Sunday Night Dinner - Creamy Vegetable Curry

I recently purchased the Oh She Glows cookbook on a recommendation of a friend. It's a vegan cookbook, and I've tried a few recipes and so far they have all been great. I'll admit I'm a little intimidated by some of the recipes, especially with any new ingredients or elements I haven't done before. One of the things many recipes call for is this 'cashew cream', and I finally decided to try it out. When using raw cashews in this way, you need to make sure to soak them overnight or at least 3-4 hours, so you do have to plan ahead a little. This recipe also had quite a bit of chopping so it was a great Sunday night meal. I used hot curry powder, but mild would work if you didn't want it as hot. I will definitely make this again.

Greek Quinoa Salad

This is another recipe from the new Michael Smith cookbook I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I originally made it to go with a roast chicken, but it was robust enough that you could have it on it's own for lunch or a light dinner. It was also super easy to put together, which is always a bonus in my eyes. If you wanted to make this vegan, just omit the feta cheese and replace the honey in the dressing with brown rice syrup or maple syrup. I made a few minor modifications based on my preferences as well.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Growing up every once in awhile my dad would try and serve us brussels sprouts. You can't blame him for trying, he very well may have liked them but to young kids they were terrible. I mean, who wants to eat something that kind of looks like a green brain? Fast forward to University, and I had a boyfriend who tried serving them to me, again, they just seemed terrible, like boiled cabbage or something. Fast forward a few more years and my sister in law roasted them for me. It was like a light went off - this is what all the fuss is about! They were roasted with sea salt, olive oil and garlic, and she served them to me and two of my sisters (fellow brussels sprout haters) and we all loved them. So my eyes were opened and I was willing to put them into my grocery cart, much to Brent's pleasure as he'd been pushing them on me for years. Can you imagine his surprise when he brought some home to cook for dinner and I asked if I could cook them for him? This recipe is so simple and so tasty. Seriously, it's got bacon, how could it not be good?

Turkey Dinner Leftovers - Soup

Turkey soup is fantastic, and is really a must-do after Thanksgiving, in order to get the most out of the turkey you cooked. Making the stock is easy, and should be done the next day. Because it does take a bit of time (between simmering the stock for hours and then letting it rest in the fridge for several more hours) - I recommend making the soup a couple of days after Thanksgiving. Remember to hide a couple of cups of cooked turkey in the fridge somewhere or it will end up being eaten before you have time to make the soup!

There are so many variations to turkey soup. I love it with rice or barley, but decided to do an old-fashioned turkey noodle soup this time. I'd say it was a hit, and there was even enough to freeze a couple of portions.

Ready for tomorrow's lunch!

Turkey Dinner Leftovers - Pot Pies

One of the best things about cooking up a big turkey dinner is the leftovers. While I love turkey sandwiches, I also love all the other things you can do once you've cooked a big bird. First off, don't waste that carcass! Refrigerate it the night of, and then in the morning you can start an easy stock in the slow-cooker. You could do this overnight if you wanted as well. The one I did this year can be found here . It makes a huge difference when you make your turkey soup in a couple of days. So on that note, cut up about 2 cups of leftover turkey meat and put aside for the soup. You might need to even label this so no one eats it before you get to make your soup. In the meantime, while the stock is cooking and resting, you can make some great little pot pies. This is the first year we actually had mashed potatoes left over, probably because there was only 4 of us, as opposed to the years we've cooked for 12 - 25. These little pot pies were so quick to make, and are now in our freezer waiting for us when life inevitably gets busy!

Thanksgiving Make-ahead - Cheesy Carrot Casserole

I have no idea where this recipe originally comes from, but it's another staple at Cavanagh turkey dinners. Every year around Thanksgiving or Christmas my sister's and I inevitably end up texting each other (and our mom) looking for the recipe. Now it will live on this blog so we can all enjoy it!

I'll admit I've had some challenges with this recipe at times, but it could be because the version I copied down from my mom doesn't have many instructions. When you make a recipe so many times you often forget about the steps you just seem to take naturally. I've done my best to write it out, and apologize in advance if I've missed something.

One thing to note - sometimes I blanche the carrots, sometimes I don't. This year I decided not to, and I'm curious as to how it will turn out. Either way you're talking carrots covered with cheese and a creamy beschemal-type sauce. Delish!

Cheesy Carrot Casserole on the right.

Thanksgiving Make-ahead - Elsie's Potatoes

The big work with a 'food' holiday like Thanksgiving or Easter isn't the main menu item (turkey, ham) - it's really in the sides. If you can prepare a few of them in advance you will make your life that much easier. This mashed potato recipe can be made ahead and frozen - you just want to make sure to thaw overnight and bring to room temperature before baking. These potatoes are so simple, yet so good. They are a staple at any Cavanagh holiday dinner that involves a turkey. One thing to note, this recipe calls for all sorts of low-fat cream cheese and fat-free sour cream. That's not how I roll, so I use the regular versions of everything. Feel free to lighten it up if you want though.

Elsie's Potatoes (from Best of Bridge)
- 5 lbs potatoes
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp onion salt (I often leave this out because it's just not something I have around)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp butter

Cook and mash potatoes. Stir in all remaining ingredients except for butter. Spoon into large casserole dish. Dot with butter. Bake covered at 350F for 30 minutes.

It's perfect to put these in the oven when the turkey comes out to rest.

Elsie's Potatoes at Christmas 2013