The Supermom Chef

I am so ready for Christmas that I just don’t know what to do! My family has been through so many trials and tribulations this year that I have made a promise to myself to enjoy this Christmas season as much as possible, no matter how tough things are. This is a time for family togetherness and happiness, and I plan to make that happen for each of my three children. And by saying that I don’t mean I’m going to spend a ton of money on each of them…I am simply making it a point to spend more time with each of them and enjoy that time for all it’s worth! What better way to do that to be in the kitchen with them doing the thing that we love to do the most, baking?

I plan to be spending a lot of time in my kitchen this month (well, actually next month since it’s still November) bringing you lots of yummy holiday gooness here on the blog. I hope that you find these recipes helpful during your holiday planning. Be sure to check out the archives here on the blog for other recipes that I posted last year. I already have a lot of our family favorites on here, so you feel free to make them your family favorites as well!

I’ll start by posting my mom’s recipe for homemade hot chocolate mix. I remember growing up, every single winter my mom would make this and it would seem to last forever. She always made it and packaged it in cute little Christmas packages, and gave them away with a loaf of homemade bread for teacher gifts. This hot chocolate mix is so much more creamy and delicious than the store bought version, but don’t take my word for it. Try it for yourself! With these frigid temperatures we are having here in the South today it’s just the thing to warm you right up!

Excuse the horrible pictures…day after day of dreary, cold days don’t make for the best photographs. And truth be told, I didn’t feel like hauling in my big studio light just for a quick photo. 😉

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

1 large box dry milk (8 qt. size)

1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar

2 lbs. Nestle Quick powdered chocolate drink mix

1 (11 oz) container Cremora (find this by the coffee creamer)

Mix all ingredients together and store in a tightly covered container. Add to hot water, according to your taste (it’ll probably take more mix than you think it will so be generous). Serve hot, topped with marshmallows, if desired.

Are you folks sick of turkey yet? I’m not! I could think of a million ways to use leftover turkey but this recipe I’m sharing today is one of my absolute favorites. I’m a self-proclaimed sandwich addict. I could probably eat nothing but sandwiches for meals the rest of my life and still be a happy girl. Notice I said “for meals” because I’d still have to have dessert. This sandwich is so simple to throw together yet so unbelievably delicious, I know you are going to love it! So if you are still looking for a way to use up some of that leftover turkey, please give this sandwich a try!

Turkey Pesto Panini

turkey, whatever kind you like and however much you prefer (I used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving)

1 tablespoon prepared pesto

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

sliced Provolone cheese

focaccia (any kind of bread would work here but focaccia has so much flavor…I used garlic and herb flavor)

butter

Preheat a panini press (or warm your skillet) over medium-high heat. Mix together mayonnaise and pesto. Spread generously over split focaccia. Top the bread with sliced turkey and a slice of Provolone cheese. Spread butter on the outside of the bread (I used butter spray), and grill until cheese is melted and sandwich is heated through. Serve hot.

With the big holiday just two days away I know you are probably planning your last minute additions to your menu. We always say we aren’t going to go overboard, but we always do, right? Please tell me it’s not just me that does that. So in case you still have some room on your menu or just need a few last minute additions, or in case you’re a total last minute person, here is a list of some of my family favorites.

P.S. I don’t know how to make one of those cute little link thingies where you just click the word and it takes you to the link so bear with me here. And if you know how to do that and are willing to fill me in, I’d forever be grateful.

My favorite Thanksgiving breakfast (fond memories of staying at my mom’s house and waking up to a slice of this and a cup of hot chocolate): http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=221

Of course, ya gotta have turkey. http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=1070

Dressing, my Mae Mae’s recipe: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=263

Speaking of Mae Mae, here’s her Corn and Green Bean Casserole recipe too: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=294

Macaroni and Cheese, “for the kids”: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=206

Cornbread Salad, oh heavens this is good! : http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=421

Green Bean Bundles (my whole family loves these!): http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=303

My personal favorite side dish, Potato Casserole: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=311

Homemade rolls, a MUST: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=1063

Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce, a must in my daddy’s book (I make it for him every year!): http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=281

Pecan Pie (it’s a Southern have-to kind of thing): http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=340

Speaking of pecans, don’t dare leave this dessert off your menu! : http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=132

Pumpkin Pie, a traditional Thanksgiving dessert: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=243

My hubby’s personal favorite, Buttermilk Pie: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=319

Sweet Potato Pie: http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=1074

I hope you and yours have the happiest holiday of all! I tell ya what, we all have SOOOOOO much to be thankful for! Enjoy your holiday to the fullest because you just never know when it may be your last!

Bear with me on today’s post as I try to type with a pinky finger covered in layer after layer of gauze, then topped off with a finger sling (what do you call these things anyway?). Word to the wise, don’t get into a fight with your vaccum cleaner…it will win! Ugh, so now all of the yummy recipes I had planned to cook for you all in regards to Thanksgiving next week will just have to wait since I can’t really wash dishes (and my hubby is the “anti-dishwasher”…he was even kind enough to leave his dishes in the sink this morning knowing how bad my finger hurts and that I can’t get it wet). In the meantime, I’ll continue to blog for you a few things that I already have photos of, this Sweet Potato Pie being the first of those.

You know that when you think of Thanksgiving there are a few things that come to mind, and for me, one of those things is sweet potatoes. Now I’ll admit I’m not much of a sweet potato fan but this pie is delicious! It’s super simple and a true crowd pleaser, so if your family includes some sweet potato lovers make this for them next week and you’re likely to get hugs and kisses all day long!

So until next time, y’all answer this question for me by commenting…what is your favorite Thanksgiving dish/dessert/food item?

Sweet Potato Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch pie dough

2 large eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cups mashed baked sweet potato (I used boiled, mashed sweet potatoes)

3/4 cups dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry into a 12″ circle. Line a 9″ glass pie plate with pastry; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; bake 40-45 minutes or until firm. Cool on wire rack for two hours. Serve at room temperature or chilled with whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe adapted from: http://delightfulrepast.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-potato-pie-classic-southern.html

Everyone knows that on Thanksgiving you have to have turkey, but no one wants to be the one in charge of cooking it, right? It’s such a pain to clean the turkey, dress the turkey, bake the turkey (meanwhile basting over and over and over), then you have to cut the dang thing and make it look presentable. It’s just way too much work! In walks this recipe (that a sweet family friend shared with me, thanks Ms. BJ!) to save you all of that work.

Now I’ll go ahead and tell you…if you are looking for a turkey recipe that helps you bake one of those gorgeous, crispy skin beautiful-on-a-platter type turkeys, this one isn’t for you. This turkey is absolutely, positively delicious but it’s the kind you cut up and put on a platter rather than serving it whole for someone to cut at the table. But who really does that anyway? I’ve never been to a Thanksgiving dinner where there’s a big huge turkey in the middle of the table. I think that’s just for the movies and tv.

It just doesn’t get any easier than this, folks! You put the turkey in the roasting pan (make sure to take out the innards…I almost forgot that my first time!), cut up some celery and throw it in the cavity, salt that cavity, pour some melted butter over the top of the bird, then pour some boiling water into the pan. And for the love of all things holy, please remember to COVER THE PAN! Good gracious you do not want to smell your house if you don’t. Trust me, been there, done that. Not pretty and after a week my home still reeked of burned butter. Gag me with a pitchfork! Anyway, so then you set the oven for two hours and walk away. Come back in two hours and turn it off, then go to sleep. It continues to cook all night long and the next morning it’s ready to cut. Easy, just like I said, right? 😉

Be sure and throw some of the dark meat on the platter for those that prefer that instead.

Turkey While You Sleep

1 uncooked turkey

1 teaspoon salt

2 stalks celery, with leaves

1/2 cup ulsalted butter, melted

2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse turkey and remove innards. Sprinkle salt inside turkey cavity and insert celery stalks. Place turkey on rack in roasting pan and rub with melted butter. Pour boiling water around turkey, cover pan tightly, and cook two hours for 14 pounds or less, 2 1/2 hours for more than 14 pounds. After cooking time, turn off heat, but DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Leave turkey in closed oven overnight (8 hours). Turkey will be ready to slice and refrigerate the next morning, with plenty of drippings for gravy.

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and I’m sure you are all planning out your menus. Except those of you that claim you can’t cook…you guys are probably wondering which place is the best to buy an already cooked casserole or dessert. I got you, didn’t I? 😉 I’m not making fun at all, I truly stick by the saying that not everyone can cook. My sister is a prime example of that saying but don’t tell her I told you that. Dangit…where was I going with all this “can’t cook” talk? I’m so scatterbrained sometimes.

Oh yeah, speaking of people who claim they can’t cook certain things. One day when I really started to enjoy cooking and wanted to try something new in the kitchen, I asked my mom if she had ever made any homemade yeast bread. She said no because she always too scared to (although she makes delicious homemade sourdough bread and has for as long as I can remember…she claims that’s not yeast from scratch since she has a starter she uses to make it that someone shared with her). Well I have since tried numerous homemade yeast bread recipes and I tell ya what, it’s not hard at all! As long as you get the temperature of the water right (not too hot so that it doesn’t kill the yeast and not too cold so that it is able to activate the yeast), you are guaranteed to have a delicious bread. This is one of those recipes, so simple but yet so delicious. These rolls straight out of the oven are one of my favorite things to eat, slather it with a little butter and then pour on the honey. OH EM GEE! <– said in my best 15 year old scream, of course. It’s so delicious!

I thought that now was the appropriate time to share this recipe since everyone’s Thanksgiving table always has at least one type of roll on it. These would be super easy for turkey day too, because you can mix all the bread up the night before and let them rise in the oven overnight before baking. Hot rolls on the table in no time! But I’ll go ahead and warn you to make two batches. People are gonna be fighting over these!

2511 Rolls (Cloverleaf Rolls)

1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast

1 1/4 cups warm buttermilk

1/4 cup unsalted softened butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

5-6 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Generously spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a mixer bowl, hand-whisk water and yeast together and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Briskly whisk in buttermilk, softened butter, sugar, salt, and most of flour. Knead with a dough hook on lowest speed about 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to form a soft, smooth, and elastic dough. Remove dough hook and spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Allow to rise in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerating, allow dough to warm to room temperature before proceeding. Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough into 12 portions. Cut each portion into three chunks and dip chunks into melted butter. Alternatively, you can form the chunks into small balls. Place three chunks or balls into each well of a 12-cup muffin pan. Drizzle any leftover melted butter over rolls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake until lightly browned (another 15-20 minutes). Cool in pan 10 minutes and then turn out to serve or cool completely.

Recipe from: “A Passion for Baking” by Marcy Goldman

A couple months ago a sweet friend of ours from church made our family dinner to help us through a tough time. We had just returned home from Boston for my son’s 18th surgery and we were all exhausted round-the-clock. Let me just tell you that it completely made my day to not have to make dinner that night! And to make it even better, the dinner was absolutely amazing! The roast that Dawn brought us was so tender and flavorful that my kids literally couldn’t get enough…well, at least not the two that were well at the time. My son’s appetite (after a bowel surgery) wasn’t really up to par that night. But my girls ate more meat than I’ve ever seen them eat in one sitting. Needless to say, I had to have that recipe and thankfully Dawn was happy to share with me.

I’ll go ahead and tell you that this isn’t the most healthy meal you can prefer, but just forget about the calories for one night and enjoy yourself. Trust me, it’s worth it! And if you want to try to lighten it up a little, you might try substituting a little beef broth for some of the butter. I plan to do that next time I make this roast, which will no doubt be soon. I love a good chuck roast sale at Kroger! I know, I’m a dork…who really gets excited over a sale at a grocery store? Anyway, now that you know I’m a huge dork that lives for sales at Kroger I’ll go ahead and get right to the recipe. Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did!

Oh, and just for the record the leftovers of this roast make a killer sandwich the next day!

Mississippi Roast

1 chuck roast

1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix

1 packet Au Jus mix

1 stick butter

5 pepperoncini peppers

Add all ingredients into a slow cooker; cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred and serve with your favorite sides (mashed potatoes and/or rice are delicious!)

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never really been much on sweet potatoes. I think it all comes from a yucky, stringy baked sweet potato I had about 18 years or so ago. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since, thereby avoiding sweet potatoes since that very day. That is…until now. I’m now much more mature (although that could be debated) and am much more willing to taste things that aren’t normally in my comfort zone.

So when my brother gave me about 15 pounds or so of sweet potatoes, I knew it was time to conquer my fear of everyone’s favorite orangish potato. What better time than around Thanksgiving when sweet potato desserts and casseroles are abundant? You all need some new recipes for this year’s Turkey Day, right?

I stumbled upon this recipe in an old community cookbook that I had tucked away in my huge collection and it sounded right up my alley. Boy was I ever impressed with the deliciousness of such a simple recipe. You basically just dump some things together and bake. So if you are looking for something simple to make to take to your holiday gathering this year, this is it! If I loved it the way that I did, imagine how much all of the sweet potato lovers will love it!

Sweet Potato Snack Cake

1 (16 oz) box dark brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups baking mix (I used Bisquick)

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup shredded sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Pour into a sprayed 9×13″ baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until done.

It’s finally cooling off down here in the South, although we are still much warmer than the rest of the country. Still, it’s cool to me and you know what that means? I am craving soup! It doesn’t matter what kind, I’ll try anything as long as the weather is cool. My 5 year old daughter’s favorite soup in the whole wide world is corn chowder, so I have been on a mission lately to make a version that holds up to her high standards of a particular restaurant’s version in Boston.

I made this chowder following a recipe exactly the first time, but everyone in my family was a bit disappointed. I thought it tasted a bit off myself, not bad by any means but definitely nothing like the corn chowder we always look forward to having in Boston. So I finally decided I’d give the same recipe a try again, but this time use frozen corn kernels instead of fresh corn cut from the cob, and what do you know? It tasted almost just like our version from Boston that we love so much! As a matter of fact, my daughter loved this soup so much that she took it every single day in her lunchbox the rest of the week and then would come home wanting more! I did tell you it’s her favorite soup, didn’t I? Since this recipe fits the bill for her, I’m sure we’ll be making it often in the future here at our house.

Corn Chowder

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 ounce bacon, minced (about 1 slice)

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk (1% works well and keeps the calories and fat down)

1 pound red potatoes, peeled (if desired) and cut into 1/4″ cubes

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup half-and-half (fat free works well)

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bacon and cook until rendered and crisp, about 3 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about thirty seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly browned, about one minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and milk, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaf, and corn. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about fifteen minutes. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Recipe adapted from: America’s Test Kitchen “Healthy Recipes that Work” Summer 2011

My sweet blogger friend Amanda is away at a The Relevant Conference in Hershey, PA. While she’s away she’s asked me to guest post over on her blog, so please click over (www.myheartsdesireblog.com) and visit her to see the delicious recipe I’m sharing. And be sure to leave her some blog love while you’re there telling her that I sent you over. I hope you’re having fun Amanda while I’m sitting here at home with my crippled foot propped up on a pillow. Not fun at all! Can we trade places?