Bacon apple Gravy

4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup flour
3 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of Apple cider
2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon of thyme
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Medium Sauce pan cook bacon on medium heat until nice and crisp, add flower until bacon is coated, add in broth, cider and bourbon.   Simmer for 5-8 minutes, add thyme salt and pepper. Simmer 5-6 minutes and stir occasionally.

Pumpkin Cookies

  1 cup shortening
  1 cup sugar
  1/2 cup light brown sugar
  3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  1 large egg 
  2 teaspoon of vanilla
  3 3/4 cups of flour 
  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  1 teaspoon of salt
  1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


  Cookie topping 

  1/2 cup sugar
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1/4 teaspoon allspice

1.  In a large bowl add shortening, 1 cup sugar, brown sugar together in a bowl, beat until light and fluffy, add in pumpkin puree, beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
2. In another  bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, cream of tartar, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until dough is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350.   Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Mix 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and allspice together in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Lightly flatten each ball with  flat-bottomed glass.
5. Bake in oven until golden and set, 12 to 13 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Crock Pot Stuffing

  1 cup butter or margarine
  2 cups chopped onion
  2 cups chopped celery
  1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  12 ounces sliced mushrooms 
  12 cups dry bread cubes
  1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
  1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
  1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 
  1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  1  teaspoons salt
  1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  4 1/2 cups chicken broth, or as needed
  2 eggs, beaten

 Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over low heat. 

Cook onion, celery, mushroom, and parsley in butter, stirring frequently. Spoon cooked vegetables over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl.

Season with poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, and salt and pepper. 

Pour broth to moisten, and mix in eggs, transfer all mixture to crock Pot, and cover.   Cook on High for 50 minutes, then lower to low and cook for 4 to 8 hours

Italian Breadcrumb Potatoe Bake

 4 tablespoons olive oil\or canola oil
 3 large sweet potatoes or white potatoes of half of both
 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (your favorite)
 salt and pepper couple of shakes
 1/4 cup  Italian bread crumbs



Preheat oven to 350

Coat the bottom of a glass or non-stick baking dish with olive oil or canola oil


 Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut into pieces.

 Place the cut sweet potatoes in the baking dish and turn them so that they are coated with the olive oil. Sprinkle with all seasoning and salt and pepper and 1/2 of sprinkle bread crumbs 

15 minutes before end of cooking sprinkle rest of the breadcrumbs,mixing together lightly, cook remaining time. 

 Bake in oven for 75 minutes until soft and golden in color.
Serves 4 double servings as needed.

Holiday Mixed Roasted Vegetables

  1 small butternut squash, cubed
  1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
  1 red onion, quartered
  1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 
  1/4 cup olive oil
  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  Pepper
  Salt (optional) 


Preheat oven to 475

 In a large bowl, mix squash,  peppers, sweet potato, Yukon Gold potatoes, add the red onion pieces,  into the mixture. 

In a medium bowl, mix together,  thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, add vegetables and mix together until they are well coated.



Spread  vegetables evenly on a large roasting pan. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes,  until vegetables are cooked and a nice golden browned.

Serves 12

Cranberry &Turkey Sausage Stuffing

1 1/2 cups if wheat bread
3 3/2 cups of white bread
1 pound of ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons of sage
3 teaspoons of rosemary
1/3 cup of fresh parsley
1 large delicious apple cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Cooked inwards from turkey 
3/4 cup turkey or chicken stock
4 1/2 tablespoons of butter melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree.
2.  Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. 
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl and let cool.
4. In a large saucepan, cook the sausage and onions on medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until nicely browned, add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme, cook cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Mix seasoned  sausage  over bread in bowl, add the chopped apple, cranberries, parsley, and turkey inwards add turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. 
6.  Let cool completely before loosely stuffing a turkey.
7.  The stuffing can be made night before

Thawing a Turkey

                     Cold Water Thawing

• Thaw breast side down, leave wrapper on, place in cold water to cover your turkey.
• Change cold water every 30 minutes of so, which  keeps the turkey chilled.
• Thawing time is 30 minutes per pound give of take.

                     Refrigerator Thawing

• Thaw breast side up, leave wrapper on, in a tray in the fridge.
•  1 day of thawing for every 4 pounds of turkey.

Mom's Chicken Cacciatore

8 5-7 ounce boneless chicken pieces
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 Portobello mushrooms caps  (sliced and cubed)
4 minced garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
 1 1/2 cups red wine
1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1 large red bell pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons of oregano

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Cover chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over a medium heat, add the chicken  to the pan and saute until golden, for about 8 minutes on each side. 

If the chicken does not all fit in the pan, saute in batches. Once chicken is saute set aside.

Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (optional).

Add the wine and mushrooms and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 4 minutes, add the tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, and oregano. 

Add the  chicken to the pan and coat in the sauce, bring to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked  about 35-40 minutes.

Alternative to simmering at on stove top would be adding the Cacciatore sauce to a slow cooker and then adding the chicken and simmering in slow cooker. (The chicken should still be sauted until golden).

Copyright@ Maria A. Piccirillo

Vodka Sauce and Pasta

28 ounce can of  Tuttorosso whole peeled tomatoes  (drain and save juice)
2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of chop onion (chopped thinly)
2 ounce Pancetta (optional)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 medium minced garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup of vodka
1/2 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of fresh basil
Pinch Salt
Pinch Sugar
Grated Parmesan Cheese


1 pound of Penne Pasta or Rigatoni


Pulse half of tomato in blender/processor until smooth, cut rest of tomatoes and get rid of cores, combine into pureed and diced tomato, then add drained saved juice (about 2 cups of tomato).  Get rid rest.

Heat oil in a large saucepan of medium heat, simmering, add onion, fresh basil  and tomato paste and Pancetta  stir occasionally until onion is tender and lightly browned about 8 minutes, add garlic and pepper flakes, and cook about 35 minutes.

Combine tomato mixture, pinch of salt and pinch of sugar.  Remove the pan from the stove and add vodka, return back to low heat, and simmer stir often, and cook about 10 minutes which will allow the alcohol to burn off as you cook it.  Stir in cream and cook until hot about another 3 minutes.

Cook pasta as normal to tender you like, once cooked, drain pasta.

Once pasta is all drained from pan, add the vodka sauce.  toss the pasta lightly so to cover pasta with sauce and cook over low heat another 2 minutes.

If you want to change the thickness of the sauce you can reserve some pasta water, and  add a little of it to the sauce, otherwise serve as is. 

Serve with Sicilian bread and red wine and a tossed Salad or antipasto. Sprinkle with Grated Parmesan Cheese as desired.

Tomato Hotdogs

6 hot dog buns 

2 quarts water 

6 beef franks 

1 cup medium white onion diced thin

1 cup diced tomato  

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish

1/3 cup of your favorite mustard 

Preheat oven to 350

Wrap hotdog buns in foil bake at 350 15 minutes heated. Remove from oven and keep warm.

Bring 2 quarts water and add franks, let simmer 15 minutes, drain once cooked

Place franks in each heated bun and top with  with about 2 tablespoons onion,  tomato, about 1 tablespoon relish, and about 2 teaspoons mustard.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cutlets Parmesan

4 Boneless chicken breasts, sprinkled with pepper
2 cups of seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil


In a deep dish mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, in another dish add the flour, in your third dish add and beat eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil together.

Dip each chicken breast in flour, egg and them coat in bread crumbs, and let sit for 8 minutes.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat until warm, place 2 chicken breasts in pan and cook until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes on each side. Once first two are cooked place them in a baking dish in a warm oven, then cook the other two the same way. 

Salmon Patties

1 cup finely chopped Bermuda onion

1/4 cup thinly chopped fresh basil 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

1 pound salmon fillet chopped (skinned)

1 tablespoon hot or mild pepper sauce

1 large egg white 

Cooking spray 

 

8 slices Focaccia, toasted(slice thin)

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix hot pepper sauce and egg white in a small bowl add egg white mixture to salmon mixture, combine well.


Make 4 equal patties, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Cook salmon patties about 4 minutes on each side or until golden color as cooked as you like.

Serve on toasted focaccia, sour dough bread or whatever bread you like.

Chili Dogs

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 medium garlic cloves (minced)
8 ounces soy crumbles
1 cup hunts tomato sauce
2 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander


4 meatless hotdogs
4 hot dog buns

Heat oil and add onion and garlic and saute 8 minutes or until tender. Add soy crumbles and cook about 8 minutes or more.  Slowly stir in tomato sauce, chili powder, mustard, sugar, and coriander.  Simmer until thick about 7-10 minutes.

Cook hotdogs as directed, place cooked dogs in buns and top with warm chili hotdog mixture.