Turkey Noodle Soup

As usual, the end of my Thanksgiving leftovers is marked by the appearance of a basic turkey soup with whatever leftovers I can scrounge together. This year, I managed to have nothing left but turkey, so I opted for some very basic turkey noodle soup.


Turkey Noodle Soup
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 medium carrots, sliced
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
2 cups leftover turkey, dark and light meat, chopped
8 cups chicken stock (or turkey stock if you scored the carcass)
1/2 lb egg noodles
salt and pepper
Sweat onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cabbage and salt and pepper to taste. Add turkey and heat for a minute or two. Add 6 cups of chicken stock. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Let cook for one hour. Add remaining 2 cups of stock and egg noodles. Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until noodles are at desired tenderness. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Butternut Pasta Revisited

I made this recipe again tonight, but omitted the bacon for meatless Monday. I have to say, it was delicious even without the bacon. I've been trying to stop thinking about the leftovers for the last hour.

Mushroom Sandwiches

This is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe that Kevin found years ago. It strikes me that it's an odd recipe for Kevin to have discovered since he was definitely a meat and potatoes guy at the time. Anyway, thanks to Jamie and Kevin for this one! This is the most basic version of it that I've ever made and experimenting with the compound butter ingredients is definitely good stuff!


Mushroom Sandwiches
3 portabella mushrooms
1/2 stick butter, softened
5-6 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup cheese (fontina or cheddar are my favorites)
3 ciabatta or hamburger rolls
Clean mushrooms and place on broiler tray. In a small chopper or blender, combine butter, garlic, salt, and pepper until garlic is well chopped. Top each mushroom with a third of the butter. Place under boiler until mushrooms are browned and butter is melted (it should melt through the mushrooms and leave delicious flavor throughout). Top mushrooms with cheese and return to broiler until cheese is browned. Serve on rolls - open faced or as a sandwich.

Ham and Cabbage

So sad. I just realized that my last post was almost an entire month ago. I've been getting pretty tired of standing and the kitchen and cooking as the third trimester has been moving along. It's just not as much fun when your giant belly keeps hitting the pots on the stove as you reach for things on the top shelf of the spice cabinet. So, the recipes will be even easier than normal for a little while.


One of my favorite fall dishes is ham and cabbage. It can't get much easier either. And it's one of Kevin's favorites. He gets as excited for it as he does gourmet dinners! You gotta love a guy like that!


Ham and Cabbage
1 head cabbage, sliced
3 large white potatoes, cut into 1.5" cubes
1/3 cup water
1 small onion, sliced
3 large carrots, sliced
1 large ham steak, cut into 1" cubes
salt, pepper, paprika to taste
olive oil
Add cabbage, potatoes, and water to soup pot. Bring to boil. Add onion and carrots. Cook until potatoes and carrots are tender. The water should mostly evaporate by this time. Add the ham steak and cook until heated through. Add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Adjust seasonings and enjoy!

Hammerberger Loaf

This is really my rip off of Rachel Ray's cheeseburger meatloaf, but since Natty calls it Hammerberger Loaf, that's what we're going with. In an effort to a) control portion size and b) ensure there were leftovers for dinner later in the week and for the freezer, I made these in a muffin tin. I found it worked much better than I anticipated, probably because there are so many wet ingredients in this recipe. I ended up with nine mini loaves. I served with smashed skin on potatoes and sautéed cabbage.


Hammerberger Loaf
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 white onion, grated
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tblsp sweet relish
1 egg, beaten
4 oz cheddar cheese, cut into small chunks
2 slices american cheese, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into a large greased muffin tin. Cook at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165. Done. Easy!

CSA Challenge: Bok Choy

Alright, I'm sure this isn't much of a challenge for the majority of you out there, but since my Asian cooking skills mostly amount to finding the carryout menu, it's an ingredient I need help with. Tonight, I sauteed it with eggplant, garlic, and ginger and finished it with cilantro. It was a nice accompaniment to our totally gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches (wink), but certainly nothing that would count as a meal. So, what are your thoughts? What's your favorite thing to do with bok choy?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm not big on making things like cookies since I generally just end up eating all the cookies in the house. I tried out this recipe so that I had something to give for a small thank you gift. I reduced both of the sugars by 1/4 cup each and swapped out 1/2 cup of the AP flour for 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. They were tasty!