Just Make Stuff

G3: November

This month...

• Mac cheered at his last football game of the season. 
• We walked for Team Caleb Albert.
• We hosted three parties.
• Sean ran 151.1 miles. 
• And that's about it...November was pretty quiet, which was actually really nice.

Now all we need is turkey...

It's late on Thanksgiving Eve and most of the to do list is checked off. All of the side dishes are made, the house is clean, and the table is set (the kids picnic table too). Our nephew and nieces came over today to make turkey crafts which included decorating cups for everyone to sip out of tomorrow. In the morning we'll cook the turkey and we'll be all ready to celebrate my favorite holiday. 

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

Well Wishes...

Well Wishes...a homemade card shared every Wednesday.

Randomness...

1. This is the best time of year for walking.

2. Sean and Mac have all of this week off from school. I kept forgetting all weekend that I had to teach today.

3. They met me at school today to go out to lunch. They also visited my Sociology of Women class and Sean said something to my students that he may never live down.

4. Today's topic was domesticity and we went around the room describing our favorite family recipe. Mac said he loved my sloppy joes. Sean said his favorite is what he calls "Alaskan Surprise". It's a box of macaroni and cheese, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and canned chicken...which I am pretty sure he has not made for himself since 2003. As someone who really loves to cook and figure out my own recipes, I could not hide my shame when he said that's his favorite.

5. Tonight I made a sausage, mushroom, caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza with a homemade garlic alfredo sauce. And you know I mentioned to Sean that the pizza was nowhere near as good as Alaskan Surprise.

6. Tomorrow I am grading two stacks of tests, setting the table for Thanksgiving and making compound butters.

7. My nephew and nieces are coming over on Wednesday morning to make pretty much every turkey craft idea I've saved on my "Auntie Nora" Pinterest board.

8. We bought an electric blanket. The pre-heat setting is life changing.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

I had this idea on the 4th of July. I was packing up leftovers, like potato salad and baked beans, in random ziplock containers we had amassed and getting them organized into leftover grocery bags for our friends and family to take home. I ran upstairs to grab some office tags to tie onto the bags to keep everyone's leftovers straight and it occurred to me, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around this year, that I could make this whole leftovers endeavour a heck of a lot cuter. I raided Smart and Final a few weeks ago and came home with huge stacks of several different kinds of containers. We have hosted a few get-togethers this month and have already found this container supply super handy to have on hand.

I shared this project on Eighteen25 at the beginning of the month and shared a download of this "little more Thanksgiving" tag in case you want to print some out just in time for this week's celebration.

Easiest Thanksgiving Stuffing

In addition to teaching me to use holiday paper plates, my mom also has awesome recipes. They can be made ahead of time, are pretty darn easy, and people usually love them. Her best recipes don't have official measurements, but I have done the best I can to estimate after making this stuffing for over ten years. 

Easiest Thanksgiving Stuffing

• 2 bags (12 ounces each) Pepperidge Farm Cubed Herb Seasoned Stuffing (make sure it's the cubed stuffing)
• 2 cups celery; finely chopped
• 1 large onion; finally diced
• 3/4 cup butter (a stick and a half)
• 1 box of chicken broth (32 ounces...you probably will not use all of it)
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 

Melt the butter in a very large saute pan. Add onion and celery with a sprinkle of salt (not the entire teaspoon) and poultry seasoning (again not the entire amount). Cook the onion and celery, stirring often, for five to ten minutes. Add the cubed stuffing to the pan, sprinkle with remaining poultry seasoning, salt and sugar. Poor chicken broth over the stuffing mixture until it is very damp, but not so much that it pools at the bottom of the pan. Sometimes we add some stuffing, dampen it with broth and then continue to add the dry stuffing and broth so that it all does not tumble out of the pan and onto the stove. When the stuffing looks sufficiently damp (it should look just a little too wet to eat) remove from the pan into a 9x13 buttered baking dish. At this point you can cool the stuffing, wrap it tightly and store it in the fridge for the next day. Cook stuffing covered with tinfoil at 350 degrees for 40 minute. Remove stuffing from the oven, stir it, and return it to the oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until it has browned on top.

Paper Place Settings...

One of the best things my mother ever taught me was to use cute paper plates at holiday gatherings. There will be more than plenty of dishes to wash from cooking, no need to add to the pile.

I set the Thanksgiving table with them in 2011, 2012 and will next week too. This time I also used paper to make little place card pouches. I took some kraft wrapping paper off the huge roll I have, cut it down to fit a napkin and silverware, stitched it with orange thread, and stamped it with each person's name.

Can't wait to see all these paper plates filled with our families favorite recipes. 

Well Wishes...

Well Wishes...a homemade card shared every Wednesday.

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup...

This might actually be the first recipe I futzed with enough to call it mine. It started out years ago as a butternut squash soup then I read a few more recipes and combined ingredients. This soup is made once a year for our Friendsgiving celebration...it has a lot of ingredients and steps, but I promise it's worth it.

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup with Caramelized Croutons

Ingredients:

• Roasted Garlic; 12 cloves
• 1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled, fat reserved
• 2 small (or one large) onion; chopped
• 2 Granny Smith apples peeled and chopped
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 8 ounces apple cider
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 29 ounces of pure pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons Chicken Better than Bouillon
• 8 ounces heavy cream

Croutons:

• Baguette; sliced
• ½ a stick of butter; softened
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• ½  teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions:

Roast the garlic tossed in a little olive oil to keep it from sticking in a tinfoil pouch for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven...it should be lightly browned and mushy. You can do this a day or two before and keep the cloves in the fridge. 

The night before you can also toast up the croutons.  Mix together the softened butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Spread the mixture onto the bread slices and bake in the oven until slightly browned and crispy...approximately 5 minutes at 400 degrees, but keep an eye on them. Croutons can be stored in the fridge, but take them out in advance to come to room temperature before serving the soup.

Use a big soup pot (I love my Le Creuset) to cook up the bacon, I usually cut it into pieces before cooking as opposed to keeping it whole and crumbling it after, but either way would work.  Cook until crispy, take out all the bacon, and some of the fat carefully reserving enough just enough fat (about 3 tablespoons) to cook the chopped onion and apple in until it is softened. Add the salt, sugar, nutmeg, cloves and poultry seasoning.

Add the roasted garlic and the some of the chicken stock and some of the apple cider; SLOWLY not all 32oz of broth or 8oz of the cider, just enough to cover the onion, apples and garlic and then see if you need more. Allow mixture to simmer until soft enough to puree with an immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender and then back to the pot. 

After you have a smooth consistency add the pumpkin puree, the Better than Bouillon and then slowly add some of the cream until you have the consistency and creaminess you want. If the soup is still too thick at this point you can thin it out with a little more chicken broth. You can continue to let the soup simmer for about twenty minutes before serving.

Serve the soup with a crouton floating in the middle and a sprinkle of the crispy bacon bits.

Thanksgiving Mantle...

Super simple...a printable sign, a plate I found earlier this fall, the felt leaves I sewed together a couple years ago, a couple turkeys and some washi tape tealights. And fires in the fireplace. I know I have said it too many times, but it really is my very favorite time of year. I have a few more Thanksgiving ideas and recipes to share this week...

Cook//Make//Wish: 10

Completely intrigued by caramelized pecans stuffed with blue cheese.

Shouldn't we have a hot chocolate party...who wants to come?

Thinking I might be able to hand stitch a quilt...one day.

Cook//Make//Wish posts include three recent favorites discovered via Pinterest.

Cranberry Orange & Green Onion Cream Cheese Dip

Last year I needed an appetizer to bring our street's holiday progressive dinner and was inspired by this recipe. Instead of cilantro and jalapeno, I went with lots and lots of green onion and some onion powder. And then I made fresh cranberry sauce the way I like to with orange juice, zest and lots of brown sugar. Add some butter crackers and it's one of my favorite recipes.

Cranberry Orange Green Onion Cream Cheese Dip

• 1 bag fresh cranberries
• 1 orange zested
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar; packed
• 16 oz cream cheese (2 blocks); room temperature
• 1 large bunch green onion including white portion; finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Rinse cranberries and drain them well. Place into pot with orange juice, zest and brown sugar. Bring cranberry mixture to a simmer and stir carefully while they pop open. When the mixture begins to reduce it may need to thicken up, in this case use a little cornstarch (1 tablespoon) mixed into a little more orange juice and drizzle it in until the sauce is really thick. If mixture is too tart add more brown sugar. Set sauce aside to cool completely.

Combine softened cream cheese, chopped onion and onion powder with a hand-mixer. If you can do this step a few hours, or even the night, before it helps the flavors meld. After the cream cheese mixture is made, smear a thick layer into a serving dish. Top with cooled cranberry sauce leaving the edges of the cream cheese exposed a little. You might not use all of the cranberry sauce on the dip, but you can save it for turkey sandwiches or something. Pile crackers around the dip and enjoy.

Well Wishes...

Well Wishes...a homemade card shared every Wednesday.

Randomness...

1. Photos from the last few days...some were shared on Instagram. Mac and I at lunch on his day off from school last week (had to take a photo of him taking a photo of his lunch). It's cold enough that the dogs are snuggling into the blanket on the couch. Watering plants. The photo of the cheer team at Thursday's game. The lobster roll dinner I am obsessed with on Friday night. Sean carrying too many rolls of wrapping paper out of Hallmark for me. First fire in the fireplace this fall. And we had a party with my friends from grad school on Saturday night...we laughed so hard and kept track of some of our joking on the blackboard in our entryway.

2. I will be listening to the Thanksgiving Day radio station on Pandora until further notice.

3. Had breakfast with friends this morning and used this pan to make a dozen scrambled eggs. The sides were high enough that I didn't spill any on her stove. It's officially on my Christmas list.

4. I discovered tonight that TED talks have a download button. So excited to share the videos I mentioned here without having to worry about the completely unreliable wifi on campus. The other trick I learned from Sean is using this site to download and save YouTube videos.

5. This print was just purchased to add to my office. And this stamp made it's way here too since I have a lot of thank you notes that are going to need that sentiment.

6. My mother has had the best record, by far, in our fantasy football league, but this week I beat her. She is still in the lead, but did I mention I beat her?

Thursday Night Lights...

I try to share something every weeknight around here, but for the last couple of months Thursday nights haven't really been happening. I teach a four hour class starting at 8am on Friday mornings and most of Mac's home football games have been on Thursdays. 

However, tonight is that last football game and, no matter how busy it makes us, I am so sad to see the season end. He's halfway through cheering at high school football games and it's all going a little too fast. 

Christmas lists...

My planner has a new section...

I made a divider for it like the other ones I have.

I also printed out a few extra things to make the section a little cuter. And then I made up some sheets to start getting organized.

You can Download Gift List 2013 too if you need to get organized. Or you can also just tear photos out of catalogs and stick them in there with washi tape. I did that too.

I am trying not to think about the fact that I am usually way more ahead with Christmas shopping by this time of year...instead I'll just be happy that I have some ideas written down for now.

Well Wishes...

Well Wishes...a homemade card shared every Wednesday.

November is my favorite...

Somewhere in my random thoughts it just occurred to me the other day that November is my favorite month of the year. It's when you can usually count on Southern California to start delivering some weather below seventy-five degrees. It includes a little time off from school. It has my very favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  And there's always some holiday preparations in there too. The best part is the anticipation of it all. I absolutely love, love, love having so many things to look forward to.

Morning & Night...

I have said before that the day we fall back an hour is one of my favorites all year...love that you feel just a few moments ahead all day long. Today's extra hour was used to enjoy a crab cake eggs benedict breakfast. The afternoon was spent working on a Thanksgiving project. And tonight we made a couple dinners for this week and I am getting classes planned for tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice to get an extra hour everyday?