Weekend Inspiration: Thanksgiving Leftovers

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? I had 2 Thanksgiving dinners so I could pretty much roll back to SC. That said, both were amazing. I think everyone can agree that one of the best parts of the holiday, aside from the time with family and the general happiness, is the leftovers for days if not weeks to come! This weekend inspiration is meant to help you find some fun new ideas to use those leftovers.

Use a bunch of your leftovers to make these delicious sliders to enjoy during the next big game.

Turkey lasagna: finally something that's a healthier alternative than the norm as opposed to everything else made at Thanksgiving. I'm looking at you, green bean casserole. There's actually a few recipes on this cite for leftovers I'm curious to try.



In the spirit of Thanksgivukkah, how about some mashed potato latkes?

Used some leftover cranberry sauce to make yourself a celebratory margarita. You earned it ;)

I'm curious to try these empanadas made with leftovers. The idea of making them with pastry dough sounds ah-maz-ing.

And from our own kitchen so far we've made:
1. Turkey noodle soup
2. Turkey wrap with spinach
3. Turkey tetrazzini

The soup and tetrazzini are staples of the Mettetal kitchen. It just wouldn't be thanksgiving time without them!

Already made plans for your leftovers? Or (like me) are you still too full to even think about eating again in the near future? I'd love to know!

Sheila

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful day, full of love and time for thankfulness. If you're traveling, be safe! And if you're staying put, be happy!

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions you're looking forward to? Any special plans for this year? I'd love to know!

Sheila

Snowflake Crust Apple Pie

It stands to reason that I should use a cookie cutter at least every now and then, right?



I made an apple pie the other night and decided at the last minute to do something a little different with the crust. I love this apple pie recipe because it's so simple but I like to make a few adjustments. For starters, I'm a big cheater and use pre-made crust dough (the kind that come in the refrigerated section and rolls out). Also, I used what I had which ended up being granny smith apples. Bobby Flay's recipe turned into this:

1 box of pre-made pie crust
4 granny smith apples
3/4 cup fine sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg



Preheat oven to 350. Slice up the apples, throw everything in a bowl except the crust (obv) and stir it up. It's going to look a little dry but it will be fine. Promise. Set it aside while you work on your crust.

Roll out one piece of dough for the bottom crust. Run a rolling pin over it to fix any cracks or inconsistencies. Place in buttered pie pan and pinch the edges. Toss in the filling. Roll out the next piece and use a snowflake cookie cutter to cut out as many pieces as possible.The snowflakes were a much easier alternative to time-consuming lattice crust and worked just as well.A cookie cutter and about 10 minutes was all it took. As you can see, these snowflakes landed all over the place without much pattern. I should have sprinkled brown sugar over the top but didn't think about it until after it was baked.

Bake your pie for at least 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it though: mine browned very quickly and had to be turned occasionally to prevent burning.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? More importantly, what's your favorite kind of pie!? I'd love to know.

Sheila

Put a Cork in it! (Cork Place Mats)

A while ago, I found this amazing table that I fell in love with almost instantly. It's an antique folding table that has a healthy dose of wear and tear and was buried beneath a protective force field of dirt. Through all that I could see the diamond in the rough. I bought it, forced it to fit into my car, cursed my sedentary life choices while drudging it up the stairs to my apartment, and cleaned it up a bit. Now it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I'm having so much coming up with accessories and centerpieces. The most recent incarnation of "table dress-up" has been these very simple cork place mats.



I bought a roll of thin cork a while ago for a project that never happened. I'm pretty excited to let it live out it's crafty destiny in some way finally. The timing just happened to work out around Thanksgiving. This would easily be a fun project to keep kids busy while they are waiting for Turkey time AND teach them some basic sewing.

You Will Need:

4 pieces of thick cardboard, cut to 12"x18" rectangles (I used a furniture box)
1 roll of thin cork, large enough to cut 4-12"x18" rectangles
box cutter
glue
ruler
writing utensil
yarn of your choice
yarn needle
*optional: hole punch, decoupage roller

First cut your cork and cardboard to size. This was easiest to do using a SHARP box cutter. Make sure you cut the cork very carefully or it will tear. Not that it happened to me.*

*That is exactly what happened to me. 

Pour a thin amount of glue on the cardboard, focusing on the edges and corners with a large x through the center. I used a foam brush to smooth it out the first few but found that to be unnecessary. Line up the cork to the edges and press it to the cardboard. If you have a decoupage roller, you can use that to smooth the cork down. If not, just use your hands. They work too. After gluing I trimmed the edges with a box cutter again to make sure everything lined up perfectly.



Use your ruler and writing utensil on the back (the cardboard side) to draw a line an inch away from the edge all the way around. If you have a hole punch (I used my crop-a-dile on the small setting) you can pre-punch holes every quarter to half inch or so. You can just skip this step and get your yarn on if you're impatient but punching holes in advance makes the sewing go much faster. Double thread your yarn needle and start in a corner. You'll stitch all around the edges on the line. When the yarn runs out, just double thread your needle again and tie the ends tightly onto the old piece in the place mat. It makes for a pretty easy transition. 

Once you're done stitching the edges, tie the yarn to itself and flip it over. Admire your handiwork and subtly encourage those around you to compliment it.



Do you already have your Thanksgiving table all planned out? Is there room for a handmade addition or is it full of family pieces? I'd love to know!

Sheila

P.S. A sneak preview of tomorrow's project...