Sourdough-Cornbread Stuffing with Bacon

I've always wanted to make my own stuffing. It's my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. Since I was hosting this year, I thought I'd give it go. I looked through zillions of recipes and finally decided on a sourdough-cornbread. Sour, sweet, and bacon adds salt. Both my mom and mother-in-law insisted on taking leftovers of this home.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
12 ounces sourdough, torn into bite-sized pieces
12 ounces baked cornbread, cubed or coarsely crumbled
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 cups diced celery
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoon fresh sage
2 tablespoon fresh thyme
16 ounces bacon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sourdough and cornbread pieces onto two cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a large rimmed skillet according to package directions. Once cooked, place bacon on paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra grease. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

Discard all the bacon grease except for tablespoons. Add butter to pan with bacon grease and melt over medum heat. Saute onions and celery until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in chicken both. Add sage and thyme. Stir then reduce heat to simmer. Add half of the cooked bacon. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Place toasted bread into a large bowl. Carefully pour broth and veggies over the bread and toss, making sure all the bread is wet.

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer stuffing to baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is just golden brown. Stuffing should still be moist.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Ideas:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Cranberry Sauce Three Ways: Traditional, Orange Zest, and Brandied 
Mashed Potatoes
Eric's Fried Rice
Sauteed Kale with Bacon
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese

Pumpkin Gnocchi in a Parmesan Sauce

I know pumpkin is a little out of season right now, but Eric wanted pumpkin dip for his birthday and I didn't want to throw away the leftover pumpkin puree. So I googled "ideas for leftover pumpkin puree." There are a lot of lists out there. I knew I didn't want to do a dessert or a breakfast meal. I actually love pumpkin in savory dishes and the pumpkin gnocchi caught my eye. I immediately knew I wanted to use my Parmesan sauce for it because I love the way pumpkin and Parmesan go together. When I took my first bite, I was immediately transported to fall with its crisp air, colored leaves, and fat pumpkins. It's March and I'm already planning an autumn dinner party starring these pumpkin gnocchi.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Gnocchi
1/2 pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
12 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Parmesan Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

Directions:
Pumpkin Gnocchi
In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and the egg yolk. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in 9 tablespoons of the flour and combine with the pumpkin puree. Add the remaining flour a little at a time until the mixture forms into dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, knead a couple of times, but make sure not to overwork the dough (this will make the gnocchi tough). Divide the dough into four sections; roll each section into a ball.

Roll each ball into a rope with a diameter of approximately 1 inch. With a butter knife, cut the rope into 2-inch sections. Light press a fork into each pieces to creates ridges (this helps the sauce adhere to the gnocchi).

Over medium-high heat, boil a large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt. In batches, add the gnocchi to the boiling water. Cook them until they float to the surface, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slated spoon. 

Parmesan Sauce
Melt butter in the bottom of a saucepan and saute the garlic until it turns a golden brown. Add flour and cook for about 1 minute while continually stirring. Pour in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, continually stirring so the sauce thickens. Reduce heat. Add Parmesan and stir until cheese is melted.

Serve sauce over the pumpkin gnocchi.

Pumpkin gnocchi and parmesan sauce with roasted peas.

Eric doesn't usually do the savory pumpkin dishes, but he actually liked this one--except the pairing of it with the cheese sauce. I think he would have preferred a brown butter sauce (I loved it with the cheese sauce).

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes:
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge

Crockpot: Herbed Turkey

Turkey is one of my all time favorite foods. Ironically, this was my first time cooking it--I've always been a little intimidated by the size and time the bird needs to cook. But when I saw the turkey roast on sale at the grocery store and remembered that my mother-in-law cooks her turkey roasts in the crockpot, I thought that I could do this. I mean, it's pretty hard to screw up anything in the crockpot, right? And I must stay, I've never tasted turkey more moist and flavorful before. I can't wait for turkey roasts to go on sale again. And maybe I'll even tackle cooking a whole turkey come Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Recipe adpated from here.

Ingredients:
3 pound turkey roast (I used Butterball), skin removed
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth (I used low sodium)

Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together garlic powder, salt, paprika, Italian seasoning, and pepper. 

Brush the turkey roast with oil then rub the spice mixture all over the turkey. Place in slow cooker and pour in chicken broth.  

Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours or until turkey is tender.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Slow Cooker Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken 
Chile and Tomato Shredded Chicken with Cheese Sauce
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Mashed Potatoes
Orange Chicken
Pumpkin Butter
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese
Tomato and Artichoke Chicke

Crockpot: Mashed Potatoes

Crockpot recipes require so little thought or attendence. And about the time you start to get hungry, your food is done and you can dig in. This past holiday season when your stove top and oven are full with food for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, Crockpots are a lifesaver. I hosted Christmas dinner and made mac and cheese in a slow cooker--the most amazing mac and cheese I've ever had, by the way. Well, my mom made these mashed potatoes in the slowcooker for Thanksgiving dinner. They were sooo yummy. And she didn't have to worry about boiling or mashing or whipping potatoes while making also the turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, or green bean casserole.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 cup sour cream*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 cup milk, warmed.

Directions:
Place the potatoes, chicken broth and butter into your crockpot. Cover and cool on high for 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Add sour cream garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or beat them with an electric mixer on low. Stir in milk a little at a time until you have the desired consistency.

Cover and set the crockpot on low or warm until ready to serve. (Do not keep the crockpot on for more than 2 hours).

Stir before serving.

*My mom said that the next time she makes these, she's going to use cream cheese instead of sour cream. I will let you know how it turns out when she does. (Or if I bet her to it and try it first!)

Mashed potatoes with Brown Butter

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Potato Recipes:
Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes 
Ranch, Cheddar, and Bacon Potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes
Twice Microwaved Loaded Potatoes

More Crockpot Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Orange Chicken
Pumpkin Butter 
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken