Green Beans with Caramelized Onions & Bacon

Original Recipe HERE

Runner-Up Recipe I Considered Using HERE

 

I needed a green vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving that wouldn't be complicated and could be thrown together just before the rest of the meal was ready to be served.  Found this, made this, liked this.

 

I don't know how much the mushrooms really added to the dish.  Next time I'll probably leave them out and increase the amount of onion to compensate.  Also, I'll probably skip the olive oil and saute the onion in a smidge of leftover bacon grease.

 

Ingredients

1 pound green beans

1 medium red onion, sliced

1 cup sliced white mushroom, optional [I used baby bella]

olive oil

6 slices bacon

1 Tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Directions

(1) Snap or cut ends off beans; cut in half.

(2) Cook bacon.  After draining , break into 1/2" pieces.

(3) Add olive oil to medium skillet.  Saute onions and mushrooms (if using) until tender and slightly browned or caramelized, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

(4) In a large saucepan, boil green beans in enough water to cover them for 6-8 minutes or until crisp tender.  Drain.

(5) In large serving bowl, add butter, garlic salt, pepper, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. Stir just until combined.  Add beans; toss until well-coated.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Oven-Baked Turkey Breast

Original Recipe HERE

 

I didn't feel like having a full-fledged turkey for Thanksgiving: there's a lot of waste, and I don't like looking at a carcass.  Makes me feel guilty (and hypocritical).  When I broached this to Husband, who had designated himself as Man in Charge of Turkey, he was not pleased.  Before I knew how it happened, turkey duty had been passed to me.  So...while I embraced my added responsibility slightly begrudgingly, I was overall happy to have gotten my wish.

 

I thought about using my mom's traditional Martha-inspired cheesecloth method, but...I didn't.  Maybe next year, since I love the end result.  However, this one made for a fine main dish, and I don't feel our Thanksgiving celebration was diminished at all because we didn't have a pile of bones at the end of the night.  It wasn't overly flavorful; next time I'll add greater amounts of spices just because of personal preference.

 

I made the gravy that the original recipe included.  It was OK, but again, it needed more flavor.  And again, I'll add more seasonings afterward.  Also, upon standing for a few minutes, it began to thicken too much.  I halved the amount of cornstarch and included that updated info in the recipe below.

 

Another reason for not wanting to do a giant turkey is because it takes up our entire oven and makes it more tricky and limiting for preparing and/or reheating side dishes. If I could free up the oven for several more hours than expected, that would be lovely. Since a breast takes less than half the time of a regular turkey to cook, I thought it would make my life a lot easier. And it did.

 

Ingredients

1 bone-in whole turkey breast (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), thawed if frozen [mine was about 7 pounds]

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup dry white wine or margarine [I used sweet white wine]

1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon paprika [I used smoked paprika]

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 Tablespoons cold water

 

Directions

(1) Heat oven to 325ºF. Place turkey, skin side up, on rack in large shallow roasting pan.  Roast uncovered 1 hour.

(2) Mix butter, wine, thyme, salt, paprika and garlic. Brush turkey with half of the butter mixture.

(3) Roast 30 minutes; brush with remaining butter mixture.

(4) Roast about 1 hour longer or until thermometer reads 165ºF.

(5) Remove turkey from oven.  Let stand 15 minutes for easier carving.

(6) While turkey rests, pour pan drippings into measuring cup.  Skim fat from drippings. Add enough water to drippings to measure 2 cups.

(7) Heat drippings to boiling in 1-quart saucepan. Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water; stir into drippings. Boil and stir 1 minute. Serve with turkey.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Cranberry & Apple Crisp

Original Recipe HERE

 

While I would happily have every dessert I ever make be chocolate-based, I know not everyone shares the same obsession.  So if it's not going to be full of my VIP ingredient of choice, I like to go in the opposite direction and include fruit: if it's not going to be obviously bad for you, why not pretend it's masquerading as something good for you?

 

Per the recipe, I used granny smith apples and found the final product to be too tart for my liking.  Next time I'll substitute some sweeter ones.  Also, because the apples were in the back of our fridge and went through an unfortunate freeze/thaw cycle, I had to throw out a few and use pears in their place.  I don't know how much of a difference they made; everything got mixed in together so I never identified a definite bite of apple or pear either way.

Ingredients

* For topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter

* For fruit layer:

8 to 9 apples

2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen) [I used fresh]

1-1/4 cups sugar

7 Tablespoons flour

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg (optional)

7 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x13" baking pan (I used glass).

(2) Mix dry topping ingredients together until well combined.  Add cold butter; mix with fingers or pastry cutter until it resembles coarse meal.  Put in refrigerator while preparing fruit layer.

(3) Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4" slices.

(4) In large bowl, mix apples, cranberries, sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Add butter; toss to combine.  Transfer mixture to baking dish.

(5) Crumble topping over fruit.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until apples are desired tenderness.  Cover with foil after 30 minutes to prevent browning.

(6) Cool slightly and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

Kid Participation:

* Mix dry ingredients

* Make apple mixture

* Crumble topping

* Expect to have whipped cream squirted into your mouths during the entire process

Compound Butters

Original Recipe HERE

 

Why didn't this ever cross my mind? Only the simplest thing ever. I love butter on everything (including things it has no business coming in contact with), so I'll be doing some experimenting. To serve with my mom's incomparable dinner rolls at Thanksgiving, I made the honey and herbed versions.  The honey was fabulous, but the herbed didn't have as much flavor as I'd have liked.  Next time I'll experiment with amounts and different spices.  The vanilla-cinnamon looked intriguing and will be made for breakfast purposes - probably under the guise of "needing to try a new muffin recipe."  However, vanilla extract will be used instead of the bean.

 

I didn't care about presentation, so I didn't make them into the rolled logs.  I think in the end it made serving easier since we could just pass the bowl around and scoop out what we wanted instead of having to find a serving dish that would fit an oddly-shaped, unsteady roll of butter.

 

Ingredients

* For honey butter:

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon honey [or to taste]

* For herbed butter:

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon dried ground thyme

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Directions

(1) Put butter in small mixing bowl.  Allow to soften to room temperature.
(2) When butter is spreadable, add salt and mix-ins.  Use rubber spatula to repeatedly fold mixture together until thoroughly combined.

(3) Transfer butter to dish to be used for serving.  Cover with plastic wrap or lid; refrigerate until 10 minutes before serving.

 

Kid Participation: None.  This recipe was done so quickly, they didn't have a chance to help