Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey

I wanted to post this post after Thanksgiving, but we ate at our dinner at our family's house, so I never thought of leftovers. I still wanted to share some things I do with leftover turkey.

First, (other than sandwiches, yummy) I usually keep the leftovers in my second fridge, or just outside, if it's cold enough. About 3 days after the big supper, I usually make Turkey Shepherds Pie. I always make a few extra veggies and gravy on the big supper night just for this recipe.



Turkey Shepherds Pie



First I cook a chopped onion and chopped celery in a big dutch oven in margarine. To this I add the leftover turkey, carrots, corn and what ever other leftover veggies I would like to add. Then I add the gravy. Just keep all this on the stove top on Med-Low to kind of warm it up. I always like to add a pinch of poultry seasoning at this point as well and maybe some chicken oxo if I think it needs some extra flavour. Then I warm up the leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave and then spread them over the veggies and gravy. Then I smear margarine all over the potatoes, cover and bake for about 1 hour at 350.




After we've eaten this meal and sandwiches, the turkey is ready to be boiled into broth. A secret ingredient that my family has always added to their broth is 1 Star Anise. I also add lots of salt and peppercorns. After I've boiled all this for a long, long time, I let it cool, then separate the rest of the meat from the bones and strain the broth. Of course at this point I have to make Turkey Noodle Soup.




Turkey Noodle Soup


Cook 1 chopped onion, carrots and chopped celery in margarine in a large pot. When this is cooked, add the turkey and broth and bring to a boil. Then add homemade noodles and enjoy.




Homemade Noodles



Mix together 1 c flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg and 1 Tbsp milk. Let sit, covered, for 10 mins. Roll out on floured surface. (If using a big chopping block like I do, put a damp cloth under it to help it from sliding everywhere) Let dry for 1/2 hour. Sprinkle more flour on top, so that it doesn't all stick together and cut into noodles. Boil these for 10 mins in salted water and drain before adding to the soup.




After we have enjoyed these meals, I still usually have turkey and broth left. So I freeze them in large containers to make soup again and in smaller containers of 1 cup broth and 1 cup turkey meat to make my kids favorite meal, Thai "Chicken" Pasta.





Thai "Chicken" Pasta



Fry 1/2 red pepper, sliced, in 1 Tbsp oil. Add garlic. Turn down heat and add; 2 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 c peanut butter and 1 Tbsp ground ginger. Turn heat back up to Med. Then I mix 1 Tbsp corn starch into the container of turkey and turkey stock I took out of the freezer. Once everything is hot in frying pan, I add the turkey mixture and cook until sauce thickens. Serve this over spaghetti noodles garnished with chopped green onions. (Snow peas and carrots are also yummy in this.) This is such a quick meal. The sauce is done by the time the noodles are cooked!



Now I think I need to make a big turkey dinner next Larry is home, so that we can enjoy all these delicious meals!
























Monday, October 24, 2011

Annual Pass to Alberta Museums

Hello. This is for all my homeschooling friends in Alberta. I heard about this deal on a commercial recently and wanted to pass it on. This is what the Alberta Government calls, "Experience Alberta's History." You can purchase a year family pass to 18 of Alberta's museums for only $75! (And only for $69.30 if you have AMA)
I have enclosed some of what is on the website, www.history.alberta.ca below, which also has a list of the museums included.

Experience history all year long with an Annual Pass This easy-to-use pass provides unlimited access for one year from the date of purchase and opens doors to the fascinating world of Alberta's rich history and culture. Besides offering a variety of educational and learning activities for visitors of all ages, many heritage facilities have a wide range of special events and interactive programs throughout the year. They are exciting places to stop on a vacation where visitors come to learn and have fun.
Purchase an Experience Alberta's History Pass and receive unlimited admission to 18 provincial historic sites and museums in Alberta for one full year. Experience Alberta Passes are available at all major facilities, at all AMA offices and now at the two Edmonton Visitor Information Centres.
Family $75
Adult $30
Senior $25
Youth $15
Under 7 FREE
Please note: Turner Valley Gas Plant is not open to the public at this time. Okotoks Erratic and the Carmangay Tipi Rings do not charge admission.There may be additional fees charged for some special exhibits or events at some museums or interpretive centres.
For your FREE GUIDE call: 1-800-ALBERTA (1-800-252-3782)
Brooks Aqueduct
Father Lacombe Chapel
Frank Slide Interpretive Centre
Fort George and Buckingham House
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Historic Dunvegan
Leitch Collieries
Lougheed House
Oil Sands Discovery Centre
Okotoks Erratic
Remington Carriage Museum
Reynolds-Alberta Museum
Royal Alberta Museum
Royal Tyrrell Museum
Rutherford House
Stephansson House
Turner Valley Gas Plant
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
Victoria Settlement

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Thank Heaven for 7-11




I just have one thing to say, "Pumpkin Spice Latte". I have always had some form of these delicious drinks this time of year, but Starbucks isn't as close out here in the country, so I've had to look elsewhere. Then I saw it. A sign in front of 7-11 that said, "Spiced Pumpkin Latte" and I just had to try one. Now I'm trying to think of excuses to go to town so I can have another.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pumpkin Patch a Great Success!!!

We had so much fun this year at our pumpkin patch. First of all, we invited the Ponoka Homeschoolers for an afternoon. That was great fun. Then we had our patch open to the public yesterday. It was great how many people actually came and some from quite far away.
Here is our little Jacob on the wagon ride with the homeschoolers. You can see one of our pumpkins at the front. It was a very windy day, but at least there wasn't any snow like past years.





This is the sign Becky and Jacob helped me paint. All the parents enjoyed taking pictures of their kids in front of it and I hope they all come back next year to see how much their kids have grown.








I set up this little place to take more pictures. For some reason Jacob kicked off his shoes right away. I just love his smile!










Here are some of our jack-o-lantern pumpkins.









These pumpkins are called Jamboree and they grew very well here. Not only are they pretty, they are good for eating. Yay, because I have 3 times as much as in this picture left. We also grew Goosebump pumpkins and Orange Smoothie. I also grew gourds and I'm happy I remembered to put them out in the middle of the day, because I sold almost all of them! I was so happy to have Becky and Larry helping take everyone on the wagon rides. They took them ALL the way around our farm and all the kids loved it. Some went on more than one ride. The newspaper reporter from Ponoka was assigned to come out and do a story on our pumpkin patch. (Not much happens in Ponoka) I will post the story when it comes out. It will probably just be a picture or something. So all in all we had a great success.