Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

Evening guys and dolls, tonight's blog will be a tad on the bland side as well as short and sweet. Your blog mistress is under the weather. Not sure how it started but once the sore throat hit I knew I was down for the count on doing anything fun for the next week. I'm well enough to bring a small bit of jazz your way. This past week was Thanksgiving and while ours was fantastic (we hope yours was swell as well <---hey, sick as a dog but I can still rhyme!) we have all this turkey leftover (which I'm sure you guys do as well). What can you do with leftover turkey? Why, make it into 10 different recipes, ha! Well we're only one recipe a week blog but you get the gist. I stumbled across this goodie so let's get cooking. Here's what you'll need:


Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole


Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 55 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr 15 Min
Servings: 8


Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
* 1 cup water
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 cup finely crushed herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
* 1 cup cooked, diced turkey meat
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour. Slowly stir in evaporated milk and water, then season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir sauce over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Blend in the dry stuffing mix. Place the turkey in the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over turkey, then sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spread mashed potatoes over cheese. Top mashed potatoes with the stuffing mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven.







This was pretty yummy! At first it looked like a soupy mess but as it cooked it started to turn into something that I was excited to try. So it's another winner, I'd say give it a try with your leftovers. After all, what else are you going to do with them?



No tid bits tonight since the recipe is pretty spot on.



Ma's Spot: There wasn't one thing about this dish that I didn't love. I thought the white sauce was excellent. Of course I used my mashed potatoes and the finely crushed herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix with the butter made the perfect topping. I will make this again, again, and again.




BAKING CORNER: Crushed-Peppermint Cheesecake




Yield: Makes 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients

*12 ounces creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, broken into pieces
*3 tablespoons melted butter
*1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
*3/4 cup sugar
*1/3 cup sour cream
*4 eggs 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy


Preparation
1. Place cookies in a heavy zip-lock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour into a buttered 9-inch round springform pan and pour melted butter over crumbs; mix to coat, then press evenly over bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake in a 300° oven until crust is slightly darker and looks a bit dry, about 10 minutes (leave oven on).

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in sour cream. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in flour, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan over baked crust.

3. Bake until edges are just golden and center jiggles slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of pan rim. Place pan on a wire rack and cool cheesecake completely in pan. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Run a knife around rim again, then release rim. If any liquid has pooled on surface of cheesecake, blot dry gently with a paper towel.

4. Decorate top of cake with crushed peppermint candy, pressing it in gently with your hands.

Note: PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours, plus at least 4 hours to cool and chill



Dinah: I was looking for something to bring with me to my fam's Thanksgiving gathering and I decided on bringing something I have never made before. Cheesecake has always been a love of mine but I've been a tad shy on approaching the idea of making one. I decided Thanksgiving was the perfect time to go for it. My fam ended up loving it (as did I), it was the perfect balance of cheesecake and peppermint, and it was super easy to make.


Ma: Where do I begin with this delicious, delectable, mouthwatering dessert? After I ate it I realized it's one of the many things that makes the holiday season so wonderful. Peppermint, pumpkin, cinnamon, etc... all these things make you feel so cozy and warm during the holidays. I have to give a big thanks to my daughter for making this wonderful dessert. As I'm sure she'll be making again. The crust was such a wonderful added touch. So forget your diet for a bit and treat yourself by diving into this dessert.




Sorry for the light entry tonight guys. I'm hoping I'll be better by next Tuesday so I can bring you my full on spectacular self. So as always we'll see you here next week for more food goodness and not a sick (hopefully!) blog mistress. Have a great week guys!



Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma