Savvy Eats

The weather has been pretty blustery lately. Naturally. I do live in northern New York, after all.

I also work from home. You know those days when you wake up and just feel incredibly motivated to be productive? Those days when once you’re “on a roll,” you’re not necessarily going to want to put a ton of time into your meals? This is the soup to eat on those days.

Another quick and easy way to use your leftovers coming at you! As a child, I was not a fan of mushrooms. Come to think of it, turkey wasn’t my favorite, either. But there was something about my gramma’s turkey tetrazzini that I just loved, even though it contained both mushrooms and turkey. I would [...]

For the record, mixing all your Thanksgiving leftovers into one big bowl of holiday goodness makes a fantastic dinner. And for the record, I can’t eat these bowls more than 2 days in a row without getting bored.

What’s has a completely different flavor from traditional Thanksgiving leftovers? Mexican food, that’s what. Enter: turkey enchiladas. And not just any turkey enchiladas. Thirty-minutes-or-less turkey enchiladas.

As expected, our fridge is filled with leftovers from yesterday. Though there were only three of us, Heather and I made enough food for at least 8. Guess what Dan and I will be eating for the next 3 weeks?

I’m going to need to mix it up. I can’t eat the same thing every day for that long, no matter how delicious it is. Let’s get creative, shall we?

This is one of those perfect dinners. It is balanced, with lots of protein, fiber and vitamins. If you cube the squash in advance, it takes only 30 minutes to prepare. It is warm and comforting on a cold night. And most importantly, it is flexible.

The second I saw the adorable leaf and squirrel cookie cutters, I had a flash of inspiration. Why not shake up the typical sugar cookie recipe by adding a dash of rich maple flavor? And even better, why not form said maple sugar cookies into seasonally appropriate leaves and squirrels?

This cookie making became an all-day endeavor. The cookies themselves didn’t take long to bake, but this was also my first time decorating with royal icing, so I wasn’t very speedy with the finishing touches. Plus, I also made some green tea shortbread (recipe to come!) at the same time. The final products were definitely worth it, though!

This recipe was spot-on. The sweet maple is noticeable without being overwhelming. And while the bottoms of the cookies are crisp, the cookies are tender and chewy.

I’ve never been a big fan of stuffing. The seasonings and texture just didn’t appeal to me.

Then again, I had never made my own stuffing from scratch. And since I’ve already decided that I’m making a turkey this Thanksgiving, it seemed only fair to give stuffing another shot.

Somehow, this stuffing manages to be both sweet and savory all at once, and not nearly as mushy as your typical stuffing. We had it this weekend with some roast chicken (which is a whole other story), and I am happy to report that I loved it! I know what stuffing we’ll be serving with our turkey this Thanksgiving!

Let’s talk turkey. Specifically, Thanksgiving turkey. In my quest to eat ethically and locally, I decided that the only way I was serving turkey on November 25 was if I chose one raised ethically and sustainably. In order to do so, I logged onto Ithaca’s latest local foods resource, Harvestation, and read up on my [...]