Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I make my stuffing each year, I have no idea what’s going in it until I start making it. Like what kind of bread I want to use. I’ve used whatever bread I have on hand, cut it in cubes or tear it in chunks and toast it. I’ve used brioche, French baguettes, croissants, even hot dog and or hamburger rolls. I've even been known to use salad croutons!  And then I add my favorite to give it that perfect taste and texture.  

 

Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing

 

8 cups 1-inch bread cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound mild ground pork sausage

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 ½ cups sliced celery

2 Fuji apples, chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

2 ½ cups chicken stock

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-12 minutes; set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

Melt butter in the skillet. Add garlic, onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in apples, sage and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a large bowl, combine bread, sausage, apple mixture, walnuts and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in chicken stock until absorbed and well combined.

Spread half the bread mixture into the prepared baking dish. Add more apples and sausage.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. 

Place into oven and bake until top is browned, about 45 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until top is browned.

Serve immediately.

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.

Dutch Apple Pie

 Dutch Apple Pie

I make smaller pies because I don't have a big family to feed. I usually make two pies 5 inch pies and freeze one for later. The little five inch pies are the perfect size pie if you're single or if you have only one other person to share with.   I love the way my house smells right now...apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar....yum. This is my Mom's old recipe she used when it was apple season and she wanted a change up from your typical American hot apple pie. I always loved this one. 

Dutch Apple Pie

Homemade Pie Crust

1 package Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust or Homemade (below)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, briefly pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Don't over mix.

Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over dough; press to shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a two 6-inch rounds with a floured rolling pin. Wrap dough around rolling pin, discarding paper; unroll over two 5-inch pie plates. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plates (do not stretch dough).

Apple Filling 

5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced apples (Granny Smith or McIntosh)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fit pie crust into pie plate and trim off edges. In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars,flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour filling into crust.

Topping:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter, room temperature

In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender or a fork, mix flour, both sugars, and butter until coarsely crumbled. Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Bake at 375 for 50 minutes. (If your crust gets too brown early on, cover the edges of the pie crust with tin foil and continue baking).

This recipe can make two smaller pies instead of one large one.  I usually double the recipe and make several pies to freeze for later. 

These are the smaller pie pans I use.  If you would like to own a set, get them for a limited time for under $10 for all four non-stick pans! A fantastic buy!   Note the link is already coded with Welcome Home.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F7A5PS/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B000F7A5PS&linkCode=shr&tag=welchome08-20&linkId=VPSTEPYSPLWUKUJJ&qid=1411499536&sr=8-1&keywords=small+pie+pans

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

Caesar Salad with a Twist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

This is my go to salad when I feel like something light and simple yet so delicious I want to eat it every day.  It's easy to make and has so many flavors and textures you can't get enough.  The trick to making it NOT your everyday salad is the dressing.  I mix two different dressings to get flavors to die for!  You have to try this one my friends.

Caesar Salad with a Twist 

• 1/4 cup Ken's Creamy Caesar dressing
•  2 tablespoons Ken's balsamic vinaigrette 
•  3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
•  1 cup iceberg lettuce chopped 
•  1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
•  1 cup cubed apple
•  1/3 cup dried cranberries
•  1/3 cup pecan halves
•  salt and pepper to taste
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• Add your chopped lettuce to a large bowl.
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•                     In a small bowl, whisk together both dressings until fully combined.

  


















I use Ken's Creamy Caesar dressing. 

 


















Just a little vinaigrette.

     

















Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, chopped apples, cranberries, pecans, and 1/2 of the dressing mixture. 

    Divide among individual plates; drizzle with the remaining dressing and season with a pinch of freshly ground pepper.

The perfect salad anytime of year!

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to Welcome Home.

My Thanksgiving Turkey

  

 

 

So, I promised I would share my secrets for making the best Thanksgiving Turkey.  So, here we are.  It’s moist. It’s so juicy and tender.  It’s the turkey my mom taught me how to make when I was growing up.  Just the good old fashioned traditional way of making the juiciest turkey ever.

First, let me share the fact that I do not throw it in one of those aluminum pans and toss it in the oven to overcook and dry out.  And if the bird has a built-in thermometer, take it out.  Waiting for that thing to pop up will promise an overcooked and dried out turkey.    

I only use one appliance to cook my turkey.  I promise you can’t get a better turkey if you use one of these.  It is self-basting and keeps the turkey so moist all the way through.  It is counter top so I can save my oven for the other things I need it for.  It is a crisper and browner so the turkey comes out beautiful without having to use the broiler.  I will share the link at the end of my recipe.

My Mom's Moist and Juicy Roast Turkey

For the Turkey

1 fresh turkey (12-14 pounds)
salt and pepper
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 whole lemon, halved
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 head garlic, halved crosswise

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator about an hour before you are ready to roast it so that it can come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. This is just to get the oven nice and hot before roasting. You will turn the heat down later.  If you are using the roaster, follow the same heating instructions.

You need a lot of paper towels in the first step.  Not only do you need to dry it completely on the outside, but also on the inside.  Take the bag of giblets and the neck and rinse the turkey inside and out. Pat the turkey down all over the outside with paper towels to dry it thoroughly. Then stuff the inside with paper towels to dry it inside. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lift the turkey and generously salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, the lemon, the onion, and the garlic. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey.

Next, make an compound herb butter. 

8 tablespoons  butter, softened at room temperature
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 tablespoon of fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, fresh herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and garlic. Stir together with a spoon until well blended. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, run your hand between the skin and meat of the turkey, gently separating them and being careful not to tear the skin. Do the same from the other side, loosening the skin around the thighs and legs.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use about two thirds of the compound butter to rub over the actual meat that is under the skin of the turkey. Remember, the butter will melt as it cooks so don't worry too much about smoothing it out. Save the remaining butter and set aside.

Next place your turkey on a roasting rack inside a large roasting pan. Pour 2 cups chicken broth in pan under rack, making sure not to allow the turkey to make contact with the broth. The juice will steam the turkey keeping it moist and tender through roasting process. Cover tightly with foil unless you are going to use the self-basting roaster I am going to introduce you to.

Roast the turkey at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast for about 2 hours. Then take turkey out of oven and remove foil. Melt the remaining compound butter in the microwave and then brush it all over the turkey. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Continue to roast for another 30-40 minutes or until you get a reading of 160 degrees when you insert an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. For those last 30-40 minutes, you want to monitor the browning of the skin and once it has reached the desired shade of golden brown, after about 30-40 minutes, tent loosely with foil throughout any remaining cooking time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a 12-14 lb. bird will take approximately 2-2½ hours). Another way to tell if your turkey is done, is to make sure the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh.

Most important: you want to allow the turkey to rest before carving. If you carve the turkey immediately out of the oven it will be tough and dry. Remove turkey from oven and let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 20-30 minutes before carving.

 

Introducing the Nesco Self-basting Roaster.  The only way I roast my turkey!  https://amzn.to/3LPSAju

 

The NESCO 18 qt. Roaster oven can roast a whole turkey, up to 22 pounds, to  perfection!

https://amzn.to/3LPSAju

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 https://amzn.to/3LPSAju

The domed lid creates natural moisture circulation that continuously bastes your food as it cooks, helping to keep meats like turkey moist and flavorful.  The porcelain enamel lid traps and redistributes moisture throughout the cooking process, eliminating the need for manual basting while ensuring even cooking results.  And it frees up your oven!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://amzn.to/3LPSAju