, January 31, 2011

I am a cook from scratch sort of person though I find recipes to be hard. I can read a recipe and all but we almost always change something about it. A lot of the things that I make I do from memory. I learned how to do it growing up and neither my mother nor grandma used a recipe. So I learned without one. Tonight is Sausage Potatoes and Onions. This is Boyfriends night to cook. I love this stuff. Pure comfort food. Even better, it is cheap and makes a bunch. This is almost like hash so we have a habit of frying it in a little olive oil for breakfast sometimes. I try to make it so that we always have leftovers for lunches.
Tomorrow is turkey pot pie. This is a super cheap meal since it utilizes almost only leftovers. I am a keep til you can use it sort of person. You can use leftover chicken for this recipe too. I won't call this healthy but I will say it is healthier than the stuff you buy in the store. I have learned over time that I suck at making pie crust so I just don't. I also don't like soggy pie crust in pot pie. So here is how I make pot pie. Take your leftover turkey, and the broth that you made from boiling the carcass (cuz you know you did! and you should separate that so you have turkey broth in your freezer for the turkey next Thanksgiving!), whatever leftover veggies you have in the freezer. You know those odds and ends that are never quite finished in the bag or the quarter cup that no one ate. Save those! I use whatever is on hand..carrots, celery, onion, green beans, peas. So, simmer your turkey in the broth with the veggies. When it is nice and hot you want to thicken it up. I thicken with cold water and a couple spoonfuls of cornstarch. Let that simmer to thicken. While that is thickening, turn your oven on to 425 degrees. Then I make biscuits. You can use any recipe. I am super fond of Hillbilly Housewife's recipes so I use hers. You can find it here: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/homemadebiscuits.htm Now, instead of cutting out circles, I just roll it out to 9 by 13. Put the thickened turkey mix into the 9 by 13 pyrex pan and place the rolled out biscuit dough on top. Bake until the biscuits are done. See, super easy and practically a free dinner since it uses all those leftovers!
I am also fond of biscuits and gravy. Boyfriend makes the best! Instead of cutting out circles, I just use a knife and cut squares. If you have kids, you could use cookie cutters for fun shapes too. Maybe I will make Mickey head shaped biscuits! That just sounds fun. LOL

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